by Sarah N. Ham
With that, he nodded, and we headed to school. When we got there, Michael groaned, seeing Thomas and company by the gate.
“Michael, I doubt they’ll try it again,” I whispered before taking his hand and saying, “But we’ll face it together.”
He tensed to my surprise until I realized why.
“Is it bad for me to do this here?” I muttered.
“No, but we will be teased…”
“We’re always teased, so what else is new?”
He smiled and nodded as he squeezed my hand. We continued to walk like this, causing a lot of heads to turn in surprise. I saw Drake Parker glare at Michael from the benches, his lip still swollen and cracked from Michael’s assault. I ignored him and sighed, hoping what had happened last night would remain our secret.
“What is going on!?” I suddenly heard a female voice squeal.
I turned to see Naomi dash up to me, a shocked expression on her face.
“Oh, hi, Naomi… How are you?” I feigned innocence.
“How am I!? How are you!? Yesterday, I was picking up the broken pieces of your heart from this scumbag rejecting you, and now, you walk in, holding his hand!” She whined.
“About that… it turns out that I may have misunderstood him.”
“How so?”
“It turns out he wasn’t trying to reject me. He was trying to say that there was no chance that I could have feelings for him.”
“Um… okay, what did you say, because you’re confusing me? You confessed, and he didn’t believe you?”
“Well, um… see, something happened that brought up the ‘Mikey-moo and his cow bride’ thing, and he said that it didn’t matter because he knew I’d never want to be in a relationship with him. I misunderstood his words as him saying he didn’t have feelings for me.”
“Then, you never even confessed to him!?”
“Not until last night when he confronted me on why I was so mad at him. Then, he told me that he… that he loved me, and here we are…” I explained, blushing.
Naomi smiled, and Eddie smacked Michael’s arm saying, “Look at that! Mikey-moo finally grew up. I’m so proud of my dorky little friend.”
“Don’t forget, I’m taller than you and have a black belt!” Michael reminded.
“Yeah, but my girlfriend is your girlfriend’s best friend. Mess with me; I’ll get Naomi and Maybelle to turn against you.”
Michael noticeably blushed at the word, “girlfriend” as did I. Still, it felt weird not telling my best friend that Michael wasn’t just dating me now, but I knew until my parents figured out when to tell us and had everything out in the open that it should stay a family secret. I just hoped telling Drake Parker in the heat of the moment wouldn’t come back to haunt me.
“Have you guys told your folks yet?” Naomi asked.
“N-no, not yet…” Michael answered.
“Why not!?” Eddie yelped, “You know your folks have been trying to match-make you two since you were born.”
“We will; we just want to figure out the couple thing before the folks get involved and start the wedding plans.” I said, mentally groaning at the irony of my words.
“True…” Naomi mumbled. “But we totally have to double-date, now that you’re an item. Oh, this is so cute.”
I giggled at her enthusiasm.
Later that day, Drake Parker pulled me aside while Michael was in the restroom and said, “So, explain this married thing to me. The other day, you were full-on denying that you and Michael were a thing, let alone married. Now, you’re his wife…?”
“I’m afraid that that’s none of your business, Drake Parker.”
“You know I could press charges on him for assault…”
“And I could press charges on you for sexual harassment.”
“Oh, please… wait, you’re serious!? It was one stupid kiss. I didn’t even mean anything by it. Your husband was just p**sing me off.”
“That was my first kiss, you a**hole!”
“Wh-what… wait, then… are you a virgin!?” He muttered, shocked.
“Yeah, so?”
“And you’re married?”
“Can you please not say that so loud!?”
“How are you a virgin if you’re married!?”
“Hush!”
“What; did you just get married or something!? How could you not have had sex with your husband!?”
“Will you please be quiet!? This is a secret!”
“Oh, really?” He asked with a mischievous grin.
“Wh-what’s with that look!?” I asked, nervously.
“Tell me the details, or I’ll announce it in class!”
“Wh-what!? You wouldn’t dare!?”
“I kissed you, didn’t I? What have I got to lose?” He said, smirking.
I froze in surprise.
“Okay, here I go.” He said, getting up.
“No, wait!” I squealed, pulling him back down. “Look… I just found out two days ago that Michael and I are married. Okay? That’s why we haven’t done that…”
“Wait, what? How would you not know that you’re married!?”
“We apparently signed off on it when we were kids…”
“Wait, you’re parents forced you two to get married when you were little kids!? Isn’t that illegal? The marriage age is like 16 in Tennessee, isn’t it!?”
“We lived in California where there was no minimum age limit with parental and judicial consent, and my parents didn’t force us. They didn’t think the paperwork would ever be sent in. It was done for the sake of Michael’s mother who was dying of terminal breast cancer, but someone accidentally mailed in the paperwork to finalize it. Only recently did they find our forwarding address to send the marriage license.”
“Wait, then, why not just annul it? You haven’t had sex yet, and you were not in right legal mind to sign off on the marriage, anyway.”
“Because… I…” I started, blushing.
