A Chance at Destiny (10 page)

Destiny moved over to create space between the two of them. “Waiting on my husband.” she smiled emphasizing the word husband.

“Husband? Your little young to be married aren't you?” He frowned.

Destiny knew she looked younger now that she wore more jeans and t-shirts.  But Maria and Bethany insisted that she stop looking like a CEO and be a student when they shopped at the thrift stores over the last few months. She pulled her jacket closer to protect herself from the cool night air and from the look the guy was giving her. “I am young by most standards,” she offered a polite smile.

“Can I ask you a question?"” He didn't wait for an answer, “What makes a person get married so young?”

Destiny looked at his face. He was sincere. “Tyler and I are bound together in so many ways. We've been in each other’s lives since kindergarten. He is such a great guy.” she couldn’t believe the words coming from her mouth. Considering that they were barely speaking and not to mention the texting incident on Thanksgiving.

Before Destiny could finish her statement, he interrupted, “A great guy doesn’t leave his very  pretty, very tiny wife outside in the cold.”

“Well he has a lot going on, two jobs and a full time student,” Destiny began to brag. “He’s never done this before. I guess I should call him. Do you have a cell phone?”  She asked the young man.

He looked at her incredulously, “You don't have a cell phone? But he does?”

Destiny shrugged her shoulders not really wanting to explain the situation. He shook his head with his eyebrows pulled in then passed her his cell phone.

She dialed the number. It went straight to voicemail. She called again. Straight to voicemail. Destiny passed the phone back to the guy sitting next to her.  She'd never been stranded without Tyler and she felt a little fearful.

“You know I'm the pitcher for the baseball team here. I deal in strikes. As far as I'm concerned this is a strike one for your husband. I can give you a ride,” he offered.

Destiny was torn. She didn't know what to do. All the other married students were home. Maria had Gracie and Markos was still at work. “I don't even know your name,” she moved a little further away. Even though there were other students there she was feeling a little uncomfortable.

He stuck out his hand. “I'm Darren.”

“Hi Darren,” he looked at her with a questing eye. “I'm Destiny.”

“Well, Mrs. Destiny,” he emphasized the misses. “Can I give you a lift?”

Destiny hesitated. The wind was blowing hard, and she tightened her jacket. She looked at him. “Okay,” she said slowly.

Tyler looked for his phone. He didn't have on a watch. When he thought to look a the clock on the wall, he cursed as he searched around for his cell phone one last time. He needed to leave. He knew Destiny was off at nine when the library closed. It was almost ten.
Shit!

Earlier that evening when Tyler looked around at his study group he noticed everyone looked so young and carefree. He wondered what that felt like. They were all engineering majors ,so they talked about the latest in the world of engineering from robotics to computers. He felt a little guilty as the night went on.  He enjoyed being with students –regular students not just married students.

Cindi sat next to him as she'd done in class every day since the first day. Tyler listened as her and the other students talked about the party from last weekend and the upcoming parties. Tyler noticed she loved the same music and had a few tattoos she'd  gotten at the last heavy metal festival in the next town over. Cindi invited Tyler to come to the next one during spring break. Her and a group of friends went each year. As the group finished their assigned work for the evening, Tyler started packing up. He needed to get his wife. Destiny hadn’t really bought a new coat for the fall and winter. They’d plan to get her a new one with her next paycheck. She had a light jacket and Tyler didn't want her waiting long in the cold.

But after looking for over half an hour, he resolved his phone was missing. He'd have to come back another time to look for it. Surely, either Cindi or one of her roommates would find it. He'd check with her in class the next day. But for now he needed to get to Destiny. He could just picture her outside the dark library all alone. She was probably a little afraid. She didn't go out much. Tyler had learned that her years in and out of foster care made her a little skittish. She liked routine. She could adapt and adjust but he knew she could get fearful in new situations.

He pulled up the library to find no one. It was dark, just as he thought it would be, and the doors were locked. He walked around the building. He prayed that she was safe. He cursed himself for waiting so long to come get her. After walking around the building several times and calling her name, he got in his truck and drove around campus. Empty. He couldn’t find her. Without a cell phone, he couldn’t call to see if Maria had picked her up or even Annie. He decided to drive home -driving slowly to see if she was on foot.

