The Bride (The Boss) by Barnette Abigail

Author:Barnette, Abigail [Barnette, Abigail]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-03-24T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

My fights with Holli had always been of the big blow-up, short non-talking spell variety. When March rolled in without a word, I began to feel uneasy.

“This is a bit more serious than a minor tiff over who should have done the dishes,” Neil said patiently as I whined to him over the phone one afternoon. “It may take her a while to come round. Have you called her? Emailed her?”

“No,” I admitted. “I meant to. I really did. But I didn’t know what to say.”

I was also deeply wounded; I’d been keeping a surreptitious eye on her Facebook, since she hadn’t thought to unfriend me. Three days before, she’d posted silly candids of her four bridesmaids gathered around her in various styles of dresses. Beneath the post, a mutual acquaintance from NYU had written, “Squeeeee! So honored to have been chosen as your made of honor!”

I’d thought, a bachelor’s degree, and she came up with “made” of honor? Then I’d cried for hours. When I’d tried to show Neil what had upset me, I found that Holli had finally blocked me. Sure, it was childish internet bullshit, but it still stung. She’d waited until I’d seen that I’d been replaced.

I shuffled across the kitchen in my fuzzy slippers. I’d gone to sleep with my hair in a ponytail, and now it hung limp down the back of my ugly teal v-neck t-shirt. I scrubbed my hand over my sore scalp then stood before the open fridge door, dejected.

“Darling, one of you has to make the first move toward reconciliation. Yes, she said some very hurtful things to you, but if you’re planning to have any kind of a friendship with her at all, you might need to be the one to reach out.” He sounded so sympathetic, I wondered if he was speaking from experience. Neil had a lot of acquaintances, but very few close friends. Just Rudy and Valerie, and he’d stopped spending any friend time with the latter, due to my jealous girlfriendness.

I would work on that, I really would.

“I guess you’re right. I don’t know how, though. It’s been a month. It seems like the longer I wait, the more it’ll be like, ‘what the fuck, now you feel bad?’”

Over the line, I heard a voice in the background say, “Mr. Elwood? Your four o’clock is here.”

Neil didn’t respond verbally to the pronouncement. “Do you think that aspect of the situation will improve the longer you wait?”

I sighed my annoyance. “As usual, you’re right.”

“I’m always right, darling. Now I have to go, I have a—”

“You have a four o’clock. Go. Be the big boss man, while there’s still time,” I teased him.

Neil had moved his retirement date up, so that he would be free and clear of Elwood & Stern a few weeks after his fiftieth birthday. He’d originally planned to retire when we got married, but I was starting to feel like I’d be planning his surprise hundredth birthday party before we ever set a date for the wedding.

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