Chapter 77

"Don't worry about it," my father said. "I'll take care of everything. I'll get my staff on it. They'll contact everyone to let them know the wedding is off."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know what he did. I saw what just happened. You really can't afford to hesitate. People are expecting a wedding in under forty-eight hours."

I needed time to assimilate this.

"Well, that isn't enough time for them to make alternative plans, so we'll just stick with the wedding until I figure out what I want to do."

"Now, Ashley -"

"Was I unclear? Is English a foreign language?"

"No need to be rude. I'm not the one who cheated."

"Now who's being rude?"

He didn't answer.

"I'll let you know what I plan to do."

I walked out the door

What did I want? What did I know?

I had an accusation from Sabrina the reliability of which was backed up by her telling my father and supposedly trying to figure out what to do.

She seemed to be telling the truth. I had not seen any indications of deception in her behavior or her body language.

My father had made an allegation about Jeff's motive for pursuing me. There was no doubt they had a loud, acrimonious argument about something after dinner the night my parents met Jeff. Neither would tell me a thing about it so, clearly, it was serious.

My father had persisted in suggesting character flaws in Jeff. Was it out of concern for me?

Jeff had persisted in suggesting my father was up to something; trying to break us up. Was he just setting the stage to counter my father's future allegations against him? Was he trying to get me so suspicious of my father that I wouldn't believe anything he said? Had he convinced me there was a conspiracy and brought me into the battle to counter it for the purpose of casting so much doubt on my father it would be impossible for me to recognize any sincerity on his part?

Whoever was playing me, I had just taken a strong stand against each of them.

I had a nagging suspicion I had screwed up, but I was too tired to work it out. I would be better able to think after a good night's sleep. Alas, sleep did not come easily until I realized what I should have known all along: Jeff wouldn't do that.

Jeff had been right all along and, however briefly, I had been sucked in. It was well after midnight, but I called his cell. I was told to leave a message.

"Jeff, please call me. I'm so sorry I doubted you. We need to talk. Call anytime."

I had done what I could. It enabled me to sleep.

I woke at 10:00. Jeff hadn't called.

Lunch time arrived. Jeff hadn't called.

I didn't know what to do. I called Jen.

"Jen, I can't believe it. I'm the TSTL from those romance novels."

"That seems unlikely. What did you do?"

"Sabrina concocted a story that Jeff seduced her and had my father to back it up. I kind of believed it for a minute."

"How do you know it was concocted?"

"Jeff."

"Yeah."

"What do I do?"

"Talk to him."

"He isn't calling me back."

"Then wait."

Does anyone ever realize how galling it is to be told to be patient? It's always the only thing you can think about and they tell you to just sit back and wait until it happens. I'll bet when somebody tells them to be patient they want to plunge a dagger in her face.

I called the Goldberg home. Sandy answered.

"Sandy, do you know where Jeff is?"

"You really stepped in it."

"I know. I did a TSTL."

"What the hell is that?"

"Don't you read romance novels?"

"Not really."

"It stands for Too Stupid To Live. It's when the heroine, it's never the guy, does something so stupid you want to yell at the book and say no human would ever do that. And it makes you think that if he can take her back after that he wasn't worth it after all."