Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sparrows Fly

As predicted by Georgette, Trip pouted for three days. But once Georgette sprinkled him with enough compliments, he blossomed back to his old self. A few days before the Ritter party, she asked him if he wanted to be her guest. They were at his house, watching television and eating popcorn. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. They hadn’t been out publicly in a long time.

Trip hemmed around the answer. “Well, that could be a problem. See. Hmmm…I’ve sort of committed myself to …er…a company related …hmm…date. All for the television station, only. I don’t want to go, but the head cheese is insisting I take one for the team.” The more he rambled and stuttered over his words, the more she realized he wasn’t telling the whole truth. But instead of calling him on it, she decided to let it go.

“I understand, Trip,” she said. It hurt her that he never wanted to take her out, but she tried not to complain too often. She knew from hearing stories from friends that once a girl starts complaining too much, there’s a chance she’ll be replaced permanently. But then a devil at her ear whispered and she heard herself say, “I guess I’ll accept Martin’s invitation. He’ll be ecstatic, you know. His dream will come finally true. Me on his arm at the social event of the month.” She shoved popcorn into her mouth, observing Trip’s reaction out of the corner of her eye.

“Martin! No. I forbid it. You’ll have to miss the party. That’s all there is, Georgette. Call the Ritter’s and tell them you’re catching a cold or something.” Trip’s nostrils flared, like a stallion catching another stud’s scent.

“No, Trip. I’m not canceling. I’ve already bought a dress. Just because you can’t take me doesn’t mean I have to stay home. Besides, you always say that we know the real deal and it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks.”

Caught up in his anger at the mere thought of another man with Georgette, Trip stood up, causing the popcorn bowl to spill over onto the floor. “Georgette, I’m not joking. You are not to go to this party.”

She reacted to his anger with a rare flash of her own. “But you can go on a company date and I’m suppose to understand. Trip, either we’re a couple in public as well as in private or we aren’t one at all.” She may have sat frozen, but her eyes were moving with fire, studying his reaction, knowing she had went too far.

“So this is where we’ve come? At an impasse? I can’t proclaim to the world that you’re my girl, Georgette. You know this. You’ve always known it. I’m low-key. It helps my image to be mysterious.” He raked his hands through his hair in frustration.

“Trip, I can’t do this anymore. Sneaking in and out of your house, as if I’m a dirty secret. I need more. I deserve more. Have you forgotten that I’ve been there since the beginning? I’m the one who encouraged you to follow your dream. I love you. Isn’t that worth something?” Tears fell down her cheeks.

He began a nervous pace. “Yes, it’s worth everything. I appreciate all these years that you’ve been here. But Georgette, you run a garden center. That’s not the type of career I want the future Mrs. Trevor to be involved in. She has to be breathtaking in all aspects of her life, if she’s to be my equal. You’re not her. I’m sorry Georgette.”

She stood up to face in, finally reaching a point of indignation that she needed to complete the severing of ties. “I knew you were ashamed of me, but my god Trip why have you led me on all these years? Has it failed to escape your attention that I own my business? I’m not going to sell it because you’re ashamed of it I can only be who I am. Imperfect Georgette with the wild curly hair and soiled fingers. A woman who has loved you for so long, she doesn’t know how to stop.” Georgette was so enraged that she couldn’t speak. She kicked the popcorn bowl, trying to let off steam instead of tears.

Georgette watched the bowl spin wildly as it flew into the wall, the remaining popcorn flying like sparrows from a tree in the park, startled into action. Both of them had said more than they meant too say, but words once spoken, no matter if they are for good or bad, couldn’t be taken back. She sniffed back tears and walked out the door, wanting to slam it but closing it quietly behind her instead. All the anger extinguished, as the pain ignited.