Chapter 2
As I walked past a bridal shop, I caught a glimpse of two figures inside.
If I hadn't recognized the man, I probably would've felt genuinely happy for the couple.
But the man was Earl.
He was dressed in a sharp suit.
Standing beside him, beaming with happiness, was his childhood sweetheart, Madison Flowers.
She was trying on a wedding dress. The pure white looked perfect on her. I'd always imagined myself wearing something like that.
The bouquet in my hand slipped from my grasp and hit the ground.
Earl looked over at me.
When our eyes met, there was a hint of guilt in Earl's gaze.
Ten minutes later, I was sitting on the couch in the bridal shop.
Madison's eyes were rimmed with red as she handed me a cup of coffee.
"Britney, please don't get the wrong idea," Madison said.
Madison exchanged a glance with Earl, like she was warning him not to mess up his words.
Earl sighed.
He began to defend himself.
He said, "Madison's grandma's health is not great. She's a little out of it. She wants to see Madison get married before she goes.
"Madison immediately asked me to help her by taking some wedding photos.
"Britney, please don't take it the wrong way."
I watched them quietly.
The steam from my coffee blurred Earl's face.
It was like time had blurred the line between love and responsibility.
"It's fine," I said.
I set the coffee down gently.
As if, in that moment, I was laying down the weight of our ten years together.
Earl opened his mouth. It was like he never expected me to react this way.
Back then, every time Madison showed up around him, I'd get jealous, and we'd end up fighting.
This time, he and Madison really blindsided me, as if testing my sensitivity to their actions was just a fun little game for them.
Honestly, this wasn't fun at all.
I was done playing this game.
"Wait here for a bit," Earl said.
With that, Earl got up and hurried things up.
"Let's go with this one," Madison said.
In the end, Madison picked out the wedding dress she'd wear for the photoshoot.
She gave me an apologetic smile.
"Hey, when you and Earl get married, I'll help you pick out your dress," Madison said.
I wanted to say something, but the words never made it out.
The drive home was quiet.
Earl suddenly thought of the call I made to him that morning.
He asked, "What did you want to say back then?
"Is it work trouble again?"
Earl really stressed the word "again."
So, on some level, he must've noticed I was about to cry on the phone.
But he didn't even take a moment to comfort me.
Just like earlier, he and another woman were dressed up for wedding photos. He just shrugged it off with a few quick excuses.
Even if I told him I'd been scammed and roughed up by an old couple, all he'd ever do was sigh and remind me, "Make sure you take care of yourself next time."
But for Earl, there would be no next time.
"I quit," I said.
The words dropped like a bomb. The silence in the car was suffocating.
Earl hit the brakes just in time, pulling up right outside our apartment building.
He turned to me, looking all serious.
"You quit?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Why didn't you talk to me about it? Or at least... Britney, you're being way too reckless!" Earl said.
I tilted my head back. "Why does everyone call me reckless?
"I'm 28 already. Why shouldn't I be able to make decisions for my own life?"
My voice was totally calm when I said that.
I wasn't trying to upset him or anything.
But he still got mad.
Earl snapped, "So now that you're 28, you think you can just make all your own choices? Do you even realize how many people would kill for a job like yours?
"So tell me, what are you going to do now? Become a bum? Or just mooch off your parents?
"Don't tell me you expect me to support you for the rest of your life."
I couldn't help but scoff. "I don't need you to."
Earl was stunned.
Even if Earl was always a bit slow to catch on, he had to realize something was up by now.
I was being weird and overly calm.
He rolled down the window and gave me a serious look.
Earl said, "Britney, you're mad at me, aren't you.
"It's because I spent today with Madison in that wedding dress and didn't care about your feelings.
"I've already told you that I don't have anything going on with her.
"If anything, when I was looking at Madison, all I could picture was you in that wedding dress."
I looked at Earl.
I wanted to ask him if he found his own words absurd.
But I just kept quiet.
Honestly, there was no point wasting any more energy on this.
I pushed open the car door and headed toward our rented place alone.
Earl followed right behind me.
Suddenly, something interesting crossed my mind.