Summer Nights by Caroline B. Cooney

Author:Caroline B. Cooney [Cooney, Caroline B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4804-5176-6
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2013-09-27T02:12:00+00:00

Chapter 14

MATTHEW O’CONNOR FELT AS if he had lost both sight and hearing. Maybe muscle coordination as well. Around him a party whirled—there was shouting, dancing, laughing, talking. He felt like somebody who had spent too long on a carnival ride, and got off with a distorted sense of balance, and was staggering across the grass, trying to get hold of his own brain.

The music was like a headache, punching him.

He could not bring himself to look in Emily’s direction. She was standing all hunched over, as if she expected to be struck by something—or had been already. But she’s the one who struck me! Matt thought. Throwing away my ring?

Everywhere he turned, his eyes seemed to land on diamonds—stars in the sky, sparkles in the water, gleams off ice in glasses, glitters from other girls’ earrings.

Matt had loved choosing that ring, selling his car to pay for it; he had loved the tiny velvet box it came in and the feel of Emily’s hand when he slid it on. He had felt powerful, like a rescuer. Now he felt limp, like a failure.

Emily had had a difficult childhood. Her parents weren’t very nice people, and it was hard to find anything good to say about either one. He used to marvel at how sweet, generous Emily could have sprung from two mean, thoughtless manipulators like the Edmundsons. When the parents decided on a divorce, they virtually abandoned Emily in the process. Emily had ended up living with Anne for quite a while, and Matt had wanted her to stay with his own family, a suggestion his mother squashed in a hurry.

Through it all she remained sweet and funny and amiable. Matt had thought that nothing could shake Emily; that she could go through hell smiling.

So now he had a great job, would be away for a few months, and she was acting as if their lives together were over.

Thrown away his ring! Why didn’t she just give it back to me? he thought.

He imagined a date in which his girl handed him back his ring. I would have thrown it away myself, he realized. Or thrown it at her.

Emily pointed suddenly, her hand white in the dark. “There’s Con. With Gary and Mike and those new boys. You wanted to tell the guys all about your fabulous job, Matt. Here’s your chance. Con is dying for a change of subject, he’s sick of hearing about Anne’s terrific job, so tell him about your terrific job instead. Let them all be jealous of you for a while.”

He shrank from the bitterness in her voice.

How much of my proposal of marriage was because I wanted to be the Good Guy who rescues the Girl? And now she’s better; she’s living with her father; she’s come to terms with both her parents and she doesn’t need rescuing. The pressure’s off. I can go do my own thing instead.

But Emily had never put pressure on him. If anything, she was the one who had been reluctant to get engaged to start with.

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