by Sarah N. Ham
“Oh, come on. You can’t be that mad, Belle. Jeez, I swear I’m getting the biggest sense of déjà vu… Didn’t I already apologize yesterday for something?”
“Maybe if you’d just stick your foot in your mouth, then you wouldn’t keep making me mad! Now, the kid thinks I’m a freak, and stop talking to me during class before the teacher makes us recite multiples again!” She whispered to me.
“Too late, Ms. Lloyd and Mr. Hawkins. You know the drill, multiples one to twenty.” Mr. Roga, our Pre-Cal/Trig teacher interrupted.
Maybelle growled lowly at me, and we stood up, reciting, “One times one is one, two times two is four, three…” and so on.
Finally, after “twenty times twenty is four hundred” we sat back down, and I attempted not to snicker at Maybelle’s sourpuss expression. Then, I couldn’t help but notice that McCarthy kid watching me oddly. What was his problem? I couldn’t help but wonder if I had missed the memo that it was National Glare-at-Michael Day or something.
The rest of the day was mainly uneventful, except for the bruised stomach from when Thomas snuck up on me as I turned the corner just outside the gate and out of view. I guess he didn’t appreciate the fractured chin or being grounded for slapping Maybelle and causing a scene in the restaurant. He would’ve screamed at me if it weren’t for the pain it would’ve caused his mouth. I walked it off as I headed to the car.
Maybelle had a Yearbook meeting as well as band practice, so I headed home to drop off my stuff and grab a meal before coming back for band practice, too. The drive was so quiet without Belle’s constant nagging. Though, this also made it so boring.
I got home not expecting anyone to be home and was surprised to see Dad’s sports car out front. I went inside to greet him and saw no one. Curious, I wandered further into the hall and could hear Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd talking with my dad. I walked up to the room, but just as I was about to knock on the closed door, I heard Dad shout, “How is this possible!?”
“We don’t know, Henry! We never sent the signed license in to be officially filed. We thought you had it burned the day after Luchia passed, like planned.” Mr. Lloyd babbled.
“I thought I did, but maybe, I burned a copy or something instead. I can’t recall, but I never sent it in!” Dad insisted.
I wondered what they were talking about, especially when my mother’s name was mentioned, but I figured it didn’t concern me. That is until Mrs. Lloyd muttered, “What will we tell Maybelle and Michael?”
My ears perked up, curiously.
“We’re not going to tell them.” Mr. Lloyd said.
“Dear!?”
“Sally, we’re going to get it annulled like it never happened!”
“But Tony, shouldn’t that be their choice!? We should at least tell them!”
“No, they were too young to consent to this then. The judge should have never signed off on this. We should have never agreed to this crackpot idea!”
“It was all for Luchia’s sake… I never thought it would become real, though. It was never supposed to be more than a fallacy for her last few days.” Dad muttered.
“Well, it is official now!” Mr. Lloyd shouted. “Now, we have to fix it!”
I heard the door rattle and panicked at being caught, so I hid in my room.
“The office is probably already closed, but we should go see if our attorney is still in the office.” Mr. Lloyd said as they headed down the hall, and I assumed out the door, considering the slamming noise.
I waited until I was certain they were gone and headed into the Lloyds’ bedroom, curious by their words.
“What did they do that was such a big deal…? And they did it for Mom, so it had to have been a big deal.” I mumbled.
Then, I noticed a manila envelope open on the bed. I pulled out the contents, surprised to see it was from a California county clerk. There was a letter first, so I pulled it out to read.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins,
We apologize sincerely for the inconvenience, but a serious miscommunication has occurred. We received an incorrect mailing address for your certificate. We never received a request to send it to your new address, but fortunately, the current residents of that address contacted us saying that they had found the certificate amongst old documents, mistaking it for their own. Please, contact us to confirm you have received this. Thank you for your consideration and patience.
Sincerely,
Laurence Darcy
Lakeside County Clerk
“I wonder what certificate they’re talking about.” I pondered aloud.