Pulling up to his apartment, he saw Destiny exiting the new white Dodge Charger with blue racing stripes. He also noticed a familiar face in the driver’s seat from their first day on campus. He remembered the tall black guy checking Destiny out. He pulled next to the Charger and got out. She was laughing and carrying a small plastic bag along with her book bag. The Charger and its driver pulled out of the drive without looking back.

Destiny saw the truck pull in as she walking into the apartment. With her hands full, she dropped her book bag on the floor and headed toward the kitchen. Then she heard Tyler come into the sitting area. His face was red with anger and blotchy from the cold.

“Who was that? I’ve been searching all over the place for you.” He hissed. His breathing was hard and labored. She could tell he was trying to hold back his anger.

Destiny was too hurt to argue. She grabbed her burger and fries along with a glass of tap water and walked passed him to the bedroom. She placed her mp3 player next to her and slid in her ear buds. Tyler knew she was angry. He could see the hurt in her eyes,but he was angrier.  “Answer me,” she ignored him. He knew from prior experience this could go on for hours so he sat next to her.He calmed his breathing then gently pulled at the earbuds.

“Stop it Tyler! I don't want to talk to you.”

“Your gonna talk to me. Who was that? And why was he here at
my
house?” He could feel his temper rising again.

“Does it matter? He was the person who brought me home, she grabbed her ear buds from his fingers and unpack the burger from the paper sack she was carrying.

“So I mess up one time and you let some guy bring you home? To
our
home?”

He was definitely angry now.

“You left me stranded. I got off work at nine o’clock. Where we're you?” Destiny felt her anger rising to meet his.

“I was at my study group. Remember, I told you I would be there. I lost my phone,” he was trying to contain his anger as he watched her take a bite from the expensive burger. One he knew she didn't buy because it was not in their budget but he asked anyway. “You bought a nine dollar burger from the Burger Shack?” Tyler knew they only ate at fast food places with value items when they did eat out. Which was not often. Burger Shack was a sit down bar and grill place near campus.

“No. Darren bought it. He was getting his dinner, so he bought me a burger. He bought you one too. It's in the oven," she took another bite.

“He bought you dinner?” Tyler was more than angry now. He was losing control. “You left with some guy-” he stopped. “Do you know this guy? Are you friends?” She shook her head sheepishly. “So you got in the car with a stranger and then he bought you dinner while I was looking for you?” His voice was loud and bouncing off the walls of the tiny room.

She sat her food down and turned to look at him, “Tyler,” Destiny's voice was shaking, “I didn't know what to do. I called you over and over again. He saw me and I ....I just didn't know ...what was I supposed to do?” She took a deep breath trying not to cry. “It was getting so dark and it was cold
. I
was cold. I'm sorry,”  she whispered the last words. She felt ashamed. For the first time since marrying Tyler, Destiny Duggan felt ashamed. The tears pricked her eyes, and she began to let them fall freely-not hiding her sadness.

Tyler couldn't stand it. He’d failed her. He’d left his wife, his friend who trusted him enough to follow him into this arrangement for a better life, out in the cold. Both literally and figuratively. He was angry. Really angry. With himself first, then Darren who he knew was interested in
his
Destiny
, and
at her. She’d put herself in danger or had he? Tyler thought. He walked to the kitchen grabbed the burger from the oven and threw it in the trash on the way to his truck.  He got in his truck, turned up the music, turned his hat backwards and drove away.

Destiny listened as he left the apartment. Her tears were still falling and she wasn't hungry anymore. She could see the look on Darren's face when he handed the burger to her. He’d walked into the take out area and came out with the food. He insisted that she eat and make sure her
“Good guy"
husband ate too. He laughed when her stomach growled as she tried to refuse the food.

Destiny decided not to change her clothes. She turned off the light after she threw away her dinner on top of Tyler's and cried herself to sleep.

Destiney knew they would fight. Annie and Jess said it was normal and even encouraged couples to have honest discussions. The mentors encouraged all the couples to learn to fight fair. Talk about the issue at hand and not to bring up  past issues. Destiny realized that she was alone. Tyler didn't argue. He left. Her husband had left her all alone.

