When I arrived home later that evening, I noticed that there was a lot of hustle and bustle in the house. My automatic response was to flee. After the surprise engagement I was forced into with Karl, every time there was something happening around the house, I would begin to feel frightened and uncomfortable.
"Leslie, you're home. Come here and choose which one of these dresses you want. I can't decide between the two." My mother waved me over to her side.
She had a large catalogue open in front of her that was filled with dress designs. Our family worked closely with a private designer, and this must be the latest catalog.
"What's the event?" I asked nervously as I walked over to look at the booklet.
Fear spread through me. I fully expected to look into the catalog and see a full spread of wedding dresses. Though I haven't seen Karl since the night of the auction event, I was still very painfully aware that I was engaged to him.