The Choice - Nicholas Sparks [14]
While Gabby liked to tell people about the free spirit she’d been as a child, in reality she’d ended up straddling both her parents’ visions of the world, mainly because her mom was an expert when it came to the manipulative power of motherhood. As she grew older, Gabby acquiesced more to her mother’s opinions about clothing and the proper behavior for ladies, simply to avoid feeling guilty. Of all the weapons in her mother’s arsenal, guilt was far and away the most effective, and Mom always knew just how to use it. Because of a raised eyebrow here and a little comment there, Gabby ended up in cotillion classes and dance lessons; she dutifully learned to play the piano and, like her mother, was formally presented at the Savannah Christmas Cotillion. If her mother was proud that night—and she was, by the look on her face—Gabby by that time felt as if she were finally ready to make her own decisions, some of which she knew her mother wouldn’t approve. Sure, she wanted to get married and have children someday just like Mom, but by then she’d realized that she also wanted a career like Dad. More specifically, she wanted to be a doctor.
Oh, Mom said all the right things when she found out. In the beginning, anyway. But then the subtle guilt offensive began. As Gabby aced exam after exam in college, her mom would sometimes frown and wonder aloud whether it was possible to both work full-time as a doctor and be a full-time wife and mother.
“But if work is more important to you than family,” her mom would say, “then by all means, become a doctor.”
Gabby tried to resist her mother’s campaign, but in the end, old habits die hard and she eventually settled on PA school instead of medical school. The reasons made sense: She’d still see patients, but her hours would be relatively stable and she’d never be on call—definitely a more family-friendly option. Still, it sometimes bugged her that her mother put the idea in her mind in the first place.
But she couldn’t deny that family was important to her. That’s the thing about being the product of happily married parents. You grow up thinking the fairy tale is real, and more than that, you think you’re entitled to live it. So far, though, it wasn’t working out as planned. She and Kevin had dated long enough to fall in love, survive the ordinary ups and downs that break most couples apart, and even talk about the future. She had decided that he was the one she wanted to spend her life with, and she frowned, thinking about their most recent argument.
As if sensing Gabby’s distress, Molly struggled to her feet and waddled over, nuzzling Gabby’s hand. Gabby stroked her fur, allowing it to run through her fingers.
“I wonder if it’s stress,” Gabby said, wishing her life could be more like Molly’s. Simple, without cares or responsibilities . . . well, except for the pregnancy part. “Do I seem stressed to you?”
Molly didn’t answer, but she didn’t have to. Gabby knew she was stressed. She could feel it in her shoulders whenever she paid the bills, or when Dr. Melton leered at her, or when Kevin played stupid about what she’d expected by agreeing to move closer to him. It didn’t help that, aside from Kevin, she didn’t really have any friends here. She’d barely gotten to know anyone outside the office, and truth be told, her neighbor was the first person she’d spoken with since she’d moved in. Thinking back, she supposed she could have been nicer about the whole thing. She felt a twinge of remorse about spouting off the way she had, especially since he did seem like a friendly guy. When he’d helped her up, he’d seemed almost like a friend. And once she’d started babbling, he hadn’t interrupted her once, which was sort of refreshing, too.
It was remarkable now