Meadow Valley book series- Everything's changed

Chapter 45: The phone call

     Zach was a little nervous and went back and forth on whether or not he should call Ana. He thought it was best to maybe wait a few days in order to give him enough time to process what he was starting to feel about her. It had been three days since they saw or spoke with each other. Zack almost forgot that he promised to give Sergio and Cristov riding lessons later that weekend. Zach mustered up the courage to finally give Ana a call. He suddenly got nervous when he heard her voice on the other end of the phone.

"Um, Ana," he questioned, "sorry I didn't get a chance to call you earlier. How are you doing," trying to make small talk with her?

"It's okay, I understand," Ana replied back not sounding all that convinced of his explanation, "I've been kind of busy the past few days so it was best you didn't call me anyway," she stated.

"I was just calling to see if you needed a ride to Lexington tomorrow," Zach nervously questioned, "I know that I'm still in need of a few of those dance lessons you promised me," he said and then paused to wait for her response.

"No, I don't need a ride. My brother David is taking me into town tomorrow," Ana paused, "but you can come with us if you want to," she said not knowing how to respond to his question.

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     The truth was Ana had anxiously waited for Zach to call her and when she didn't hear from in a few days she got disappointed. Now she was totally confused, he hadn't spoken to her in a couple of days and then just out of the blue decided to call her now. Ana wasn't too sure of her feelings about him at this point. She knew that she needed to be careful because she didn't trust herself enough to be alone with him again. Ana knew that her brother would be overprotective with her and there would be no chance for them to have any more awkward encounters with each other. At least until she knew for sure what his intentions were.

     She wanted to make sure that he really liked her and wasn't just trying to take advantage of her vulnerability right now. That night she was extra emotional because she was thinking about her father and everything that had happened and she was questioning her beliefs in God. Ana felt like maybe she put herself in a situation that she wouldn't have ever done before and that is why she almost kissed Zach. Ana was relieved that she didn't kiss a guy that she wasn't even dating or uncertain of his feelings towards her.

     Her dad always told her that 'the right person at the wrong time is still the wrong person.' Ana's parents wanted her to be cautious when it came to guys and dating because she was still very young. Her family believed that dating someone was serious. It meant that the person you choose to date is a potential person you could see yourself marrying one day. These values were instilled deep inside of Ana from an early age.

      Modern society had it all wrong when it came to the dating world. Believing that one should put themselves out there for fun. With no regard to emotional attachments. Dating for the mere experience or pleasure it could bring for a moment. Pleasure that usually was not long lasting and of a selfish nature. People date for all sorts of reasons. The problem with modern dating is that it sets a person up for heartbreak and failed relationships. Marriage is not as sacred anymore. Relationships become expendable and complicated. Dating multiple people means breaking up with multiple people. Making it easier for a person to get a divorce or even worse, not show commitment through marriage in the first place.

     Ana always chose to listen to her parents view on dating. They believed that when a person was of the right age. Usually older than eighteen years old. Then they could start to question if they were ready for a lasting commitment with another person. Usually one should enter some sort of courting process. Courting is a concept from long ago. When a guy makes his intentions known to a girl's family and asks for their permission to court their daughter. That way the parents share the emotional burden.

     The courtship process focuses first on the friendship and spiritual aspects of the relationship then enters into the emotional aspect leaving the physical only for marriage. Without sounding too old fashioned Ana's parents always told her that she should never chase after a guy. If the right guy was interested in something serious with her then he would come to them and ask for their permission. They also warned her that she should never be with a guy who did not pursue her correctly.

     Ana never met anyone who had such strong convictions on relationships as her family did. She always knew that her parents' strong views made her unique and singled out from the rest of her friends. She never minded before simply because she was too distracted by dance. She never had a reason to go against what they believed before. Everything was different now. With her dad gone. Everything had changed. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She had to start making her own choices and forming her own beliefs and convictions about all of life's choices.

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     Zach told her that he could meet them at their house in the morning right after breakfast. Then they said goodbye and hung up the phone. Now that Ana had a few days to process everything she was feeling she decided to make sure to set boundaries within her friendship with Zach. Starting with begging her brother to take her and Zach to dance class in Lexington tomorrow. She had lied to Zach on the phone because her brother wasn't going to take her tomorrow her mom was. She got so nervous when he called and asked her if she needed a ride that she didn't know what to say and that was the first excuse that came to her mind.

     Ana went into her brothers' room and begged him to take her, she gave him a guilt trip and said that she wanted to spend some time with him before he left at the end of the summer.