Hard Choices by Pascal Francine

Author:Pascal, Francine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-26T16:00:00+00:00

Eight

"Hi, honey, it's me," Mrs. Rollins said as Enid answered the phone Monday evening. "I'll be leaving work in a few minutes. Is there anything I should pick up at the store on my way home?"

"No."

The abruptness of Enid's answer sent a ripple of irritation through Mrs. Rollins. "Milk?" she prompted, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice. "Bread? Anything?"

"No, Mom." Enid sighed, then said, "I'll see you later."

"OK, honey. I'll be home soon." Mrs. Rollins lowered the telephone and stared moodily at the jumble of papers on her desk. There was a tight knot of anxiety lodged just above her stomach that had been growing for days. She tried to tell herself it was because of Enid. Ever since Friday, when she had told Enid she couldn't go on the field trip with Hugh, Enid had been keeping herself aloof. It had been three days now, and it was really beginning to bother her.

But she knew there was more to it than that. When she joined Richard later for dinner, he was going to expect an answer to his marriage proposal. Nearly a week had passed since he had asked her, and she still didn't know what to say. A few weeks earlier, she would have married him without a minute's hesitation. But now . . .

Now everything seemed confused and muddled. It wasn't that she didn't love him as much as ever, but her mother seemed to dislike him so much, which Mrs. Rollins simply couldn't understand. Her mother kept making pointed comments about him, and sarcastic asides to Enid. And now Enid was being hostile toward him, too, which made things even harder. Mrs. Rollins just didn't know what to do about it all, and she couldn't get used to the change in her mother's personality. It was throwing everything off-balance.

One of Mrs. Rollins's co-workers paused outside her office door to say good night. Her train of thought broken, she glanced at her watch: five o'clock. Only two hours to go until she met Richard—and had to give him an answer.

Enid followed slowly behind her friends Elizabeth, Jeffrey, and Jessica as they hurried toward the local television station building the next afternoon. Elizabeth had scheduled an interview for that day with Jeremy Frank, the handsome host of "Frankly Speaking," a local talk show. Even though Enid was excited about meeting Jeremy Frank, there was a good chance that she might run into Richard Cernak, who was the station's program director. Richard was the one person she didn't feel like seeing. She knew what he and her mother had been arguing about on the front doorstep the night before, even though she couldn't quite catch all the words.

"I just don't know what to tell you right now, Rich," her mother had said in a tear-filled voice. "I really just need some time to let things settle down around here."

Richard's reply had been muffled, a low, unintelligible rumble. Enid's own heart had pounded like thunder in her ears.

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