“Why would you take that job?” Luke asked confused. “We had a plan, Bailey.”

“Plans change. You should understand that I need to do this. You have to know that I will learn so much more in New York than in Omaha. This is my one shot, Luke,” I plead. He let out a sigh, looked at the floor, and shook his head.
“I guess small town Iowa just isn’t good enough for you. Maybe I’m not good enough for you,” he said, turning and walking away from me.
“Hey,” I spat, grabbing his shoulder. “That is not what this is about. You know I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. At least you should know that, because I said yes when you asked me to marry you.”
“I know,” he whispered.
“You know what, I can’t do this right now. I’ll see you later,” I stormed out of the house, got in my car, and drove.
I didn’t know where I was headed. All I knew was that I needed to clear my mind. Really, there weren’t very many places I could go in Sioux Center, Iowa. I drove past corn field after corn field, trying to think of anything that small town could offer me. Although, it did give me Luke.
       Why couldn’t he understand? He knew how hard I had worked and how important it was that I got the best job lined up. That was my shot to have experience working with a large, well known company. It was only four months. Plus, I’d have time to come home for a few days here and there. We could push back the wedding a little bit, too. We couldn’t have it for another year anyway. We had our whole lives ahead of us. Why did it have to be such a big deal?
        The honk of a very loud car horn snapped me out of my thoughts. I had veered off to the other side of the road so I panically switched back to the right lane. What am I doing? Driving has always helped me clear my mind, but right now it’s not. Love is tough.
        The sun was setting and our little house was just a mile down the road now so I figured I should get home. I pulled up the gravel driveway and parked next to Luke’s truck. Before I got out of the car I stopped to think for a minute. How was I supposed to convince Luke that this is what’s best for me right now?  I took a deep breath, opened my car door and went inside. When I opened the front door, the first thing I saw was Luke sitting in our so-called living room. It consisted of a love seat, one coffee table, and a small T.V. Luke was sitting on the right side of the couch with his face in his hands. I closed the door behind me and walked over to sit on the coffee table in front of Luke.

“Hey,” I said, holding his hands. He lifted his head up and just looked at me with sad, red eyes. Many seconds passed before he spoke.
“How can you leave?” he wondered with sad eyes. “Our wedding day is supposed to be the most important day of our lives and you’re willing to push it out of your thoughts.”
“Luke, I am not forgetting about our wedding for this job. It’s a total of only four months, and I can come back occasional-”
“That’s just the thing. You do everything when it’s convenient for you. It’s ‘best for you to take this job’, but what about me, Bailey? Do I mean anything to you?”
“You mean the world to me. How can you even ask me that?”
“You are choosing a job over me,” Luke yelled, standing up and pushing me away. “I thought I had my life figured out; that we had our life together figured out,” he was leaning against the kitchen counter now.
“Luke, I am not leaving forever. You can even come with me if you want,” I suggested.
“You know I can’t do that. I have to stay here to help my parents,” he said, frustrated.
“I know, but maybe you could for a few days.”
“We both know that’s not possible. Well, it seems like you’ve made up your mind, so when do you leave?”
“A week from tomorrow,” I nervously said.
“Great,” Luke said sarcastically. He grabbed his keys from the bowl on the counter, walked over to the door and opened it. “We both need some space. I’m going to do chores to clear my head. Don’t count on me coming home, I’m just going to stay with my parents.”
“Luke, please.” But it was too late. He slammed the door shut and he was gone.