The Betrothed
for National Novel Writing Month
Day 21
A few hours later, Abby stood in the bus station in the closest small town, crowded for the morning commute, searching for a coin to feed the pay phone. As she dug through her pockets, hoping to find some loose change, she silently cursed the necessity of abandoning their convenient cell phones, even though it had been her idea. It was her shaking hands that made the task of finding the necessary specie such an onerous one; she was nervous – no, she admitted to herself, she was terrified – of calling her best friend and trying to explain their situation. The bustling, barely-organized mob of city commuters only added to her nervous energy.
She had spent most of the drive to the station trying to put together her statement to Meredith, not to mention what message she wanted her friend to deliver to her parents. At least Darrick was sleeping most of the way; gave me plenty of time to think. I guess all the excitement of the getaway was too much for him. She glanced back at her betrothed, now lounging in a dingy chair several feet away; he met her gaze with a concerned look, and she smiled to reassure him. She had never imagined that anyone would be able to talk her into changing her entire life on a whim, but even after observing her parents for her entire life, she had no idea that the bond between a betrothed couple could be so strong. Given the choice between choosing him and choosing her family and friends, she knew she would choose him every time. She supposed that it helped that he was leaving behind almost as much as her; this was a new beginning for both of them. If I could just figure out the best way to let go if the old one.
I wonder if anyone has noticed we’re missing yet. They don’t really need the bride and groom until the ceremony, right?
She finally pulled out a quarter and dime with a triumphant flourish and slipped it into the slot. After a moment to recall Meredith’s number, with another silent curse at the lack of a cell phone’s memory, she dialed and waited with pounding heartbeat as the ringer sounded.
“Hello?” Meredith answered, obviously confused by the unknown number on her Caller ID.
“Hi, Meredith,” Abby said, feeling a little sheepish. The sharp intake of breath on the other end answered her earlier question of whether or not the two of them had yet been missed.
“Abby! By the gods . . . !” Meredith quite obviously struggled for words through her shock, and Abby had to fight down a little of her own. She wasn’t sure she had ever before heard an oath pass her gentle friend’s lips. More than anything so far, that drove home the magnitude of what they were attempting, and the utter chaos it had to be causing. In the meantime, though, there were things that needed to be said before events got too out of hand.
“Meredith, please be quiet,” she hissed, keeping her own voice low as an example, though her instincts were urging her to shriek. “Is there anyone else around who could have heard you?”
“No, I’m by myself,” Meredith answered, quickly picking up on the situation. “Everyone’s running around trying to figure out what happened to the two of you. Except for your mother, that is. She’s curled up on her bed in tears.” Abby winced at the implied accusation. She knew it was the closest Meredith would get to an outright rebuke, and it hurt her to think of her friend unhappy with her, especially when she couldn’t deny it was somewhat legitimate. “Did you and Darrick run away? Where are you?”
“We’re at the bus station in town,” she replied, keeping to the facts for now so she could be certain she got in everything she needed to say. “You can tell my parents they can pick up the car there.”
“The bus station? Where are you going?”
“I’m very sorry, Meredith, but I can’t tell you that. Darrick and I want to live on our own for one year. We’ll be back after that, but until then, we don’t want to be found.”
“And you’re saying that what I don’t know, I can’t tell?” Meredith sounded hurt.
“I don’t want you to have to lie for us,” Abby reassured her. Abby felt an urge to tell her friend everything, just to have one other person to share their secret, and to lessen the rejection she feared Meredith might be feeling. But she realized Meredith was absolutely right, as unpleasant as it was: what she didn’t know, she couldn’t tell.
“Why are you doing this, Abby?” The pain in Meredith’s voice was now unmistakable. “You just got back from living away from us for two years. Are we so horrible?”
“No, never,” she said as emphatically as she could. “I love all of you, and I’ll miss all of you. Well, except maybe Patrick. But Darrick and I want to live our own lives for a while. We want to find out who we are before we have everyone else telling us who we’re supposed to be.”
“That sounds very familiar.”
“Now you know where I got it from. There’s something else, too, that’s on my mind, even if it might not be on Darrick’s. Meredith, Patrick attacked Darrick yesterday. He’s alright – it was just a punch to the stomach – but I’m afraid for Darrick’s safety if we stay.”