“Oh, I get… You’re in love with Mr. Mikey-moo and want to be his little wifey-poo.” He mocked.
“Shut up… so, what!?” I hissed.
“Heh, I suspected as much, but jeez, you’d really be his wife just because you are twitter-patted!? Marriage is a big deal.”
“I’m aware of that, but I’d like to at least try! I may not be a perfect wife, but I’m going to do my best to be a godly wife.”
“Have you kissed him yet?”
“Yes…”
“Okay, that’s down. Sex is a no, so I’ll leave that one alone. Have you seen him naked?”
“What!? No!”
“Touched him downstairs?”
“No!”
“Seen him in his skivvies?”
“Y-yes, I have… honestly, far too many times for a person who just found out that she’s married to him.”
“Right, I forgot you live together, after all… How about slept together, not sexually, of course?”
“W-well, yes... a few times.”
“Outside of being children, I mean.”
“We did last night, but that was more because I made him an unintentional pillow. Anyway, why are you asking me all these questions?”
“Because you have to get used to the intimacy since you haven’t had a dating relationship before. I don’t know if you’re ready.”
“Not everyone has sex before marriage!”
“I know, as stupid as that seems.”
“Why?”
“What if he sucks?”
“Then, we learn together! We have a lifetime to figure it out together.”
“Jeez, that’s optimistic. Fine, live in a fairytale-land. How about his lifestyle habits?”
“Huh?”
“Like does he squeeze the toothpaste in the middle or the end?”
“The middle, but I do too, so I don’t really care.”
“Does he leave the toilet seat up or down?”
“Um… up…”
“How does that feeling?”
&
nbsp; “A little annoying, but he doesn’t do it to be mean. He’s just a space cadet.”
“How about sink space? You share a bathroom?”
“Yes…”
“How much space does he use?”
“Not much, he’s very organized with his toiletries and stuff.”
“And you?”
“Not so much, my stuff tends to sneak into his side as well as mine. But, we have lived like that for the past fourteen years.”
“True, okay, can you cook?”
“Y-yes, we both can.”
“Who does what chores?”
“I clean the house; he does the landscaping. I do the laundry; he feeds Remmy, our pet hedgehog.”
“Oh, you have a pet together, good… How about kids?”
“Wh-what?”
“When and how many kids do you two want?”
“I don’t know… We just confessed out feelings last night. I haven’t asked about kids.”
“True, I’ll leave that be, but you will need to acknowledge it when you start to have sex.”
“Fine, I know. Whatever…”
“What about pet peeves…?”
“What about them?”
“Here’s one that always p**ses the ladies off… porn.”
“Porn?”
“Does he look at it often?”
“N-no!”
“Really now!? You don’t know him well if you think so.”
“Yes, I do! He doesn’t! He… he stopped two years ago for my sake.”
Drake Parker literally burst out laughing at this and said, “That guy’s stupid in love, isn’t he?”
“What does that mean!?” I growled, “And why do you seem to be a know-all on marriage?”
“My mom’s a marriage counselor.”
“Neat.” I grumbled.
“Tell you what… let’s meet up for one hour a week, and I’ll give you my volunteer services as a marriage counselor based on all my mother’s lessons, books, and expertise.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because if you don’t, I’ll tell everyone about your secret marriage…”
I glared at him and asked, “Why are you doing this? What do you get out of this?”
“Is the joy of your company not enough?”
I just glared at him, so he grinned and said, “You’re entertaining. I’m new to Tennessee, so it’s a nice introduction to your beautiful state.”
I groaned, and as Michael returned from the restroom, Drake Parker scooted back to his desk. Michael sat down in the desk next to me, and having seen the sour look on my face, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… I just realized that I forgot to practice for the band sectionals today.”
“Oh, cr*p, that’s right! That’s today.” He groaned.
Honestly, at the time, I don’t know why I lied to Michael, but having seen what Michael had done to Drake Parker the previous day, I decided then wasn’t the time to bring up the transfer student’s blackmail scheme. Though looking back on it, I wish that I had.
Chapter Twelve – In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
Maybelle had been acting weird all day. Every time I asked her about it, she had a different excuse: “I’m just sleepy”, “I’m hungry”, “I’m just worried about the band sectionals”, and even, “I’m just worried about my cell phone bill; I’ve been using quite a lot of data this month”. I knew her too well, though and knew that these excuses weren’t the cause of her distracted expression. Still, I knew that she would’ve told me what was wrong if she wanted me to know, so I let it go for the time being.
So, imagine my surprise when we were sitting on our living room couch, me playing a PC game and her playing with Remmy, and she suddenly asked, “How many children do you want someday?”
I choked on the chips I’d just stuffed in my mouth, and she quickly handed me a drink to clear my throat. Once I could breathe again, I asked, “Wh-what—COUGH, excuse me, COUGH—what brought that up!?”
“I… I’m just curious. If we’re married, we’ll need to figure that out.”
“True… well, what about you?”
“I guess if I had a choice, I’d want one girl, one boy, at least.”
“I can understand that…”
“And you?”
