Amber the babysitter 11
The following day, when I awoke, I felt like I had run a marathon. I was sore and achy and had a ton of sleep in my eyes. When I finally could focus, I saw the clock read 9:43. I rolled my head to the side and saw that Amber was not in bed with me. It is a very rare occasion that she is up before me. Even on days when we both work, she usually sleeps an hour, if not two hours, later than I do.
I rose from my bed, washed up, put on my robe and slippers, and wandered down the hallway toward the kitchen. I could hear Amber talking to someone, and as I cleared the hallway, I saw her sitting on the couch in her pajamas, bottoms, and tops, talking on her phone. When she saw me coming, she put her fingers over the phone speaker, looked at me, and whispered, "There's coffee."
I glided my hand across the top of her head as I walked past her and over to the coffee pot, pouring myself a big, dark, strong cup. I could hear her conversation, and I heard her telling whomever she was talking to about our night, our dinner, and bragging about her engagement ring. How shiny and beautiful it looked on her finger, and I smiled with pleasure, knowing she was bragging about getting engaged.
When she finished her conversation, she rose from the couch, walked towards me, and said, "Good morning, my love. How are you today?"
I groaned out because, as happy and excited as I was that we were engaged, I was still so tired and drained that I was not cognizant of the moments yet. Amber surely realized how exhausted I was because she "Aww'ed" at me as she kissed my lips and lightly wrapped her arms around me, rubbing my back.
"I have been up since early this morning. I have called my best friend, my college classmate, one of my ex-boyfriends, and I was just about to call my mom to tell her we were engaged." She told me.
I knew she was excited, just as I was, and undoubtedly full of pep, more than I was this morning. But I knew this kind of conversation was not something you told your parents over the phone. We needed to get ourselves together, shower, clean up, and take a ride to their house for lunch. After a long embracing hug, some time on the couch, and enjoying our morning alone, we got up, showered together, did our best to look presentable, and left the house. We stopped for a quick bite and pulled into her parents' home just before noon.
When we sat at the kitchen table, we told them we had gotten engaged, had both been on bended knees, and had matching engagement rings. I could see them lose color in their faces. They turned ghostly white. As much as they pretended to be happy for us, her parents were clearly disturbed about our engagement. But we stood firm and proud that we had decided to be wed.
After a while, her parents excused themselves and asked Amber to join them in the front room "alone" for a chat. I felt awkward and unsure as they all walked out of the kitchen, shutting the door behind them. Over the next five minutes, I could hear them trying to be quiet, but their voices got louder, the arguing got heated, and minutes later, Amber came blasting back into the kitchen, barking out to me, "Come on, we need to leave."
I cautiously and nervously stood up, followed her out the door, got in my car, and drove around for a while. As we drove, she screamed aloud, yelling and venting to me about what they had said and how they forbid this wedding. That their little girl wasn't some lesbian! They thought it was just a phase. That I was using her. Why would she marry someone 20 years older than her? That they wanted grandkids. It was a very tense and angry situation, to say the least.
After she cooled down, we stopped at my parents. The reception wasn't much better, but at least my parents didn't pull me into the other room and forbid a wedding.
When we got home, I called Nancy to let her know the kids could return anytime. When they came blasting through the door, they tried to act surprised even though they already knew I was proposing. I invited Nancy and her kids over for burgers, dogs, and a Sunday night movie as a thank-you for her help.
The time with the kids, Nancy, and the minor celebration we had lifted her mood that day. But, for the next two weeks, Amber was not the same. Even though we continued to tell our friends, other family members, and respective co-workers about our engagement, I could tell this weighed heavy on her mind. We got up each day and lived our lives, went to our jobs, came home, made dinner, helped with homework, and went to bed. Oddly enough, even though we were always together, sleeping in the same bed, bragging about our relationship, and showing off our rings. Amber and I had not had sex since the night I proposed. And that was concerning me.
The following weekend, when we were alone and sitting down to eat dinner, I could tell she was still having some deep thoughts about us--about what her parents said and about the reactions we had from mine--and I thought it was time to clear the air. I tried and tried to get it out of her, but all I kept getting was, "Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired. I have a lot going on with school." None of which were the truth.
After I washed up the dishes and we sat on the couch, Amber started crying. She looked me in the eye and said, "I'm sorry, Jill. I hate to say this, but I think I need to go home."
My heart sank. All of the air I had inside of me ceased to exist. I believe I stopped breathing. I mumbled my words. I couldn't even put together a complete sentence. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want her to leave, but if she was having regrets or second thoughts, then she needed to resolve them, one way or another.
"I love you, and I want to be with you, but I have to clear my head before we move further," she said as she rose from the couch, looking down at me as tears ran down her cheek.
I heard her in the bedroom packing. Minutes later, she came out, rolling her suitcase down the hallway--the same suitcase she had brought her clothes in when she moved in.
"Amber, wait!" I screamed.
"Why are you doing this? Why are you leaving? I don't want to lose you. We can get through this; we need to communicate." I cried out, begging for her to stay.