It was going to be a rough adjustment to being a kept woman for a year.
Daniel didn't call me all weekend. My phone did ring once, but it was the mechanic, letting me know that my car was done and they'd send a courtesy shuttle to pick me up whenever I was ready.
It was funny; I didn't know they were open on Sundays.
The place was oddly deserted when the shuttle driver pulled in, and even when I craned my neck around the parking lot, my car was nowhere in sight.
The owner of the place came out to meet me.
"Here you are, Miss," he said, handing me an unfamiliar key.
I stared at it.
"This isn't mine," I said, even as the realization of what was happening grew in the back of my mind.
"With Mr. Thorne's compliments," the owner muttered, pointing to a car parked nearby. He looked as uncomfortable as I felt.
It was my car, technically, if my car were about ten years newer, and sleek black with silver trim.
"Same make and model, just a little bit of an upgrade," said the owner. "Mr. Thorne insisted. Said it was an engagement present."
I closed my eyes for a moment.
This wasn't happening. This could not be happening.
"He traded your car in for it," the owner went on, clearly trying to break the awkward silence. "Knocked a thousand bucks off the asking price."
"Thank you," I said, more loudly than I meant to. The owner stepped back, and I hit the automatic unlock button on the key fob. That was new.
Okay, to be fair, the whole car was new.
I slid into the leather seat and stuck the key into the ignition. It was such a familiar action, and yet so strange at the same time. It stank of new car. I rolled the windows down after I pulled out of the parking lot.
So it wasn't the most extravagant of gifts. To him, it was almost no money at all. But it was more car than I'd ever be able to afford. I'd bought the last one out of the classifieds for a pile of wrinkled cash. I hadn't ever tried to get financing for something at a dealership, but I had a feeling it would be a disheartening experience.
Somehow he'd known that buying me some hundred-thousand-dollar sports car would completely blow my mind, perhaps scare me off forever. He'd gone for a more subtle gesture. He was saying, you can still have your old life, just…upgraded.
Did he think that was what I was worried about?
As I pulled into my usual parking space at my apartment complex, I was acutely conscious of being watched. If one of my nosy neighbors said something about my new car, I was absolutely sure I'd have a complete breakdown right there in the hall. What was I supposed to say? "Oh, yeah, it's a gift from my fiancé." All cool and casual, like everybody gets brand new cars as an engagement present?
Once I was safe inside my apartment, collapsed in a chair, the guilt began to set in. I'd been given a really nice gift - maybe "generous" wasn't the right word considering the source - but it wasn't fair to Daniel to react like this. He hadn't done anything wrong. It was my own stupid fault I was getting carried away.
I took a deep breath and picked up my phone.
It rang once before he picked up.
"Hi, Maddy." He sounded tired.
"Thank you for the car." Oh, God. That sounded so ridiculous.
"You don't have to thank me," he said, and he sounded like he might be smiling a little bit. "But you're welcome. When I called them to check up on it, they gave me a further laundry list of problems that made it easier and cheaper to just buy something new. I didn't want to trouble you, so I just took care of it."
"Okay," I said. "But could you…not surprise me next time? It was a little weird."
"I'm sorry," he said. "Do you not like surprises?"
"Well, normally I don't mind." I fiddled with my ring. "But usually they're more like - 'oh, hey, I brought you this coffee from across the street because I happened to be there anyway.' Not like, 'oh, hey, here's a new car.'"
He sighed. "Maddy, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I really am sorry. I just wanted to do something nice. I know this isn't an easy transition for you."
"It's okay," I said. "It's…it's a nice car."
"I'm glad you like it." There was a rustling noise, like he was switching his phone to the other side. "I did want to talk to you about something, if you have a minute."
"Sure."
"Next weekend, a few of my family are going to be coming into town. I let them know about you. I would have told you sooner, but I didn't think my sister and her husband were going to be able to get off work so soon."
"Oh," I said. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that.
