“Ah! My hand!”
Jude turned around and saw the angry red welts spreading across Ethel's skin. He caught her by the waist, then looked at me.
“Marina, I'm not agreeing to a breakup, and I'm not moving out.”
“Wait for me.”
He scooped Ethel up and carried her off to find a doctor.
His broad back disappeared down the hallway, footsteps quick and urgent.
I clutched the ring, then gestured for Frieda to wheel me over to the trash can.
Two labels. Recyclable. Non-recyclable.
I tossed it into the second one without a moment's hesitation.
“You don't even have a fever, though……”
Frieda pressed the back of her hand to my forehead, staring at me like I'd grown a second head.
“Marina, did that car knock the sense into you or out of you?”
“Since you were eighteen, it's been 'Jude Lyons or no one.' What flipped the switch?”
I leaned back in the wheelchair and smiled.
“I just realized it doesn't mean anything anymore.”
Last night, when I got home, I said to Jude as he came out of the shower:
“Tomorrow's the weekend. Let's go look at wedding dresses and suits, and we can pick out the reception outfits while we're at it.”
He glanced at his phone.
“Tomorrow doesn't work. I need to meet an old classmate to talk about a collaboration.”
“As for the suit, there'll be photos at the wedding, so just pick whatever you like. I'm fine with anything.”
I looked at his face, wanting to say that a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and couldn't he be part of this one step.
But the words died on my tongue. He hated having his plans disrupted, so I changed tack.
“Can you at least drop me off on your way? My car's in the shop.”
He agreed without missing a beat.
“Sure.”
This morning I got ready and sat waiting for him in the living room.
His phone buzzed on the table, the caller ID reading Secretary Henson.
I picked it up and answered. Ethel's voice came through, thin and strained.
【Mr. Lyons……I know I'm not supposed to bother you during your time off, but Mr. Fletcher at Yucheng Corp insists on taking me out to brunch. I want to say no, but I'm afraid it'll affect the new project……】
I knew how Jude would handle it, so I replied for him.
【Secretary Henson, Mr. Lyons has plans today. It's not convenient.】
【If you can't handle it, then resign.】
Silence on the other end. Then the call disconnected.
Jude came out of the bedroom and walked over, leaning toward me.
“Who just called me?”
I was tying his tie, same as always.
“Secretary Henson.”
“What did she say?”
“Aaron Fletcher from Yucheng Corp invited her to brunch. I……”
Before I could finish, Jude straightened up.
The tie yanked taut against my finger, and my nail snapped.
His brow furrowed, his expression darkening.
“Fletcher?”
I didn't answer. I looked down at my broken nail, a sharp little sting at the tip of my finger.
Something shifted across Jude's face. He grabbed his phone, typed out a message at speed, and hit send.
Then he dropped a kiss at the corner of my mouth.
“Take a cab over. Get whatever you want, put it on my card.”
“You know what Fletcher's like. She can't deal with him alone.”
And then he was out the door, rushing, gone. He never once noticed the way I was wincing in pain.
I took out the first-aid kit. Disinfectant. Nail clippers to trim away the broken part. A bandage wrapped around the finger.
The mood for a wedding dress fitting was gone. I texted Frieda and asked her to go shopping instead.
I didn't feel like calling a cab, so I unlocked a bike share and pedaled slowly.
Bad luck comes in pairs. A car running a yellow light hit me.
Before I even knew what happened, the driver and the car were both gone.
