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Mom tsked and told me that I should keep them short. “It’s not good to stay under there for a long time. It’s expensive.”
I agreed and said that I would shorten them up. I wouldn’t, but I had to say that I would, or I would never hear the end of it.
“You will have to make sure that you are frugal when you are married. Men make the money, and you will have to learn to spend more wisely.”
I pressed my lips together. I didn’t want to worry about being cheap, I wanted to make my own money and not worry about it. It was too old-fashioned, the idea of staying home and not contributing. I said as much, and mom didn’t want to hear it.
“You know what is expected of you. It’s time for you to start your family.”
This was the same conversation that we’d had so many times before. I gave in and just went with it. That was why I was engaged to Dalian. I didn’t know how to tell mom no. I tried, really I did, but the expectations were just too crushing to ignore. It wasn’t just mom; it was all the family. Maybe being here, living among so many of them, was the problem. Between my mom and aunts, I had to be reminded daily that time was running short.
7
Derrick
Meetings kept me busy on Friday, and I didn’t get to say much to Augustine. She seemed to be in a good mood, smiled, and I swear the dresses she wore were getting tighter and shorter. This one today was black, low-cut, and mesmerizing. All I could think about was our time together. I didn’t have much longer before she was set to be married. If I was going to make a move, it had to be now. Though, it felt like I could be too late.
We met in my office after five. Augustine didn’t have much to say, she barely looked me in the eyes, but I just took that as she was speechless as well. There was a lot between us that wasn’t being said. I couldn’t be the only one feeling it. Augustine had to be as well.
“Are you ready?”
Augustine said that she was, and she didn’t wait for me to help her with her bag. She put it on her shoulder, and I asked her what else she was taking.
“This is it,” Augustine assured me. “I don’t need much for a couple of days.”
I looked at the duffel bag and then shook my head. “You are different than about any woman I’ve ever known.”
Augustine shrugged. “Is that a good thing?”
I assured her that it was. She was so different, and it was definitely a good thing. The way she was poised, unimpressed by my money, and held herself to a high esteem. I couldn’t see Augustine doing some things that I wanted her to, but that was okay. I wanted Augustine for myself, and I had to figure out who her soon to be husband was, so that I could show her I was better.
“I ordered us a car to the airport. I don’t want to leave my car up there.”
Augustine just nodded. She didn’t care. It could be a car or a limousine. Augustine wouldn’t have thought any differently about it. She really was impossible to impress, so I stopped trying. The town car picked us up and Augustine sat close to the other door. There was a chasm between us, and I didn’t want to make it any bigger than it already was.
She didn’t say much while we drove to the airport. My eyes couldn’t stay off of the ring. It didn’t look real, like it wasn’t a real diamond. I had an eye for fine jewelry, but when I asked Augustine if she had gotten it insured, she just waved it off. I was desperate to talk to her about something. I was still trying to learn more about her fiancée. I needed to know more about the guy that I was competing against. It’s always good to know one’s enemy.
“Trust me, Derrick, I won’t be insuring it. That’s something that rich people do. I doubt it is worth much.”
I didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t seem to care what her ring was made of or how much it was worth. How different Augustine was from anyone else that I knew. I would never understand how she could think so little of money.
“Does that bother you?”
Augustine said that it didn’t. “It was what he got, so it’s just right. I think people hype up the ring too much. It is just a rock.”
I agreed, but I still didn’t know how I was supposed to impress her if money didn’t work. That was my go-to nowadays, and it was going to take some time to get used to something different.
“How did a man get you to say yes?” It came out before I could filter it and make it sound better. It was the question that I wanted to know, but not the one that I wanted to ask her. It came out wrong. It was a wonder though, her standards were so high.
Augustine looked aggravated. “Some of us don’t have choices like you do, Derrick.”
“What does that mean? I think getting married is a choice.”
Augustine looked out her window and pouted. “Not for all of us.”
I wanted to know what she was talking about. There was obviously something different with Augustine and her engagement, but now I was even more confused. “Are you going to stop talking in riddles and tell me what that means?”
She didn’t have to. We were at the airport and before I could get to the bottom of it, the doors opened and we got on the plane. By the time we were settled, Augustine mentioned something about taking a nap and I couldn’t argue. Her words made no sense to me. How would she not have a choice? I didn’t know the answer to that, but it weighed on my mind the whole trip.
