Then from out of the blue
And without any guide
You know what your decision is
Which is not to decide
- Into the Woods
Katie
hummed as she unpacked the groceries in the kitchen of her family’s Victorian
shore-house. Lunchmeat, bread, soda,
milk, condiments, chicken and ribs for barbecuing… all of the essentials for a
summer vacation lined up on the counter.
It couldn’t have come at a better time… maybe a little rest and
relaxation would help her decide what to do next.
Outwardly,
nothing monumental had happened in Katie’s life. She was twenty-six, working as a secretary and nurse tech for a
suburban doctor’s office, and was semi-involved with a fellow she’d known since
college. In truth, there was nothing
terribly wrong with her life. However,
one morning, she’d woken up knowing that this was not what she wanted her life
to be; an endless circle of days spent typing and nights spent with her VCR and
writing journal. Why couldn’t she be
just a little bit more like Jason? Her
endearing, if somewhat alarming cousin had shocked the entire family by
dropping out of law school to pursue a career as an actor in New York
City. Now after six years of being the
proverbial starving artist, he had finally landed his dream role… the Phantom
in Phantom of the Opera. He had taken a
chance in his life and now he was doing exactly what he wanted to.
Kate,
on the other hand, had mildly agreed to “uphold the family name” by being the
practical one. She had gone to a
university straight out of high school, never begged for money, got drunk, or
partied. Quietly, she earned her degree
in English and had gone on to take the secretarial job as a favor to Dr.
Jacobs, who was a friend of the family.
She had planned only on getting her teaching certification after that and
getting a job at a local high school.
On
the subject of relationships, while she did go out with girls from the office
on the odd occasion, she had no one whom she could honestly call her best
friend. She supposed that title was
best applied to Jason. Even Michael,
her on-again-off-again boyfriend, did not fit the bill. He was the epitome of a workaholic; a banker
who was wealthy enough for several people, but who did not know the meaning of
the word leisure. When he traveled,
which was often, she barely missed him.
She did not love him after all… they were only together because the
alternative was to be alone. Until
recently, she had been content with that… now suddenly she was anxiously
wishing for a white knight on a galloping charger to save her from her nice,
sensible, boring life.
She
was at a crossroads. This weeklong
vacation with Jason would be her reflection period and at its end, she would
make her decision. Teaching? Writing?
Boyfriend? Single? Chuck it all and join the circus? Whatever her decision was, she would make it
by herself.