Chapter 5 - A MARRIAGE LESS THAN A DAY OLD
Ryan watched Celia's video six times. When he arrived at my hospital room, his hands were trembling.
“She meant to do it.”
“I know.”
“I should've seen it.”
“You saw what mattered afterward.”
He shook his head. “I heard her. And part of me still wanted an explanation that would make it all go away.”
Paige arrived with lilies and a photographer's smile. Ryan intercepted her in the hallway.
“I saw the video.”
“Which video?”
“The one where you turn and hit Mom.”
Paige's eyes filled instantly. “You know how crowded that deck was.”
“It wasn't crowded.”
“Are you seriously choosing her over your wife?”
“I'm choosing the truth.”
She lowered her voice. “My father paid for this wedding. Do you have any idea how much humiliation you're causing him?”
Ryan glanced at the flowers. “My mother spent last night in an emergency department.”
For a moment Paige stopped acting hurt. “Your mother is never going to let you have a life of your own.”
That was when he asked her to leave.
She set the lilies on a bench with such force that water spilled over the floor.
“Take off the ring, then,” she snapped. “If one clip matters more than our vows, take it off.”
Ryan looked down at the gold band. “The vows mattered to me. That's why I can't stand here and pretend you kept yours.”
Paige walked away without the flowers. A nurse mopped the water and told Ryan, gently, that we had enough trouble without a second accident in the hall.
A little later Ryan sat beside my bed, staring at his wedding ring. “I signed something on Paige's tablet two weeks ago,” he said. “She said it was permission for wedding photographs at Cedar Point.”
“What did it look like?”
“Three pages. She scrolled to the last one.”
May you like
The air in the room went still.
Because the sale letter in my shoe named Ryan as the family's consenting representative.
