"I don't want a break...not from you. A lot happened at work today after you left and everything is just crazy and I wanted to just come here and…"
"No! You come home and let's talk about it. River, we just got married. What could be so...why would you need time alone so soon? Are you having regrets?"
"Absolutely not! I love you, and I am very proud that you're my wife, Kat."
"Then what is it?" she asked as I continued to ignore the calls that were coming in from my family.
"I'm coming home right now and I'll...we'll talk about it."
"OK. See you soon. I love you."
"Love you too, babe."
I grabbed my bag and hurried out of the apartment in defeat that I didn't get what I came for. My family thought I had cancer and my wife thought I was having regrets about marrying her. I decided to try and fix one of those problems before I got home. I returned my father's call.
"River! Oh, my darling. I'm so sorry…"
"Dad, calm down. I don't have cancer," I said as I waited for the light to change so that I could get home quickly to calm Kathy's nerves.
"Are you sick, honey?"
"No, Dad. I'm fine."
"So why... your mother said…"
"She didn't wait to hear what I had to say," I explained. "I told her to gather everyone she could because I have some news to share."
"What news?" he asked.
"I would rather tell you in person. I'll be there in about an hour or so. I'll send you a message when I'm on my way."
"Is this something that will upset your grandmother?" he asked, and I knew my mother urged him to find out.
"It might. I would rather be the one to tell her, so please don't say anything," I warned.
"OK. See you soon."
I tried to clear my mind of what I had to face when I got home because Kathy was going to want answers. I was not sure if I should tell her about what happened at work or just to deal with it on my own. She already didn't want me to continue to work, so I knew this would only strengthen her argument for me to leave. I was so confused, but I was certain about who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
I entered the garage and Kathy was there anxiously waiting for me to arrive. She rushed to my door before I even turned the engine off and threw herself into my arms. I held her close for a while, inhaling the familiar smell of her favorite perfume. My heart swelled with such love for her and I knew I would be utterly devastated if I were ever to lose her.
"Kat," I whispered as tears rushed to my eyes. "I love you so much."
She pulled away and looked into my eyes, and I could see the tears in hers.
"What's wrong, honey? Please talk to me. Let us lay everything on the table and talk about it, so there are no secrets. It's always better that we work as a team instead of trying to solve things on our own," she said desperately as she searched my eyes for signs of agreement.
"OK, baby. Let's go inside and talk," I said, and we walked silently into the house.
My usual routine was to go straight to the shower, make love to my wife, then go to the dining room for dinner or by the pool. However, today was different. I was hungry, but might not be able to get the food down without this situation with Kathy being resolved. I led Kathy to the living room and we sat on the sofa facing each other. I held her hands and closed my eyes, praying that at the end of our conversation, we would be in a better mental state than we were now.
"Riv, you are scaring me. Please say something," Kat said as her hands trembled in mine.
"I...I called my parents and asked them to gather everyone because I have some news for them…"
"News? What news?"
"That I have met the love of my life and we are married," I said and the tension slowly disappeared from her face. "I wanted them to come here but the moment I told my mom I had some news, she started crying and telling my father I have cancer."
"Oh my God," Kathy said, laughing. "I see why you are hesitant to bring them in, but they are your family and…"
"Kat, I love them, but I would rather they stay out of our marriage. I'm doing this with great reservation and only because I want to prove to you that I love you and you are not a secret. I'm very proud to have you as my wife," I said and brought her hands to my face.
"Riv," she said and brought me into her arms. "It feels good to hear you say that. I know how much you love me, and I don't have any doubt about that, babe."
I held her away from me, and my face told her there was more to come.
"You came to my office today, and I really wasn't prepared because I had planned to tell my boss later that day...then the staff. I know you were trying to do something wonderful and romantic, but it caught me off guard," I said.
"I'm sorry, Riv. I just…"
"Don't be sorry, babe. I'm just telling you what’s going on at work," I said and squeezed her hands. "You had given your name and they researched it."
"Oh no."
"They knew I was off for jury duty...so...ahm...they kind of tied it together. The rumor now is that I let you off the hook and you married me as compensation for…"
"That’s fucking bullshit!" Kathy cried out and got to her feet.
"I know, baby. I know."
"You are not going back there!" she shouted angrily.
"Kat, please calm down…"
"Don't tell me to calm down, River! I told you to quit that fucking job that has been causing you so much stress and anxiety, but you are so stubborn and so used to having your own way that you refuse to see reason. You don't need to be there…"
"Yes, I do! This is my job. I’m not you, Kathy. I was not born into wealth, and I had to work for everything I wanted, so excuse me for not jumping to your idea of staying home playing with my fucking thumb!"
"You’re my wife, and it’s my responsibility to take care of you, and I don't care what you say, but you are not going back!" she said angrily.