“I see,” Meredith said slowly, absorbing the information. There was silence for a few more moments, then she went on. “So you really are running away." Another pause. "You’ll be living with Darrick for a year?” Meredith wasn’t going to come right out and ask, but Abby picked up on the tacit inquiry.
“Don’t worry, we’re still getting married. We’re stopping by a courthouse on the way to get married by a judge.”
“I suppose that’s something. I don’t think your parents will see it that way, though. And Darrick’s mother is on a rampage.”
“I hate to ask you to be the bearer of bad news, but I called hoping that you could tell them all of this.” Wow, how cowardly does that sound? Abby thought.
“I’ll do it,” Meredith said without hesitation, and Abby mentally blessed her friend, wondering if she were worthy of such devotion. “You know they won’t be happy about it, but hopefully knowing a little bit is better than nothing at all. Is this the last I’m going to hear from you for a year?”
“Probably,” Abby replied, already feeling the loss. She knew Meredith had been looking forward to spending a lot of time together now that she was back from San Francisco, and she had reciprocated the sentiment. A petty part of her hoped Darrick knew everything she was giving up for him; she wasn’t proud of the feeling. “But I promise you a good, long conversation one year from today. By then, I’m sure I’ll need a girl’s night out.”
“I’ll hold you to that. No last minute change of plans!” Meredith chuckled. It sounded a bit forced, but Abby appreciated the attempt. “And I’m going to do my best to keep this secret from Brendan. I’m looking forward to my fancy wedding, and I don’t want him getting any ideas.”
“Like you don’t have him wrapped around your little finger.” Abby smiled, though she was experiencing something much more bittersweet. “I should probably go,” she continued, looking at her watch. “Our bus is leaving soon, and Darrick wants to call his best friend.”
“Good luck, Abby. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
From his seat across the crowded terminal, Darrick watched Abby talk with Meredith on the phone. It was obvious from her body language that it was an uncomfortable conversation, or at least an unhappy one. He felt guilty about that. He had mentioned that to Abby while driving, and she had told him in no uncertain terms that he could not take responsibility for her actions; her choices were hers alone. Still, he was well aware of what he was asking her to give up.
Eventually she finished and walked back over to the seats they had chosen an hour before, almost collapsing into the molded plastic. She rubbed her forehead with her palm, and Darrick laid his palm upon her leg in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. She was silent for a minute or so.
“That’s done,” she finally said in a voice revealing her drained state, fighting to hold in the emotion. “I think she understood, in the end.”
Darrick put his arm around her and she leaned into him, resting. Darrick still marveled at her voice, even though they had been speaking English for the last few hours, ever since they decided it would be better to speak the language of the world in which they had decided to live. Darrick had become so used to speaking Atlantean that he hadn’t realized until then that he had never heard Abby speak another tongue, and the first time she had spoken English he had been taken aback. She was perfectly intelligible, but she had a definite accent, lilting and musical. He had not expected it, and it had brought home to him that his wife, for all her experience with the wider world, was the product of a different culture; Atlantean, not English, was her native language. He had mentioned it, and she had laughed.
“You should have heard me when I first moved to San Francisco,” she had told him. “People had to keep asking me to repeat myself. I had a real problem with word order.” Darrick understood that; Atlantean was a heavily inflected language where word order was much less important. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that she still had some problems when she got emotional. He loved hearing her accent, though.
“Are you okay?” he asked her now, after letting her rest for a minute. She took his hand, kissed it, and laid it in her lap with her own on top.
“Will I be,” she replied, and Darrick wasn’t sure if it was a question or a grammatical error. “I want to ask you to stay with me, but I know you want to call your friend. Go, say your goodbyes. Fine I will be until you return.” At least that was unambiguously clear.
