and let her practice. Y’all have been here long enough. Why don’t you go on down to Scooter’s for a-while. If you ask nicely, I bet his mom will make you a grilled cheese.”
The boys dropped their guns and took off running down the sidewalk.
The mother went back inside, leaving her daughter to continue with her practice. Lilly glided and leaped, pirouetted and pliéed, unaware of the stranger watching her from across the street.
Jackie hadn’t danced like that since her single days, when she rented a carriage house several blocks from where she now sat. She had treasured her time in the little cottage, the only space that had ever belonged solely to her. She converted the guest bedroom into a dance studio and used her free afternoons to choreograph long, intricate pieces of modern ballet.
Jackie had lost all sense of self when she moved out of that carriage house. When she gave everything up for love.
She’d never forget the day she’d made her choice. Late on a stormy Sunday afternoon during the summer of 1993, she and Bill were sprawled out on her queen-size brass bed, spent from hours of making love.
“What’s this?” she asked when he placed a black velvet ring box on her naked chest.
He grinned like a naughty little boy. “What do you think it is?”
She picked up the box, turning it one way, then another, imagining the size and cut without opening the lid. “But why now, when I’m getting ready to move to New York?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I don’t want you to go.”
The window unit clicked on, blowing cold air across their naked bodies. She pulled the covers up to her chin and set the black box down on top of her chest. “Why don’t you come to New York with me? There are plenty of hospitals. You could have your choice.”
“I’ve spent most of my life trying to get away from big cities, Jackie. You know that. First Boston, now Charleston.”
She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t exactly call Charleston a big city.”
“I’m a big-fish-in-a-small-pond kind of guy. I’ve accepted an offer with an established practice in Prospect.”
“Prospect?” She turned over in bed to face him. “You mean, my Prospect, my hometown?”
“I’m not aware of any other Prospects. At least not around here.”
“But what about MUSC?”
He shook his head. “They’re fully staffed at the moment. With no openings in sight. Or so they say.” He wrapped a stray strand of her hair around his index finger. “Seriously, Jack. All my life I’ve struggled to keep up. First at prep school, then Harvard, then UVA medical school. I don’t want to be that guy anymore. I can make something of myself in Prospect. I can be a successful doctor, but still have a life outside of my practice, playing golf and hunting and fishing, doing all the things I enjoy.”
He picked up the black velvet box. “Marry me and I’ll give you everything you’ve ever wanted.” He flipped open the box and showed her the brilliant-cut solitaire diamond.
The light from the bedside table lamp hit the prisms, casting rays of color around the room. Her breath caught and her eyes brimmed with tears. “It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”
“And I’ll buy you a great big house on the water to go with it. We’ll wake up every morning with our two children and our golden retriever and stare out across the creek. We’ll swing open the french doors and breathe in the healthy salt air.”
“I want more than two children. And Labs make better hunting dogs.”
“We can have all the children you want, but we’ll have to discuss the breed. Retrievers are equally as good hunters.”
“But this is my big chance. How can I possibly say no to one of the top design firms in New York?”
“At least try it on.” He removed the ring from the box, and she held out her hand while he slid it on her finger. “Do you like it? The stone was my grandmother’s. I had it reset.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to
The boys dropped their guns and took off running down the sidewalk.
The mother went back inside, leaving her daughter to continue with her practice. Lilly glided and leaped, pirouetted and pliéed, unaware of the stranger watching her from across the street.
Jackie hadn’t danced like that since her single days, when she rented a carriage house several blocks from where she now sat. She had treasured her time in the little cottage, the only space that had ever belonged solely to her. She converted the guest bedroom into a dance studio and used her free afternoons to choreograph long, intricate pieces of modern ballet.
Jackie had lost all sense of self when she moved out of that carriage house. When she gave everything up for love.
She’d never forget the day she’d made her choice. Late on a stormy Sunday afternoon during the summer of 1993, she and Bill were sprawled out on her queen-size brass bed, spent from hours of making love.
“What’s this?” she asked when he placed a black velvet ring box on her naked chest.
He grinned like a naughty little boy. “What do you think it is?”
She picked up the box, turning it one way, then another, imagining the size and cut without opening the lid. “But why now, when I’m getting ready to move to New York?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I don’t want you to go.”
The window unit clicked on, blowing cold air across their naked bodies. She pulled the covers up to her chin and set the black box down on top of her chest. “Why don’t you come to New York with me? There are plenty of hospitals. You could have your choice.”
“I’ve spent most of my life trying to get away from big cities, Jackie. You know that. First Boston, now Charleston.”
She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t exactly call Charleston a big city.”
“I’m a big-fish-in-a-small-pond kind of guy. I’ve accepted an offer with an established practice in Prospect.”
“Prospect?” She turned over in bed to face him. “You mean, my Prospect, my hometown?”
“I’m not aware of any other Prospects. At least not around here.”
“But what about MUSC?”
He shook his head. “They’re fully staffed at the moment. With no openings in sight. Or so they say.” He wrapped a stray strand of her hair around his index finger. “Seriously, Jack. All my life I’ve struggled to keep up. First at prep school, then Harvard, then UVA medical school. I don’t want to be that guy anymore. I can make something of myself in Prospect. I can be a successful doctor, but still have a life outside of my practice, playing golf and hunting and fishing, doing all the things I enjoy.”
He picked up the black velvet box. “Marry me and I’ll give you everything you’ve ever wanted.” He flipped open the box and showed her the brilliant-cut solitaire diamond.
The light from the bedside table lamp hit the prisms, casting rays of color around the room. Her breath caught and her eyes brimmed with tears. “It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”
“And I’ll buy you a great big house on the water to go with it. We’ll wake up every morning with our two children and our golden retriever and stare out across the creek. We’ll swing open the french doors and breathe in the healthy salt air.”
“I want more than two children. And Labs make better hunting dogs.”
“We can have all the children you want, but we’ll have to discuss the breed. Retrievers are equally as good hunters.”
“But this is my big chance. How can I possibly say no to one of the top design firms in New York?”
“At least try it on.” He removed the ring from the box, and she held out her hand while he slid it on her finger. “Do you like it? The stone was my grandmother’s. I had it reset.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to
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