“At the birthday dinner, I remember asking whether you’d already given notice at the clinic. Seth jumped in before you could answer.”
I remembered.
“I thought he was being protective,” she said. “But now—”
She stopped.
We sat silently for a while.
Then I raised the question that had haunted me since the church hallway.
“When he said I wouldn’t have much choice after we got married, what did you think he meant?”
Heather’s face reddened.
“I didn’t like it.”
“But you didn’t say anything.”
“I asked whether you really wanted to do this.”
“And when he said yes?”
She looked away.
“I wanted to believe him.”
“Because you’d already canceled daycare.”
“Yes.”
Her answer hurt, but at least it was truthful.
“I heard him laugh,” Heather said. “I knew that was a horrible thing to say. I told myself he was making a stupid joke.”
She swallowed.
“I was scared of losing the arrangement. I know that doesn’t make it okay.”
“No,” I said. “It doesn’t.”
She nodded without asking me to comfort her.
My phone lit up.
Seth was calling for the fourth time since I’d left the bridal room.
I stared before answering.
“Hello.”
“Natalie, thank God. Where are you?”
“Still at the church.”
“Can we talk? Please?”
“We are talking.”
He sighed.
“Look, I’m sorry about how things happened.”
“How things happened?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Do I?”
“I’m trying here.”
I looked at Heather.
“Did you tell your sister you’d forgive yourself six thousand four hundred dollars by having me watch her children for a year?”
Silence.
Then:
“Heather told you about that?”
“Yes.”
He paused again.
“It’s not what it sounds like.”
“How many different ways can that arrangement sound?”
He spoke more quietly.
“I was trying to solve two problems at once.”
“Your debt and your sister’s daycare.”
“Right.”
“With my job.”
“I never said you had to quit forever.”
“You told Heather I’d already decided to quit.”
“I figured maybe you’d work something out with Dr. Bennett.”
“After promising someone else I’d be available fifty hours a week?”
He offered no answer.
Then he continued.
“You don’t understand the pressure I’ve been under.”
I closed my eyes.
“I didn’t know about the loan, Seth. You told me you paid for the truck with savings.”
“Because I was embarrassed.”
“You could have told me.”
“And then what? You’d have lectured me about money.”
“I might have asked how you planned to repay it.”
“Exactly.”
He sounded almost relieved, as though I’d confirmed his justification.
I opened my eyes.
“You made a promise you couldn’t keep,” I said. “Then you made another promise using something that didn’t belong to you.”
“Don’t talk about yourself like you’re property.”
“Then stop making decisions like I am.”
He fell quiet.
Heather covered her face and turned away.
Seth tried again.
“Look, I panicked. Heather kept asking about the money. I knew we had the wedding coming up, and I didn’t want to start our marriage with that debt hanging over us.”
“So you decided I could work it off.”
He didn’t deny it.
“I thought once we were married, you’d understand.”
I looked toward the hallway where I’d overheard him earlier.
“No,” I said. “You thought once we were married, I’d feel obligated.”
He sounded exhausted.
“Can’t we just start over?”
“How?”
“We postpone everything. Take a few weeks. Then have a smaller ceremony.”
“And Heather’s children?”
“We help her until she gets something arranged.”
Again, he said we.
Even after our canceled wedding, he continued treating his promise as my responsibility.
“I won’t be watching the kids Monday,” I said.
He hesitated.
“Not even Monday?”
“No.”
“Natalie, come on. They don’t have anywhere to go.”
“Then you and Heather need to figure that out.”
His tone became wounded.
“I can’t believe you’d take it out on the kids.”
For an instant, his accusation affected me.
I pictured Maddie with her backpack, Ben asking for pancakes, and Owen reaching toward me to be picked up.
They were innocent.
Seth understood how deeply I cared for them and knew exactly how to use those feelings against me.
I glanced toward Heather, who watched silently.
“I’m not taking anything out on the children,” I said. “I’m refusing a job I never agreed to do.”
Seth sighed.
“Then I don’t know what you want from me.”
“The truth would have been a good start.”
I ended the call.
I remained seated, phone in hand.
Heather finally spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
She looked down.
“I still don’t know what I’m going to do Monday.”
Her voice cracked.
“My supervisor already warned me about missing another day. Ben was sick twice last month, and I had to use most of my remaining paid time off.”
I understood her fear.
She had three children relying on her, employment she couldn’t afford to lose, and a brother who’d promised help without having the authority to offer it.
I nearly volunteered.
The words were ready: I could watch them Monday while she searched for alternatives.
Calling Dr. Bennett and taking a day off would be easy.
Perhaps two days.
Or a few more until Heather found someone.
But I understood how quickly temporary assistance could turn into an obligation.
And Seth had been relying on precisely that possibility.
I almost agreed to care for the children on Monday.
Then I recognized that giving in was exactly what he’d anticipated.
# PART 3 — THE CHOICE## Chapter 7 — Monday Was Still Coming
I barely slept Saturday night.
Several times, I woke in my apartment and instinctively reached toward the other side of the bed before remembering Seth wasn’t there.
We hadn’t lived together yet.
My belongings were supposed to move into his townhouse at month’s end.
I’d already packed four boxes.
One contained kitchen items, another books, and a third winter clothes.
The fourth held purchases for our married life: matching towels, new sheets, and two mugs labeled Mr. and Mrs.
Popular Posts
→- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Recently Viewed
Stories you read recently will appear here.