With a final caress of her shoulder, Darrick stood up and made his own way over to the phone. According to the station clock, they had about ten minutes before they had to board their chosen bus. Darrick didn’t have much experience with buses and didn’t know how rigorous the schedule was, but he didn’t want to take chances. In fact, taking the bus for an elopement reminded him more of the end of The Graduate than any real-life experience; he could only hope the resemblance ended there.
for National Novel Writing Month
Day 21
A few hours later, Abby stood in the bus station in the closest small town, crowded for the morning commute, searching for a coin to feed the pay phone. As she dug through her pockets, hoping to find some loose change, she silently cursed the necessity of abandoning their convenient cell phones, even though it had been her idea. It was her shaking hands that made the task of finding the necessary specie such an onerous one; she was nervous – no, she admitted to herself, she was terrified – of calling her best friend and trying to explain their situation. The bustling, barely-organized mob of city commuters only added to her nervous energy.
She had spent most of the drive to the station trying to put together her statement to Meredith, not to mention what message she wanted her friend to deliver to her parents. At least Darrick was sleeping most of the way; gave me plenty of time to think. I guess all the excitement of the getaway was too much for him. She glanced back at her betrothed, now lounging in a dingy chair several feet away; he met her gaze with a concerned look, and she smiled to reassure him. She had never imagined that anyone would be able to talk her into changing her entire life on a whim, but even after observing her parents for her entire life, she had no idea that the bond between a betrothed couple could be so strong. Given the choice between choosing him and choosing her family and friends, she knew she would choose him every time. She supposed that it helped that he was leaving behind almost as much as her; this was a new beginning for both of them. If I could just figure out the best way to let go if the old one.
I wonder if anyone has noticed we’re missing yet. They don’t really need the bride and groom until the ceremony, right?
She finally pulled out a quarter and dime with a triumphant flourish and slipped it into the slot. After a moment to recall Meredith’s number, with another silent curse at the lack of a cell phone’s memory, she dialed and waited with pounding heartbeat as the ringer sounded.
“Hello?” Meredith answered, obviously confused by the unknown number on her Caller ID.
“Hi, Meredith,” Abby said, feeling a little sheepish. The sharp intake of breath on the other end answered her earlier question of whether or not the two of them had yet been missed.
“Abby! By the gods . . . !” Meredith quite obviously struggled for words through her shock, and Abby had to fight down a little of her own. She wasn’t sure she had ever before heard an oath pass her gentle friend’s lips. More than anything so far, that drove home the magnitude of what they were attempting, and the utter chaos it had to be causing. In the meantime, though, there were things that needed to be said before events got too out of hand.
“Meredith, please be quiet,” she hissed, keeping her own voice low as an example, though her instincts were urging her to shriek. “Is there anyone else around who could have heard you?”
“No, I’m by myself,” Meredith answered, quickly picking up on the situation. “Everyone’s running around trying to figure out what happened to the two of you. Except for your mother, that is. She’s curled up on her bed in tears.” Abby winced at the implied accusation. She knew it was the closest Meredith would get to an outright rebuke, and it hurt her to think of her friend unhappy with her, especially when she couldn’t deny it was somewhat legitimate. “Did you and Darrick run away? Where are you?”
“We’re at the bus station in town,” she replied, keeping to the facts for now so she could be certain she got in everything she needed to say. “You can tell my parents they can pick up the car there.”
“The bus station? Where are you going?”
“I’m very sorry, Meredith, but I can’t tell you that. Darrick and I want to live on our own for one year. We’ll be back after that, but until then, we don’t want to be found.”
“And you’re saying that what I don’t know, I can’t tell?” Meredith sounded hurt.
“I don’t want you to have to lie for us,” Abby reassured her. Abby felt an urge to tell her friend everything, just to have one other person to share their secret, and to lessen the rejection she feared Meredith might be feeling. But she realized Meredith was absolutely right, as unpleasant as it was: what she didn’t know, she couldn’t tell.
“Why are you doing this, Abby?” The pain in Meredith’s voice was now unmistakable. “You just got back from living away from us for two years. Are we so horrible?”
“No, never,” she said as emphatically as she could. “I love all of you, and I’ll miss all of you. Well, except maybe Patrick. But Darrick and I want to live our own lives for a while. We want to find out who we are before we have everyone else telling us who we’re supposed to be.”
“That sounds very familiar.”
“Now you know where I got it from. There’s something else, too, that’s on my mind, even if it might not be on Darrick’s. Meredith, Patrick attacked Darrick yesterday. He’s alright – it was just a punch to the stomach – but I’m afraid for Darrick’s safety if we stay.”
