God I Hate that Man

Well, that’s a scandal.

I can’t think too much about this now. My head is spinning. I push the papers and the letter back into the envelope and push it to the back of the safe, leaving a message for my father telling him I’ve seen the will. I grab the file he sent me to get, as that was clearly a ruse to let me see the letter without my mother knowing about it.

My plan is to go through this file then get the hell out of here and talk to Ashley about this. Bring her the good news that we no longer have to marry each other. But why doesn’t it feel like good news, dammit? It must be the shock. Yes, that’s all it is. It’s not like I wanted to marry her, so I should be relieved. And she will be too.

By the time I close the safe and return to the living room, I’m composed and hopefully I look normal again.

“Ah, you found it?” my father says.

He’s looking at the file in my hand, but I know his question is about something else... the will.

I nod once. “Yes, I did.” I sit down beside him on the couch. “Now who’s this client?”

He looks at me out of the corner of his eye and I know he’s dying for a signal as to what I think of the letter. I think he expected me to march in here with the will in my hand and announce that the wedding is off. Yes, that’s it. Then he could claim he had forgotten about the will, say he was trying to hide it from me so the shame of a cancelled wedding isn’t on him. I don’t blame him. My mother is not exactly easy. I can walk away, but he has to live here with her.

When he sees he’s not getting his circus, he takes the file from me and opens it up.

I spot the name on the top. “Ah him. It’s okay, Dad. He’s already called me. We’re going to be doing business together. Thank you for sending him my way.”

“Anytime, son. You know I’ll always have your back, right?”

“Right.” I stand up quickly, suddenly afraid my mom will leave the room, and I’ll be left to answer questions I’m not ready to. “Well, thank you for a lovely evening, and a great dinner, Mom. I’m sorry to rush off like this, but I have things I need to take care of.”

I see relief on my father’s face. He’s confident that by the end of tonight, the wedding will be called off. I’m sure once I’ve spoken to Ashley about it, I’ll be as relieved as my dad is. I’ll still give everything I promised to Ashley.

My mom stands up and hugs me. “Remind Ashley we have another dress fitting to attend tomorrow.”

“I will,” I promise, although it’s not actually going to happen now.

I say my goodbyes, hurry out to my waiting car, and head back to my apartment. I try not to think about any of the letter or what it means to Ashley and me. At least now, I know why the condition was there at all. My grandpa just wanted to bring Ashley and me together, to maybe have us form a bond like him and Walter did all of those years ago. That makes sense in a nostalgic sort of a way. And he did do that. I feel very protective and close to Ashley.

I step into the apartment. Ashley is sitting in her pajamas on the ground, files and papers spread all around her. An untouched glass of wine sits on the coffee table.

“What are you doing?” I ask as I step inside and close the door behind me.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting you yet. I’ll clear all of this mess away and go and try to fathom it out in my room,” she says, reaching for the files.

She looks stressed out and I can hear the shaky quality in her voice that tells me she’s close to tears. “Don’t be silly. I’m not complaining about you working here. I just wondered what you were doing.” I go and sit down on the floor beside her.

She sighs loudly. “My assistant quit and I haven’t been able to replace her yet. And I have all of these things to sort out and I don’t know where to start with most of them,” she says in a rush. “There are bills outstanding, and meetings to rearrange, and in amongst all of that, I have to find a way to still run the foodbank and deal with the donations.”

“Okay, take a deep breath first,” I tell her.

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one on the verge of losing everything.” She sighs. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound so dramatic. I’ll find a way through all of this, just like I’ve always done. But right now, it just feels impossible.”