"They'll want to meet you, of course," he said. "But we don't have to overdo it. I'll tell them that you're very busy trying to get your affairs in order and plan for the wedding."
"It's all right," I said. And strangely, it was. The idea of meeting his sister's family wasn't nearly as terrifying to me as it ought to have been. Maybe I'd just maxed out on the amount of stress I was able to process, but I felt very calm. "I'd love to get to know them."
There was a moment of silence. "That's good," he said, sounding a little suspicious. "Well, I'll try to limit it to a lunch and maybe a shopping trip or two. I don't know exactly how long they'll stay."
"Don't worry about it," I said. "Really. I'm serious. It's not a big deal."
"All right, well." He exhaled. "I'll see you tomorrow for lunch, then."
"Okay. Bye."
"I love you," he said.
Did he really think someone might be tapping his phone? I shook my head.
"I love you too," I said, and hung up quickly.
Well, this was an interesting development. Meeting someone's family was always the best way to get to know the things about themselves that they weren't always forthcoming about. I was actually looking forward to talking to his sister. Maybe I'd actually learn something about the man I was going to marry.
I arrived at work the next morning in strangely good spirits. You might even say I was…glowing. Thankfully, that fit right in with my story.
"Oh my GOD!" Florence jumped up out of her chair and enveloped me in a fierce hug as soon as I walked into our cubicle. "Congratulations! I can't believe it!"
"Yeah, me neither!" I squealed back, extricating myself from her grip with some difficulty. "We were keeping things quiet for a while, obviously, but…"
"So you won't be working here for much longer, probably. Right?"
I'd actually forgotten about that part. "Yeah, I mean…we haven't talked about it in a while, but I'll probably try to wrap up all my projects in the next few weeks so I can focus on planning the big day." Ugh. Big day? Had I really just said that?
"I'm so happy for you!" Annie settled back down in her chair, thank God. "Is somebody throwing you a bachelorette party? Because my cousin is part-owner of that male strip club down on the ave, I could probably hook her up with a discount group rate."
"Oh, I don't…" What was my excuse going to be? I don't have any friends? That sounded hideous - plus, she might actually offer to throw it for me. That was obviously unacceptable. "…I don't really go in for that kind of thing." I fidgeted a little, trying to look as much like a prude as I possibly could. I wasn't, really, but the idea of a bunch of meatheads gyrating their sweaty pelvises in my face while I sucked down fifteen dollar drinks wasn't exactly appealing.
Annie looked at me, her eyes narrowed. I needed a better excuse.
I leaned forward, lowering my voice a little. "I just…I don't really think Daniel would be too happy about it."
Understanding dawned on her face. "Ohhh," she said. "Okay. I get it. Little bit of a jealous type, huh?"
I shrugged, smiling a little. "I dunno if I'd say that."
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that! Personally, I think jealousy can be pretty hot."
Ugh.
Thankfully, the chatter stopped once she fell into that interminable vortex that was her inbox. Florence's habit of signing up
for everything and never remembering to check the "do not email me" box was the inspiration for most of her workday complaints, but for once, her chronically overstuffed email was working in my favor.
I managed to make it until lunchtime with only three more attack-hugs and awkward conversations, and I was able to avoid eye contact on my way to meet Daniel for lunch.
We ordered Chinese food - from the only four-star Chinese restaurant in town, of course. To be fair, it was pretty damn good. And at least it still came in those nice familiar cartons.
"How's your day going?" Daniel wanted to know.
"Well, Florence tried to offer me a discount on male strippers, so…pretty decent?" I broke an egg roll in half.
"Fantastic," said Daniel. I thought I saw a brief shadow pass over his face in response to something I'd said - but no - I must have imagined it. "No one's talked to me yet. I'm not sure why."
"Abject fear?" I twirled some noodles onto my fork. "Well, I sincerely hope someone offers you a discount on female strippers before the day is out. I wouldn't want you to miss out on that experience."
