Page 87 of Made For You
Before I could answer, Talon spoke up. “Aurora GraceBeckett, actually.”
Even though he was correct, Franny’s head damn near swiveled around like the young girl inThe Exorcist.“Excuse me?” she asked, her fists sitting on her hips, itching for a fight.
“Her legal name is Aurora Grace Beckett.”
“So, you’re saying you two are legitimately married? None of what they’re saying is true.”
“Well… that’s not entirely the case,” I said, preparing to explain the situation, when I heard a loudthunkon the other side of the truck. I jumped out of Talon’s arms and sprinted over to find my entire family and Gigi huddled around our market booth. Andrew was standing front and center, with his hand pressed on top of a stack of papers resting in the middle of the now bare table.
“What’s everyone doing here?” I asked enthusiastically, pretending everything was fine. I could tell by their expressions that it wasn’t.
Andrew’s face was close to the same color as the tomatoes I just stacked back into the truck, and his eyes kept darting between me and Talon, who was resting against the side of the bed, looking far more casual than I felt with both his feet and arms crossed.
Behind Andrew, my family stood shoulder to shoulder as if in solidarity with him. Everyone except Gigi, who stood to the side, watching us with amusement as if we were her favorite soap opera.
In a menacingly low voice, Andrew asked, “How could you do this again, Rory?”
I noticed my sisters mouthing the word “again” to each other, while my parents’ gazes never wavered from me. It seemed Mom wasn’t left out of the loop after all.
“It’s not the same thing, Andrew. Nor is it any of your business. I’m an adult.”
“Of course, it's my business. You’re my sister!” he shouted.
“Andrew,” I urged, trying to get him to calm down. The crowd had grown double in size.
“And it’s not the same thing at all, because we can't just get this one annulled like last time. This time, you really screwed yourself, Rory. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get these divorce papers drawn up this morning?”
“I never asked you to do that,” I said defiantly.
“That’s because you keep making the same childish mistakes over and over. You say you’re an adult, but you married this… this stranger. For what? Money? Status? Free hotel stays? And what has he done for you except drag your name,ourname, through the mud?”
“He’s taken care of me, Andrew.”
“Has he though? His family just cost you your job, Aurora. This is a small town. You’ll never be hired as a teacher again.”
“Then I’ll move.”
“And then he’ll have cost you your house. Don’t you see it, Rory? The man used you to get what he wanted, but all he did was take from you and gave you nothing in return.”
“That’s not true,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest but sneaking a peek at Talon, whose smile had flipped. His eyes looked sad.
“Are you going to say anything?” I asked him, praying he would try to defend himself, but true to Talon's form, he remained silent.
“Sign the papers, Rory. We can argue it was under fraud and maybe get your job back. Let us fix this for you.” It’s thesame thing he said last time, when I was eighteen and hysterical over my then husband leaving me abandoned with no way home.
I looked over the expressions of my family members. A combination of pity and sympathy marred their faces. Thankfully, Eloise and Molly weren’t anywhere in sight. It made me feel like I’d committed a grievous crime and was being offered life in prison.
“I….” I approached the table and looked at the legal papers. Little stickered arrows pointed to the places I needed to sign.
Talon didn’t budge as I flipped through the stack. He didn’t say anything as I reached for the pen Andrew placed on the tabletop. He didn’t object when Franny came to stand beside me and offered to hold my hand, even though she’d been livid at me only moments before.
If it had been any other day, I would have ignored the papers completely, but I let those nuggets of doubt creep in and fester with every point Andrew made. The entire contract had been selfish on Talon’s end. He got what he wanted, but I was left with money I’d never use and guilt that I lied to my family.
I took a moment to take Talon in, to memorize him, then I turned back to the papers before me. My mother gasped as I took the top off the pen. My hand hovered over the first signature line. Memories of my months with Talon flooded my mind. Not only had he shown me a sexual side of myself I had no idea existed, but he gave me back a part of myself that Jeremy destroyed. A part of me that I’d lost hope in ever returning.
With my other hand, I wiped away the tear that seeped from my eye before I pressed the pen to the paper. I never on my worst day imagined I’d be signing divorce papers with my family and a crowd of people watching me.
“Aurora, don’t.”
