The Constant Heart

Nancy was so angered by this put down that her first thought was to give this woman a piece of her mind and let her know how she really felt. She decided it would be best to hold her tongue. Nancy knew if she released all that was in her mind to share with her future mother-in-law she would do irreparable damage to their relationship. She yearned to do so, but acted with caution and self control. This was a time to keep her thoughts to herself and her responses in check. Her issue was with Scott and not his mother. Mrs. Cole had indicated with her tone and choice of words that she would defend her son at all costs. Nancy ached to defend her own position. She was right in this matter. Scott had ignored her. How could this woman misconstrue this to call it “suffocation?” Nancy knew she was within her rights to expect her fiancé to shower her with affection and attention after their long separation. His failure to do so would be an indication that he was having second thoughts about marrying her. All sorts of thoughts came into her head. “Perhaps there was someone else in this scenario. Was it his former girlfriend Pat? Was it the Wave on base who wanted to photograph his vivid blue eyes? Had he met someone new who had infatuated him? Was he simply a selfish, self centered person?” He was not acting like the man she intended to marry. She had never seen him behave like this before. She was totally dismayed and frustrated. Whatever had caused this change in his behavior toward her, the survival of their relationship and the continuation of their engagement hinged on their first reactions when they saw one another. She found herself dreading this meeting. Still she determined to put on a happy face and attempt to mask her emotions. It was early evening when Scott finally rang the doorbell. A smiling Nancy greeted him, “Hi handsome. I’ve missed you.” This salutation usually elicited a like response from her intended. Tonight it was quite different. There was no hug. There was no kiss. There were angry words. “Why did you upset my Mother? She told me of your encounter outside church. She’s been crying all afternoon.” “Are you at all interested in my side of the story?” Nancy asked trying to keep her composure. “It had better be good. I don’t like to see my Mother mistreated and in tears. You were rude to cut her off when she was trying to have friendly conversation.” “Apparently you’ve already made a decision about what happened and I’m the bad guy” she answered. Now Nancy found herself in a defensive mode. She was ready to take him on if he chose to argue. The audacity of this guy to think so little of her! Obviously he hadn’t’ severed the apron strings’ so to speak. He had his priorities out of order. These thoughts would be in her arsenal of defense. She was slow to anger, but this was too much to take. Nancy was realistic enough to recognize that you didn’t just marry the guy. You married the family, too. She was revisiting in her mind the issue of an interfering mother-in-law. Couldn’t he see that his Mom was out of line in lecturing her about ‘suffocating’ him? There were serious issues to be resolved if this engagement was to continue. She took a deep breath and chose her words carefully so as not to antagonize him. “I’m trying to understand why you didn’t meet me at the train station as you said you would. Your mother seems to interpret this expectation as ‘suffocating’ you.”