Marriage Matters

Seventy-three

Kristine stared at her daughter. “You did what?”

Chloe chewed on her upper lip. “It’s for the best. You know it. I know it . . .” She paused for a moment, then picked at the soft white yarn of a blanket. “You’ve only been asking me to postpone the darn thing from the beginning.”

Leaping up off the bed, Kristine paced back and forth. Yes, she’d worried that Chloe’s engagement happened too fast. But her daughter was in love with him. She didn’t want her to throw that all away just because her parents had set a bad example.

“Call him back.” Kristine turned to face her. “You saw me panic last night, you got nervous, it scared you and—”

“Mom. This is not about you! Geez, between you and Grandma,” Chloe muttered, shaking her body as though shaking off an annoyance, “it’s a wonder I can get a thought in for myself.”

Kristine stared at her in surprise. Where was this coming from?

“In case you’re wondering,” Chloe said, “I didn’t break off my engagement because of what’s going on with you and Dad. I broke it off because Geoff and I are not right for each other. He wants his family back together. I know he does. It’s going to be hard and painful and all of those things but they deserve a chance to try again. I’m not going to stand in the way of that.”

Kristine took a cautious step toward her daughter. “Honey, Geoff adores you. I’ve never seen anyone treat you so . . .”

“Mom.” Chloe grabbed a pillow as though choking it. “Stop.” Dropping the pillow, she said, “Yes, he treated me well. Which was nice.” At the memory, an affectionate smile lit up her face. “But I don’t love him.”

Kristine paused. “You don’t?” She wrinkled up her forehead, trying to process this. “I’m sorry, but . . . for some crazy reason, I thought you did.”

Chloe smiled, ducking her head. “Yeah. People do kinda tend to get that impression, when you say yes to a proposal. I just . . . got caught up, you know? From the first moment I saw him, I had the biggest crush on him. Then, when he was interested in me and we started dating and it was so much fun . . .” She took a breath. “Geoff could have given me a lot. But we never would have had the one thing that really matters—love.”

Kristine stared at her daughter in surprise. After years of creating milestones, thinking that Chloe wouldn’t really be an adult until she finished school, got a job or got married, her daughter had grown up right in front of her.

“Mom.” Chloe rolled her eyes, exasperated. “Seriously. You don’t have to cry.”

“I’m not. I haven’t been cry . . .” Kristine brought her hands to her cheeks. Sure enough, they were damp to the touch. Getting down on one knee, she pulled her daughter into her arms.