Naomi: "Okay."
I didn’t see any problem with that request of his.
Maya: "Umm… Do I get a say in this?"
Dolly: "Nick, you little piece of shit."
Dolly was less subtle in her reply and quickly added another message.
Dolly: "I've been reading quietly until now since you seemed to be kicking Naomi's ass, but I must say that I strongly object to this delusional demand of yours."
She made me laugh.
Nick: "I also want you to get used to the idea that you'll be sent to separate weekends with each of the last three finalists."
He really did seem closed for negotiation on the issues he mentioned and appeared to feel strongly about.
Naomi: "So, let me guess…"
I left a dramatic pause before sending my next message.
Naomi: "You want to invite the last two to meet my mother."
Nick: "And only the last two, Naomi. I don’t care how important it is for you to hear their thoughts. That's my call, and it's non-negotiable."
Naomi: "Fine."
I sent, though he was typing away, and missed the fact that I agreed to his terms.
Nick: "Only whoever proves himself worthy of you in front of the most important people of your life will get to kneel and propose marriage to you, and I don’t want to waste anyone’s time on men that you have doubts about."
Naomi: "Whoever proves himself worthy of me? Are you serious? Who the fuck am I? The queen of England?"
I laughed out loud at his arrogance sentence.
Nick: "You're the fucking bachelorette!"
He shouted that last one in a recorded voice message he sent instead of typing and the excitement was evident in his tone.
Naomi: "Say it again, say it again, say it again!"
I also sent him a recorded voice message and made sure to make it in a playful teasing tone.
Nick: "You're Naomi Sloan, The Bachelorette!!!"
He yelled in a return voice message, and it followed by similar messages which came from Maya and Dolly.
The smile that was already a constant part of that morning grew wider as it finally hit me.
I was the bachelorette, but hopefully, not for much longer!
Chapter 7
Boredom was my biggest enemy, and since I knew I couldn’t put off my conversation with my mother for much longer, I turned off the TV without thinking twice about it, apologized to Jennifer for me losing interest in her search for love and within just a few minutes, I was sitting behind the wheel of my car, on my way to Connecticut.
"Why are you always in such a hurry?" I found myself facing my mother's judgmental words regarding my project, as she shook her head in disapproval after I revealed my general guidelines of the plan to her.
"Well, I'm not getting any younger, Mom."
"You haven’t turned that old yet either, Naomi." I knew she was less than pleased when she called me by my name and not by her usual endearment, "Baby Girl."
"Come on, Mom. You have to agree that I'm exceptionally single." The direct truth I mentioned managed to silence her for several seconds, but no longer.
"I think you're jumping the track."
"I'm afraid I might've missed the train altogether, so I'm forcing a station on its route around me, that's all."
"It's a good thing your dad is no longer alive, otherwise..." She let out a harassed sigh and didn't finish, what I thought was going to be a hurtful sentence.
"I think he'd be proud of me for doing this, Mom."
"Oh, don’t get me wrong, Baby Girl." There it was! The first sign of her coming around. "I'm proud of you for being so determined, I just don’t see why you have to be so controversial all the time."
"Me? Controversial? When have I ever been controversial? I'm always trying to do just what everyone expects of me!" I was amazed by her comment.
"If that's right, how come you're living so far away from me? How come you're doing something that you know will drive me crazy? I mean… Choosing a husband like this… I'm sure it won't make any sense to you if you'd just slow down and think it over."
"Don't worry, Mom. I promise to choose well." I smirked, trying to lighten the mood.
"That's not helping at all."
I remembered how Nick got me to agree to take this journey when I showed strong signs of resistance, so I asked, "What's your biggest fear?"
"What if I don't like the groom you choose?"
"Why wouldn’t you like him?"
"I already hate them all for applying in the first place, so can you imagine how I’ll feel if you simply arrive one day with a husband wrapped around your little hand?"
"Do you really think I'd do that to you?" I raised my voice, shocked that she'd even think that. "You're obviously going to play an active part in the process."
"Me? Will I be a part of it all?" A spark of excitement got caught in her eye, and I rolled with laughter.
I should have known better. I should have guessed that all she wanted was to hear that she had a say in this and that her opinion of my men mattered. I should have known that since our approach to life in that matter was absolutely the same.
"Is that it?" I asked her with my arms crossed.
"What?"
"You're so petty. You're not against this; you just don’t want to be left out."
"I… It's… I am too against the idea of you—"
"Oh, please, Mom. All I had to do to turn your grumbling face into a smile was to give you some control over my life."
"Well, sure," she said, no longer trying to shake off my allegations. "But I take pride in being an overly protective mother!" We giggled together in response to her honest reply.
"In that case, we'll do more than just get you involved, Mom. My goal is for you to be completely at ease with my project. If you want so strongly to have a say in choosing my future husband, I'll tell Nick that you have a right to disqualify any two men which you don’t think should even be considered."
"How will I know if they're okay or not?"
"I'll forward their application forms to you and their follow-up in-depth questionnaire. You'll have all you'll need to make that decision, I promise."
"And I can make it at my sole discretion?" She was almost shaking from excitement as she asked that.
"Yours and yours alone, Mom. Your choice, clear and simple."
"Ugh…" She waved her hand, dismissingly at me. "I know you. You'll argue with me."
"I won't even ask why you chose to strike those men off the list."
"Oh, please, Naomi. We're too much alike for me to believe that you wouldn't—"
"Do you know what? I won't even ask who the men you disqualified were. Okay?"