Page 20 of Salute, To Bravery
“I know that, silly, but you guys should complement each other, as a new power couple should.” The pride in my mom’s voice was obvious. “Now, your father will be there at eight sharp on Friday morning to come get you.”
Panic bubbled up in my chest. “Oh, Mom, that’s not necessary, I will take the train up there. I know how busy Dad gets with work. I don’t want to take time out of his day.”
“Oh hush, his only daughter is getting engaged. He’s more than happy to be there for you.”
I closed my eyes. “Mom, I need to let you go, I have to get back to work.”
My mom sighed. “I’ll be so glad when you’re no longer working at that place. Be careful, I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Before my mom could say anything else, I ended the call. I stuck my phone back in my bag and rubbed my face. I was supposed to pick up the RV Friday morning. How was I going to keep my dad from coming to pick me up? Or worse, seeing me and just making me leave with him? I stared down at my half-eaten salad from the cafeteria, suddenly unable to stand the thought of eating.
“Hey, you okay? You look like shit, dude.” Anne plopped herself down in the seat next to me. She was always blunt, and that was one reason Anne had become one of my closest friends.
“Yep. Totally fine. Everything is peaches and rainbows,” I snapped as I slid my salad away from me.
Anne studied the now discarded salad, then her gaze settled on me. “Okay, cool. Now tell me how you really feel.” Anne stuck a jerky stick in her mouth and violently ripped off a piece.
I couldn’t help but giggle briefly before I dropped my head into my hands to rub my face again.
“You know if you keep rubbing your face like that, you’re going to break out before your vacation.”
I groaned.
“What did I say?” Anne took a swig of her energy drink and turned in her seat to face me. “Okay, spill it, what’s going on?”
“Sophie and Emmy bailed on the trip. It looks like I may not be going anywhere. Which means I’m not sure how I’m going to avoid this party.”
Anne rolled her eyes. “First of all, they suck. Second of all, you could just tell your parents that you’re not interested in the guy.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure that will go over great. I can’t just tell them that, it would destroy them. Everything they have built is riding on this marriage. I can’t really let them down.”
“So, what. Your whole plan is just to avoid them for as long as possible? But you still plan on marrying this guy for your family’s sake, which is a terrible reason, by the way. You can’t just show up to your wedding and meet your groom. That’s insane.” Anne waved her hand. “It’s better to just meet the dude and get it over with. Plus, maybe it won’t be so bad. He’s smart, he’s got money, and he’s good looking.” Anne shrugged.
“I don’t want to marry him at all, though. The thought just makes my stomach turn.” I wrapped my arms around my midsection.
“Okay, why don’t you want to marry him besides just not wanting to? Which is a valid reason, by the way.” Anne raised her eyebrows. “But if you put that aside, he seems like a great pick. You could at least get to know the guy before throwing it all out the window.”
I groaned again. “Maybe you’re right. I don’t know. I guess I have the week to think about it.”
Anne shrugged again and pulled out her phone to doomscroll through her lunch like she always did. “I’m just saying to give it some thought. I know you feel trapped, but this might be a good thing.”
I nodded and scooped up my trash to throw it away. I just didn’t want to get married, period, but getting married to someone my parents had picked out with no input from me seemed archaic.
Chapter Two.
After lunch, I sat back down at my desk and logged into my desktop to find a list of registrations I had to complete. I gathered up my clipboard and all my papers and started making my patient rounds. My job was fairly easy: make sure all their information was correct and have them sign the paper verifying that it was good. Occasionally, I’d have a patient that wanted to ask me twenty insurance questions that I usually didn’t have the answers for, but for the most part it was an in-and-out kind of deal.
I would pass Ian in the halls, and he’d try to smile at me and make a weird face, just to get me to laugh. But I kept my head down.
As the day wore on, I had to fight harder and harder not to snap at people I came in contact with. It wasn’t their fault after all, but my mood just got worse the more I thought about it.
My twelve-hour shift couldn’t end fast enough, and when seven rolled back around, I was more than happy to pack my belongings and head out.
Ian caught me at my locker as I dug out my bag. “Hey, I was afraid I’d miss you. You seem to be in a hurry today.” He smiled, even though he was trying to catch his breath.
“Did you run?” I smiled back.
“Yeah, I did. You walk fast when you’re pissed off.” He bent over and put his hands on his knees. “You’re gonna kill an old man like me.”