Then, I pulled the larger document out and dropped it in shock. It was a marriage certificate… my marriage certificate!
Chapter Five – In Sickness
I got home from band practice royally ticked off. I stormed into Michael’s room, not even bothering to knock. He was sitting on his bed in nothing but his boxers and undershirt. ‘Surprise, surprise.’ I mentally thought.
He yelped in shock and shouted, “Don’t you knock!?”
“Since when have you been so modest? Oh, were you having some quality time with your pinup bunnies? Is that why you didn’t bother to show up to practice!?”I shouted as he got up and frantically threw on some pants.
“I don’t look at porn anymore, and you know it! It was hard enough getting out of it when I was 15. I’m not getting involved with that garbage again! And so, I don’t want you seeing me in my underwear anymore; is that a bad thing?”
“Then, where were you? I had to get a ride from Naomi and her brother!”
“I… I just lost track of time. Sorry.”
“Seriously, that’s your excuse!? Naomi had to be late getting home because you forgot!?”
“No, I mean, I… I don’t want to talk about it…”
“You’re hiding something… What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned by the stressed look in his eyes.
“Nothing, just drop it.” He said, pulling off his undershirt and searching for a t-shirt.
I thanked the darkness in the room as my cheeks went red at the view of his shirtless figure, but then, I said, “No, you never forget about practice. What happened?”
“None of your business!” He growled.
Annoyed, I pulled his tee from his hand and played keep away.
“Give it, Maybelle!”
“No, not till you tell me what’s up!”
“Seriously, stop messing around!”
“Then, give me an answer.”
“Maybelle! Give me my—.”
He never got to finish his statement, though, as he tripped over my legs, and we tumbled onto the bed. I blushed, and he cursed under his breath as he tried to gain his bearings. Then, our eyes locked. He blushed as red as I was and apologized as he started to get up. He helped me to sit up, and then, we sat there simply staring at one another, hand-in-hand. I was about to point out this fact when he suddenly hugged me.
“M-Michael?”
“I… I need to tell you. I can’t hide anything from you, even if I tried.” He muttered in my ear.
I shivered at his words and the sensation. Gosh, was I really falling for this guy?
Then, he said, “I’m your husband…”
I thought I’d misheard him, so I muttered, “What?”
“We’re married…” He repeated, breaking the hug to look me in the eye.
He didn’t seem too surprised when I laughed, saying, “That’s funny, Michael. You’ve been around the jocks and cheerleaders too long; they’re rubbing off on you.”
He didn’t laugh, though; in fact, he looked more serious than I’d ever seen.
“M-Michael, stop joking.”
“I’m not. I… I overheard Dad arguing with your folks about something. They didn’t know that I was there, but after they left, I peeked at what they were fighting about. It was a marriage certificate.”
“N-no, no, that’s not possible!”
Then, he pulled the document out. Sure enough, it was an official marriage certi
ficate signed by a California judge, our parents, and some scribble that I guessed was Michael and my scribbling. It was dated Saturday, September 15th, 2001.
“Th-this was when you were four, and I was three!? How on earth did this happen? When? I don’t remember anything like—Oh my g*d, are you kidding me!?”
“What? Do you remember something?”
“Sorta, I think I saw a photo in one of the albums where you were in a little tux, and I was in like a communion dress or a little white dress with a veil.” I muttered.
Then, we dashed to the living room and looked through the albums. Sure enough, there was such a picture, and it was dated September 15th, 2001.
“Are you kidding me!?” I shouted, horrified.
“They said it was done for my mom’s sake.” He whispered.
Instantly, I softened my anger and whispered, “Oh… I see. That makes sense, I guess.”
“From what I overheard, they never planned for the paperwork to go through, but somehow it did. Right now, I think they are with their attorneys, trying to get it annulled.”
“Th-they are going to annul it?” I muttered, surprisingly disappointed.
