Novel Treatments / Chapter 12 Prom Nightmare (Analysis)
The Prom and the End with Ruth.
I got home late Friday. The Prom was Saturday evening, so I waited until early Saturday afternoon to call Ruth. We made arrangements for me to pick her up about 7. I worried for the rest for the afternoon about how I was going to tell her, but by the time I left to drive to her house I still didn’t know.
Now I’m not stupid. I know I could have just come out and said, “Ruth, there is someone else. I’m going to marry her.” That didn’t seem the way to do it. Maybe it was. Maybe I should have just told her. Of course that was what I really should have done in September, not in May. Every time I’d put it off it got harder to explain the next time. Still, Donna had given an ultimatum of sorts. She had made it plain that if she was willing to tell Lee not to come, I had to be willing to end it with Ruth, and I was, I just wasn’t sure how.
I’m not a big fan of Prom dresses that are billowing and flowing. That was the style Ruth had chosen. She looked beautiful, but the dress wasn’t right for her. I decided, wisely I think, not to mention that to her. She was unusually quiet as we drove to the high school. The Prom was always held there, in the decorated school gym. I’ve always imagined hiring a hall for a Prom and then decorating the hall as a gym, but I digress.
I remember very little of the Prom itself. Ruth was distant, even cold. We danced only a couple times and she was very stiff in my arms. We had agreed to go to the after prom with two other couples. Ken, a good friend, was part of the group. While Ruth and the other girls were away from the table, he asked me what was going on. He said he’d never seen Ruth, or me, so quiet. I just shook my head. I already could see that this was going to get unpleasant.
We drove to the after prom and during the whole drive she didn’t say a thing. We got there and I paid for our tickets. We found the other two couples and sat down. Then she asked me straight out, “Do you love me?” Everyone at the table froze, me included. I just looked at her without saying anything. “Well,” she said, “that seems a simple question. Yes or no, do you love me?”
Realizing I had to say something I said “Are you sure you want to have this conversation here and now?”
She got a little louder. “It’s not a conversation, it’s a question. Do you love me?”
I realized that people at the other tables were looking at us. I stood up, offered her my hand, and said “Let’s go talk.” She looked at me for a long moment then, ignoring my hand, got up and walked out. I followed. She never said a word until we got to the car. After we got in the car she said, “Are you going to answer my question?” When I nodded she said “Well.”
A thousand things were going through my mind. I had to say something, but anything I answered would hurt her, and I really didn’t want to do that. I tried to confuse the issue. “You know Ruth, it is possible to love two people at the same time. I have strong feelings for you, and we have all summer to work things out.” I was babbling and she knew it.
“Take me home.” She said. We rode in silence. A couple times I started to say something, but she just held up her hand and I stopped. When we got to her driveway I pulled in and parked. When I looked at her she was crying. As usual, I didn’t know what to do.
I reached out and touched her shoulder. She shuddered, then, very softly, said “Hold me.” I did. I put my arms around her and she cried against my chest. She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed as hard as she could. I have no idea how long we stayed that way, fifteen minutes at least. Finally, she pulled away and looked up at me. “Tell me” She said.
In broken words and by bits and pieces I told her about Donna. Ruth had stopped crying and, as I went on, her face became, well, the only way to put it is, blank. She showed no emotion at all. She just looked at me. Finally I sputtered to a stop.
For a long time she didn’t say anything. She didn’t even move. When at last she did speak it didn’t sound at all like her. “All year, and you didn’t tell me. I was willing to do anything, and you didn’t tell me. How could you live with yourself?” With that she started to get out of the car.
“Wait” I said. “I didn’t ask to have this happen. I know I should have told you, but I didn’t want to hurt you. I guess I was hoping you’d find someone else and make it easy for both of us.” I continued to try to explain, but she just looked at me with that blank expression, and I stopped after a few more sentences.
“Are you finished?” She asked. When I nodded she got out of the car and went inside. I sat there in the driveway for maybe five minutes, then drove home and went to bed.
At about seven the next morning my mom came back to my bedroom and told me Ruth was here and wanted to talk to me. I pulled on a robe and went to see her. Without a word she handed me back my class ring. I suddenly remembered I’d left her ring back at school. I told her I’d mail it to her, or give it to her when school ended in three weeks. She said all right and left.
I went back to bed thinking that at least it was done, even if done badly, very badly in fact. Ruth didn’t deserve what I’d done to her, but at least now, I though, it would be an easy ride for Donna and me.
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make complacent.
==========================================
Joe didn’t handle that very well, did he? At the same time I wonder why Ruth refused to see what had to be obvious to her. Well, maybe I don’t wonder too much. Joe was very easy to fall in love with. He had me caught in less than two months, and even though I tried to break the net on a couple of occasions, I was well and truly caught. Maybe Ruth was in the same situation. As an aside, I don’t think Joe knew he had that effect on girls.
That is about all I have to say on this particular topic and chapter. It could have and should have been done better and sooner, but it was done, and as Joe said, it looked like an easy ride. It wasn’t.
You need to log in to urbis or create an urbis account to review this writing.
Reviews
Sort Reviews by Newest | Oldest | Highest Quality | Lowest Quality | Newest Comments |
This is such a great love story. Especially the whole ruth twist. It adds something to the story. I want to say a bit of drama, but not quite. Its just something real, something that can challenge and even end a relationship. I love to read how you two got through it.
The fact that the story is true makes it even better.
I feel sorry for ruth. She really got the short end of the stick in the story. However, I feel it was partly her fault that joe had to break the news to her the way he did. Why would she put him on the spot the way she did, in the place she did?
I can’t wait to read more, and I can’t wait to catch up on what I’ve missed. Your story is truly inspirational to couples just starting.
- add/view comments (1)
Showing 1 - 1 of 1
Review item
Add to faves
GENERAL
REVIEW QUEUE
Ratings & Rankings
