Chapter 1 – Maya
“Tyler, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to go to dinner tonight. Something came up and I was hoping that you could give them my regards.”
It was a long shot, but I’d had enough of playing the perfect wife. I didn’t want to talk to his parents about how well their son was doing. He had some serious problems, but they weren’t the type of family that brought up anything unpleasant. Tyler wanted to pretend that everything was okay, and it wasn’t, and I just didn’t have the energy to keep up the charade. I could hear the pleading in my voice, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was getting the night off from something that I dreaded.
“You can’t do this, Maya. I don’t ask much of you as a wife. All I ask you to do is go to one thing a week. You already ditched me on the charity thing. Don’t do this tonight.”
He sounded like he was rattled, and although I wanted to ask him what was wrong, I knew that I wasn’t going to get more than some rude answer. He wasn’t in the mood to tell me what was going on. He hadn’t been for a long time. That part of our marriage was over, and now it was on to the deceptions. It was the part that I liked the least.
“I just can’t go. I feel horrible and I just can’t do it. Tell them that I’m sick, whatever you want to tell them, but I’m not coming.”
“So the discussion is over?”
“Yes, it is. I’m sorry, Tyler, but I just can’t do it tonight. I’ll be there next week like the good little wife that you want me to be. Tonight I’m just going to take care of me.”
He snorted on the other end of the line. I wasn’t stupid enough to ask him what he meant by that. I knew that it didn’t matter anyways. He was always a little upset with me. Today was going to be no different. I had plans to see Dylan, and while I’d known what tonight was, I’d made them anyways. I was ready to get on with my life, and that didn’t include another stuffy dinner with the parents that he’d turned into.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this. I ask so little of you.”
His words were grating on my nerves, and I could see the look on his face without even being there. I knew that his face would be red and he would have a sneer on his lips. That was hard to forget. He was disgusted with me, and I was becoming disgusted with the whole situation. I’d asked myself more than once how in the world I’d gotten myself into this mess. How had a marriage that was so promising in the beginning turned into this?
“I’ll see you when I get home. We have a lot to talk about.”
“I don’t know if I’m going to be home tonight.”
“Figures.”
I didn’t ask him what he meant by that either, because I didn’t really care what the answer was. He was upset that I wasn’t going to go with him and he was going to lash out. It was far from original, and his was nothing that I hadn’t seen before. This was my husband’s MO, and I didn’t even bat an eyelash when he hung up on me.
Taking a deep breath, I called Dylan and asked him what time he wanted me to meet him. I was still a little shaken from the conversation with Tyler. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like I’d crossed a line with him. I was going to start picking me more. I wasn’t going to do what he wanted me to do, not like I had before. Today was a new day, and the first person I wanted to see was Dylan. He loved me and I knew that I was always going to feel loved with him. It had been a long time since I’d felt that way in my marriage.
“Maya, I’m glad it was you that called.”
“Are you having a bad day?” He sounded rushed.
“No, just a long one that’s already getting better now that I’m talking to you.”
“You’re so sweet.”
“This isn’t bad news, is it?”
I kind of giggled a little and told him that it wasn’t. “Why?”
“Because I just can’t take any more bad news right now.”
“Well, I was just calling to see how the night was shaping up. We were going to meet to go out to dinner, remember?”
“I haven’t forgotten, Maya. How could I? I’ve been looking forward to it all day.”
“We saw each other yesterday.”
“I know. I just want to see you every day, wake up to you every morning.”
He was going down a road I knew well, and I had to stop him. It wasn’t the time for this. I had to get ready, and I knew that he was busy as well.
“Just give me a time and I’ll go get ready.”
“Give me thirty minutes and then meet me here if you want.”
“Okay, Dylan. I’ll see you soon.”
“I can’t wait, Maya.”
***
“Okay, you’re making me nervous, Dylan. What are you doing down there?”
“I want to ask you something, but I want to make sure that I do it the proper way.”
I shook my head and told him again to get up. We’d shared a bottle of wine and I was convinced that he was just drunk. He didn’t know what he was doing. How could he?
“I’m going to ask you, Maya, before I lose my nerve.”
Covering my face, I looked away and then down at the man in front of me. What in the world was he doing?
“Maya, you know that I love you, right?”
I nodded and told him that I did. I knew that he loved me, even if it manifested itself in this way. “Yes, I know that you love me, so can you please get up now?”
“Why are you so intent on stopping what I’m going to say?”
Because I was already married and I was still under the impression that Dylan had had a little too much to drink.
“I just don’t want you to say anything that you’ll regret tomorrow.”
“If I don’t ask you, I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life.”
“Dylan…”
“Marry me, Maya. You know what I’m going to ask, and it’s the only thing that I can think about. Marry me and make me the happiest man in this world. I’ll cherish the very ground that you walk on. You’ll never have to wonder if I care or where I am. I’m yours, Maya, so why can’t we make it official?”
He looked up at me with the most endearing look that I could imagine. His green eyes held such hope that I didn’t have the heart to bring up the reality of it all. All I could think to do was answer in the way that I wanted to. The devil was in the details, but I didn’t want to think about that tonight.
“Yes, Dylan. I’ll marry you.”
He crushed me in his embrace and I felt tears springing to my eyes. What had I just agreed to?