Free Grounded by Neta Jackson Page B

still had enough hot coffee in the pot for two cups, which she carried back into the living room on a tray with packets of sweetener. Roger took two sugars in his coffee and always let it cool. She liked hers hot and black. The kind of little details a couple knows about each other.
    She set the tray on the coffee table near where he’d seated himself in the chair that matched her sectional, let Oreo out of his prison, then curled up on the couch with her own cup. The cat jumped up on the couch and settled down beside her. Grace watched as her fiancé—now
ex
—took a few sips.
    She spoke first. “Why, Roger?”
    He slowly set the cup down. “I told you why, Grace. Your career, your travel schedule … it’s just too much time apart. It’s not working for me—and we’re not even married yet. It would only get harder—especially if we wanted to start a family.”
    Start a family
. They’d only talked about having kids once, and he’d said it was too soon to decide something that big—how many, or when, or if …
    â€œBut we didn’t even talk about it! You just made your own decision,
bam
, like that.”
    He shifted. “Not ‘
bam
, like that.’ Never was happy with these long separations. You know how much I miss you when you’re gone …”
    â€œThen why didn’t you call more often while I was on tour?”
    Roger cleared his throat. “I’m trying to explain myself here, Grace. You see, thing is—while you were away this last tour, it finally hit me. It’s not just that I miss you when you’re gone. I realized that this isn’t what I want in a marriage.”
    â€œYou should have thought of that a year ago …”
    â€œA year ago I didn’t know what kind of toll your absence would take on me. On us.”
    â€œI thought you supported my career.”
    â€œI did. And I still do. But … I want someone who’s here for me, someone who isn’t gone half the time.”
    Silence hung between them. “But … why end the engagement without even talking about it? Maybe I could slow it down, do fewer concerts—”
    â€œReally, Grace? You’re a singer. This is your career, your … your ministry. And you’re doing really well too. I can’t ask you to give all that up.”
    Uh-huh. How noble
.
    She sat there for a long minute, absently stroking Oreo’s neck fur behind his ears. Then, without really thinking, she said, “I’ve already got my wedding dress.”
    â€œYou … what? Grace! We hadn’t even set a date yet!”
    â€œI know.” It was a whisper.
    Roger threw out his hands. “Grace. We can’t go forward with a relationship that’s not working just because you already bought a dress.”
    Grace stared at her lap. “I know. But I was that sure of us. I mean, engagements tend to do that to a girl. I’ve been sharing about us at my concerts, telling my fans that waiting until marriageto be intimate is worth it.”
That I’m worth it
, she almost added, but didn’t.
    â€œExactly!” Roger looked almost angry. “Telling people from one end of the country to the other! I have to say, I don’t appreciate being the poster boy for your little abstinence campaign—like some trophy you’ve won.”
    Grace was stunned. “I thought you supported my message! I mean, even for us, early on we agreed on the biblical—”
    â€œYes, yes, of course. I’m not saying that abstinence isn’t important and the right choice. But it’s one thing to make that commitment for ourselves, quite another to make a big public deal out of our personal relationship. That’s a lot of unwanted publicity, Grace, and I don’t like it!”
    She hardly knew what to say—and besides, her throat was starting to feel dry and sore from all this talking. She took a gulp of