A Turn in the Road

“Will you enjoy the meal if you put this off?” she asked gently.

He shook his head and his shoulders sagged. “Probably not.”

“Then why don’t we discuss what’s on your mind?” Maybe it would help if she told him she knew what he intended, but she decided not to ruin his moment. “I believe I know why you’re trying to make this night so special,” she said instead, hoping she didn’t sound coy. “Please, Vance, don’t be intimidated. Just ask me.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” He braced his forearms on the edge of the table. “First, you know you’re the one for me, right?”

Annie’s heart beat just a little faster. “And you’re the man for me.” She stretched her arm across the table and Vance took her hand. His thumb stroked her wrist.

Thankfully, the waiter seemed to recognize that now was not the time to take their drink order. He started toward their table, then did a quick about-face.

“That’s why this decision has been so difficult,” Vance continued.

“Difficult?” Annie didn’t understand why giving her an engagement ring would be the slightest bit difficult.

“I’ve decided to go to Europe for a year.” The words came out in a rush as if he were gasping for air.

“Europe? A year?” she repeated in confusion.

“With Matt,” Vance elaborated.

“Matt? The same Matt who got you the reservation for tonight? That Matt?”

Vance nodded. “We’ve been talking about it for months,” he said excitedly, “and we both felt that if we were ever going to do it, this is the time. I’ve got my graduation money and Matt’s been saving up what’s left over from his paycheck. We plan on staying in hostels and traveling from country to country by train. There’s even a chance we might be able to work on a dig near Ephesus. That’s in Turkey.”

“I know where Ephesus is,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Right … sorry. You’re not upset, are you?”

This was a joke. It had to be. Only, she wasn’t laughing and Vance seemed about to bolt.

“I wanted to make sure you know I love you,” Vance went on. “And … and I didn’t want you to hear from anyone else that Jessie Olivarez is going with us. She’s Matt’s girlfriend and an archaeology major, too, but I didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding. Like, I don’t want you to think I’m dating Jessie because I’m not. I’m in love with you.”

“Jessie?” Vance and Matt were taking a girl with them. “Jessie Olivarez is traveling with you?” They’d met twice, and Annie found her clingy and immature.

“I knew you couldn’t take that much time out of your life,” Vance said. “You’ve got your brother’s wedding and another year of school. Besides, you’re working with your mom, and that would make it hard to leave for so long.”

“You could have asked!”

“I was going to, but … well, you know, you’ve got responsibilities and you’d constantly be on the phone checking in with your mother.”

“Are you suggesting my mother and I are joined at the hip?” Talk about adding insult to injury!

“No … no. Annie, please, there’s no need to raise your voice.” He glanced nervously around them.

Seething on the inside, Annie closed her eyes in an effort to control her raging emotions. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she finally muttered.

“I know it’s a shock and everything,” Vance responded, sounding calm now, “but I brought you here because I wanted our goodbye dinner to be special.” After what was obviously meant to be a significant pause, he said, “I feel our love is strong enough to wait a year, don’t you?”

She didn’t answer right away. She could barely take in that he didn’t have an engagement ring in his pocket, let alone the fact that he planned to travel in Europe with his friend and another woman.

“You went to University Jewelers,” she mumbled. She’d assumed that meant he was going to propose. She’d assumed—

“I did?” He frowned and then relaxed. “Oh, yeah. My mom asked me to drop off her watch for repair. It was still under warranty.”

Annie wadded up the linen napkin on her lap. “When do you leave?” She would be adult about this. Okay, fine, he wasn’t asking her to marry him. Instead, he wanted her to twiddle her thumbs for a year while he explored Europe with Matt and Jessie Olivarez. Jessie Olivarez!

“Actually … the three of us are flying out tomorrow night. Do you think you could drop us off at the airport?”

He was out of his mind.

“Matt’s father was going to do it, but he forget and made other plans.”

“You want me to drive you and another girl to the airport?” The insensitive jerk!

“If you could. It’d be a big help and that way you can see me off.”

She’d see him off, all right. “I don’t think so,” she said, then leaned down and reached for her purse.

“You’re upset, aren’t you?”

Clearly Vance had talents she never knew. Now he was a mind reader as well as a jerk. “What was your first clue?” she asked sweetly.

“But you said there wasn’t anything we couldn’t discuss! Come on, Annie, it’s only a year.”

“It’s more than the fact that you’re going to Europe, Vance. You’ve been planning this for a long time. Didn’t you even think to mention it to me?” By his own admission, this trip had been in the works for months.

He did look slightly guilty. “I wanted to tell you, but Matt said it would just cause problems. I can see he was right.”

Annie stood and threw her napkin on the table. “Have a great time, and when you get back, don’t bother to call. We’re done.”

“Annie,” he cried, “you don’t mean that!”

“Wanna bet?” They had the attention of half the restaurant. The entire room seemed to go quiet. Not wanting to be the subject of anyone’s dinner conversation, Annie ran toward the elevator. A line had formed, waiting to be taken down to street level.

Vance hurried after her. “I was afraid you were going to be upset. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but Matt said—”

“I already know what Matt said.” Annie crossed her arms and stared fixedly at the elevator door, willing it to open. Pressing her lips together, she did her best to ignore him. There was nothing Vance had to say that she wanted to hear.

“Come on, Annie. I hate leaving when you’re upset with me.”

She turned her back and looked in the opposite direction.

“Annie, please.”

What was taking the elevator so long? All she could think about was escaping Vance as quickly as possible.

“Okay, fine, be mad.”