After She Said Yes Read online

Charles clenched his jaw. “I am going to kill him. No one hurts my little girl.” But you did, didn’t you? You hurt me. Her heart beat faster.

  “Dad, he didn’t hit me at first.” Aurora said. “He didn’t act like this until after we were married.” Though what she said didn’t sound any better.

  Elizabeth grabbed Aurora’s hand. “Baby girl, we are so sorry. We didn’t know. I wish we could have done something. We could have done something, but we rarely saw you. We didn’t know.”

  “Mom, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know, and he never let me see my family or close friends, so no one knew. I was just trapped, but I am fine now.”

  Charles tried to be empathetic. “That’s my girl. You are tough. Even that loser can’t hurt you.”

  “Well, thanks dad. I am just glad I am almost done.”

  Elizabeth’s mom pulled everyone in for a group hug, knocking over two glasses of water in the process. “We love you and we will never let anything like this happen to you again.” Elizabeth continued, “Your father wants to tell you something.”

  “What is it now?”

  “Aurora, I am sorry for what I did to you and your brother. I was really tough, and I am sorry about that.”

  “It’s fine,” Aurora said.

  “I feel that the way I was to you pushed you to be with a bad person.”

  “It was the reason I was with him,” Aurora said. “Before marriage, I thought he was perfect.” She started to cry.

  Charles gave her a hug.

  “You have never hugged me before,” Aurora said.

  “I know, and I regret it. I am sorry,” Charles said. “And I am sorry for what I did to you as a child. I feel this is all my fault.”

  --

  Later that week, while Aurora was cooking spaghetti in her kitchen, one of Aurora’s and Gannon’s friend, Zarifa, called her to check up on her. Her nickname was Zara and she was from Russia.

  Aurora was sitting at her desk at work and heard her phone ring. Aurora said, “Hello.”

  Zara said hello in a peppy voice, “Hello, Aurora.”

  “Hey Zara. How are you doing?” Aurora was worried that Zara was going to bring up Gannon or talk about him.

  “Oh, I am good. Just checking how you are doing.” Aurora was stirring the spaghetti pasta, then suddenly stopped when Zara asked, “Vee are going ice skating dis weekend. Vant to join?”

  Aurora thought, Definitely not. Gannon or Shazzy is going to be there. Aurora assumed her friend Sara would be there because she and Zara were inseparable. They were also both studying to be neurologists.

  “Well, I assume Sara will be there, right? Who else is coming?”

  “Vell, me, Sara, Dan, and Melih.” Really, not Shazzy or Gannon? She must know. So, the skating can go one of two ways: awkward or more awkward.

  “Aurora?”

  “Yes, sorry. I am cooking dinner.” Aurora continued, “Okay, I will come. Just text me the time, place, day, and I will be there.”

  --

  After eating the dinner she had made, Aurora made herself a cup of Earl Grey tea. She ran upstairs to change into her pajamas, then came back downstairs and sat on the couch to watch Sex and the City. The show was her guilty pleasure. She was sure she had watched each episode at least five times. In between sipping her tea and laughing at the TV show, someone called her.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  “Uh, hi?” Aurora said. “Who is this?”

  “Oh sorry, it’s Jason. The cute lawyer from the charity event.”

  “Oh yeah? Humble, are we?” Aurora said as she laughed.

  “So, I was thinking,” Jason said. “Want to get a coffee tomorrow during our lunch hour?” Aurora took a sip of her tea.

  “Okay. That sounds good,” Aurora said. “Wait. How about we just get lunch and have coffee at the end?”

  “I guess that makes sense,” Jason said. “People usually eat lunch during their lunch hour." I usually skip lunch these days. Jason continued, “Lunch is too good to miss out on.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Let’s meet at the Colectivo coffee shop outside of the capitol building,” Jason said. “They usually have food carts around. We can go to one of them. Is twelve okay?

  “Sounds good,” Aurora said. “See you then.”