The next morning, Tyler woke up on the sofa. He was still dressed in his clothes from the night before. When got home, he went in to see Destiny. She was curled up on the bed still in her clothes. He wanted to wake her to apologize for being so angry. Maybe to explain the disappointment he felt was about his failure. Instead, he let her sleep after watching her for a few minutes. His chest hurt thinking about her riding in Darren's car. It ached when he thought of her standing out in the cold waiting on him.

He got up to make coffee. As usual, Destiny had made a pot and left his cup on the counter. She was taking care of him even when he let her down. Next to the coffee maker was a note:

Tyler,

I have be on campus early. Riding with Maria.

Destiny

After coffee, Tyler showered and dressed before heading off to class. He'd decided to meet her at the cafeteria for lunch. They ate with group most days. He just hoped it would not be too awkward today. But he had to apologize. He didn’t want an audience.

The day dragged along. Destiny was starving. She hadn't had anything since those two bites of burger the night before. So meeting Maria and Bethany at the student center for lunch was much anticipated. She knew she’d see Tyler. Destiny didn't know what to do. The situation was a catch twenty two. She’d done what she had to do the night before. Right?

She saw him walk in. His towering height and long strides were walking towards her. Though his cap was low, his eyes were focused on her. She loved his eyes and the way they zeroed in on her when he was serious about something. He walked past the people in the crowded space, placed his bag on the table and sat next to Destiny as usual.

“Hey,” he said softly. After last night’s blow up, he figured he should take a softer approach. He remembered the discussion about arguing in their couple’s gathering. He figured what better time to use his new couple’s education than in this moment.

Destiny didn't respond. She sat quietly waiting on his next words. “I need to talk to you.” He took a deep breath, “Listen, I’m sor-”

“There you are. I have your phone at my house it's still charging. But you can get it tonight. Okay?” Destiny focused on the tall blonde with highlights and a razor cut. Her left eyebrow was pierced. She wore a short denim mini skirt with frayed edges and a tank top with a bright colored hoody. The blonde didn't wait for Tyler's response she turned and walked away in her Doc Marten boots and thigh high socks.

Destiny, along with Bethany and Maria, looked closely at Tyler. “Where were you studying last night?” Destiny asked. Before he could answer, she forged ahead with anger. “Or were you studying?”

“I was studying.” Tyler didn't like the way this conversation was going. “The study group meets at her house. Let's go outside and talk,” he could see the wheels turning in her head, creating a web of confusion.

Destiny's eyebrows flew up. She followed him out the door. “Who is she Tyler? Why does she have your phone?” This time her voice was calm with a slight tremor.

Tyler explained the story about losing his phone and losing track of time-to which apologized. He promised it would never happen again. He knew that the situation didn't look good. So he explained to Destiny he'd be studying with the rest of the group there this week because of a big project they were trying to finish.

After listening to Tyler's apologies, Destiny decided to forgive him. He'd never done anything but be a good guy. She went to work as usual . When work was over, she ran in to Darren outside the library. “Hello
misses
Destiny.” He focused heavily on the misses part. She hated the way his sarcasm dripped off the word.

“Hi Darren,” she said trying to get to the parking lot to meet Tyler.

“I see the good hubby is back on duty?” She nodded. “Yeah. We'll see how good he is when Cindi gets finished with him.”

Destiny froze. “What? What does that mean?” She said walking towards him in anger. It had been a trying day. She was itching for a fight.

“You know Cindi. She always gets what she wants. The boys in the clubhouse say she wants Tyler? That’s his name right....Tyler Duggan. I heard she’s been at him for a while now… since before Thanksgiving.”   He winked. In mocked astonishment, he continued, “I told them no . Couldn't be. Not
misses
Duggan's husband. He is a
good
guy.” He said dripping with more sarcasm.

“Go away. I don't need this from you. I trust my husband,” she explained through a deep breath. The words of Annie and Jess came to her mind. They’d said over and over again
"Never let anyone else tell you who your spouse is. Trust what you know.”

“Okay. But....” Darren stopped, grabbed her hand. “Listen, you’re a great person. You should just ask him. If he is such a good guy. He’ll clear this right up. But I know how Cindi operates.” He laughed as if he knew a secret.