Played: “Sometimes you never know who is playing who, until the damage is done.
Page 38
Sixteen hours before, she did something she should have done long ago— that is, she prepared a guided path for her and her man. She spoke to him softly, though insistently. “You are a very lucky man, and I know you love me…And we are going to spend a great life together; you need to marry me…and build a life with me.”
He agreed wholly, devoid of any uncertainty. And in that moment, their fate was sealed. Then they spent the rest of the night planning their future completely devoted to one another’s passions. Together they’ll move far away to some cute, little sunshiny town in California, where they’ll open a small coffee shop and work it together. Two children are planned—first a boy and then a girl. The perfect family, living in the suburbs, where weekends will be spent working in the yard and attending their children’s sporting events.
Fully recharged she reenters through the glass doors, makes her way to the elevator, and pushes the button for the seventh floor. A wave of emotion washes over her. For an instant she begins to cry tears of delight.
A ding, and the elevator doors open to her floor, which serves as the gunshot victims unit. Her brown eyes are wiped dry, and she feels lighter since she knows with all her heart they can make it work, and she smiles—Chelsea smiles.