CHAPTER NINE
Blair
Then
The chances, it turned out, were excellent.
I stood across from Scott in the courthouse in Athens. We’d transferred schools to get away from Carruthers and support Sadie, who’d had a horrible time of it with her now ex-boyfriend, and my ex-friend, Harrison.
Well, that was the reason I’d transferred. Scott was going to dental school within driving distance of the University of Georgia, so he’d have been here anyway.
At least he’d given up the University of Michigan’s dental school so he could be close to me.
But none of that mattered now as I looked at Scott, handsome as always in a dark gray suit. His face was serious, his eyes loving.
I stood in a simple white sundress, holding a bouquet of sunflowers he’d given me.
Besides our friends and Gam, no one was with us.
My parents said they were horrified I’d gotten pregnant before I’d gotten married.
I secretly thought they just hadn’t wanted to come to the wedding.
Scott’s parents had been killed in an accident when he was young.
His grandparents had raised him, but they were gone now as well.
There was no one else from his family, and he’d never been good at making close friends.
I’d told him that my friends and Gam would belong to him now.
I’d been terrified when I’d gone to Scott and told him I was carrying his baby. To his credit, he’d grinned, let out a whoop of happiness, and twirled me around. The next day he’d presented me with a small diamond ring, dropped down on one knee, and asked if I’d be his wife.
My stomach had been full of butterflies, but I’d agreed happily. But a little feeling of doubt just wouldn’t go away, no matter how much I tried to silence it.
When I’d told Gam, she’d held my hands, looked in my eyes, and said, “My sweet girl, if you don’t want to marry this man, don’t. You don’t have to just because you’re pregnant. I will help you raise this baby.”
I thought about that now, and my heart beat faster, doubt filling my mind. I’d already said, ‘I do.’ Had I made the right decision? Scott wasn’t free with his emotions and feelings. He’d never said he loved me or anything like that. I bit my lip.
And then there was the whole pre-nup thing.
I couldn’t believe he’d made me fill one out like he was a gazillionaire or something.
He’d gotten a sizable inheritance from both his parents and his grandparents.
He’d never told me how much it was. But if it was worth making me sign a pre-nuptial agreement, it must be significant.
So, I’d signed away any rights to that inheritance in case we ever got a divorce.
It wasn’t the best way to start a marriage, I thought.
My heart started pounding. I had made a terrible mistake. Maybe I could run up to the pastor and rip up the marriage certificate, pretend we’d never said, ‘I do.’
But then Scott turned and smiled at me, and butterflies fluttered in my stomach. My breathing and heartrate started to return to normal, and I reminded myself that I was doing what I thought was best for the baby.
I smiled back.
Then Gam came up and pulled me aside after congratulating us both. “I opened a bank account in your name,” she said. “I have all the details at home, and I’ll give it to you later.
She’d already gifted us a honeymoon trip to Jekyll Island, so I was confused. “For Scott and me?”
She shook her head and held me to her tightly so she could whisper in my ear. “A woman should never be totally reliant on a man. I put ten thousand dollars in that account. You need to add more each month.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off.
“This is very important; you can never tell him about the money. Even in an emergency. You just have to act like it’s not there. One day you might need it.”
“What if I never do?”
She pulled back and studied my face. “That will be wonderful. But lots of women find themselves ready to leave their husbands only to realize their whole lives have been built around their family, not finances. They’re either trapped in the marriage or left with close to nothing.
Promise me that you’ll add to that account every month. ”
I was quiet, still in shock, and she squeezed my hands tightly. “Promise me, Blair.”
“I… I promise,” I whispered.
“Good,” she said, letting go of her tight clutch on me. Then she winked at me, her blue eyes sparkling, and said, “Now let’s go celebrate.”
Gam took us all out for a nice dinner afterwards, and then the honeymoon trip was fabulous.
After that, the celebration didn’t last long. I soon had horrendous morning sickness that didn’t ease. I didn’t gain weight appropriately, and I wound up in the hospital. It was a difficult pregnancy, and I ended up dropping out of school.
I told myself it was temporary, but I worried my career dreams were going up in a puff of smoke.
“Don’t worry,” Scott had said. “I’ll take care of you. My inheritance was substantial; we don’t have to think about money.”
I’d smiled at him, but I had still kept Gam’s advice in the back of my mind. And I swore I’d go back to school and finish my art and architecture degree.
Life, though, had other plans.