(no subject)
It’s the night before her wedding and she’s just ruined everything.
She’s just finished telling Lois about what she’s done when there’s a knock on the door. They both jump, both too in the moment to imagine having to be taken out of it by a disturbance of any kind. Martha is in tears, Lois is in shock, and then they’re both wide-eyed with alarm, staring at the front door of Lois’ apartment. It takes nearly a minute and one more knock on the door for either of them to move. Finally Lois stands, approaching the door without even thinking of who might be on the other side, entirely disengaged from the moment.
The door opens, and Lois is rendered speechless, a rare occurance to be sure. Martha inhales sharply and stands up at once, stiff and straight. Standing in the doorway, Perry looks somewhat relieved to see her, and somewhat torn about. Just as she and Lois had been developing a game plan for how to handle the situation, he shows up here.
He stares at her for a moment, then turns to her best friend. “Lois, could we, uh…have a minute please?”
“Uh.” She looks at Martha tentatively. “Sure. I’ll be in my room.”
Martha can barely acknowledge her. She can barely acknowledge either of them. But she takes a step forward, already looking at him pleadingly. “Perry, I…”
“Wait, wait.” He holds up a hand. “Before you get mad at me for barging in the night of our wedding. I’ve been thinking about it. All night. Well, really, for awhile now but tonight…I’ve done nothing but think.”
She watches and listens to him with a puzzled look on her face. She’d been planning how she was going to come to him about this - what could he possibly be coming to her about?
“Martha, I love you. More than I think I’ll ever know how to articulate,” he begins. “And as much as I want this, as much as I want you, I don’t know if…well, if this is what’s right for us.”
Stunned, she opens her mouth to speak, but he holds up a hand yet again.
“Marriage is the next step for some people. The logical progression of a relationship, yeah, and that’s why I wanted to do this. That’s what felt right, that’s what came next. But we’ve been together for eight years, and we’ve been living together for six, and maybe…that’s just what works for us,” he explains. “Not everyone has to get married. There’s just…too much pressure for both of us. Pressure for you to recreate the happiness of your first marriage and pressure for me to improve upon the failure of my first. And who needs that? Who needs that kind of pressure when we’re already happy? We’ve been doing just fine for years. We’re lucky to have what we have. We don’t want to be those kids who build the highest tower out of blocks, then get cocky and try to add one more, just to watch it topple over because of it.” He reaches forward to take her hands. “Our tower’s pretty great as it is. We don’t need an extra block.”
For a moment, Martha can think of no appropriate way to respond. This is like the opposite of a proposal. A proposal of no marriage. Without knowing it, he’s just taken all the pressure off of her having to burst into tears and confess her sins, leading to the invitation cancellation of the wedding anyway. But it seems too good to be true.
She blinks a few times, looking up at him in a sort of suspended disbelief. “I…are you sure?”
He nods sincerely. “Martha, I see you running around, trying so hard to pull yourself together. I know this isn’t what you really want, not now. It’s not what you need. And the fact that you’ve put so much effort into trying…for me…well. That’s says just about everything.”
In that moment, she makes the decision not to tell him the truth. It occurs to her that telling him would only cause him pain, while keeping it a secret would cause her pain - and she’s the one who deserves to be hurt for what she’s done, not him. He deserves to be happy, even if it’s in ignorance.
All at once, she pushes herself up on her tiptoes to throw her arms around his neck. He hugs her back, and when she finally pulls away he notices the wetness of her tears on his shoulder before he sees them in her eyes. He frowns. “You’re not…upset about this, are you? I know it’s last minute…”
“Oh, no. No, no.” She shakes her head fervently, using the back of her hand to wipe her tears away. “I’m just a little amazed. This is just about the most…selfless thing anyone’s ever done for me.” And after I’ve done something so selfish… “I know how much getting married means to you. And you’re giving it up because you think it would be better for me. I wish I had something to say that was more powerful than ‘thank you.’”
Ten years ago, she never would have thought Perry White could play the role of The Nice Guy. Now she can’t believe just how lucky she is.
He smiles. “Hey, your happiness comes first now. That’s what being in a relationship is, right? Putting your partner’s happiness over your own?”
Martha has to bite her lip to keep from letting the tears fall again, and nods. “Right.”
He squeezes her hand. “I’m gonna head back home and wake the caterer up to cancel. We can call the guests first thing in the morning.”
She nods, only half-listening. “…I’m going to keep the dress though, okay?”
Laughing, he leans forward to give her a quick kiss. “Okay. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Unconsciously she breathes a sigh of relief, and she’s not sure she’s relieved that he still loves her or if she’s relieved that she still loves him. Maybe both.
She knows the conversation isn’t over. She knows she’ll meet him at home later on, where she’ll likely cry some more, alone in the bathroom. And then they’ll talk about it. How to explain it to their friends, to the kids. How to get their relationship back to the way it was before he proposed, before she said yes. She’ll struggle to keep the truth concealed, and always wonder whether or not concealing it is the right thing to do. Then he’ll make her laugh. And she’ll remember why.
