"Oh, dear, neither do we. But they are people that are better on your side and in your back pocket in case you need them than to have them against you. It's a chess game. Tiring but necessary."
She squeezes my arm and rejoins her husband as Kayla walks up.
"I called the car. Are you ready to leave?"
"Yep."
We head out and on the car ride home she talks about this person, or that one who said this or that, and the entire way her mom's words are stuck in my head.
This is Kayla's world. She has to interact with these people, and will always be going to events like this. But her friends? Is this how they act? Those are the people she chooses to keep around her. Is she like that and I just missed it? But that doesn't seem possible. My Kayla is nothing like those women. She’s sweet, loving, and cares deeply about people.
Look what she did for the illegal rodeo, putting her name on the line to do the right thing. She helped Bill and didn't want people to know it was her. She isn't like them, yet she has to be like them to a degree to call them friends.
The more I think about it, the more I know this just isn't going to work. I'm never going to be okay with events like this and being treated in this manner. It’s obvious I'm never going to be comfortable here and there is no way in hell I will ever move to this city. But Kayla's company is here, so this is where she has to be.
When we get back to her place, I start packing my bag, as there is no point in putting this off.
"What are you doing?" She places her hand on mine to stop me.
"I can't be part of this life."
"Brice, you haven't given it a chance."
"My friends went out of their way to make you feel welcome even though the only reason you were in town was to try to convince their brother to do something he didn't want to do. Did they not?"
"Of course, they did. I had a great time at the BBQ and the wedding."
"Your friends went out of their way to show me I don't belong."
She shakes her head. "They didn't, they were nice to you."
"They were nice around you. When you stepped away, they wanted to know why you brought me. Was I attached to the charity? They made it clear I couldn't be a good doctor because I chose to practice in a small town and took over my father's practice."
"You must have misunderstood them. Sometimes they twist their words."
"I find that hard to believe for people of their status in your world. What kind of life do you really want, Kayla?"
She opens her mouth and closes it several times, but doesn't speak.
"You know what kind of life I want? I want to go to sleep beside the woman I love every night. I want to wake up with her in my arms or find her working in the kitchen with her hair pulled up in a messy bun and wearing nothing but my shirt. When I get emergency phone calls, I want her by my side, comforting the family when I can't. Knowing she has my back. I want to watch her give my mom as good as she gets. I want you, Kayla. I want what we had back in Rock Springs, around people that care and that are genuine and nice. I love you, and I want you, but not here, not like this."
I finish packing my bag and turn to find her parents standing there with shock on their faces.
"You…umm. You left your jacket, Kayla. We wanted to bring it to you with the cold front coming in," her mom says.
"It was nice to meet you both. Thank you for being nice to me, though I'm sure I'm the last person you wanted your daughter with." With that, I walk straight to my truck and go home.