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“All right. I know you have a gala tomorrow, and you’re probably thinking about that, but there’s something else going on.”
He laughed to himself. He really didn’t need to talk to anyone who knew him so well.
But Peter always saw things with a clarity that Franklin sometimes missed. He couldn’t think of anyone else that he would trust with the information that he suddenly realized he was going to divulge to his brother.
“I always go to the gala with Maisie. But she called me and couldn’t go because her sister was sick.”
“The one that’s in Africa?”
“Yeah, that one. She was going to catch the first plane she could and go see her. So I was dateless.”
“Ouch. It’s always harder to do those things solo. Even if your date isn’t someone that you’re in a relationship with, it’s just nice to have that support beside you.”
“Exactly. So, since I was with Eleanor last night—”
“Eleanor. She’s a nice girl.”
“She was. She planned the barn dance and did a fabulous job on it.”
“I thought so. I had a great time. Of course, I wasn’t abducted by accident either, so there’s that.”
Franklin snorted. “I actually really didn’t mind.”
“That’s shocking to me. But I want to know what you said to Eleanor.”
“I asked her if she’d go. If she’d be my date.”
“Wow. You guys must have had some pretty deep conversations last night.”
“It was an easy thing to do. I didn’t have a phone, and she was the only one available.” It went deeper than that, but he didn’t want to admit it.
“What did she say? Did she turn you down? Is that what the problem is? Turned down by a small-town girl?”
“No. She said yes. That’s not the problem.”
“Now you can’t figure out how to get her there? Do you need me to drive her down tomorrow?”
“No. The problem is Maisie’s sister wasn’t as sick as what she thought, and Maisie called me and said she could go.”
“Well, too bad. You already asked Eleanor, and she said yes. So Maisie is out of luck.”
“Why couldn’t you have told me that two hours ago?”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I mean, Maisie is the one I always go with. I mean, she’s good at it, she’s always done well, and we have an understanding. I didn’t want to miss any of that. She could benefit me in my career. Not to mention, if I hurt her feelings, she could go around and make things really difficult for me.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about any of that. Whether she does or she doesn’t, it doesn’t matter. She told you she couldn’t go, and you asked Eleanor. She said yes. You can’t break off with Eleanor just because something better came along. Or just because Maisie can do it again. You have to keep your word. If you said you were going to do it, you need to do it.”
“But I asked Eleanor, told her about Maisie, and asked her if it was okay if I went with Maisie. She said it was fine. I just...feel like I made the wrong choice, even though I was going with Maisie and being loyal to her.”
“But you weren’t being loyal to Eleanor, whom you gave your word to. You might not have known her for as long, but there is a loyalty in doing what you say you’re going to do, even when it’s hard. Or even when something else better comes along and you want to do that.”
Franklin was quiet. He knew that Peter was correct.
“I mean, I know you think you asked her and she said it was okay and all that, but what else was she supposed to say? Did you actually think she was going to say ‘no, don’t go with Maisie? You promised me?’ And why would she want to have to force you to keep your promise to her?” He snorted. “She probably figured if you don’t want her, you don’t want her.”
“But I asked her out. I told her I wanted her!”