  I have this lunch date tomorrow AND I am going skating this weekend. I have to tell Tessa. Tessa was in bed early that night sleeping. She had to get up early to study for school.

  --

  Aurora went upstairs and knocked on Tessa’s door.

  “Are you awake?”

  “Yes,” Tessa said. “What’s up? Is something wrong?”

  Aurora said frantically as she walked in, turned on Tessa’s lamp, and sat on the foot of Tessa’s bed, “Nothing is wrong. I have something exciting to tell you.” Aurora smiled.

  “Well, what is it?” Tessa said as she yawned.

  “I have a date with a lawyer tomorrow.”

  “Ohhhh!” Tessa said as she sat up. “Tell me about it.”

  “Well, he was at the charity event I hosted.”

  “Yeah?”

  Aurora said nervously, “Well, he is cute. Kind of nerdy looking. He is only a little bit taller than me. You know I am attracted to taller guys.” Tessa rolled her eyes because Aurora was short, so really anyone was taller than she was.

  “Well, anyway, I don’t know what to wear on my ‘lunch date.’ I mean, is it a date if it’s during lunch?”

  Tessa laughed, “Yes, it is still a date. What are you going to wear?”

  “That is exactly what I was going to ask you. What do you wear on a date with a lawyer?”

  Though Tessa had great style, she didn’t know what someone should wear on a date with a lawyer. “Well, just Google it,” Tessa said.

  “Okay, I got a couple of things to talk to you about,” Aurora said. “You know that guy from the club that night?”

  “Another guy… Is this the guy who was friends with that muscle dude?”

  “No. The guy I introduced you to before we left. My friend Melih.”

  Tessa said, “Oh yeah, what about him?”

  “Well, I kind of have a crush on him…. I am going skating with a group of friends this weekend and he will be there. I guess I don’t even know if he really likes me, but….”

  “Wow. You are dating two guys at once. You are one hot lady,” Tessa said. “Just be careful, Aurora. You are still married.”

  “Don’t remind me. It won’t be for long,” Aurora said. “Anyway, Melih hasn’t messaged me at all or anything, so we are definitely not dating. People who are dating have to talk.”

  Tessa had a deer-in-the-headlights look as she said, “Well, let us hope it won't be awkward. Want me to come this weekend?”

  “Yes, please! Then you can find out if he likes me or not or what his deal is.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Aurora went to her room, read articles, and looked at pictures of outfits she could wear on her lawyer lunch date. Finally, after an hour of rummaging through her closet, Aurora found the perfect outfit for her lunch date. She decided to wear a pair of her black Christian Louboutin red bottom heels that she had bought for herself as a graduation gift. She also chose to wear a black suit with a white pussy-bow-ribboned blouse. She had started to love wearing black since Tessa had pointed out she should own at least one black shirt.

  Chapter 12

  The next morning, Aurora got ready for work and put on the perfect outfit after she finished her morning routine. She thought to herself, I really need to start looking for a place in the city. She made her morning coffee and put it in her thermos. She grabbed her keys, locked the door, and headed out for the long drive through the morning rush.

  Work went slowly. Aurora was so anxious and could not focus on anything besides that lunch date. She thought, Well, who does lunch dates, anyway? She probably didn’t know that a lot of successful people went out for lunch dates because she had been with a lazy graph
ic “artist” since college, whose idea of a romantic date was going to a club and dancing.

  What made Aurora nervous was that Jason was a little bit older than she was, and he might not like how young she was. She also couldn’t stop thinking about what Jason would do if he found out about her still being married. Maybe he wouldn’t care because of his age. Maybe he already knew. She thought, He is a lawyer, he probably does a security check on all of his dates. He probably already knows my social security number…. I am probably overthinking this.

  When it was ten minutes to noon, Aurora shot out of her desk, took her coat off the rack, put it on, then buttoned it as she walked out of her office door.

  “Tiffany, I am going to lunch a few minutes early with a….. a business associate.”

  Tiffany looked at Aurora’s schedule. “A business associate?”

  “Yes.”

  “What does he do?”

