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My fiancé, Michael, was emotionally there for me during my mom’s chemo. I would have been a mess in New York if it wouldn’t have been for him. He held me up when I could no longer hold myself up.
He was human, which meant he had his faults, but I credited him for getting me through my mother’s death. When she first got sick, he was there to hold me and let me cry. When my mother wasted away from the worst of her chemo treatments, he was the one to fly me back and forth, so I could bounce between Texas and New York.
And when my mother died, he was the one that not only arranged her funeral for me but paid for it as well. The brothers offered to help, but I didn’t want to trouble them especially since they were so busy with business.
My mother’s sickness came as a shock to everyone.
She worked hard all her life but had always managed to keep a positive outlook on things. She kept herself as healthy as she could and went on long walks to keep herself physically active. Out of all the things to ail her, cancer was the last thing anyone could’ve ever expected.
“You still hangin’ in there?” Lizzie asked.
“Do you guys think I’m making the right decision? Please be honest.” I probed.
“Glad you finally asked someone,” Lizzie said. “Though you coulda done it before your damn rehearsal dinner.”
“Get off it, Liz,” Whitney said. “This is serious.”
“Yes, it is. If you want my solid opinion, Michael’s a shitbag,” Lizzie said.
“He’s got his good points,” Whitney said. “But, too be honest, I’m not sure they outweigh the bad.”
“He was there through everything with my mother,” I said.
“Them O’Conner brothers were, too,” Lizzie said.
“They’ve always been there. We’ve been friends forever.” I said. “But Michael? He was shocking.”
“And you like that about him?” Whitney asked.
“I don’t know. Everyone has their faults, Whitney. Even me. But that doesn’t negate what he did for me while my mother was dying. All the flights he paid for, and the funeral he helped me plan. When I figured out my mom didn’t have life insurance, he stepped in without a second thought. He paid off the house so it wouldn’t rest on my shoulders and paid for the funeral.”
“If you like money, them O’Conner brothers got a ton of it,” Lizzie said.
“I get it. I know where you stand. You want me to end up with one of them, but that’s not happening.”
“Why not?” Whitney asked.
“Well for one, I’m an engaged woman. Two, they’re my brother’s friends. And three, they could have snagged me years ago but that never happened. It wasn’t meant to be.”
“Come on, you were hardly legal and on your eighteenth birthday you were ready to jet off to New York. Can’t blame them for not wanting to get locked up or get their teeth knocked in by your brother. You know how protective that boy is. Plus, you were a lot to handle,” Lizzie said.
“I wasn’t that bad in high school,” I said.
“You were a firecracker. Super competitive. A girl like you was too much for one man to handle.” Lizzie said.
“I didn’t know you in high school, but I can vouch for that, too. When I met you freshman year of college, you were the center of the party,” Whitney said.
“Things change. People change. Look, I don’t want to hop into the arms of another man. I’m only wondering if I should be hopping into the arms of this man,” I said.
“He changed ya,” Lizzie said. “You’re way more timid. You ain’t the same girl I knew.”
“High school was seven years ago. I hope I’m not the same person,” I said.
“He did change you,” Whitney agreed with Lizzie.
“Losing my mother changed me,” I said.
“Look, you wanted our opinion, so there it is,” Lizzie said. “Don’t marry the man. He’s an asshole.”
