Proper English

by K.J. Charles

well, he’s terribly nice, but he isn’t looking at me. He hasn’t since I arrived. And if he isn’t interested in doing that, I don’t want to ask him to. I oughtn’t have to ask for the most basic acknowledgement of my existence.”

“You should talk to him,” she said. “You should tell him what you want and expect. And if he listens, then—then I imagine you’ll be very happy.” “And if he doesn’t listen?” “Talk louder until he hears you, I suppose.” She couldn’t resist adding, “And if he doesn’t like what he hears, you’ll have information on which to base a decision.”

There’s no shortage of any kind of people, so we might as well let each other be ourselves.”

“I am sure you’ll find your place once you decide what you want it to be. And I dare say that seems awfully daunting when you’ve always had a place and never had to think about it, but you aren’t in a rush, are you? You can take a few months to learn how not to live your old life, before you decide what the new one ought to look like.

“You can’t just drift into marriage because your fiancé doesn’t have time to talk to you.”