She’s just finished telling Lois about what she’s done when there’s a knock on the door. They both jump, both too in the moment to imagine having to be taken out of it by a disturbance of any kind. Martha is in tears, Lois is in shock, and then they’re both wide-eyed with alarm, staring at the front door of Lois’ apartment. It takes nearly a minute and one more knock on the door for either of them to move. Finally Lois stands, approaching the door without even thinking of who might be on the other side, entirely disengaged from the moment.
The door opens, and Lois is rendered speechless, a rare occurance to be sure. Martha inhales sharply and stands up at once, stiff and straight. Standing in the doorway, Perry looks somewhat relieved to see her, and somewhat torn about. Just as she and Lois had been developing a game plan for how to handle the situation, he shows up here.
He stares at her for a moment, then turns to her best friend. “Lois, could we, uh…have a minute please?”
“Uh.” She looks at Martha tentatively. “Sure. I’ll be in my room.”
Martha can barely acknowledge her. She can barely acknowledge either of them. But she takes a step forward, already looking at him pleadingly. “Perry, I…”
“Wait, wait.” He holds up a hand. “Before you get mad at me for barging in the night of our wedding. I’ve been thinking about it. All night. Well, really, for awhile now but tonight…I’ve done nothing but think.”
She watches and listens to him with a puzzled look on her face. She’d been planning how she was going to come to him about this - what could he possibly be coming to her about?
“Martha, I love you. More than I think I’ll ever know how to articulate,” he begins. “And as much as I want this, as much as I want you, I don’t know if…well, if this is what’s right for us.”
Stunned, she opens her mouth to speak, but he holds up a hand yet again.
“Marriage is the next step for some people. The logical progression of a relationship, yeah, and that’s why I wanted to do this. That’s what felt right, that’s what came next. But we’ve been together for eight years, and we’ve been living together for six, and maybe…that’s just what works for us,” he explains. “Not everyone has to get married. There’s just…too much pressure for both of us. Pressure for you to recreate the happiness of your first marriage and pressure for me to improve upon the failure of my first. And who needs that? Who needs that kind of pressure when we’re already happy? We’ve been doing just fine for years. We’re lucky to have what we have. We don’t want to be those kids who build the highest tower out of blocks, then get cocky and try to add one more, just to watch it topple over because of it.” He reaches forward to take her hands. “Our tower’s pretty great as it is. We don’t need an extra block.”
For a moment, Martha can think of no appropriate way to respond. This is like the opposite of a proposal. A proposal of no marriage. Without knowing it, he’s just taken all the pressure off of her having to burst into tears and confess her sins, leading to the invitation cancellation of the wedding anyway. But it seems too good to be true.
She blinks a few times, looking up at him in a sort of suspended disbelief. “I…are you sure?”
He nods sincerely. “Martha, I see you running around, trying so hard to pull yourself together. I know this isn’t what you really want, not now. It’s not what you need. And the fact that you’ve put so much effort into trying…for me…well. That’s says just about everything.”
In that moment, she makes the decision not to tell him the truth. It occurs to her that telling him would only cause him pain, while keeping it a secret would cause her pain - and she’s the one who deserves to be hurt for what she’s done, not him. He deserves to be happy, even if it’s in ignorance.
All at once, she pushes herself up on her tiptoes to throw her arms around his neck. He hugs her back, and when she finally pulls away he notices the wetness of her tears on his shoulder before he sees them in her eyes. He frowns. “You’re not…upset about this, are you? I know it’s last minute…”
“Oh, no. No, no.” She shakes her head fervently, using the back of her hand to wipe her tears away. “I’m just a little amazed. This is just about the most…selfless thing anyone’s ever done for me.” And after I’ve done something so selfish… “I know how much getting married means to you. And you’re giving it up because you think it would be better for me. I wish I had something to say that was more powerful than ‘thank you.’”
Ten years ago, she never would have thought Perry White could play the role of The Nice Guy. Now she can’t believe just how lucky she is.
He smiles. “Hey, your happiness comes first now. That’s what being in a relationship is, right? Putting your partner’s happiness over your own?”
Martha has to bite her lip to keep from letting the tears fall again, and nods. “Right.”
He squeezes her hand. “I’m gonna head back home and wake the caterer up to cancel. We can call the guests first thing in the morning.”
She nods, only half-listening. “…I’m going to keep the dress though, okay?”
Laughing, he leans forward to give her a quick kiss. “Okay. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Unconsciously she breathes a sigh of relief, and she’s not sure she’s relieved that he still loves her or if she’s relieved that she still loves him. Maybe both.
She knows the conversation isn’t over. She knows she’ll meet him at home later on, where she’ll likely cry some more, alone in the bathroom. And then they’ll talk about it. How to explain it to their friends, to the kids. How to get their relationship back to the way it was before he proposed, before she said yes. She’ll struggle to keep the truth concealed, and always wonder whether or not concealing it is the right thing to do. Then he’ll make her laugh. And she’ll remember why.