Read Promise Me Anthology for Free Online Page B

happily ever after?”
    Theo didn’t reply, his conviction
wavering.
    “You’ve been rich your whole life,” his
father said. “Your mother and I spoiled you, because we wanted you
to have everything we did as children. But there’s going to be a
day when we won’t be there for you to lean on. I need to know
you’re prepared for that. I need to know that you’ll not just
survive, but that you’ll have a good life, son.”
    His father had been hard on him his whole
life. How much more would he have understood, if his father hadn’t
waited until he was nearly twenty to tell him all this? But would
he have understood if he’d heard this when he was younger, before
he’d loved someone? Probably not.
    “I booked us a family trip to the Adirondacks
next week,” his father went on. “I know how much you like the
woods, especially as a muse. Your mother is coming with us. We’ll
hike and talk this over.” He paused. “I know that you’ve completed
your two year art degree, for the most part. I want you to think
about transferring to a four-year school to pursue graphic design.
Computers are essential now to most everyone. With an additional
degree, you can pursue your art interests in a career that has a
good chance of keeping you and Casey comfortable.”
    Theo could live with that scenario, if not
embrace it. He knew a little about computers, and his father was
right. He had to take a more active role in his future, something
he had always naively considered would take care of itself.
However, he didn’t want to agree without inserting a term or two of
his own. “So you aren’t against us getting married?” Theo
challenged.
    “Of course not,” his father said, irritated.
“So long as you are ready to be married. Right now, you aren’t.” He
nodded once. “But in a few years, yes, when you both graduate. In
fact, we want to throw you both an engagement party this fall.”
    “She probably thinks I’ve forgotten her or
something,” Theo grumbled. “She might have moved on. We haven’t
talked in weeks.”
    “If she can forget you and move on, then she
isn’t worth marrying,” his father said. Then he flashed a small
reticent smile. “But I have it on good authority that she is just
as much in love with you as you are with her. I wasn’t the only
parent that stopped their child from getting on a plane this
summer.”
    Theo was silent, considering. His father was
trying to make amends. He had to try, too.
    “Go get packed, son,” his father said. “We
leave at noon, sharp. And don’t forget long sleeves. The most
dangerous things in the woods aren’t the bears. They’re the
ticks.”
    “All right. I’ll pack. Can I call Casey
first, though? I want to tell her about the party.”
    “Yes,” his father said, handing him the
phone. “I’ll be outside.”
    * * * *
    “Theo?”
    Hearing Casey’s voice after months of just
imagining her soft tone was enough to bring tears to Theo’s eyes.
Immediately he wanted to see her, which just made knowing it would
be several more weeks before he could that much harder to bear.
    “It’s me,” he said, closing his eyes. “I’m
coming back to school this fall. My father and I have worked out a
deal.”
    “How?” Casey stammered. “Did you give
in?”
    “Yes,” Theo admitted, “But he did, too. He’s
right that I should be able to help us out financially. I never
thought beyond creating, and I needed to. I needed to think about
your happiness, not just my own.”
    “I would have been happy with you,” Casey
protested. “We would have made it work. I never cared about your
family having money or about you leaving it behind.”
    “We will make it work, Casey,” Theo said with
conviction. “We’re going to have a good life together.”
    Casey didn’t reply.
    Theo had a moment of panic. Casey had used
the past tense. Had she met someone else over the summer? “Do you
still love me?”
    “Of course, you idiot,” Casey snapped.