Marriage Matters - By Cynthia Ellingsen Page 0,132

perfected over the years. Chloe took a careful step toward him.

“Go for it,” he called. “Do a turn.”

“No.” Chloe hesitated. “I think I’m just gonna keep it simple.”

The wedding was close. She didn’t want to get hurt.

* * *

Kristine rushed into the homewares section at Macy’s. Colorful china sets were on display from floor to ceiling, positioned alongside polished silver. Chloe stood in the center of all of this, looking completely lost. She was dressed in her typical jeans, backpack and sweatshirt.

Spotting her, Chloe’s gray eyes lit up with relief. “I’m so glad you’re here.” Rushing forwards, she said, “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.”

As Kristine hugged her daughter, she could feel Chloe’s ribs through the sweatshirt. “Honey,” she scolded. “I don’t care how busy you are. We’re getting dinner after this. Steaks.”

“Mom, you sound like Dad,” she scoffed, pulling away.

The words pained Kristine. Ever since Kevin told her about the promotion, she had been filled with so much guilt, confusion and anger that she’d barely been able to speak to Kevin on the phone. Then, when he’d come home for his midweek break, he tried to touch her but she pushed him away. Kevin had looked at her, his eyes a mix of hurt and anger, then he’d gone back to his refuge in the basement.

“Besides,” Chloe said, snapping Kristine out of her reverie, “eating is the least of my worries.”

Pointedly, she eyed a couple across the way. They wandered through the china section, consulting with each other on practically every piece. The guy had his hand on the girl’s lower back and she giggled at everything he said.

“I mean, where do these people come from?” Chloe demanded. “I bet they’re not even a real couple. I bet the store hires them to coo over each other all day and make the rest of us feel like shit.”

Kristine looked at her in surprise. This attitude wasn’t like Chloe, not at all. She was normally very even-keeled. Hoping to get to the bottom of whatever was going on, Kristine said, “Tell me again why Geoff couldn’t come.”

“He had to go into the office.” Chloe shrugged. “He’s got a client in crisis.”

“But doesn’t he know he has a fiancée in crisis?” Kristine said, hoping for a smile.

It didn’t come. Instead, Chloe picked up a white plate and ran her finger over the silver-plated pattern on the edge. “Look, his job isn’t easy. Someone could have tried to commit suicide or something. Who knows? I don’t blame him for going.”

“Right . . .” Kristine said slowly. “But why isn’t he here now? Does a crisis last all day?”

Chloe set down the plate. “It’s an excuse. Obviously.” She sighed. “He’s already been married. He’s done the whole ‘pick out a china pattern’ thing. I totally get it.”

Kristine had always admired her daughter’s empathy. She had such great insight into what made people tick. On the other hand, there was such a thing as being too empathetic. If Geoff didn’t want to invest time in the wedding, he probably wouldn’t invest time in the marriage, either. “Chloe, I—”

“Do you like this?” Chloe picked up a teacup and regarded her with those gray eyes. “Cool, right?” The cup was white bone china, with a pink design cut through it. It dangled precariously from her fingers.

“It’s a little trendy,” she said, careful to keep her voice gentle. “You might want to look for something—”

“Am I making a mistake?” Chloe blurted out. Her face crumpled and immediately, tears began streaming down her face.

“Oh, honey.” Surprised, she pulled her daughter into her arms. “Honey, calm down. It’s going to be okay.”

A salesclerk made a move to approach them but Kristine gave a sharp shake of her head. The woman winked. Ah, yes. The registration meltdown, her face seemed to say. Subtly, she pointed to an area just around the corner. There was a tiny nook with a couch, some magazines and no shoppers.

“Here.” Kristine guided her daughter to the couch. “Have a seat.”

Chloe flopped down, putting her head in her hands. Kristine’s heart ached. Chloe looked awful. Exhausted, stressed out. Maybe registration meltdowns were common, but this was obviously about more than just picking out pots and pans.

Silently, Kristine rubbed her back, wondering what to say. It had been so much easier to council Chloe when she was younger. The problems were so much simpler. A bad grade, a losing shot in the basketball game, a junior high crush . . . These pains were easy