Page 98 of Man Cuffed
“Mac, it’s right there on top of the dresser. Look.”
My frantic eyes go to that spot. Sure enough, I can just see the key at the edge of the dresser. So close but so far away. I let out a bellow of helpless rage.
“Good!” says Rosie, clapping her hands together. “This is very healthy. How uncomfortable are you right now on a scale of one to ten?”
“Dangerously uncomfortable,” I spit. “Like a hundred and forty-two. Whatever you’re trying to prove, it worked. Now uncuff me or—” I try to think of a suitable threat. My sister knows that I’d never actually hurt her. So I have to choose carefully. “Uncuff me right now, or there will be no triple decker devil’s food cake on your birthday.”
“Ohhhh! Youarereally mad.” She begins to look slightly concerned.
“You think? And I’mnotjoking. If you don’t let me out of here, you’re going to be stuck with mom’s cake. And it’ll probably have crocheted frosting.”
We both shudder. “Huh, well.” Rosie takes a deep breath. “That’s just a chance I’ll have to take. Because I need you to listen to me for a minute.”
“Like I have a choice.”
“I cuffed you to the bed because this is how people feel when they’re in love. Trapped, exposed. Isn’t that how you feel right now?”
“To say the least. But you’re not really selling it to me, are you? Who would do this willingly?”
“Meg would.” She sits back on her heels. “This is what Meg was willing to feel foryou. She put herself out there, even when it felt very uncomfortable. She showed you her heart, even when you’d told her that you don’t date. Even when you showed her your ugly past, she wasn’t afraid. She chained herself to a very uncomfortable place. She stood in front of the Macklin Maguire human bulldozer without anything to protect her heart. And she did it all for you.”
“Fuck.” I take a deep breath. And then another one. The coffee and sugar are starting to kick in. And I think about what Rosie is trying to tell me. Meg did all those things. It’s true. I don’t know if I’m worth the trouble.
Except Meg thinks I am.
“I dunno,” I tell my sister. “I hear you. But I don’t know if I’m there yet.”
“You will be,” she says kindly. “I have faith. I’d give it...” She pauses. Then she counts on her fingers.
“Ten years?” I joke.
“Nah. I give it two hours.” She slides off the bed. Then she picks up her purse and puts it on her shoulder.
“Where are you going?” I ask, my voice getting high and weird. Because now my sister is striding toward the bedroom door.
“Grocery shopping!” she calls.
“But…Rosie! You forgot something, here!” I’m still cuffed to the bed. “I learned your lesson! Get back here!”
She turns around. “Do you love Meg?”
“I…” The word is right on the tip of my tongue. But it doesn’t matter if I love Meg or not. She’ll still get sick of me. I’m prickly. I have a dangerous job. I’m set in my ways.
Rosie sighs. Then she checks her watch. “Three hours, maybe. You’re a tough case.”
“Hey!” I yell as she disappears from the bedroom. “Get back here! No cake for you! Not on your birthday! Not at Christm—”
Slam. My sister has left me here. I’m gonna kill her.
29I’d Know That Thud Anywhere
Meg
“Okay, troops!” I announce from the middle of Aubrey’s living room. “We’re settled on “Uptown Funk,” two dozen dancers, and October twelfth. First rehearsal is October first!” That’s the day after my last episode wraps. I’m going to have to hustle back here to make this work. But it’s totally worth it.
“Sweet!” Aubrey says, and her assistant flips her notebook closed. “I’ll let you both get back to your Saturday.”
“Thanks, baby! Can’t wait for this.”