  Aurora did not like chit chatting. “He is a lawyer that was at the gala.”

  Tiffany raised her eyebrows. “Is he cute?

  Aurora started walking away at this point, “All righty then…. Bye Tiffany. See you at one.”

  Aurora walked over to the coffee shop. She had to walk up State Street a few blocks. She knew she was going to be late. It was really cold out that afternoon, and she could see her breath. She walked fast and hunched over like a schoolmarm. These red-bottomed heels were a bad idea. When she had chosen her outfit the night before, she did not take into account that she would be meeting Jason wearing her black petticoat. Winters were cold and windy in Wisconsin. Just the thought of going outside would make you cold. He probably won't even see my outfit! I am wrapped by my jacket and scarf.

  She arrived at Colectivo and looked around for Jason. The aroma of freshly baked buttery croissants teased her nose. She walked around a little bit until she tapped on someone’s shoulder. “Hey, Jason.” The man turned around, un-amused.

  Crap.

  “I am not Jason.” The man rolled his eyes and turned back around.

  “A-a-all right,” Aurora said. “Sorry about that.”

  After that instance, she decided to sit down, so she could avoid another awkward encounter.

  She texted Jason: “Hey, I’m sorry I am a bit late. I said hi to a guy I thought was you, but it wasn’t. lol. Oops… I’ll sit right next to the Costa Rican coffee basket. Come find me.”

  As soon as she looked up from her phone, she saw Jason walking toward her. She looked down right away and thought, I don’t remember him being that good looking the other night. Usually guys look more attractive in the dark, not the other way around.

  He didn’t have on his glasses like he did at the gala. He was wearing a black petticoat, like her, but of a more masculine style. His hair was still styled the same as the other night, still hiding that he was balding. He had a strong jaw and light blue eyes. She couldn’t believe that she had missed Jason’s features when she first saw him. She almost stopped breathing. She hadn’t been on a date with anyone other than Gannon since high school.

  She looked up again because she could feel his presence right in front of her. Aurora’s cheeks flushed with red and her heart skipped a beat.

  He looked at her and smiled. “Hey. How are you?” Aurora could see the wrinkles from the laughing lines by his eyes.

  “Sorry I am a bit late. I decided to wear heels in negative five-degree weather.”

  He looked at the shoes and giggled, “It is okay. Want to get something to eat from one of the carts then come back in for a coffee?”

  “Okay. Sounds good.”

  They left the coffee shop. She looked down at Jason’s leather shoes and noticed he was wearing two different colored socks. Aurora tried not to be distracted by it. “I sent you a text. Did you get it?”

  “No, I didn’t. I can check now,” Jason said, grabbing for his phone.

  “No, it’s fine. I just wanted to tell you I was running late…. Oh, and I said hi to another guy who looked like you. Well, the back of his head did.”

  Jason clenched his jaw. “Oh, yikes.”

  “I was thinking we could try there.” Aurora pointed in the direction of a line of food trucks that seemed to go on forever.

  Jason looked at Aurora confused, but laughed. “Well, which truck? There are a lot of them.”

  “The Asian taco one.” The truck was a light blue color with “Asian Tacos by Yang and Juan” written on the side in artistic graffiti.

  “Sounds good.”

  The two of them walked toward the food truck. On their walk, they tried to maintain a conversation, but Aurora’s feet were in pain and freezing, so she could barely hold a conversation. Such a great first date, Aurora thought. She was also annoyed with herself because she thought about how she had put all of the effort into looking cute and he would never even see her outfit.

  Jason asked, “So, how was work so far today?”

  “It was good. I have been very busy all morning,” Aurora lied. She wanted to make it seem that she was doing anything besides focusing on their lunch date.

  “Same here,” Jason said. “I am preparing for a conference. Remember how I said at your gala that they always send me to these things?”

  “Yes, I gotcha. Because you are single?”

  “Right.”

  They waited in line and Aurora rubbed her hands together to warm them up. In between their talking, they would take a look at the menu board to see what they would get.

