#Loveless Adjustments Chapter 1

Cecily McKinley

Exhausted is the word that best describes how I am feeling at this moment. The events of last night fall into the category of disastrous. Sure enough, it was only my second week on the job but damn who knew it could get that bad. The first patient of night barfed all over my nice clean scrubs. Seeing as though I had only been on the floor for twenty minutes, it was no wonder I felt that it was the end of the world.

To make matters worse, I was forced to walk around in those soiled pieces for an hour because it was a holiday. Everyone and their mother’s know when a workday falls on a holiday; quite a few people will be calling out sick. Being the new resident on the floor, I wasn’t afforded such privileges. It was hard enough to gain this opportunity, there was no way I would fudge this up now that I finally got something on my own.

Coming from a prominent family, I had my choice of places to do my residency but I chose a place far away from home. Constantly around folks that only think about status and prestige had taken its course on me. All through college, the teachers praised me before they knew if I could accomplish the work. Mainly because I went to school at my parents, Alma Mata and they paid a hefty price as the alumnae president.

Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Richard McKinley prided himself on his hard work ethic and empathy for underprivileged families. While he was married to beautiful debutante, reigning homecoming queen, and Miss Universe runner up whose speech consisted of all the wonderful things she could do to help the world. All the words they each spoke in their speeches to win whatever crown or title they held were all lies. They were born and bred on those lies.

It was only natural they wanted the same upbringing for myself. Since I was an only child, they only had to worry about one dependents future. Gabrielle McKinley was hell bent that she wasn’t going to screw her body up beyond repair by having more than one child. Considering the sizable inheritance that was left behind for the decedent of Gabrielle’s father, the stipulation that an heir must be produced was the catch. Although she wouldn’t receive her cut until she reached thirty years old, the hard work she has put in has paid off thus far.

Gabrielle wasn’t too keen on me traveling so far from home for the remainder of my schooling to become a physician. In her eyes, the only reason Gabrielle agreed I should attend an Ivy League college was to find a suitable husband. One with prestige, family wealth, and basically any future worth a damn. Hell, there were prominent members of society right in the area I raised in if that was the case. The only drawback with hanging with any one from home, they never measured up unless they were another color.

Although they prided themselves on sticking within their status quo or social class, remaining inside the color realm was equally as important. Thank God, they were not that closed-minded or I would surely die of embarrassment. Being so focused on my studies, boyfriends were never a mandatory thing for me. That is until I met Taylor Dillard my sophomore year. Not everything that shimmers-is gold, well I wish someone would have alerted me about his low budget tastes before we made life plans.

Flashback…

“Sweetheart, there are so many things to finalize.” Gabrielle McKinley was at her momzilla act again. I was not feeling this whole wedding planning thing at the moment. There was a major exam I needed to pass in order to qualify for any medical program. Every time we talked it was always the wedding this or the engagement party that, I was over it all.

“Are you listening to me?” She questioned.

“Yes mother, you wanted lilac. That is fine by me and I’m sure Taylor doesn’t mind either.”

“Of course he shouldn’t mind, this is your day. Everyone knows that a wedding is all about what the bride wants.” His mother Tammy said with a huge smile on her face.

“Although I don’t think all of this is necessary, everything you both have chosen thus far is beautiful.” It was true they were hosting a grand affair. All of the elite would attend and yet that was the furthest thing from my mind. However deciding on a med school was my main concern, the location was decided for me. That was one decision taken out of my hands because Taylor was being primed to take over his father’s company.

“Don’t be silly, every little girl dreams of their dream wedding.”

“You’re right mother,” I said to save my breath. Arguing with that woman was downright pointless. When her mind was made up, that was all she wrote captain.

“We only have a few more things to go over.” My mother stated when we arrived at the condominium Taylor and I shared. It seems they were determined to keep the party going until the wedding day arrived.

The entire elevator ride, they gushed over this and that. My ears were damn near bleeding from the amount money they were conjuring up. They could feed a third world country twice on this wedding bill. As soon as I crossed over the threshold, I knew something was off. The couch was a mess and my mother was the first to speak on the messiness.

“Cecily, what have I told you about keeping a clean house?”

“Mother, it was clean when I left with you.” No sooner than I finished that statement, we heard a bump upstairs.

“What was that noise?” Before my mother could finish that question, I was headed in that direction.

“It’s probably Taylor.” His mother responded.

“Taylor said he had to work on a project at the office.”

“At the office,” his mother questioned lowly. It was clear she was extremely confused by that statement. Carpet was my best friend as I crept to the bedroom door because the culprits inside were definitely surprised with my intrusion.

“Oh my God!” Both of our mothers screamed while I could only stare in shock. There were no tears; there were no words, just silence.

“Shit, what are you all doing here?” Taylor jumped up to gather his clothing as quickly as possible. The entire time he worked on his legs through his pants, he wore a look of utter embarrassment. On the other hand, his friend decided to move at a leisurely pace.

“Taylor, what is the meaning of this?”

“Mom, I…”

“I thought this phase of your life was over. Why would you do this to your father and me? After all the counseling we have taken you to, all the money we invested into your reconfiguring, you are right back in this dark place.” She ranted with anger evident on her face. Out of everything she said, not once did she mention anything about his fiancée standing there crushed.

“What about the money we have already spent on this wedding? Obviously we need to invest into some premarital counseling.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“Cecily… that doesn’t matter, all you need to be worried about is that I am marrying you.”

“Uh, no you’re not. The wedding is off.”

“No it most certainly is not,” my mother adamantly spoke.

“Wait, we can work this out. You will get counseling, isn’t that right Taylor?” His mother tried convincing me to give him another chance.

“You keep thinking that.”

“Cecily you aren’t thinking clearly. This can be fixed. You don’t have to rush to such drastic measures. This was the last time, it will never happen again.”

“Are you listening to yourself?”

“I can’t believe I have wasted years of my life with your sniveling ass.” The harlot finally spoke aloud.

“Shut up Frank!”

“Frank, as in your personal trainer Frank,” I asked. “It’s nice to formally meet you. Now if you would so kindly gather his and your shit to leave my home. I would greatly appreciate it.”

“I am not going anywhere.”

“Fine, I’ll leave.”

“Cecily!” All that was heard was my name being shouted an obsessive amount of time. From that moment to the time I left town to start my residency, the people involved had something to say about my decision. Those people only cared about how they looked to their friends, no one cared how heartbroken I was feeling. Only status mattered.

End of flashback…

Needless to say, I didn’t want to hear anything from the people in that room or my own family. They were all speaking gibberish at one time. ‘What will people think?’ ‘How will we tell the guests that the wedding is off?’ The mother of the bride even went so far as to speak about the non-refundable preparations that were paid for. The father of the bride was worried about appearances because the press and other state officials were to be in attendance.

Soon he spun the story for his liking and sued the groom’s family. It was all a show of power and a battle of wills. He wanted to flex his authoritative muscle, using the fact that they knew the groom was gay helped win his case. Records show the amount of counseling and camps they sent the boy to in hopes of altering his thinking. In truth, it only highlighted and funded his urge because the camps was a cesspool of perverts waiting for new booty.