Chance Upon A Tempest

Chapter 21

When Jimin returns to his room to get ready for the dinner event, he decides to text Piper back instead of call.

Jimin:
Hi, I'm sorry I missed your call.
It had just stopped ringing as I got to it.
Is everything okay?

Piper:
Hi Baby,
Everything is fine.
I haven't heard from you today so I thought I would give you a call before I go to bed.
How was the first day of the conference?

Jimin:
Good, great.
I'm trying to get ready to get to the dinner event that's going on in about 20 minutes.
I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you earlier today.
I had to attend several board meetings and things.
How was your day?

Piper:
It was alright.
I missed you a lot.
I hate it when you are away for so long.
Oh, my mom, sister, and I are going to go and look at some wedding venues on Saturday.
Mom is pushing for us to set a date ASAP, so that the planning can start.
She said we can't hire anyone to do anything unless we have a set wedding date.
She sent me five different save the date options from the printers.
I'll show them to you when you get back.
Baby, I miss your hands on me.

Jimin:
Wow...
Your mom has been busy.
Why do I get the feeling that she had all of this ready to go and was just waiting for me to ask you. LOL.
Listen, I need to talk to you about the wedding when I get back.
Don't make any plans until we talk. Okay?
And I miss you too.

Piper:
What kind of things do you need to talk to me about?
You aren't trying to tell me that you want to elope, are you?
I mean, personally, I couldn't care less about venues and invitations.
I just want to get married to you.
So, if you want to elope as soon as you get back, I am all for it. LOL
You'll have to answer to my mother after, but you are a smooth talker, so I'm sure you can handle her.
I swear, she was more excited than I was to hear about the engagement.
Baby, I still can't really believe it.
I spend half my day at work looking at the ring on my finger.
I love you so much.

After this short conversation, he realizes exactly the kind of wreckage what he is intending to do will leave behind. He thinks, "What do I say? How do I tell this woman, who I've loved, still love, that I'm calling the whole thing off. I'm going to have to answer to her family and mine. How am I going to do this?"

Jimin:
Sweetheart, I love you too.
And no, it's not about eloping.
Listen, I've got to run.
The thing is going to start in a few minutes, and I need to get downstairs.
I'll text you in the morning.
Maybe we can set up a time for us to FaceTime tomorrow.
Have a good night.

Piper:
Good night, Baby.
I love you.

As he fixes his hair and dresses himself in his suit once again, he thinks about the actual act and the process of having to call off the wedding. The scenario that he sees in his mind causes a level of anxiety that he has never experienced before. Jimin kicks himself metaphorically for making such a huge life-changing decision so impulsively. But was it impulsive? He had the ring, for which he had already bought and paid, for almost a year now. Jimin reminds himself that he has been thinking about asking her, watching for the right time for a year. Then he imagines how Piper will react to him, changing his mind about the wedding and the guilt that he experiences is overwhelming. He thinks, "This poor woman has devoted herself to me for the past three years. Never given me a single moment of grief, worry, or frustration. Piper has been a perfect partner. What the fuck am I going to do?"