He chewed silently for a moment. "I did talk to my sister earlier. She wants to take us all out to dinner with her husband when they get in."
"Great," I said, with a smile that wasn't even a little bit forced. "I can't wait to meet her."
"Really?" He was giving me a look.
"Really," I said, lightly. "I think it'll be fun."
I wasn't sure why he was unnerved by the idea, but for some reason, that just made me more excited to meet her.
-
I'd hovered over the "relationship status" bar for way, way too long. It was time to make the change.
Then again, I hadn't told my parents yet.
Then again, was I going to?
I'd been going around in circles like this for ages. I had to make a decision already. As much as I wanted to simply change my status and move on, I knew I needed to tell them first.
It took me five tries to dial the number all the way.
Once it started ringing, I almost lost my nerve and hung up, but instead, I waited.
"Hello?"
"Hi, dad," I said.
"Oh," he said, sounding vaguely stunned. "Maddy. Hi. How are you?"
"I'm…I'm good." I took a deep breath. "Is mom around?"
"Yeah, want me to get her?"
"Could you both get on the phone? I want to tell you something."
"All right." He sounded suspicious, but he did what I asked nonetheless. I heard my mom's voice in another few moments.
"Hi, honey," she said. "How has everything been?"
"Pretty good," I said. "I just got engaged."
Silence reigned for a few seconds. Then, they both started talking at once.
"Who are you-"
"You didn’t tell us-"
"It happened really fast," I said, quickly. "It's my boss. His name is Daniel."
"At that…office supply place?"
"No, mom. That was years ago. I'm at a consumer electronics place now."
They digested this for a moment.
"Well, at least he'll be able to support you, then," was my dad's contribution.
"Yes," my mom pitched in. "I always hoped you'd find someone who would be able to provide for you so that you could pursue your…art."
I squeezed my eyes shut. "Thanks, mom. Listen, I have to go. I have a lot to do. But I'll send you guys an invitation to the wedding, if you want to come. It's not going to be a big deal, nothing too fancy, but Daniel can take care of your travel costs." I knew there wasn't a chance of them coming if they had to pay for it themselves.
"Oh…" said my dad, clearly searching for the right words. "No, honey, I don't think I'll be able to get away from work. And your mother's not supposed to travel, you know, with her hip."
"Yeah," I said. "I just thought maybe…well, I'll send you some pictures."
"That'll be very nice," said my mom.
After I'd hung up, I was left with the distinct feeling I shouldn't have bothered.
The next week went by in a blur. I was trying to tie up as many loose ends as I could, finishing projects, or at least getting them to the point where my replacement wouldn't want to kill me. The H.R. department was taking interviews. I was trying not to think about leaving. As frustrating as my job could be sometimes, it was still going to be strange, not coming in here every day.
On Friday, my desk phone started ringing. Which was…odd. I picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Maddy, hi." Daniel cleared his throat. "Could you, uh, step into my office, please?"
I could have sworn I heard someone talking in the background. I frowned slightly. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no, nothing's wrong, just…can you come over here?"
"All right, fine."
When I reached his office, the door was closed. This time I was sure I could hear voices in there.
"Go on in," said Alice, from her desk in the hall. "They're waiting for you."
They?
I pushed the door open and walked inside.
Daniel was sitting behind his desk as usual, but there was a couple sitting in the chairs opposite him. They were surrounded by baggage on the floor around them. The woman had no sooner looked up than she jumped to her feet and ran over to me.
"Maddy!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me. I hugged her back, realizing this must be Daniel's sister, but why on earth hadn't he at least given me some advance notice before calling me in here to be ambushed?
She was laughing.
"I'm Lindsey," she said. "Daniel's sister. This is my husband, Ray."
Ray waved, smiling politely. He looked like he wasn't too terribly thrilled about the ambush, either.
"I'm sorry," Lindsey said, not looking all that apologetic. "Our flight got in early and we couldn't check into our hotel yet, so I decided we should come surprise Daniel. I wouldn't let him warn you."
