Free School Ties by Tamsen Parker Page B

of just about anything would be lost on him right now.
    â€œThis is your way of proposing? Showing up drunk at my apartment at midnight? What is wrong with you?”
    â€œSame thing’s wrong with you. Stubborn, selfish.”
    How can he possibly say that? But arguing isn’t going to do me any good. I clench my fists and close my eyes. “Are you sure about this, Will? You’re plastered. I don’t want you making this decision when you’re not sober.”
    â€œI was sober. It sucked. This’s better.”
    I’m stuck between joblessness, possibly homelessness, and a lush with whom I’ve had tepid sex. No girl’s dream situation, but I could deal with it. As long as I can deal with it here.
    â€œI’m going to ask you again in the morning because I don’t trust you in this state. But you can’t go walking around campus drunk. Headmaster Wilson would fire you on the spot.”
    â€œSolve some problems.”
    â€œYes, it would. But I’m not that kind of girl. Give me your keys.”
    He hands them over without protest, without even asking what I want them for. I turn on my coffeepot before I head across campus to his place. When I come back with a clean set of clothes, I’m relieved he’s in the shower.
    When he steps out of my bathroom, he looks like he’s had a hard night, but not as bad as he had looked. There are droplets of water clinging to his beard and the hair on his chest. The towel is slung around his narrow hips. Whatever else he may be, Will is a finely built specimen of man. I hold out the pile of clothes, but instead of taking them, he grabs my arms and pulls me in close, the khakis, button-down, boxer-briefs and his favorite argyle socks crushed between us.
    â€œI’m sorry, Erin. This is absolute shit, but that doesn’t give me an excuse to behave like an absolute shit. I hope you can accept my apology.”
    I offer him a half-assed smile. “You’re right, it sucks. I’m sorry, too.”
    He sinks to one knee, his hands trailing to my mine, which are still clutching his post-bender outfit.
    â€œErin Elizabeth Brewster, will you marry me?”
    I have to laugh. This whole situation is absurd and there’s nothing else to do in the face of it except let the desperate barks of hysteria overtake me. “Yes, Will. I will marry you.”
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    The wedding is a rushed affair. We got a license from City Hall and a few days later make our way into Boston to the courthouse. I wear a dress and Will wears a suit. No one we know is there. Strangers act as witnesses and when it’s over, we finger the thin gold bands on our ring fingers.
Did that really happen?
But when we arrive back on campus, there’s a note on my door to please report to the faculty dining room.
    When we get there, a handful of colleagues are waiting to fête us with a small white cake. The swooping red letters read “Congratulations Will and Erin!” I want to throw it on the floor. Congratulations on what? Messing up my whole life? But some arranged marriages are happy, aren’t they? I could still get my happy ending, have everything I’ve ever wanted. Though I’d rather curl up in my bathtub and cry, I put on a brave face and accept congratulatory hugs and well wishes from the other faculty and staff. At least I can stay here. That’s what really matters.
    If they know why we’ve done this, they don’t say. If the walls of this school could talk, I can’t imagine this is the most scandalous thing ever to take place here. Aunt Tilly is particularly kind.
    â€œI’m so happy for you, Erin. Will is a handsome, intelligent young man. You two are going to be very happy together.”
    I give her a tight smile, begging her with my eyes to say something, anything, that’s going to make me feel better. She’s as close to a mother as I’ve ever