"You are also my responsibility, Kat. I can't run to you for money when I need to buy you flowers. I need to do this."
"I have added you to my accounts. Your credit and bank cards are on your night table. You can buy gardens of flowers if you want."
"River, you have not spoken to your parents in two weeks. They have been calling and coming by and you ignored them. If they take your funding away…"
"They will never do that. Even if I never speak to them for the rest of my life, they would never do that," she said with confidence. "If they do, then you go back to work. Besides, I have enough assets and money to provide for us and our family even if they don't give me another penny."
"I can't just stop…"
"Yes, you can. By the way, you will have a job. I’m going to need you to take care of me while I carry our child. You would have to quit anyway."
"That's not for a while," I said holding her hands and pulling her down to sit beside me.
"It's right now. I'm ready," she said.
"Stop doing that. We have to make the decision together."
"I know. I'm ready. Are you?"
I wanted to wait until...for a while, but Kathy already believed that I was not as invested in this marriage as she was. I knew she was doing this to force me out of my job, but I had no choice but to go along with it.
"I am," I said with our foreheads touching each other. "I want this more than anything.”
“I love you,” she said and hugged me tightly.
“Babe,” I said, pulling away from her because I wanted to get all unfinished business out of the way so we can go on with our lives. “I told my parents to gather everyone. I wanted them to come here but I think it is best if we go there.”
“Why? Let them come over.”
“No. I think we should go there and let them react however they want, and if it is not to our liking, we come home and they have no idea where to find us.”
“Honey, I think you are overreacting.”
“If you knew them, you would realize that overreaction is
the best preparation when dealing with my family,” I said and got up, pulling her up with me. “I know you were waiting for me to have dinner, but can we go now?”
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to face something of this magnitude on an empty stomach.”
“Let’s grab a bar and a bottle of water and eat that on the way. I need to get this over with. I’m going to let my parents know I’m on my way,” I said without waiting for her to reply.
I called my dad on my way to the car and he said that three of my four siblings were there and my aunts and uncles who lived nearby. I was very nervous about how it would play out. I was not nervous about them; I was nervous about the message it would send to Kathy. I did not discuss with her that I was going to tell them about the trial and how we met, but it was all coming out today. I was going to give my family a chance to accept Kathy, or we walk away leaving them behind. That was not my favored choice because Kathy was so angry with her parents that I had no idea when she would welcome them back into the fold. I was concerned that we would be going this journey alone when I knew how important family was to her.
Kathy and I were on our way to the battlefield. She was laughing and talking because she had no idea what was in store. She thought she was about to meet normal, rational people and I was just exaggerating because they were my family. I prayed that they would surprise me and welcome her. I knew my grandmother would not be there, and I did not want them to tell her before I did, however, I did not have a better expectation of her reaction. If anything, she would be worse than them.
I ate my Nutri-bar and drank my water as I drove, but I had to force it down because I was too nervous to enjoy or even taste it. This was going to be a horrible night, but there was tomorrow...which would also be difficult because I had to write my resignation letter upon the insistence of my wife, who did not want me working one more day. Mr. Henderson was going to be so disappointed in me, but the desire of my wife overrode his. I was scared to do it, but I had to trust her that she was doing what was best for our family, and besides, I could get another job if I felt like I was going crazy from lack of work.
We were going to have a baby and that was work in itself. Kathy struck me as the type who would want my undivided attention for the duration of her pregnancy. I would have to be rubbing her feet and rocking her to sleep; the whole works.
“Why are you smiling? I thought you were terrified,” Kathy said and brought me back to the upcoming battle.
“I was smiling for a whole separate reason. I was thinking about how demanding you will be when you’re pregnant.”
“And that made you smile?”
“Yes. It will be my pleasure to take care of you, babe. I would much rather that job than the one I have.”
“You should be the one having the baby. I think you would be much better at it than I would,” she said and seemed serious about it.
“I agree, honey, but I told you my family would give us a hard time. We already agreed.”
“We did, and I’m holding to that agreement. I just wished it were different.”
“Well, if tonight turns out like I am expecting, then I would be free to go.”
“What do you mean?” Kathy asked.
“If they reject you, then they have rejected me, and will no longer be a part of my life, so I can have our baby without worry,” I explained.
“I would rather be the one to carry all our children than for you to lose your family.”
“What about yours? You’re willing to lose yours?” I asked.
“No. I just need to prove them wrong and then they’ll see that I made the best decision in marrying you.”
I smiled at her as I turned the car into my parent’s driveway. Immediately, the entire gang rushed out to greet me.
“Oh my God, River, are you all right?” my mother asked as she checked me over, spinning me around as if she could tell cancer from the outside of my body.
“Yes, Mother. I’m fine,” I said as everyone gathered around me that they didn’t even notice Kathy was there.
“Let’s go inside, please,” I said as I remembered how they started the argument while I was outside my grandmother’s house and caused me to get in trouble with her.