“I see,” Meredith said slowly, absorbing the information. There was silence for a few more moments, then she went on. “So you really are running away." Another pause. "You’ll be living with Darrick for a year?” Meredith wasn’t going to come right out and ask, but Abby picked up on the tacit inquiry.
“Don’t worry, we’re still getting married. We’re stopping by a courthouse on the way to get married by a judge.”
“I suppose that’s something. I don’t think your parents will see it that way, though. And Darrick’s mother is on a rampage.”
“I hate to ask you to be the bearer of bad news, but I called hoping that you could tell them all of this.” Wow, how cowardly does that sound? Abby thought.
“I’ll do it,” Meredith said without hesitation, and Abby mentally blessed her friend, wondering if she were worthy of such devotion. “You know they won’t be happy about it, but hopefully knowing a little bit is better than nothing at all. Is this the last I’m going to hear from you for a year?”
“Probably,” Abby replied, already feeling the loss. She knew Meredith had been looking forward to spending a lot of time together now that she was back from San Francisco, and she had reciprocated the sentiment. A petty part of her hoped Darrick knew everything she was giving up for him; she wasn’t proud of the feeling. “But I promise you a good, long conversation one year from today. By then, I’m sure I’ll need a girl’s night out.”
“I’ll hold you to that. No last minute change of plans!” Meredith chuckled. It sounded a bit forced, but Abby appreciated the attempt. “And I’m going to do my best to keep this secret from Brendan. I’m looking forward to my fancy wedding, and I don’t want him getting any ideas.”
“Like you don’t have him wrapped around your little finger.” Abby smiled, though she was experiencing something much more bittersweet. “I should probably go,” she continued, looking at her watch. “Our bus is leaving soon, and Darrick wants to call his best friend.”
“Good luck, Abby. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
* * * * *
From his seat across the crowded terminal, Darrick watched Abby talk with Meredith on the phone. It was obvious from her body language that it was an uncomfortable conversation, or at least an unhappy one. He felt guilty about that. He had mentioned that to Abby while driving, and she had told him in no uncertain terms that he could not take responsibility for her actions; her choices were hers alone. Still, he was well aware of what he was asking her to give up.
Eventually she finished and walked back over to the seats they had chosen an hour before, almost collapsing into the molded plastic. She rubbed her forehead with her palm, and Darrick laid his palm upon her leg in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. She was silent for a minute or so.
“That’s done,” she finally said in a voice revealing her drained state, fighting to hold in the emotion. “I think she understood, in the end.”
Darrick put his arm around her and she leaned into him, resting. Darrick still marveled at her voice, even though they had been speaking English for the last few hours, ever since they decided it would be better to speak the language of the world in which they had decided to live. Darrick had become so used to speaking Atlantean that he hadn’t realized until then that he had never heard Abby speak another tongue, and the first time she had spoken English he had been taken aback. She was perfectly intelligible, but she had a definite accent, lilting and musical. He had not expected it, and it had brought home to him that his wife, for all her experience with the wider world, was the product of a different culture; Atlantean, not English, was her native language. He had mentioned it, and she had laughed.
“You should have heard me when I first moved to San Francisco,” she had told him. “People had to keep asking me to repeat myself. I had a real problem with word order.” Darrick understood that; Atlantean was a heavily inflected language where word order was much less important. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that she still had some problems when she got emotional. He loved hearing her accent, though.
“Are you okay?” he asked her now, after letting her rest for a minute. She took his hand, kissed it, and laid it in her lap with her own on top.
“Will I be,” she replied, and Darrick wasn’t sure if it was a question or a grammatical error. “I want to ask you to stay with me, but I know you want to call your friend. Go, say your goodbyes. Fine I will be until you return.” At least that was unambiguously clear.
With a final caress of her shoulder, Darrick stood up and made his own way over to the phone. According to the station clock, they had about ten minutes before they had to board their chosen bus. Darrick didn’t have much experience with buses and didn’t know how rigorous the schedule was, but he didn’t want to take chances. In fact, taking the bus for an elopement reminded him more of the end of The Graduate than any real-life experience; he could only hope the resemblance ended there.
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