Burying Our Love in the Past
Spring Pool
At a class reunion, the men are drinking while the women kick off a "best husband challenge". Each of us has to call our husband and ask for 10 grand for a new purse to see who can get it first. Unsurprisingly, I'm the winner again.
"Rose, we're so envious of you; you have all the money and all the time in the world!" Laughter fills the room as everyone tacitly avoids the past.
No one talks about how Landon Ross and I have been dating for eight years but still aren't married. Or how I'm the last person to find out he's going abroad to pursue his studies. Or how I crashed my car trying to catch his flight and lost my first baby.
Even during my darkest days of depression, only my best friend, Carissa Evensong, stays by my side.
I simply smile and remain silent. My gaze lands on Carissa, who's clutching her phone tightly with a troubled look on her face.
"Count me out. He's too busy with work to pick up," Carissa says.
An awkward silence settles over the room. Everyone in our circle knows she's been secretly married for three years and has a three-year-old son, but nobody has ever actually met the guy.
Not wanting her to get picked on, I snatch her phone and make the call for her. To my absolute disbelief, the call goes through almost instantaneously, and Landon's voice comes through the receiver.
"Honey, I'm picking our son up from school right now."