Where did my Gordy go?
“The venue for a wedding is important to me. Our wedding is important,” I said breathlessly as my shoulders slumped a bit. “All I wanted was to be part of that process, that’s all.”
He shook his head. “The wedding isn’t what’s important, Naomi. What comes after it is. And for you to be so worked up and so focused on one day makes you selfish, in my opinion.”
My back straightened at his words. “Is that really how you feel?”
“It’s a day to be shared. It’s a day to celebrate both of us. Our union, not just your magical fairytale whims. This is real life. What we have is real life, honey. And all I’m trying to do is take stuff off your plate so that you can actually enjoy this process. Why can’t you just be okay with the help?”
I no longer had it in me to fight. I no longer had it in me to argue. So, I did what I always do.
I relented.
“I’m sure it’ll be lovely,” I said as I plastered on the best smile I could.
He smiled as he cupped my cheek. “There, was that so hard? Just to trust me, for once?”
“Don’t push it,” I murmured.
He chuckled as he kissed my cheek. “I’ll see you for dinner. And I promise, you’re going to love this venue.”
I watched mindlessly as he backtracked toward his truck. I stood there, leaning tiredly against the doorframe as he whistled his way into his truck, cranked the engine, and headed on down the road. Is this what my life would be like? A series of arguments where I ended up relenting just to appease my husband.
Is that really all there was in the world?
I waited until his truck faded into nothingness in the distance. I waited until I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn’t turning around. Then, I walked back into the house and tugged my engagement ring off my finger. The tan line around my skin glared at me, as if it were angry that I could even fathom such an action. And as the front door fell closed behind me with the softest of clicks, I felt a weight lift from my chest.
As I slid my engagement ring into my pocket, it felt like I could breathe again.
And I worried for what that meant.
I mean, Gordon and I had been together since our high school days. Two days of dating through some of the worst years in a kid’s life, and we somehow made it work after we graduated. He was mine, and I was his, and every time we got together with his old friends they hemmed and hawed about how they couldn’t believe we had kept things together for so many years. They always asked us how we kept things fresh. How we changed it up. How we always looked like days’ old lovesick puppies instead of war-torn adults battling one another day in and day out.
Gordon was a pro at answering those questions.
Mostly because I didn’t have a clue as to what to tell them.
Give up every single fight, for starters.
Everyone expected us to get married. We were high school sweethearts, after all. Everyone wanted an invitation to the fairytale wedding the world was expecting of us. Two kids from opposite ends of the tracks, bringing their families and lives together purely based on love. It was the story everyone wanted.
And yet, it was the story that made me feel like a rat trapped in a cage.
Beep-beep-boop. Beep-beep-boop. Beep-beep-boop.
My weird ass ringer started going off and it pulled me out of my trance, thank fuck. I was tired of running myself in circles only to dig my own grave with every step that I took. I raced back into the bedroom, scooping my phone off my bedside table in the hopes that it was the hospital calling to tell me that I could have a day off.
When I saw it was my father calling, however, I jumped into a different kind of mode.
“Shit,” I hissed as I answered the call. “Daddy? You okay?”
“Get off me! What the hell are you doing!?”
“Shut him up and get him outside.”
My eyes widened. “Daddy? Dad. Dad, can you hear me?”
“Don’t you dare put that—no! Stop! Someone, help me!” he cried out.
