The Family You Choose

by Deborah Nam-Krane

  She looked away. "I don’t want Alex."

  "But...?"

  "You want everyone to know? Really? Even him?"

  "I think he already knows."

  "He knows...whatever you told him last week, unless you decided to get in his face and gloat a little bit more."

  "No. One concussion per week is enough."

  "Then he doesn’t know, really, about us."

  "What are you afraid of?"

  "You gave Alex a lot of opportunities to practice strong-arming people to get what he wants." She was quiet again.

  "What is it?"

  "Lucy Bartolome." She looked up and shook her head. "He even got to her, Michael." She bit her lip. "Don’t you see? If we do...he knows what you’ve done, alright? He silenced people—he can un-silence them. How pissed do you think Jessie and Mitch and Emily are going to be? How long will it take them? He’s not going to protect you anymore." Her face hardened. "If I married you...we might as well honeymoon in prison."

  "Do you really think Emily and Jessie would do that, if you’re happy with me?"

  "Maybe not, but I can’t vouch for Mitch."

  "Mitch loves his wife," Michael said confidently. "He won’t do anything."

  "Well, maybe you don’t want to walk home by yourself from now on."

  "I’m safe."

  "What about that car accident?"

  Michael gasped. "How did you know about that?"

  "I guessed, believe it or not. I understand there was a very nice settlement buying someone’s silence. What if that person got to keep the money and turn you in? That might be the deal of the century."

  Michael shook his head. "No. Don’t worry about Alex. He’s not even as clean as he looks, and he knows I know."

  "That’s your leverage to keep your job, maybe even get your money?"

  "I can handle Alex," Michael said calmly. "He’s not a threat." He put his forehead next to hers. "So you’re going to have to come up with a better reason not to marry me."

  She smiled. She felt like she was in a bubble of happiness with him. "Well, then I want a prenup."

  "A prenup?" he repeated, amused. "And what goes into that, exactly?"

  "You don’t travel too much."

  "I think that can be arranged."

  "You’re home by eight."

  "Okay."

  "You make love to me every night."

  "Do I get credit if I put out more?"

  "No other people."

  "Not even an issue."

  "No anti-Semitic crap; ever, no matter where you are."

  "I never meant any of that…"

  "I mean it."

  "Done."

  "No drugs."

  "Fine."

  "Easy on the alcohol."

  "Now you’re pushing it."

  "Liver failure sounds really annoying."

  "Okay." He kissed her.

  "Well?" she said. "Don’t you have any conditions for me?"

  "Nope." He took her hand. "I don’t want to change one thing about you."

  They kissed in the cold, then Michael led her back to the hotel. "So do you want a big wedding, or a small one?" she asked.

  "Most elopements are pretty small."

  "Wha—"

  "Well, yeah. When did you think I wanted to get married?"

  "Three months is usually the minimum amount of time required."

  "For what? A hall? A semi-okay caterer?"

  "The dress. The flowers. The cake."

  "How about I buy you a dress and some flowers and we get a slice of cake?"

  "What about guests?"

  "Zainab and Richard." He looked up as if he were making a calculation. "Yeah, that would really be it. Unfortunately, they can’t come now. Is there anyone else you’d like to invite?"

  "You mean that you haven’t alienated yet?"

  "Whatever."

  They crossed the street while she thought. There was her family in Israel, but didn’t feel right taking them away from her grandfather. "Alright," she said reluctantly. "Elopement it is. I guess we can get everything together by tomorrow."

  "Tomorrow?"

  "Well, it’s Sunday. All the official buildings are closed."

  Michael laughed. "You’re joking, right? You’ve never heard of Las Vegas?"

  She froze. "Eww! I’m not getting married in Vegas with Elvis or some guy in a red polyester suit reading from a cue card! Go find another excuse to gamble."

  "They do everything for you," Michael said quickly. "I think we could be in and out in an hour."

  "McWedding, great," Miranda muttered. "And how do you know so much about this anyway?"

  "I might have looked it up this week."

  She giggled, then felt her lip tremble. "Well then...if you want to get married in Vegas, we can get married in Vegas."

  He pulled her into another kiss. She wished they could stay here forever, no matter how cold. Not being lonely was such a good thing.

  CHAPTER 35

  "Magnolia?" Alex said when Tatiana finally revealed where she lived. "Where the Hell is that?"

  "It is only the most beautiful village in Massachusetts."

  "Massachusetts has villages? Still?"