"That love of surprising people runs in the family, huh?" I grinned at Daniel, who actually looked…embarrassed? Oh, this was going to be fun.
"What's this?" Lindsey's eyes darted between us, a conspiratorial smile on her face.
"Well, the other day…I thought I was going to pick up my car from the mechanic's, and he'd bought me a completely new one," I said.
Lindsey burst out laughing. "Seriously? Danny never was one for surprising people when we were growing up, I'm glad to hear he's starting to see the fun."
Danny?
This just kept getting better and better.
"We still need to settle in, obviously." Lindsey's eyes drifted to the bags on the floor. "But I hope you're both free for dinner tonight. We're taking you out to the nicest place in town."
Daniel cleared his throat. "We were just there not too long ago," he said. "I think we could use a little variety."
Lindsey waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "The second nicest place, then. Or the dive with the greasiest burgers, I couldn't care less. I just want to get to know my new sister-in-law."
"Greasy burgers sounds great, to be honest," I said. "I'd love to eat someplace where I can wear jeans."
"Perfect!" Lindsey went over and clasped Daniel on the shoulder, jostling him gently. He flinched a little, and then smiled. "What do you think, Danny? Jerry's Grill? I bet it's just like the one back home."
Daniel chuckled a little. "Really? We haven't been to one of those in…God. How long's it been?"
"I'd rather not think about it," said Lindsey. "I just remember you always used to throw a fit whenever Dad wouldn't let you get a milkshake."
She looked at me then, for some reason, and I wasn't sure what I was meant to say. "Too much sugar?" I supplied, trying to imagine Daniel as a little kid bouncing off the walls because somebody let him have too much candy.
Lindsey frowned a little. An awkward silence reigned for a few moments.
"Burgers sound great," Ray piped up from his chair. "Six o'clock?"
Danie
l opened his mouth to object, but Lindsey shook her head, instantly silencing him. "Shut up, Dan. Nobody else likes to wait until the crack of midnight to have their dinner. You can just take it to-go if you absolutely have to wait until the most fashionable hour to eat."
I giggled. I couldn't help it - I'd always hated that he wanted to take me out to dinner so late, but I figured that was just how it was going to be with him. He commanded so much quiet authority. But not, apparently, when his sister was around.
A familiar melody, tinny but clear, echoed through the room.
"Oh," said Lindsey, reaching into her pocket. "That'll be the hotel. We'd better go meet our shuttle."
"I'll help you with your bags." Daniel got to his feet, but Lindsey stopped him with a single look.
"For Christ's sake, Danny. My arms work." She chuckled. "See you at Jerry's at six!"
Once they were safely down the hall, I turned to look at Daniel. He had the thousand-yard stare of a bomb survivor.
"She's quite a firecracker," I said.
"I'm sorry," he said, quietly, not looking at me.
"No, I like it." I pulled one of the chairs over and sat close to his desk. "I like her. She doesn't take any bullshit, does she?"
He finally cracked a smile. "No," he said. "No she does not. Least of all from me."
"I can't wait for tonight," I said. "Seriously."
Daniel looked relieved. "Lindsey's cultivated a certain personality," he said. "To get by. To thrive, really. She runs the biggest architectural firm in Boston. You don’t get to where she is by playing nice with men like me. It's a reflex by now, I think." He shook his head. "Anyway, she's my big sister. She's allowed certain liberties."
"I should say so."
It made perfect sense, now - someone with Daniel's ambition but without the advantage of his XY chromosome would naturally develop Lindsey's personality. I could tell from the tone of his voice that he admired his sister, perhaps with just a touch of that awe that younger siblings tend to carry for their older brothers and sisters, even when they should, by all rights, be equals.
"It really will be fun to have dinner somewhere casual," I said. "Don't you think?"
"I suppose." Daniel was shuffling papers on his desk. "How's it going out there? Do you almost have everything wrapped up?"
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