  “So, what if you start dating someone?” Aurora said. “Would they cut you off the hook then?”

  Jason enjoyed her witty question. “Well, I haven’t been in a relationship since I got this job. I actually got this job a couple of months ago. That is why I moved here.”

  “So, where are you from?”

  “I’m from Northern Wisconsin.”

  Aurora was intrigued. “I am from there, too!”

  “What city? I’m from a town called White Lake. I went to high school there.”

  Aurora said, “What? I went to that school too. That school is so small, though. How do I not know you?” Is he really that old?

  Jason said, “Really, what is your last name? I think I am a bit older than you.” He asked her last name because there were only about twenty families that went to that school. So, people were either related or knew each other.

  Aurora was relieved that she decided not to change her name when she got married. If she did, she might have had to tell Jason she was still married. “My last name is Tousey.”

  “There was a girl in my class with that last name. Her name was Kathy.”

  “That’s my older sister!”

  “Yes, I graduated with your sister!” He then thought for a second as if he were calculating her age in his head. “So, I guess that means I am ten years older than you.”

  Aurora did not give him a weirded out look like he was expecting. Aurora also wasn’t picky about age because she thought that it would be hard to find someone her age that would want to marry a divorced or soon-to-be-divorced woman.

  Aurora said, “My parents are fourteen years apart. So the age difference doesn’t bother me. Does it bother you?”

  “No. Not really. I mean, you are very mature for a twenty-seven-year-old."

  She thought about how Gannon had aged her about twenty years. “I guess. I just have a lot of life experience from my busy career.” She lied about that too. Though she had a busy career, the life experience actually came from her abusive marriage and childhood.

  They got to the front of the line. “What would you like?”

  Aurora said to Jason, “I’d like the chicken teriyaki tacos.”

  Jason ordered, “She will have the teriyaki chicken tacos and I will have the tofu tang tacos.” Aurora flashed Jason a smile.

  She loved that he ordered for her, but the thought of tofu grossed her out. She loved that togetherness Jason had, and the gray hairs that ran sporadically through his beard. He seemed like he was kind of bor
ing, but Aurora didn’t care because he was a man. Aurora was upset that Melih couldn’t even message her, but Jason could ask her out right away. Aurora wondered why Jason was single, but she was sure he would tell her eventually. At least she hoped he would. Just like she thought she would have to tell him she was still married or getting divorced.

  They got their food and ate the tacos very quickly, while standing. They walked briskly back to the coffee shop. Aurora couldn’t even remember the conversation they had on the way back to the coffee shop because she could barely breathe from the cold winds. I cannot wait to get a cup of coffee and sit down.

  They got to the coffee shop and Jason ordered them both small dark roast coffees. Aurora got them a place to sit. She took a big breath and looked around. She loved the smell of coffee shops, the sound of milk frothing, the clicking sounds from college students typing on their laptops, and the sound when the people reading would flip pages on their books.

  Aurora took off her coat to show off her outfit. She then fluffed her fingers through her hair. She undid the one button on her suit jacket and sat up straight. She quickly looked through her coat pocket to grab her pink lip-gloss to put on.

  Jason came and sat down with the coffees in his hand. Aurora raised her eyebrows and smiled at him. Jason said, “You like coffee, right?”

  “Yes, I do. Thank you.”

  “Do you like it with cream or sugar?”

  Aurora said, “Definitely not sugar. I can have it with cream or black. So, this one is fine. Thank you.”

  “I prefer my coffee black.”

  “Every time I hear that line, it reminds me of the movie Airplane.”

  “Maybe you are older than I thought to know of that movie?” They both laughed.

  Aurora looked Jason in the eyes and noticed a freckle above his left eye. He took off his jacket and draped it over the chair as he sat down. He was wearing a gray suit with a red tie. Aurora took a sip of her coffee and burned her tongue.

  “Ouch,” She put her hand to her mouth.

  “You okay?”

  “What?”

  “Was the coffee too hot?”

  “Yeah...No, I am fine.”