They asked a hundred questions, which I ignored, as I took Kathy’s hand and led her inside. We entered the living room and before they could close the door, the questions started.
“Guys, please! I came here to share something with you, so give me an opportunity to tell you, please!” I said and the room went quiet. “First, let me start by introducing Kathy…”
“Hi, Kathy,” my father said. “We met.”
“We did, Mr. Callaway. Nice to see you again,” Kathy said without any signs of the nervousness that was about to throw me to the floor.
“Oh, this is the friend that River spent Thanksgiving with and upset our grandmother?” my sister asked our dad.
“Do you remember how many times we called her and she ignored us?” my mother asked. “This girl is going to be the death of me. I thought I had done well in raising her, and taught her how important family is. She has absolutely no regard for us.”
“Deb, she has a very lovely friend and she maybe understands our daughter better than we do. We should be happy that she has a friend she can count on,” my father said.
“Kathy, you should have told her to at least answer her phone,” my brother said. “As a friend, you should encourage good behavior and call her out…”
“You shut your trap!” my dad shouted at my brother. “How many times have you answered your phone and said you were on your way to see us and weeks would pass?”
“Because I have a life, Dad. I can’t just drop what I’m doing to…”
“You mean you are too busy chasing after bitches’ skirt tails to…”
“I’m leaving!” I shouted, getting to my feet, but Kathy pulled me back down. “This is the reason I stay far away from you people…”
“You people?! Apologize to your mother right now!” my dad shouted.
“It goes for all of you,” I said. “I brought a stranger here and you are behaving like savages…”
“She’s not a stranger, dear. She’s your friend and we have already met her,” my mother said.
“No, you haven’t. I want to talk to you, and I need everyone to remain silent and listen or I walk out that door,” I said, losing my patience with them.
“We’re listening, love,” my aunt said.
I took a deep breath because I could almost write the script before they reacted to my news.
“Remember I went for jury duty a year ago?” I asked and as soon as the words left my lips I regretted that I framed it as a question.
“And you have not been the same since you got back,” my uncle said.
“What did they do to you there?”
“You noticed that too, Hansel. I knew it was not all in my head,” my mother said. “You never told us about that case. What did they do to you?”
“They didn’t do anything to her, Mom. She has always been weird, but you were so caught up with your precious River that you didn’t…”
“Bye, everyone,” I said and got to my feet, and again, Kathy pulled me down.
“I’m sorry, honey. We’re listening. Go ahead,” my father said.
“The woman on trial was Kathy,” I said and held my breath.
“Which Kathy? This Kathy?”
“So what is she doing here?”
“Should she be with you?”
“Is this even legal?”
“How did this happen?”
“Did you know her before?”
“Did you commit a crime, River?!”
“Stop! Please!” I said raising my hand. “Give me a chance to finish.”
This was going exactly as I expected because I knew these people like the back of my hand. Nothing they did surprised me. What would knock the wind out of me, would be if they accepted Kathy with open arms.
&nb
sp; “We met on the plane on Thanksgiving Day…”
“I knew it! This was the reason she was late for Grandma’s…”
“Wait!” I said, stopping my youngest sister. “And by the way, I was late because of my job, for the hundredth time. Anyway, I am here to explain to you why you have not been hearing from me or seeing me that much. I know how deeply we love as a family and it causes us to interfere in each other’s lives more than we should. I didn’t want you to meddle in ours until we got a chance to solidify our relationship because I didn’t want your interference to ruin it.”
“Honey, we have never come between you and your friends,” my mother said. “Relationship?”
“Kathy...is not my friend…”
“Oh my God, don’t say it!” my sister jumped to her feet pointing at me because she got it before everyone else did.
“Don’t say what? What’s going on?” my mother asked, looking at my sister.
“No! You can’t be serious,” my other sister followed then my brother.
“What? What are you talking about, River?” my dad asked. “You said she was your friend?”
“Kathy is her girlfriend!” my sister gave out. “They are lovers!”
“What?”
“You’re gay?!”
“Oh my God!”
“Tell me this is not true, River!” my mother shouted. “We brought you up in the church! Tell me it’s not true.”
I saw the tears in my mother’s eyes because she was not getting any denials from me. She had no idea it was about to get worse because she was about to find out that her daughter got married and she was not there.
“Kathy is not my girlfriend. She is…”
“Thank you, Lord!”
“She’s my wife,” my mom’s hand went over her mouth and everyone else’s mouth was wide open. “We got married two weeks ago.”
Silence filled the room and everyone was stunned into position.
“Of course, I would have loved you all to be there, but I knew this was how you would react. I love her with all my heart, and I didn’t want you to ruin it for me. I brought her here now to show her that she is not a secret, and I’m very proud to have her as my wife.”
The Juror Page 13