After getting Rose to the barn, I stormed off, needing to get away and think it all through; obviously, I wasn’t separating from her. I hiked up to the clearing in the woods and twirled the jewelry box that held a diamond ring in my hand, thinking how much better it would be with a few paychecks under my belt. She wouldn’t leave once I proposed and she saw how good this job was, although, I knew Rose could hold a grudge like no other, but she wouldn’t be able to ignore how good this was all for our family.
I looked to my phone and realized an hour had passed by, but she hadn’t called me. No reception — go figure. I walked toward the road again, and my phone beeped with a text from Rose, oh yeah she’s still pissed, I decided to call a friend from paramedic school to come get me to grab a few beers and has it out. My phone rang relentlessly from Leslie, Grant, and Jordan. I assumed that they were calling to lecture me about smothering her dreams. When it rang again I pushed the power button to shut my phone off and silence the annoyance.
….Seriously? Leave it to him to swoop in and be the hero of the day, Mr. Amazing. I’m sure he was filling her ear with how this was exactly what he’d meant, and that he still loved her. With a smug grin, I answered the phone and told him off, hanging up before he could get a word out. I was intoxicated for sure. I decided it wasn’t the best time to call rose to press my point about being a grown mature person in my current condition, so I headed to my apartment to sleep it off.
….I knocked on the door, figuring her mom would be safe and would understand, since she’d given me a very stern lecture about supporting my family and getting my priorities in check…
Mrs. Barnes’s answered the door, shaking and crying.
“What? What’s wrong?” I asked in a panic, knowing it was Rose.
She just kept blubbering and wouldn’t answer me, so I reached out and grabbed her arms.
I gave her a shake and yelled, “What. Is. Wrong.!?”
Her eyes cleared out from a haze, and she finally answered me…..
Megan C. Smith