seemed more and more like something else was wrong.
I brought the vase of flowers into the living room and set them on the mantle. Chase was engrossed in ESPN, so I went back to my spot next to Annabelle on the floor.
“That’s a beautiful drawing,” I told her. Only my child would insist on coloring a snowman in the heat of early fall.
“Thank you, Mama. He’s purple.” As Annabelle concentrated on her picture, I picked up my notebook and looked over a few things I’d jotted down for the outline of my next project.
Chase muted the TV and turned to me. “What’s that?”
I looked up, slightly surprised because he’d never taken an interest in any of my schoolwork before. “Just some notes for my Fiction in Advertising class,” I said. “It’s really interesting. We’re working on proposals for a series of infomercials. We have to invent a product, create a story behind it, and provide all the literature needed to sell it.” This particular class was exciting to me because I knew that having an edge in copywriting and marketing would mean more versatility when I put my resume together.
“Infomercials? Who watches those?” Chase looked dubious.
“Lots of people, actually,” I said. “The demographics would surprise you.”
Chase shrugged, turning his attention back to the TV. “You’re wasting your time with all this school shit. You should just get a real job and be done with it.” The TV blared to life again, shocking my system almost as much as his harsh words.
Sudden tears filled my eyes as I looked at the man who was supposed to be on my side, encouraging me no matter what. That’s what he’d promised in our emails before his return. Give him another chance, he’d pleaded, and I would see how good we could be together. Maybe I was overreacting, but so far we seemed like oil and water.
I dashed my tears away with the back of my hand and sprang to my feet. When Annabelle looked up at me questioningly, I smiled brightly at her.
“Well, that’s your opinion,” I said evenly to Chase.
He didn’t even glance my way. “Whatever. I’m just saying, you don’t need it. If we get married, you’ll be too busy to work anyhow, helping my mom with all the family stuff.”
There was that exploding-brain feeling again. “It’s Annabelle’s bedtime now, and I have cleaning to do, so you should probably go. Sorry, but I wasn’t expecting you.”
Chase clicked the TV off and stood up slowly, stretching. “Sure, babe,” he said, completely oblivious to my abrupt dismissal. “Bye, Annabelle.”
I closed the door behind him, my shock and disbelief at his words still hanging in the air between us. He was wrong. I knew that all my hard work would pay off eventually, and I was well on my way to making a better life for myself and Annabelle. School was not a mistake. I wouldn’t let him convince me otherwise.
Determined to shake it off, I turned to where Annabelle hovered in the doorway. “Let’s have ice cream and watch Frozen , okay? You can stay up a little later tonight.” She cheered and ran toward the kitchen while I willed my head to clear and my shoulders to relax.
Chapter 9
It wasn’t productive in healing our rift, but I managed to successfully avoid Chase over the next few days. He didn’t really try to spend time with me either, so the days apart marked the longest separation we’d had since he came back to town.
On Thursday, when he popped into the diner during the lunch rush, the sight of his easy grin and cropped brown hair almost made me smile a little. But then I remembered his unfeeling comments about my goals and plans, and my irritation and hurt surfaced again.
“Hey,” he said, dropping down onto a stool at the counter. “Where’ve you been, babe? We keep missing each other.”
I faked ignorance. “Have we? I guess you’re right.” I couldn’t infuse the correct amount of normalcy into my voice, and I saw Fox glance at me out of the corner of his eye as
I brought the vase of flowers into the living room and set them on the mantle. Chase was engrossed in ESPN, so I went back to my spot next to Annabelle on the floor.
“That’s a beautiful drawing,” I told her. Only my child would insist on coloring a snowman in the heat of early fall.
“Thank you, Mama. He’s purple.” As Annabelle concentrated on her picture, I picked up my notebook and looked over a few things I’d jotted down for the outline of my next project.
Chase muted the TV and turned to me. “What’s that?”
I looked up, slightly surprised because he’d never taken an interest in any of my schoolwork before. “Just some notes for my Fiction in Advertising class,” I said. “It’s really interesting. We’re working on proposals for a series of infomercials. We have to invent a product, create a story behind it, and provide all the literature needed to sell it.” This particular class was exciting to me because I knew that having an edge in copywriting and marketing would mean more versatility when I put my resume together.
“Infomercials? Who watches those?” Chase looked dubious.
“Lots of people, actually,” I said. “The demographics would surprise you.”
Chase shrugged, turning his attention back to the TV. “You’re wasting your time with all this school shit. You should just get a real job and be done with it.” The TV blared to life again, shocking my system almost as much as his harsh words.
Sudden tears filled my eyes as I looked at the man who was supposed to be on my side, encouraging me no matter what. That’s what he’d promised in our emails before his return. Give him another chance, he’d pleaded, and I would see how good we could be together. Maybe I was overreacting, but so far we seemed like oil and water.
I dashed my tears away with the back of my hand and sprang to my feet. When Annabelle looked up at me questioningly, I smiled brightly at her.
“Well, that’s your opinion,” I said evenly to Chase.
He didn’t even glance my way. “Whatever. I’m just saying, you don’t need it. If we get married, you’ll be too busy to work anyhow, helping my mom with all the family stuff.”
There was that exploding-brain feeling again. “It’s Annabelle’s bedtime now, and I have cleaning to do, so you should probably go. Sorry, but I wasn’t expecting you.”
Chase clicked the TV off and stood up slowly, stretching. “Sure, babe,” he said, completely oblivious to my abrupt dismissal. “Bye, Annabelle.”
I closed the door behind him, my shock and disbelief at his words still hanging in the air between us. He was wrong. I knew that all my hard work would pay off eventually, and I was well on my way to making a better life for myself and Annabelle. School was not a mistake. I wouldn’t let him convince me otherwise.
Determined to shake it off, I turned to where Annabelle hovered in the doorway. “Let’s have ice cream and watch Frozen , okay? You can stay up a little later tonight.” She cheered and ran toward the kitchen while I willed my head to clear and my shoulders to relax.
Chapter 9
It wasn’t productive in healing our rift, but I managed to successfully avoid Chase over the next few days. He didn’t really try to spend time with me either, so the days apart marked the longest separation we’d had since he came back to town.
On Thursday, when he popped into the diner during the lunch rush, the sight of his easy grin and cropped brown hair almost made me smile a little. But then I remembered his unfeeling comments about my goals and plans, and my irritation and hurt surfaced again.
“Hey,” he said, dropping down onto a stool at the counter. “Where’ve you been, babe? We keep missing each other.”
I faked ignorance. “Have we? I guess you’re right.” I couldn’t infuse the correct amount of normalcy into my voice, and I saw Fox glance at me out of the corner of his eye as
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