My Boss Called Me at 11 P.M. and Said, “Come to the Hotel Tonight With Me. If You Don’t Come, You’re Fired—and Tell No One.” I Went… But When I Opened the Door, Saw Him Waiting Inside, and Heard What He Wanted Me to Do, I Couldn’t Believe What I Was Hearing
“My mother has wanted one thing for years—to see me settle down.”
“That still doesn’t explain this.”
“It gets worse.”
He gave a bitter laugh.
“Three months ago, when she was going through another round of treatment, she asked if there was someone in my life.”
I waited.
“I said yes.”
My eyebrows lifted.
“You lied to your dying mother?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she was scared. She kept saying she was going to die without knowing I had anyone. I wanted to give her something to hold onto.”
I folded my arms.
“So you invented a woman?”
He hesitated.
Then looked directly at me.
“I used your name.”
I stared at him.
“You did what?”
“I never told her we were actually together. At first, I just said there was someone at work I cared about.”
My stomach twisted.
“Me?”
He nodded.
“Then she started asking questions. And every time I tried to change the subject, she would smile and say your name.”
“This is insane.”
“I know.”
“And now you want me to put on that dress?”
“Not because I expect you to marry me.”
He spoke quickly.
“She thinks we’re engaged. Tonight she became worse. Her doctor came an hour ago. She asked me if she could meet you before…”
He stopped.
Before she died.
He didn’t need to say it.
I looked away.
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then I pointed at the ring.
“And that?”
“My grandmother’s ring. My mother gave it to me years ago. She wants to see it on the woman I’m supposedly marrying.”
I looked at the Reverend.
Continued on the next page
