After my teleconference, I go to meet Jenna. We made plans the night of the anniversary party and we’re finally getting some time to hangout. Jenna is waiting on me when I arrive. I give my name to the hostess and she seats us in a posh private booth, a perk of knowing the manager.
“It totally pays to be in your line of work,” Jenna says after we sit.
“Yeah, sometimes it can come in handy.”
“I want to say thanks again with all your help for my parents’ anniversary. They were thrilled and I couldn’t have pulled it off without you.”
She smiles but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
“No problem, I loved helping.”
“You should know, you make my brother happy. And my parents love you. So maybe you’ll be planning your wedding one day soon.”
I hold a hand up. “I think it’s way too soon for that.”
Thankfully, a waiter comes over and puts the brakes on an awkward conversation. It’s after we order drinks and appetizers that I really get the sense things aren’t good. She’s staring off in the distance, frowning. Add that to the purple bruises under her eyes telling me sleep has been a stretch for her.
“Hey, what’s up? You look like you’ve got something on your mind.”
She grabs her glass of wine, takes a huge gulp, and folds her arms, hugging herself. “If I tell you this, can it stay between us? I mean, I don’t want you to say anything to Ben about it.”
“Sure.”
“I’m having man issues.”
“Ahh,” I nod. “Kenneth.”
“Not exactly.”
My brows lift because Kenneth is the only guy I’ve ever seen her with.
“Okay, yes, Kenneth is part of the problem. He’s great and everything I could want in a man.”
Our waiter busts up the conversation by delivering our appetizers, but Jenna doesn’t seem to be very interested in food. As she picks at her plate, we resume our discussion.
“If Kenneth is the man for you, then what’s the problem?” I ask.
Her face lights up like I flipped a switch. “There’s this guy, Brandon, who I’m positive my parents wouldn’t approve of. Not that it’s a problem because he’s just a friend. It’s just …” Her eyes go dreamy. “When I’m around him, he’s interested in me. Not in what my family does.”
“Life’s short, Jenna. You have to be happy, and if Kenneth doesn’t make you happy, sometimes you have to cut bait, you know?”
“You don’t know my dad very well. I can hear him already.”
“So, what? Are you going to marry someone to please your dad, and then get divorced a few years down the road?”
She shrugs, as if she’s considered that route.
“Holy crap! You can’t possibly think that! Does Cate know?”
She grabs my hand and says, “No, and you can’t say a word about this to anyone.”
“I won’t, but promise me you won’t do anything foolish. You need to hang out with my friends. I swear they would set you straight.”
That night, as I lie in bed, I can’t help but think about Jenna and her dilemma. I wonder if Ben knows how this is rolling out with his dad. For that matter, if Ben and I go down that road, what would Martin think of me? Would I be good enough for the Rhoades family? I’m thankful for my parents. They would never expect that of me. And now that I think of it, Martin didn’t seem the type that would do that to Jenna either. Maybe she’s overanalyzing things. I hope so. I also pray she finds the answers to her problems and chooses the guy who makes her the happiest.
The following day at work drags, and so does the evening. Ben is tied up, as he is the next night, too. His phone calls are a poor substitution for the real thing. I miss him, but I don’t want to intrude on him either. He’s exhausted when he gets in at night and he needs sleep so he can function at one hundred percent during the day.
The day of my appointment arrives too soon for me, but I face it with all the courage I can muster. I’ve buried my head like an ostrich over this visit for as long as I can, so this is my day of reckoning. The sad thing is, my doctor’s not going to like what I say. My stress threshold is at maximum capacity without me rupturing my own head gasket. As I sit across the desk from my doctor, he looks at the computer screen, tapping the keyboard and hmming repeatedly.
“So, Samantha, you had the genetic testing as we discussed at your last appointment and we talked about all your options. We said that for six months you could think about what to do. I know you’ve probably given it a lot of thought in that time.”