“I guess… I-I mean it’s probably for the best.” Michael muttered, blushing.
Suddenly, I shouted, “What’s that supposed to mean!? Gosh, I know that I nag you a bit, but I’m so bad that you’d be disgusted to be married to me!?”
He was shocked and shouted back, “That’s not what I meant at all! Don’t put words in my mouth!”
“Gosh, we just found out that we’re married, and we’re already having a fight!” I growled, sarcastically.
“We’re always fighting! My name’s practically a curse word now to you!”
“That’s not true! Now, who’s putting words in the other’s mouth!?” I shouted, suddenly in tears.
“Belle… I’m sorry; don’t cry.”
“Why would you say that…‘It’s probably for the best’? Couldn’t you even ask me what I think before making assumptions? Couldn’t our parents ask us what we thought before making that choice for us?”
“Belle… I’m sorry. I just meant that it’s not fair that they made that choice for us. I know you would be a great wife, but I also know you’d never want to be my wife.”
This made me so angry that I chucked his shirt at his face, shoved him away from me, and stormed off, saying, “Fine, why would I ever want to be with an oblivious jerk like you!?”
“Hey, Maybelle, what the h*ll!?”
“I’m going to spend the night at Naomi’s! I don’t want to see your face anymore tonight!”
With that, I grabbed a bag, stuffed some things into it, and burst out the door.
***
That night, I laid on the bedroom floor of my best friend’s room lost in thought. We were supposed to be asleep, but only Naomi was. I loved Naomi. When I’d showed up at her door at ten o’clock at night in tears, she asked no questions. She just asked her mom to get out some ice cream and guided me upstairs.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth, so I just said that Michael had rejected me, which was basically true. I don’t know why I was so hurt, though. We weren’t even dating, so why did it bother me so much when he essentially said that he didn’t want to be married to me? But then, did this confirm it…? Was I in love with my childhood friend? Not that it mattered since he obviously didn’t feel the same.
I guess it had just felt like two blows at once. I only realized that I saw him as anything more after he rejected me. Now, I guess, I had to move on. The next day, it would probably already be annulled, and life would be the same as before. Only in my heart, could I forget? Could I go back to Maybelle and Michael, childhood friends and nothing more, nothing less? Just the thought brought those pesky tears back, and I tried my best to stifle my sniffles into the pillows so I wouldn’t wake up Light-Sleeper-Susie snoring on the bed next to me, her Pomie curled up at her feet.
Chapter Six – And in Health
I sat on that couch in a state of shock until I heard the door rattle, nearly an hour later. I wondered if it was Maybelle, but it wasn’t.
“Michael, what are you doing up still?” Mrs. Lloyd asked as the group entered.
“H-hi, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd. Wow, h-hi, Dad! What are you doing here? We weren’t expecting you back for another couple of days.” I said, feigning innocence as I noticed him hide something behind his back.
“Y-yeah, I had some urgent business to deal with, so I came home today. Is Maybelle already in bed? It is nearly ten.”
“N-no, um, she went to spend the night at Naomi’s.”
“What!? On a school night!? I’m going to go get her!” Mrs. Lloyd groaned.
“Mrs. Lloyd, please, it’s already so late, and it’s… it’s kinda my fault that she went. She was pretty upset.” I whispered.
Dad teasingly smacked me in the stomach, saying, “What did you do now, Son?”
I curled up in pain and tried to catch my breath. This shocked him as he pulled up my shirt. They gawked at the bruise on my stomach.
“Son, what is this?”
“N-nothing, I just caught a table with my stomach.” I grumbled.
“Michael… I’m not stupid. There’s a class ring indent by your belly button! Unless the table was wearing a ring, this was done by a human!” Dad growled.
“Did that Kendrick boy do this!?” Mrs. Lloyd asked.
“What do you mean, Sal?” Dad asked.
“Yesterday, they got into a confrontation with some students from the school. Thomas Kendrick slapped Maybelle, so Michael did a palm strike to him and broke his chin.” Mr. Lloyd elaborated.
