Hitched

25

Jeffrey Woodall felt a sense of relief and excitement that he had never known in all his born days. He’d gotten rid of Tracy, and the best part was he’d been handed the opportunity on a silver platter. He didn’t have to sit her down and say, “We need to talk.” When she told him her dress was stolen, he blurted out his true feelings, feelings that had been building up for weeks.

Now he was opening a bottle of champagne at his apartment on Central Park West in Manhattan and he was positively giddy. He’d spent the afternoon making the necessary phone calls, letting his half of the guest list know that they could make other plans for Saturday, April 9th, assuring those who already sent presents that they would be returned.

Jeffrey’s mother was mortified. Jeffrey’s father didn’t say much. He never did. It was from his father that Jeffrey had inherited his limited ability to communicate.

“What am I going to tell my friends?” his mother asked.

“Tell them that it just didn’t work out.”

“Our tickets are nonrefundable. Maybe we’ll come to New York and take in a show.”

“May as well,” Jeffrey said, although he wished they wouldn’t. He had other ways he wanted to spend his time. Blond, wealthy, attractive, and thirty-two years old, Jeffrey was a catch. That is, if you didn’t mind someone who was uptight, obsessed with order and cleanliness, and crippled by insecurity.

He came from a respected family in Chicago and had moved to New York after business school. He’d been working at the same insurance company for seven years, set on an unwavering rigid course, always afraid to step outside the box. But now that was all about to change. His head had been turned by someone new, someone who would soften his edges. Someone who would dare him to be himself, liberate him, set him free. He and Tracy weren’t a good match, he convinced himself, because they were too much alike. Too worried about what other people think. Too worried about living in the right place, belonging to the right clubs, getting their future children into the best schools. His new love was the yin to his yang. She was the opposite of what he had always thought he wanted.

Jeffrey felt like he might finally have found the key to life’s happiness. He was ready to change-it was worth the risk. And the funny thing was this woman who left him intoxicated didn’t go to a top school or have an incredible job. He marveled at that. He never thought he’d be able to love someone who wasn’t of a certain ilk.

He couldn’t wait to get to know her better. It had all happened so fast, but the day he met her he knew his life would never be the same.

His buzzer sounded. Jeffrey answered and listened to the doorman announce his visitor. “Send her up,” he said with a smile. He hurriedly poured two glasses of champagne from one of the bottles left over from one of the many engagement parties he and Tracy had thrown. He had a spreadsheet calculating all the costs leading up to the marriage. What a waste. Luckily he had taken out travel insurance for their honeymoon trip to the Caribbean. He’d get some of that money back.

Unless of course he dared take that trip with someone else…

The doorbell rang.

Jeffrey glanced at his reflection in the mirror by the door, smoothed back his hair, and opened the door. He smiled at the sight of her. She was so incredibly beautiful.

“Darling,” she said as she rushed into his arms.

He held her tight. “Can this really be happening?” he whispered. She smelled so good.

“I can’t believe it myself.”

“I’ve never felt this way before.”

“Me, neither,” she sighed. “Are you really free to love me and me alone?”

“Oh, yes. And you, did you get rid of him?”

She sighed.

He led her inside and shut the door. Cupping her face in his hands, he asked her softly, “ Victoria, please tell me that you called off your wedding to Frederick.”

She smiled up at him. “Don’t worry, darling. Frederick is of no concern to us whatsoever…”