“Who told you I was quitting my job?”
Seth spun around so fast he almost knocked over a folding chair.
Heather was standing next to a table stacked with wedding programs. She was wearing a navy dress that matched my bouquet.
Neither one of them said anything.
Then Seth smiled.
But it wasn’t his real smile. It was the one he uses on customers when they’re upset about an electrical bill and he wants them to believe everything’s under control.
“Natalie. Hey. You’re not supposed to see me before the ceremony.”
“Answer my question.”
The smile disappeared.
Heather looked back and forth between us.
“You didn’t know about the daycare arrangement?”
“What daycare arrangement?”
Seth stepped toward me. “Let’s not do this right now.”
I moved away from his hand.
“Heather. What exactly did Seth tell you?”
She swallowed.
“He said you wanted to take some time off after the wedding. That you were thinking about leaving the dental office. He said you’d watch the kids while I worked.”
“For how long?”
She glanced at her brother.
“Until next summer.”
My stomach dropped.
“Next summer?”
Seth rubbed the back of his neck.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“Three kids. Ten hours a day. Five days a week. For almost a year?”
“Natalie—”
“Is that what you promised her?”
He hesitated.
That was my answer.
I turned to Heather.
“I haven’t quit my job. I haven’t even thought about quitting my job.”
Her face changed.
“But Seth said you already talked to your boss.”
I pulled my phone out of the little satin purse Paige gave me that morning. My hands were shaking so hard I typed in the wrong passcode twice.
Finally I opened the email from Dr. Bennett.
Subject line: Office Manager Position.
I held it up so Heather could see.
“She sent me this Wednesday. She’s offering me a promotion. I’m supposed to give her my answer on Monday.”
Heather read the first paragraph. She frowned.
“You’re getting promoted?”
“Yes.”
Seth leaned in. “You didn’t tell me you were taking it.”
“I haven’t taken it yet.”
“Exactly. So I figured—”
“You figured what?”
He sighed.
“I thought maybe this was a good time for us to rethink some things.”
“Us?”
“Your schedule. Heather’s situation. All of it.”
“Then why wasn’t I part of that conversation, Seth?”
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
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