“Whoa! Really, Son!? Gosh, I guess those martial arts classes did come in handy, but then, what happened to your stomach?”
I sighed and said, “He managed a surprise punch as I was heading out the gate. It’s nothing, though. I’m fine.”
“Well, I’m not fine with this! I’m calling that boy’s folks again! This has gotta stop!” Mrs. Lloyd groaned.
“Mrs. Lloyd, I appreciate it, but it probably won’t help. Even if he’s commanded to stop, it doesn’t mean that his goonies won’t pick up where he left off. Worse, they might go after Maybelle next since we’re apparently married.” I muttered, without thinking.
“What did you just saying!?” Dad muttered with a shocked expression mirrored by the Lloyds.
“Y-you know because the students at school always tease us and say, ‘Look, there’s Mikey-moo and his cow bride, Maybelle’.” I quickly added.
“O-oh, okay… That’s right; Maybelle said something about that last night. Kids can be so immature at that age.” Mr. Lloyd muttered.
“So… what urgent business did you come back for Dad?” I asked, curious to see his response.
“Uh, I had to get something reversed with a client.” He said.
“Oh… okay.”
“I wasn’t able to, though.” He suddenly muttered.
“Really!?” I muttered a little too surprised. “Why?”
“Uh, we found out that without all the involved parties signing their consent on it, the contract can’t be overturned.”
“Oh, I see. Sorry to hear that you came back for nothing, I guess.” I said, calmly; though, internally, I was in a state of shock and honestly, joy.
“No, it wasn’t for nothing. I learned something important. Plus, I get to see my son again.” He said, giving me a noogie.
“Okay, okay… I missed you, too. I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day.” I muttered.
“Okay, goodnight, Son.”
“Night, Dad…. Goodnight, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd.”
“Goodnight, Michael.” They muttered.
***
As I lay in bed that night, my mind wouldn’t shut down. So, I was still married to Maybelle? Wow, this was something else, and unless we signed off on it, we would remain married. Then, my mind went back to the night and Maybelle’s words. Would she sign off on it? I didn’t
even really understand why she had gotten angry enough to shove me like that, but I assumed that it was my fault somehow.
Honestly, I didn’t want to sign off on it, but I knew that wouldn’t be fair to her since she didn’t see me as anything more than a childhood friend. Still, if I told her that we were still married, how would she react? I wondered if that would seal it, that she’d actually reject me, and I’d lose her. I’d always known that I couldn’t hold her back and keep her for myself, but as the option to officially, legally do just that lay over my head, I knew I had to tell her. As much as I wanted to be selfish and possessively hold onto her tightly to my side by not telling her that she could get out of this with one signature, I knew I couldn’t do it. I loved her too much, and it wouldn’t be right.
Chapter Seven – In the Good…
I woke up exhausted from only getting a few hours of sleep. Naomi quickly steered me towards breakfast and all but fed it to me; I was so out of it.
“Do you wanna stay home?” Naomi asked.
“No, it wouldn’t solve anything…” I muttered.
She gave me a sympathetic nod and said, “Fine, then, let’s find you an adorable outfit so Michael can see what an idiot he is.”
“Silly, but thanks, Naomi.”
***
After getting ready, we headed to school. I dreaded what was coming. I couldn’t bear to see him this soon, but I knew I’d have to get over it. He was in all my classes, after all. I figured if I headed to the band room, I’d be okay. So, I slipped into the classroom and headed to the locker room to drop off my flute.
Just as I reached the locker marked “91”, my hand met another hand. I jumped in surprise and quivered as our fingers intertwined.
“Belle…”
“Let me go!”
“No, please, Belle, just listen.”
“No, you listen! Let go of me!” I shouted, yanking my hand free.
“I just wanted to apologize if I hurt your feelings somehow…” Michael muttered.
“Somehow!? Ha! What a crock!?” I said, condescendingly.
