Sophia Sasson - First Comes Marriage

He gave it a perfunctory look and nodded, unable to take his eyes off her. “You do—the coal looks nice and hot.” She gave him another stunning smile, and he found himself grinning like a teenage boy. She had put it all together by herself. Given her obviously wealthy upbringing, he’d expected her to ask him or his staff for help on any number of little things, from moving tables and chairs to starting the grill, but she hadn’t.

“People should be here any minute. I think I’ll start the first round of hot dogs and burgers. I just need to check the package...”

“Package?”

“The instructions on how to cook them without burning.”

Instructions? “What?”

She pointed to the cooler. He frowned. It wasn’t one of his coolers; he’d assumed it held the beer. “Where did you get that meat?”

She smiled broadly. “It’s meatless hot dogs and burgers.”

Meatless meat? He gripped the cooler lid and lifted out a package. Precooked? This was going to be bad. Really bad.

“Tofu?”

She nodded excitedly. “They taste just like meat, but they’re made of soy. Sustainable soy, I might add.”

Why am I getting involved in this? She’s her own worst enemy. He looked at her excited face. She had her convictions, and he respected her for that, but she was headed for disaster. “Listen, Meera, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but it won’t work. Meat is meat, and nothing else tastes like it. You told the town you’re throwing a barbecue; they’ll be expecting meat, you can’t just—”

“But that’s the point—I’ll show them they can follow a healthy lifestyle and keep their traditions. They don’t have to give up barbecues, just eat less red meat.”

“This is a ranchin’ town, Meera. You’re not going to win them over in one night. I pulled out a bunch of meat from the freezer yesterday—Kelly was supposed to give it to you. It’s all in the fridge. I’ll go get it. You can offer up your tofu dogs and burgers as another option.”

“No!” She gave him a sharp look. “That defeats the purpose. Part of my rotation here is to improve public health. I want to introduce the town to the notion that there are healthy, tasty alternatives to red meat. I have it all planned.”

He shook his head. Add stubborn to the reasons I shouldn’t get involved. “The whole point of this barbecue is to make up for not understanding what’s important to the town. Meat is important.”

“I’m trying to show them how to enjoy their traditions in a better way.”

He threw up his hands.

He turned. “I’m not gonna waste my time arguing with you.”

She looked defiantly at him. “It’ll be fine, just wait and see.”

* * *

“WHAT THE HELL is this?” Rose spit out the first bite of hot dog. Others followed suit, seeming equally appalled.

“It’s a tofu dog,” Meera explained.

“Toe what now?”

Meera looked at the disgusted faces. About fifty people were here—a good turnout, according to Jake. What’s wrong? She’d tasted the first hot dog; it was delicious. Jake’s advice on the mix of wood chips for the grill had given it quite a flavor. So why were they spitting it out?

She watched in dismay as people used her thoughtfully placed trash cans to toss perfectly grilled tofu dogs and burgers.

“Where’s the meat? I didn’t sign up for this veggie crap.”

“Rose, remember how Dr. Harper has been talking about getting the town to eat healthier? Well, this is—”

Rose grabbed her arm and said in a low voice, “You don’t mess with a barbecue. A barbecue is about meat—juicy, fat, red meat. It’s not the time to introduce tofu. Dr. Harper meant to do some health seminars, hand out flyers, that kind of thing. You silly girl.”

“I’m leaving! Should’ve known she was gonna screw this up,” she overheard someone say.

“Why don’t you go back to wherever they actually like this stuff,” another local added.

“That’s enough!” Jake’s booming voice made Meera jump. “Meera’s gone to a lot of trouble, so why don’t we give her a chance?” There he was, tall and lean, cowboy hat and jeans and a T-shirt that showed off every flex of his sinewy muscles. He was towing a cooler behind him. “I’ve got some fresh meat here, and we’ll grill it right up. And she’s got some cold beer, so settle down.”

There were cheers from the crowd. Meera’s face burned. How dare he? “What do you think you’re doing?” she whispered angrily when he got near.

“I’m saving you from yourself—you’ll thank me later.”

“Oh, you are such a pompous—” She took a deep breath and turned to the crowd. She was wasting her energy on Jake. “Listen, everybody, can I just take a second to tell you about some of the health benefits of eating soy rather than red meat? Studies have shown that eating soy can lower your risk of heart disease by as much as...” She stopped. Her guests were crowding around Jake, choosing meat, chatting away. Jake started poking coal in the grill, taking off the tofu burgers and dogs and throwing them in the trash bin.

She crossed her arms. She noticed something on the ground, near the grill. The clipboard. Someone stepped on it, and she heard it snap.

“Well, if you’ll pardon me, I need to take care of something back at the cottage.” No one listened. No one cared. She turned on her heels and ran.

She flung herself on the bed.

The nerve of him! She wanted the town to get to know her as a person, not “the Queen of England,” as they’d all taken to calling her—a not-so-endearing name that Jake had no doubt perpetuated. Dr. Thurm and Dr. Harper had asked her to work on preventative medicine in Bellhaven as part of the community education component of her rotation. Teaching the townsfolk how to eat better was the perfect way to achieve that, and she’d been sure the party would convince them she wasn’t just some clueless foreigner. She’d planned every detail of the barbecue so they could see how simple lifestyle changes could make a difference in their health. It was the basis for her research, a way to prove to Dr. Thurm that the development of her blood pressure compound could work. People would be willing to make a change for their health. Jake had ruined it all.

She let her tears fall. She could have turned it around, explained the benefits of soy...if Jake hadn’t shown up with meat. How could she compete with that? Serving meat at her party! Her parents would be furious if they ever found out.

What am I doing here? she wondered. This will never work. Maybe I should have waited until after the wedding, taken some time to talk Dr. Thurm into letting me do this in New York. Why am I trying to get this awful town to like me? I’m so in over my head.

But she couldn’t go back to London, not after she’d fought so hard with her mum to come here now. This was her final shot at independence, to be free of the social obligations that came with being a socialite’s only daughter, before taking on the duties of marriage. She’d seen the opportunity and jumped on it.

Meera would never have this kind of freedom again. Raj hated traveling.

Her phone rang, and she looked at the caller ID. As usual, his timing is great. Maybe talking to him will help.

“Hello, Raj.” She tried to inject some enthusiasm into her voice; she didn’t want to worry him.

“Hello, love, glad I caught you. I tried ringing earlier...” She felt a twinge of guilt. She’d been so busy planning the barbecue, she’d forgotten to return his call.

“Yes, I’ve been quite busy settling in. How are you getting along?”

He began talking about patients and giving her an update on the practice. Everything was falling into place. She and Raj would run her father’s practice after they were married and eventually merge with the medical conglomerate Raj’s parents owned. Her father was looking forward to retiring after Meera and Raj took over the medical center. Their research project was progressing well, and once they secured permissions and funding for their own laboratory, the sky was the limit.