Lily White Lies(13)

He stopped at the foot of the bed and took a stance of authority. “I heard the key fumble in the lock… something fall to the floor and break… the words ‘oh shit’ slurred out almost beyond recognition… and then stomping up the stairs.” He paused. “I have to hand it to you, Meg. When you set out to make a fool of yourself—you hold nothing back.”

He stood and stared at me as if he were waiting for an apology or an excuse.

My mind went blank, and all I could say was, “What did I break?”

“What did you break? Who cares? Where the hell were you?”

Although it took enormous effort, I managed to lift myself off the bed in one, fluid movement. I grabbed the bedpost to balance myself and shot Brian a look of disbelief.

Holding my head with my free hand, I said, “You know Brian, I’m getting real tired of this self-righteous attitude of yours. Are you marrying me or adopting me, because you’re acting more like a father than a husband.” With the palm of my hand, I applied pressure to my throbbing forehead and winced, adding, “Since you seem to disapprove of everything I do anymore…” Staring him down, I asked, “Why do you want to marry me?”

Disbelief flashed through his eyes. “What are you saying, Meg? You don’t want to get married?”

Making it to the bathroom in three clumsy strides, I heavily breathed, “Maybe I am,” as I closed the door on our conversation.



~ ~ ~



Charlotte and I met for breakfast at our café and I filled her in on the details of my morning encounter.

“I can’t believe you told him you didn’t want to marry him.” Charlotte shook her head while approval danced in her eyes.

“Well, I didn’t exactly say I didn’t want to marry him. I was just fed up with his bullying and… well; I sort of left it up in the air.”

“Up in the air, huh? You know what they say about what goes up. You may be surprised where it comes down.”

“What do you mean? Do you think something will change because of one argument?”

“Brian—change? You have a better chance of getting Elvis and the Wizard of Oz to sing a duet at your wedding.” She smiled to herself, proud of the sarcastic humor directed at Brian. “Seriously, I do think he might call your bluff, Meg. He may be canceling the hall as we speak.”

“You really think so?”

She shrugged. “Would it upset you if he did? I mean really upset you, like tears-on-your-pillow, I’m-sorry-I’ll-never-do-it-again, please-forgive-me upset.”

It hadn’t occurred to me that our argument might actually mean the end of our relationship. I processed Charlotte’s words and tried to decide if his calling off the wedding would bother me. I didn’t gush with sadness over the idea, and that was sad in itself.



~ ~ ~



I sat anxiously on one of the leather couches in the marble lobby of the Commerce National Bank and thought about the news Gram had thrown at me last night. I wanted to talk to Charlotte about it over breakfast but somehow, our discussion never made it past Brian. Maybe it was better that I kept it to myself until I knew exactly how I felt.

“Ms. Embry, Mr. Anderson will see you now.” The cheery voice broke into my thoughts.

I offered a polite ‘thank you,’ and followed her down the long hall, using the thirty-foot walk to contemplate which strategy I would use in getting him to agree to the loan—on my terms.

As she opened the door to his office, a portly, middle-aged man with a baby face and friendly eyes looked up from behind a large, oval desk.

“Ms. Embry, please come in.”

I made my way to the overstuffed chair sitting in front of his desk as he came from the other side, offering his hand and a warm smile.

“Well, Ms. Embry, it’s nice to finally meet you in person. Please, have a seat.”

I shook his extended hand, and replied, “It’s nice to meet you too, and you can call me Meg.”

He seemed to be studying me, when all of a sudden, he blurted, “You wouldn’t happen to know Donny…” He cut himself off, lifting a hand to his forehead. “I’m sorry, the late Donny Embry?”

Surprised to hear that name after so many years, I said, “Yes, he was my…” I hesitated. “He was my father.”

My obvious hesitation to such a simple question caused a crease in his brow, but he didn’t question me further.

He continued, “We were friends; I went to school with him and your mother. I was devastated when I heard about the accident. They were great people.”

“I’m sorry, I was very young and remember little, but yes, it was all so tragic.”