He introduced himself without removing his hands from her hips, and when he repeated her name, she thought she had died and gone to heaven. Alan walked her back to her dorm room that night and the next morning was standing outside with a bouquet of daisies, waiting for her. Sure, she had heard the rumors that he was a player, to stay away from the frat boys, but she swore he was different. They were different together.
They spent the summer together at his family’s house in the Hamptons. Kelly likened the Hamptons to Gray. They both had the same small town feel, but there was wealth here, snobbery. She felt it among his family until they warmed up to her. They spent their days being lazy by the pool or out boating with his friends, who had inside jokes that secretly bothered her. She didn’t let it show though because she didn’t want to upset Alan. She would wear a fake smile just to please him.
When they weren’t with his friends, they were with his family. And when they were alone, they made love under the stars. He read Chaucer to her and recited poems by Lord Byron and E.E. Cummings. It was there, that summer, that he told her he loved her, and planned to spend the rest of his life with her.
The next summer, he made good on his promise. His family invited hers. Their fathers played golf during the day, while the mothers shopped and gushed over a summer wedding. His mother decided when they would marry, a summer wedding one month after her college graduation, in the Hamptons. Her parents didn’t have to worry about anything, the Franklin’s would cover everything. It was their honor.
She should’ve seen the signs, but she was blinded by love. His family controlled everything and used their money to get what they wanted. She should’ve run, but she was in love.
A Franklin decided she would work while Alan finished graduate school. She never knew who made that decision for them, not that she had a problem working. What she had a problem with was his late nights and the number of times he had a boy’s night or bachelor party to attend.
They live in an Upper East Side apartment, paid for by his parents, who dropped in whenever they were in town, which was more frequent than Kelly wanted. She learned to live with it, keeping their apartment tidy, the refrigerator stocked and the guest bedroom ready.
Grad school stressed them out. They fought and she threatened to leave him. When Alan graduated for the second time, he took her to Malta, and promised everything would be normal. They’d be the boring couple they both wanted to be. They’d start a family and move to the suburbs where his mother wouldn’t dare visit. This was the life she wanted and was about to have when they announced they were pregnant.
The move never happened because he made partner at his firm, and his nights were longer. He would’ve had to take a train to get home and it wasn’t worth it. The dream house was left as a dream and the high rise became larger when they moved from one tower to another.
Having a baby meant Kelly could quit her job. She never thought she would be that sort of person, but secretly loved the idea of staying home to raise their child. When Kori turned two, she wanted another one. Alan was hesitant. She was desperate. He started using condoms, something they hadn’t used since their first summer together. It should’ve been a red flag, a glowing one, waving in her face, but she figured he really didn’t want another baby. Why should it have been anything more?
Kelly wiped a tear away from her face as she watched Danny walk back to his van. For the first two years of college, she played the what if game, even going as far to write him a letter the night before she met Alan.
What if… now, she thought?
What if she had sent the letter to Danny, would he have come for her? Would they have met up that summer and rekindled their romance? Would her life have turned out differently? Would she want it to?
She doesn’t even know what he does for a living, except surf and drive around in a blue van with his dog sitting in the front seat. Does he live with his parents? It’s easy enough to find out, but she won’t ask. She’s better off remembering him as the boy who stole her heart and smashed it into pieces. It was easier this way.
The phone rang, tearing her away from the outside world. She rushed to answer it, clearing her throat as she did. “Java Hut.”
“Mrs. Franklin.”
“Ta-,” she started to say, but stopped herself. “Yes, this is she.”
“Sorry to bother you dear, this is Bea from the school nurse’s office. Kori is complaining of a stomach ache and wanted us to call you right away.”
Kelly closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She should’ve known Kori would do this as she’d done it when she started kindergarten back in New York. “First day jitters, I suppose,” she said into the phone. “I’ll be there momentarily.”
She hung up and quickly locked the door behind her before hopping into her Wrangler. The leather seats were hot after basking in the sun all day and burned the back of her legs. She made a mental note to make sure she kept towels in the back, not only for something like this, but for the random stops she planned to make at the beach.
As luck would have it, one of the three spots in front of the school were available. She parked and rushed in, signing her name on the intake sheet. When she saw her daughter, Kori smiled sheepishly at her mother and attempted to make a sick face. Kelly knew this was all an act but played along anyway.
“Mrs. Franklin?” the school nurse approached with a clipboard in her hand.
“Hi, yes. Please call me Kelly.” They shook hands, and the nurse handed her the board to sign Kori out.
“We took her temp. It was a little high. There is a flu bug going around, you might want to take her by Dr. Weatherly’s to have her checked out, just in case. He could give her a flu shot, although it’s a bit late in the season or early, depending on how you look at it.”
At the mention of a shot, Kori sprang to life, proclaiming she was feeling better and could go back to class. Kelly crouched in front of her and pulled her daughter’s attention to her. “Dr. Weatherly is the nicest doctor you’ll ever meet. If he does give you a shot, you’ll get a sticker and a lollipop after.” She winked at her daughter and they linked hands. “Thank you,” she said to the nurse as they left.
Outside, she helped Kori hop into the backseat. “Are you taking me to the doctors?”
“I am, mostly because if you do have a bug, I want to stop it before it gets worse. You could’ve picked something up in the move.” She helped Kori buckle and sped off toward where she remembered the doctor’s office used to be.
When she pulled up to the office, she was shocked to find it hasn’t changed a bit. The old sign bearing Dr. Weatherly’s name still swayed and creaked each time the wind blew. They entered, and Kori immediately dropped her bag and set off toward the bucket of toys.
“Hi, I don’t have an appointment. We’re new in town and my daughter was sent home from school with a stomach ache. I’d like Dr. Weatherly to check her out.”