“I don’t know… I guess the same, but I’d prefer not to have them this early if we could help it.”
“Oh, yeah, me too. I’m not ready to be a mother yet.”
“Um…when do you think would be a good time?”
“I don’t know, maybe after college if we can…”
“That brings up another point… what are we going to do about college?”
“That’s a good question. You’re trying for Vanderbilt’s music program, right?”
“That was the plan…”
“You’ll get right in. I know you will. You’re an amazing musician and composer. You can play the piano, guitar, trumpet, and violin for Pete’s sake!”
“You know that I hate the trumpet. I only play it because none of the other instruments are marching band instruments.”
“Okay, but my point is that it’ll take no effort for you to get in, but I’m not that good with the flute. Plus, academically, I’m not the type who will get a full-ride scholarship even if I get accepted. I have no savings, and my folks can’t afford to help me.”
“M-maybe if I can get a scholarship, I can give you my inheritance from Mom… that would cover most of it.”
“No, Michael! That was meant for you.”
“Well, if you could go to Vanderbilt with me, then it would be more than worth it, or maybe I’ll try for UT since you were considering them.”
“No, you have been dreaming about Vanderbilt since freshman year. When they accept you, you are going. Still, I shouldn’t take your mom’s gift.”
“You’re my wife now, so Mom’s gift to me, by extension, is her gift to you!” I reasoned.
She nodded, shyly and said, “Then, I guess I got to get to work so they’ll accept me…”
I kissed her and said, “They will. You have so much talent; you just need the confidence. You rocked the sectionals today. You just seemed nervous.”
She kissed me back and said, “I love you, Michael.”
“I love you, too, Belle.” I whispered, kissing her until my computer was abandoned on the coffee table, and Remmy was curling up in his bedding.
I groaned as an alert went off on my phone, “Cr*p, I got to get ready for work.”
“Alright.” She whispered through love-struck eyes.
“Dang it, that’s not fair. You gotta look so cute!?” I groaned, causing her to blush.
***
That day as I served families with screaming toddlers and grumpy old retirees, my mind was elsewhere. I was too busy picturing my college years with Maybelle by my side and my adult life with her holding and nurturing our children. The rest of the servers were getting annoyed by all the rowdy, impatient customers, but I was too busy daydreaming about my wife back home. Just the thought of her as my wife gave me a goofy grin, and my co-workers were groaning over my optimism.
When I was done, I headed home with over a hundred dollars in tips, proving that my optimism made a difference. When I got home, Dad was watching a sitcom on TV, Mrs. Lloyd was checking emails at the computer desk, and Mr. Lloyd was working on spreadsheets for work.
“I’m home.” I said with a smile.
“Oh, hey, Michael? How was work?”
“Great, I made over a hundred in tips!” I said, grinning and showing the green wad.
“Good for you, Son.”
“H-hey, where is Maybelle? She’s usually right next to Dad, watching this show.”
“Oh, she’s been practicing the flute and studying for the Practice SAT. It’s the oddest thing. She came home from a Yearbook meeting, told us she’d signed up for the PSAT, and that she’d decided she wanted to try for Vanderbilt.”
I
held in the smile that was threatening to escape and simply said, “Jeez, is she gonna follow me to college, too, like a lost puppy?”
“Well, I’m proud of her; she has had little to no interest in college till now. So, I say, you should encourage her.” Dad replied.
“Yeah, I’m just kidding anyways, Dad.” I chuckled. “I think I’ll go tell her that I think it’s cool. Who knows, maybe we could get a place and be roomies.”
“Yeah, no, not happening.” Mr. Lloyd stated, not even looking up from his work.
“Aw, you’re no fun, Mr. Lloyd.” I teased.
He looked up and saw I was joking—well, half-joking anyway—and smirked, saying, “Okay, okay, just go on.”
I knocked on her door but didn’t hear a reply, so I wondered if she was in the bathroom. I opened the door and chuckled as I was met by the sight of a freshly showered Maybelle dressed only in an oversized PJ top, dancing around her room and lip-syncing to whatever music was playing in her headphones. She opened her eyes just in time to see me leaning against her dresser admiring her legs.
She jumped out of her skin, and I ran up, hugging her and apologizing, “Sorry, love. I didn’t mean to scare you; I was just coming to check up on you, and I got caught up in what you were doing.”
She smacked my arm, causing me to chuckle out a “Hey,” and she growled, “You gave me a heart attack.”
“Sorry, sorry. You were just too cute.” I said, gently taking her cheeks in my hands and kissing her lips.
She leaned into it, and I enjoyed the feel of her against me.
“You have nice legs.” I whispered in her ear.
She blushed, realizing what she was wearing and smacked me again.
“What, I have the right to ogle them now. You’re all mine now, from death do us part…” I reminded, teasingly.
“Fine, then, I could say the same about your butt.” She said, mischievously as she gave me a playful smack on the rear.
I jumped in surprise and laughed, “My, my, someone’s bold.”
“What? All’s fair in love and war.” She said, in a mock-innocent tone, “You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that.”
