2 Texts

There was a soft rap on the door.

"May I come in? Am I welcomed here?"

"Yes, you may. And no, you're not welcomed," Diane answered.

"The door's locked,' Christy reminded Diane.

Letting out an irritated sigh, Diane pulled herself off the bed and unlocked the door. There was a gentle click and Christy entered the room.

"What's wrong, Diane? I thought you would be happy," Christy asked.

"Well, you thought wrong," Diane muttered. "And what's wrong is that you're still acting like I'm 12. I'm 29. I can take care of myself!"

"Sarah was 29 when she ran off with that boy. Look how well she took after herself, running off with a 'bad boy', getting married without my permission. How well did that go?" Christy snapped.

"Very well if she's happy! I'd rather be happy and disgraced than be miserable and be loved by a mother who 'wants the better for me'!" Diane yelled.

"At least-" Christy broke off when she glanced at what Diane was holding. Her face paled slightly.

Noticing, Diane pointed at the boy in the picture and asked, "Who is this?"

Christy pursed her lips. She responded in an even tone, "I swore to not tell you."

"Who did you swear to?" Diane demanded.

"I cannot tell," Christy answered.

"Who was it?" Diane persisted. She tried to give her mother the death glare that Christy always gave her. She stopped when she realized that her mother wasn't kidding about not telling.

"I told you, I'm not allowed to say." Christy backed towards the door. "You should say something to the suitors before they leave." And then she left.

Following Christy, Diane went back into the living room. Facing the men, she once again felt panic grip her heart and squeeze it. It was the feeling again, the feeling that she was doing something wrong just by being so close to so many male adults. Pushing the feeling away, Diane opened her mouth to speak. The men were staring at her expectantly.

"I'm not dating any of you." That was all Diane said before running out the door and rushing to drive home.

It wasn't until Diane got home when she realized she was still holding on to the picture. As much as she wanted to throw out the photo, she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to do it. For some reason, the thought of the boy started to bring tears to her eyes. So instead, she set the photo down on her bedside table.

Ding! Diane picked up her phone. The message was from her mother. She ignored it, throwing her phone onto the bedside table. Ding! Ding! Diane put her phone on silence mode. Vrrr. Vrrr. And her phone only vibrated instead. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Diane rolled over on her bed and grabbed her phone off the table. She quickly scanned the messages.

Christy: Why did you leave?

Christy: Diane? Answer me.

Christy: All of the men were waiting to meet you.

Christy: Do you know how disappointed they were?

Christy: Diane?

Reading the messages, Diane realized that her mother really didn't know what was going on, what she'd done wrong. The texts seemed so innocent, yet they made rage course through Diane's veins. Her mother really had to be dense to not know what she'd caused Diane to flee, that Diane didn't care about the suitors any more than she cared about marriage right then.

Diane: What do you want? Don't you think you've had enough control

over my life?

Diane: And I don't care how disappointed they were. Do you know how

disappointed I was when I realized your 'surprise' was marrying

me off to a random man?

Christy: Diane! I'm only trying to do what's best for you.

Diane: Well, your idea of "what's best for me" is not my idea of

what's best for me.

Diane: I want to make my own decisions. I don't need your permission

for things anymore. I can control my own life. And I will from

now on.

Christy: You don't understand. These men I've chosen are very suitable

husbands. They are rich and handsome and smart.

Christy: I do not want you to run off with a mediocre man like Sarah.

Diane: Oh please, stop using Sarah as an example of how bad life can

be. I told you, as long as she's happy, she's living a good

life!

Christy: Do you know how bad this is for my reputation?

Christy: Just because someone is happy does not mean their life is

good. Would you be happy with an average husband and little money? I think not!

Diane: Actually, yes. You don't have to be rich to be happy you know!

Money and wealth aren't what life is all about.

Diane: And I don't care about your reputation. You should think more

of who you actually are rather than what others think you are!

Christy: Oh so now my daughter thinks she is smarter than I am.

Diane: Maybe I actually am!

Diane was getting more and more angry just thinking about her mother. Fuming mad, Diane took out her anger on the pillow, punching and pummeling it. Ding! Diane screamed. Hasn't she said enough? Grabbing her phone, she jabbed the [OPEN] button. The sender was unknown. Because the sender was not her mother, she felt the anger inside her drain. At least she knows that I'm not in the mood to talk with her anymore. Rolling her eyes, Diane thought, Oh great. It's probably one of those alerts or whatnot. She opened the message just to get rid of the little red dot at the top of the messaging app. The dot always annoyed her, it seemed so out of place in her neat and organized pages. She opened the message to see what weather alert or AMBER alert was being sent to her now.

Unknown: Hi, Diane.

The message perplexed Diane. The number was unfamiliar, yet this person seemed to know her personally, at least, he (or she) knew her name. Frightened at the thought that someone was stalking her or following her around, she quickly responded with the usual three texts anyone would send if they were in her position:

Diane: Who is this?

Diane: How do you know my name?

Diane: How did you get my number?

Honestly, Diane did not expect the person to answer back. But surprisingly, he/she did. Although he did not answer her questions, from his second message, Diane could already guess who he was and what is business was.

Unknown: Woah, you've got a lot of questions.

Unknown: And you may not like the answers to any of those questions.

Diane: Let me guess.

Diane: You are someone from the party my mother hosted, which explains

how you knew my name. And my mom gave you my number.

Unknown: Wow, you're good at guesses.

Diane: I'm not 'good'. It's obvious.

Unknown: I guess.

Diane: Let me guess my mom's intentions. She wants you to 'hook up'

with me and make me fall in love with you. Am I right?

Unknown: Not really…

Diane: You're lying. What's your name?

Unknown: Why should I tell you?

Diane: So that I don't block your number?

Unknown: Aren't you going to anyways?

Diane: Maybe I will, maybe I won't.

Unknown: My name is Lorenzo Lockwood.

Diane: How old are you?

Lorenzo: 31. Why'd you want to know?

Diane: I just want to. How'd you meet my mother?

Lorenzo: At the grocery store.

Diane: Well, Lockwood, I was just talking to my mother. I hope you'll

be delighted to know that

Diane: I'm

Diane: Not

Diane: Interested.

Diane: Good day and bye.

Lorenzo: Wait!

Lorenzo; No!

Lorenzo: Don't leave yet!

Diane closed her phone and threw it onto her bed. She buried her face in a pillow and started to cry. Why doesn't she know when to give up? I'm sick of telling her to leave me alone! I'm old enough to take care of myself. I'm not a four-year-old walking to school alone. I'm a grown woman who graduated from college! I can take care of myself! A sense of tranquility settled over Dine, and she later realized that the feeling of peace was just sleep overtaking her mind.