He Married My Best Friend - III

I had held it together.

From the day my beloved Davy so casually requested I ask my best friend Marjie if she would go with HIM to the Prom, until the Prom itself, I had been so good, I almost fooled myself.

I had smiled and laughed when I saw Davy, complaining about my 'slave driver'. mother who was forcing me to study.

It was my mother had hit on the strategy.

To help me avoid the emotional trauma in seeing Davy and Marjie together, I would be 'locked in'. My mother would 'force' me to study. My mother would demand I stay home. My mother would prevent me having a social life. If my friends were going to the hang out, I couldn't go, my slave driver mother demanded I come home.

I was locked down on week ends to study for my exams. I had no free time. I could use my Mother's regime as the excuse to avoid Davy and Margie.

And it worked. Oh it worked!

I got through days and weeks, and was able to attend the Prom with a guy from my Mother's work place who was doing her a favour.

She had introduced me to Bob a few weeks before. He was attractive enough.

We had been polite and friendly and went out for thirty minute 'dates' each Sunday between Easter and Prom day. This was to give us a past, make us comfortable with each other, so I could carry off my 'performance' at the Prom.

I thought it would be okay, I'd get through the Prom and things would go back
to 'normal'.

I figured one Prom date...so what?

So Davy picks Margie up instead of me...so he dances more with her than me...
But when Davy asked Marjie to marry him, all I could do was die.

Die but keep, smiling, embracing and acting so happy.

The first second I could escape, I had Bob take me out of there. I had him take out of that horrible room, and get me home.

It wasn't until I reached my door, said good night to Bob, ran upstairs I could be insane in my room. Maybe a half hour later my mother came in, hearing the worst from Bob.

She sat on my bed.

"Okay, you're going to have to be her Maid of Honour. You know that. You are going to have to help her plan her wedding. You are going..."

"I can't!!!"

"You can't, but you must."

"Mommy, I can't. She'll have to ask someone else... send me away... do something...!!!!!"

For the next forever I screamed and cried. But finally I knew that I had to, by some way, somehow, get through this. Somehow I had to function. Somehow I had to erase my future, erase all I had dreamed and imagined, and create a new tomorrow.

I had to create some new world in which I wasn't going to be Mrs. David Pryce.

My life had been founded on the belief that I would marry Davy.

I would marry Davy and we'd live in his house on the second floor. We'd have four children, and six dogs, and we'd go to the seashore every summer and rent a bungalow. We'd ....

So there goes my life.