Reflections in the Mirror
Originally posted on September 23, 2010
He is quite late now.
This is indeed rare for him; he takes great pride in his punctuality, only one among his many admirable qualities.
For a brief instant, Victoria is concerned that something may have happened to him…
…Although she does not really believe it. No unplanned delay, no serendipitous occasion, no unforeseen circumstance, would dare intrude upon Mark’s perfectly ordered existence or interrupt the progression of his meticulously scheduled life.
She ponders two likely explanations for his absence: that his disappointment over her decision, made counter to his wishes, is so great, he feels he must teach her a lesson by making her wonder… and worry…
…or perhaps he had told his mother the news, and she had taken to her bed with her twenty-first century version of the vapors, one of her supposed migraines, forcing him to remain by her side…
Again she wondered what she had done to earn the woman’s contempt. Perhaps any woman attracting her only son’s attention would have been treated the same. Yet Victoria had persevered in the face of her opposition, working tirelessly to make herself over into Mark’s ideal, so compliant with his wishes that the society pages had recently referred to them as the perfect couple…
Compliant, yes. Until this time. And that was the problem, was it not? She was not perfect after all; she had made a mistake, a miscalculation which would mean the re-evaluation of their entire relationship…
…An error that would force them to adjust their plans for the future. One that would seem, to the man who was her fiancé, a breach of trust, a failure to meet his expectations, aggravated by her unwillingness to make amends in precisely the way he had suggested.
But she was nothing if not resourceful – she could make it work without taking such drastic measures. Mark would appreciate a show of self-assurance and competence on her part.
He loved her, she was certain of it. He had spoken the words, and Mark did not utter words he did not mean. He would come around, and when he did….
*cell phone’s tone informs her that a text message awaits*
*to herself, as she reads* Oh………….Well……… It appears that the resourcefulness you claim so proudly will be put to the test, Victoria.
Although certainly not in the way you had anticipated.