talk honestly with me, how am I ever going to know whether she really loves me? How are we going to solve problems in the years ahead?”
“Are you sure she wasn’t talking? Or could it have been you that wasn’t listening?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Rosie says she tried to tell you. Did you hear her trying to tell you?”
“I—no. But—”
“Maybe your listening skills need work. Maybe she needs to speak louder. Or email you. Use a whiteboard in the kitchen, or sticky notes. I don’t know—” she spread her hands in frustration “—I know nothing about serious relationships, but I do know that this seems like such a fixable thing to me. You love her. She loves you. The two of you need to find a better way to communicate, that’s all. I don’t think you know how truly lucky you are. In this often horrible world, where things go wrong for people every damn day, you have found love and friendship and warmth—all the things that truly matter, all the things that are going to make your life good and sustain you in the times when life isn’t good—and you’re going to turn your back on that? And by the way, if your answer to that is ‘yes,’ then I’ve found out what’s wrong with you. I rest my case.”
“I thought you were a doctor, not a lawyer.”
“It felt like the right thing to say.” She sniffed and walked to the door. “And now I’m leaving. Before my sister figures out I’m here, and our relationship is blown forever.”
She was halfway to the door when his voice stopped her.
“You wanted to know about me, so let me tell you about me. If it’s not related to work, or physical fitness, I tend to put things off. I’m a terrible procrastinator. I’ve been known to pay my taxes late. I miss my dad every damn day, and his death made me appreciate how important it is to hold on to love when you find it.”
She turned and he nodded.
“That’s the reason I wanted to marry Rosie quickly. It wasn’t an impulse. It wasn’t because my mother jumped in and suggested Christmas. It was because I knew. I knew she was the one for me, and I wanted to make the most of every moment.”
“Stop.” She blinked and sniffed. “You’re making me cry, and I am the least sentimental person you are ever going to meet.”
“Yeah? I know you were upset about Jordan keeping you away.”
She had her medical training to thank for the fact that she could keep her expression neutral. “I’m not upset. He did the right thing.” She squared her shoulders. “The two of you needed time together and I was getting in the way of that. I’d say he executed his duties as best man perfectly. He’s a good friend. You and Rosie are lucky to have him in your corner.” And what was there to be upset or sad about anyway? They’d spent a night together, so what? They were two consenting adults. They’d both made a choice. Yes, she felt completely messed up and emotional about it but that wasn’t Jordan’s fault. It was because she was generally messed up and emotional. She had a sick note to prove it.
“Right now I’m not sure I’m going to need a best man.”
She thought for a moment. “Tell me something, Dan. If you know how important it is to hold on to love, why are you letting it go? Do you think there weren’t days when your parents had to find a path through a bumpy part of their relationship? Look at my parents. On second thoughts, you probably don’t want to look at my parents because every time we turn in their direction they seem to be doing something excruciatingly embarrassing, but my point is that throwing love away simply because you need to both learn to accommodate the way you both are, is a horrible waste.”
He didn’t answer, so she tried again.
“You said you had plenty of time to get to know each other, but knowing each other isn’t only about discovering that one of you once had a pet rabbit, or failed a physics test. It’s about understanding how the other person reacts. I see it in the hospital. People who become aggressive when they’re frightened. People who are so numb with grief they can’t even speak, let alone cry. It’s not because they don’t care, but because that’s their way of handling