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“I think it sounds really good in theory. Sometimes in practice, I think in a relationship especially, people get jealous of each other. They each want to be the top person. And they keep score. You know, ‘I did more for you than you did for me, so now you owe me.’ Because, to make someone better, sometimes it takes a level of sacrifice that a lot of people aren’t willing to give.”
“Well, even if just being around her makes you better. You know? Like you see them doing something, and it inspires you to up your game. Not in a competitive way, but because you know that what they’re doing brings them closer to the Lord, and when you’re around people like that, they have a tendency to inspire you to want to be the same.”
“Yeah. I can see that.”
They were quiet for a bit, and then he prodded her gently, “Suggestions about Sondra?” He really had no idea. He knew he needed to call her. Knew he needed to let her know that the future she was planning wasn’t going to happen. That was definitely a harder call than what he wanted to have to make, but sometimes a person just had to do the hard things. And this would be one of those.
“No. I guess the best thing to have done would have been to have done it back when she first started saying that you are engaged. The second-best thing would have been to have done it before you decided you were going to marry someone else. Now... I guess I would call her and at least talk to her on the phone. It would be easier to send a text, but that seems a little...”
“Low class?”
“Yes. For lack of a better word. It just seems inconsiderate.”
“All right.”
The sky held just a little bit of color now, and the cows had made their way over to them, so the munching sound of the cows eating combined with the music of the wind through the grass,gently blowing.
“Well, I’ll leave you then, since I assume you’re going to do that now?”
“Yeah. Might as well get it over with.”
“Let me know how it goes,” she said, and then she walked away, slowly through the grass, as though she were thinking about what they were talking about. Or maybe other things. Like her children.
Chapter 7
Ezra said a short prayer, and then he took his phone and pulled up Sondra’s contact, hitting the button to call her.
“Ezra!” she said, picking up the phone in the middle of the first ring, like she had been waiting for him. “I was just going to call you. I have so many things to tell you. First of all, you would not believe what happened onThe Bedroom and Beyond.”
“Sondra.”
“No. I’m serious. I need to tell you this.”
“Sondra, I need to talk to you.”
Either she missed the serious note in his voice, or she chose to ignore it. “Well, you can tell me in a minute, but first, I know you didn’t catch the show last night, and it was insane. First of all, they killed off the best character. That’s Joe. You do know the best character, right?”
“I can’t get married to you, Sondra.”
“And then, at the funeral, Luke took off with her—” There was silence for just a second, and then she said, “What?”
“I can’t get married.”
“Of course not. Not today. Not this year. Because I don’t have enough time to plan a wedding, but we can set a date for next year. I’m so glad you finally want to set a date. Why didn’t you just say so?”
“No. No date. We can’t get married.”
“Can’t?”
“Can’t. I... I’m breaking up with you.” He had never said that before. And it didn’t sound good. He didn’t plan to ever use thosewords again, and they came out of his mouth, off his tongue, harsh and discordant in the night air. Not even the munching of the cows in the grass could make them sound sweet, or right, even though he knew they were words he needed to say.
He should never have allowed her to think for more than two seconds that they were going to get married. Priscilla was absolutely right about that. But that was his stupidity, and while he hoped to never have that kind of issue again, at least he felt like he was a little smarter than he used to be.
“You can’t break up with me. Because I’m breaking up with you. I never liked you that much to begin with, and I was only marrying you out of pity. You’re weird, first of all. You never talk, secondly, and you don’t talk about your feelings even if you could talk. It’s annoying. I don’t know how I put up with you for as long as I did. Also, you’re bossy. Just in case no one ever told you, although surely someone has. Because it’s a huge defect in your character. And I very much question your character. In fact, I think you’ve been sleeping around. I’ll definitely be sure to tell everyone that when they ask why I broke up with you.” She gave a small huff. “Goodbye.”
Ezra held the phone to his ear for just a few more minutes. She had hung up on him. After accusing him of cheating on her.
That wasn’t exactly how he intended for that to go.
