(Chapter seven)
Fletcher walked in circles. He walked five circles clockwise, four counterclockwise and repeated. Each circle took exactly fourteen steps. He counted under his breath.
At 7:53 am he stopped.
He walked into the kitchen, picked up the phone, and dialed Sharon’s number.
“Sharon…um…I love you but …but I am going to ASU and you are going to UNC and…I don’t think we should get married.”
Silence.
“Click“.
Sharon hung up the phone. Fletcher smiled. He had done it. He had done the right thing. He knew as soon as the proposal came out of his mouth many weeks earlier that he had made a mistake. It wasn’t as if he planned to marry Sharon. He did not buy her a ring and think about it ahead of time. No, he did not even consider the idea until he heard his words “Will you marry me?” himself. But it did not matter now. He somehow managed to gather every last ounce of courage in his being and called it off. It wasn’t pretty but it was done. A feeling of pride swelled inside of him for getting out of his own mess.
The phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Fletcher, I just want you to know that I forgive you and I will always love you.”
Fletcher knew immediately something was wrong. Sharon’s voice wasn’t right. It was as if she was quivering. Fletcher found himself pinching a tiny piece of skin on his left wrist between his right thumbnail and ring finger nail. He developed a lump in his throat and heard a screech of tires from outside.
The first thing he noticed were her eyes.
They were pitch black.
She looked like a porcelain doll.
“What did you do Sharon? What did you do?!”
“ I …forgive you.”
“WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU SHARON!”
“Fletcher…I’m scared.”
“OH GOD! WHAT DID YOU DO SHARON!”
“I took a bottle of sleeping pills and a fifth of vodka.”
“OH GOD, OH GOD!”
Fletcher ran inside.
“Daddy, DADDY SHARON TRIED TO KILL .. TRIED TO KILL HERSELF!
“What!?“
“SHE TRIED TO KILL HERSELF! SHE TOOK A BUNCH OF PILLS AND SHE’S OUTSIDE AND I…I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO! WHAT SHOULD I DO!?”
Mr. Phip seemed annoyed by the question.
He answered slowly and deliberately.
“Take my truck and drive her to the hospital. Now.”
Fletcher stopped shaking and followed his father out the front door.
Sharon sat on the front porch with her head between her knees. Fletcher spoke first.
“I have to take you to the hospital now.”
“No.”
“GET IN THE TRUCK, SHARON.”
Mr. Phips’s voice startled her as he grabbed her arm. She did not resist. He turned towards Fletcher.
“Now, do not worry about stoplights nor stop signs.”
“Yes, daddy.”
“Take her straight to the emergency room”
“Yes, daddy.”
“Go. Now.”
Fletcher sped to the hospital. On the way he drove through a stop sign and he stopped at a stop light. When he reached the emergency room his voice changed. He wondered who it was that was speaking.
“PLEASE HELP ME. SHE TRIED TO KILL HERSELF. I DIDN’T MEAN FOR THIS…SHARON I’M SO SORRY. I’M SO, SO SORRY! I’M SORRY!”
A nurse approached.
“Calm down sir.”
“SHE TRIED TO KILL HERSELF. I JUST DIDN’T WANT TO GET MARRIED!”
“How?”
“SLEEPING PILLS AND VODKA!”
The nurse gently pulled Sharon off of his arm and led her to a wheelchair. She wheeled her into a room out of Fletcher’s sight. He began walking in circles again.
“I’M SORRY! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this. I’M SORRY. I still wanted to date her. I’M SO SORRY”
A police officer approached Fletcher.
“It is probably best that you leave, sir.”
“I love her. I really do. That’s why I proposed, I just got scared. I GOT SCARED. I‘M SORRY!”
“I don’t think she wants to see you. You should leave now, sir”
Fletcher heard another voice.
“Fletcher is my little girl okay?”
“I don’t know. They won’t let me see her.”
“Thank you for bringing her here.”
“Are you the child’s mother?” the officer wrote in a small pad as he asked.
“Yes.”
He turned towards Fletcher.
“Time to go.”
***
Fletcher came home to his father standing on the sidewalk in front of the house. As Fletcher handed his father his keys he heard a question.
“Did you ever have sex with Sharon?“
Fletcher nodded, despite the tears and the trembling.
“That is why this happened.”