could reach him.”
Unenthusiastically, Doctor Gracie responded, “Hold on, I’m sure I’ve got his number here somewhere.” He did find it and gave it to me. I thanked him profusely and assured him I was fine.
I dialed the phone immediately. It wasn’t the number I had called before; it must have been his cell phone. Max picked up on the second ring. “This is Max.”
A thrill rang through my voice. “Hi, Max, it’s Lauren.”
Nothing, silence. Did I dial the right number? “Hello? Are you there?”
“ Hi, Lauren, you must’ve made it home okay.” His words were something close to monotone, and I knew he was still stung by Seth’s words this morning.
“ Yeah, a couple hours ago. I’m sorry about this morning. I was thrilled to see you, but unfortunately I didn’t have time to talk to Seth alone before you arrived.”
“ Yeah, I got that. So did you talk to him?”
“ Seth drove me home, and on the way I broke it off officially with him.” There was a hopefulness in my voice that this would somehow fix the hurt I knew I had caused.
More silence, then Max asked, “So how’d he take it?”
I thought about it for a second, realizing I was so focused on convincing him that I really was serious, it didn’t occur to me how well Seth took the news. “Actually, he took it very well. He didn’t raise his voice or call me names or anything like you see on TV. He argued with me a little, telling me that I didn’t know what I was saying. But in the end he understood.”
“ How clear were you?” I could tell Max was not convinced.
“ I was very clear, and if you don’t mind I’d rather not talk about Seth, other than to say I’m very sorry for the comment he made to you this morning and our abrupt departure. I was just so thrown I didn’t know what to say…so, like a coward, I didn’t say anything at all. Are you mad?”
“ Not mad, just…I wasn’t sure what I should have said. I wasn’t expecting to have your boyfriend tell me he was all set for the next fifty years because you were okay.”
“ Well, you said to call you when I was single. So…I’m single and I’ve officially called.” I was clueless as to what to say after that. Maybe something to the effect of you rocked my world and I wanted to see if you could do it a second time? Or you are the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen?
A stiff laugh came back on the line. “Well, I’m glad you are single. I’m a little worn out from last night. Do you mind if I call you later before I go to work? Maybe about 6 o’clock?”
Excitement zipped through me. He wasn’t holding my inability to speak at the hospital against me. “I’ll be waiting, do you have my number?”
“ You just called me, remember? It’s in my phone. I’m glad you called. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“ Okay, bye.” I set the receiver down and looked at the clock. Five more hours, what would I say? I guess I had plenty of time to figure it out.
About two o’clock my mom came upstairs with another bag of mail, a snack and a drink. “How are you doing?”
“ I’m good. Holy crap, I haven’t finished the thank-you cards from this morning yet! How many are in there?”
My mom smiled, “I stopped counting after one hundred. It is really amazing that so many people are sending you cards.”
“ Mom, most of the cards have money in them, a lot of money.”
“ Really? Well, that’s nice Dear. Make sure you send a note to everyone.” She said this almost dismissively, and I wondered to myself if I should really tell her how much. She would find out eventually. If I tell her right away, maybe she wouldn’t make me give it back. “So far I’ve gotten nearly twenty-five thousand dollars.”
The astonishment was evident and all she was able to get out was, “What?”
“ Yeah, I can’t believe this! So if you get to the store, I’m definitely
Unenthusiastically, Doctor Gracie responded, “Hold on, I’m sure I’ve got his number here somewhere.” He did find it and gave it to me. I thanked him profusely and assured him I was fine.
I dialed the phone immediately. It wasn’t the number I had called before; it must have been his cell phone. Max picked up on the second ring. “This is Max.”
A thrill rang through my voice. “Hi, Max, it’s Lauren.”
Nothing, silence. Did I dial the right number? “Hello? Are you there?”
“ Hi, Lauren, you must’ve made it home okay.” His words were something close to monotone, and I knew he was still stung by Seth’s words this morning.
“ Yeah, a couple hours ago. I’m sorry about this morning. I was thrilled to see you, but unfortunately I didn’t have time to talk to Seth alone before you arrived.”
“ Yeah, I got that. So did you talk to him?”
“ Seth drove me home, and on the way I broke it off officially with him.” There was a hopefulness in my voice that this would somehow fix the hurt I knew I had caused.
More silence, then Max asked, “So how’d he take it?”
I thought about it for a second, realizing I was so focused on convincing him that I really was serious, it didn’t occur to me how well Seth took the news. “Actually, he took it very well. He didn’t raise his voice or call me names or anything like you see on TV. He argued with me a little, telling me that I didn’t know what I was saying. But in the end he understood.”
“ How clear were you?” I could tell Max was not convinced.
“ I was very clear, and if you don’t mind I’d rather not talk about Seth, other than to say I’m very sorry for the comment he made to you this morning and our abrupt departure. I was just so thrown I didn’t know what to say…so, like a coward, I didn’t say anything at all. Are you mad?”
“ Not mad, just…I wasn’t sure what I should have said. I wasn’t expecting to have your boyfriend tell me he was all set for the next fifty years because you were okay.”
“ Well, you said to call you when I was single. So…I’m single and I’ve officially called.” I was clueless as to what to say after that. Maybe something to the effect of you rocked my world and I wanted to see if you could do it a second time? Or you are the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen?
A stiff laugh came back on the line. “Well, I’m glad you are single. I’m a little worn out from last night. Do you mind if I call you later before I go to work? Maybe about 6 o’clock?”
Excitement zipped through me. He wasn’t holding my inability to speak at the hospital against me. “I’ll be waiting, do you have my number?”
“ You just called me, remember? It’s in my phone. I’m glad you called. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“ Okay, bye.” I set the receiver down and looked at the clock. Five more hours, what would I say? I guess I had plenty of time to figure it out.
About two o’clock my mom came upstairs with another bag of mail, a snack and a drink. “How are you doing?”
“ I’m good. Holy crap, I haven’t finished the thank-you cards from this morning yet! How many are in there?”
My mom smiled, “I stopped counting after one hundred. It is really amazing that so many people are sending you cards.”
“ Mom, most of the cards have money in them, a lot of money.”
“ Really? Well, that’s nice Dear. Make sure you send a note to everyone.” She said this almost dismissively, and I wondered to myself if I should really tell her how much. She would find out eventually. If I tell her right away, maybe she wouldn’t make me give it back. “So far I’ve gotten nearly twenty-five thousand dollars.”
The astonishment was evident and all she was able to get out was, “What?”
“ Yeah, I can’t believe this! So if you get to the store, I’m definitely
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