  Tatiana tweaked Alex’s nose. "All you Bostonians are the same."

  "That’s right, and you’ll be one soon enough."

  "Well, I’m not going to be that grand, and I don’t care how big your house is."

  "Our house," Alex said, taking her hand. "Our house."

  Alex didn’t make a fuss about Tatiana not coming to stay with him as the house wasn't ready yet. She had a part-time job at home, and she needed a little time to get that in order. He admired her independence, even if it annoyed him. However, he insisted on coming to the train station the next week to pick her up.

  North Station was as crowded as ever. Alex had trouble making his way to the platform. The train had already been in the station for five minutes when he finally saw her. But she wasn’t alone. She was talking to Stephen.

  It was stupid to be jealous. He knew that even then. They weren’t touching each other; they were only just close enough so that they could hear each other through the crowd. But just knowing that Stephen was within two hundred feet of her was enough to make Alex forget all reason.

  He didn’t even think about it. He walked right over and punched Stephen in the face. Stephen was good in a fight, but he was as susceptible to gravity as anyone; more so, maybe, because he was so big. Tatiana screamed then knelt down next to Stephen. Stephen blinked shaking his head. People crowded around. "I’ll stay out of your life if you stay out of mine!" Alex spat. "Don’t ever let me see you near her again!"

  Tatiana stood up and rounded on Alex. "You stupid idiot!" she shouted, tears coming to her eyes. "What the Hell is wrong with you?"

  A rage that he could not explain poured out of him. "You are mine!" he bellowed, so loudly that people around him backed away. "You do not belong with him or to him. You belong to me. You are mine, not his." He shook with anger. "You’d still rather be his mistress than my wife?"

  "Go to Hell!" she shouted back. She turned to Stephen and helped him stand up, then helped him walk to a bench. Alex stood, unable to move, as she watched him care for him. Finally he shook his head. "To hell with the both of you," he said under his breath, then turned and walked out of the station.

  CHAPTER 36

  Michael and Miranda got on a plane to Vegas by one. By seven EST, four west coast time, they had arrived. They bickered about what style—he wanted kitsch, but she wanted bare bones, ultra simple. It took them half an hour, but Miranda won when she threatened to turn around and go home. She didn’t want to buy a dress for Vegas, but Michael insisted. She picked out something reminiscent of what Caroline Bessette-Kennedy wore to her wedding. She blushed when she saw Michael, who was speechless again when he saw her in it. Good speechless.

  Neither of them remembered what the vows were. They just remembered the kiss. Everything before had been
a dream. This felt real. And she wasn’t afraid.

  They’d agreed to get flowers and a cake when they got back to Boston; she didn’t want him to miss any work. She did, however, agree to use the bridal suite for a few hours.

  They were on a plane back to Boston by eight o’clock west coast time, eleven o’clock Eastern Time. He kissed her fingers. "We didn’t get you a ring," he said once they were airborne. "That is something else we’ll have to get."

  "I don’t need a ring," she said as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

  "Well, I think you do," he whined. "It’s all part of telling everyone."

  "Just sleep, baby," she said. "You need your strength for work."

  "I need my strength for other things."

  They got home at five in the morning. He tossed the bags through the door, and carried her over the threshold. "Welcome home, Mrs. Abbot."

  "Miranda Harel Abbot," she said quietly. "I think I like the way that sounds."

  He put her down on the bed. She smiled and shook her head. "It’s time to get up for work, Mr. Abbot. Don’t get fired on your first day of wedded bliss."

  "I will let you know, Mrs. Abbot, what I can handle at work. But right now, I want to make love to my wife in our home on the first day of our lives together."

  "When you say it like that..."

  She lay back on the bed after he left, rubbing the spot where he had been. And then she smiled, happier than ever before.

  CHAPTER 37

  Since the age of five, Alex Sheldon had rarely revealed his temper in public. Very few people knew that he had one. When he did let it out, it was usually satisfied with a slow menace which the recipient found just as threatening as a sucker punch in the jaw. He knew that being out of control, however much damage he might do in the short term, left him much more vulnerable later than he wanted to be. That was why he didn’t call Tatiana for two days after he’d punched his oldest friend in the face. Not because he was still angry, not because he didn’t want to talk to her, but because he wanted to be in control when he spoke to her.

  Only Tatiana did not want to talk to him. When she answered her phone, she hung up. When he called back, she wouldn’t pick up. And so it went for five days. That didn’t concern Alex. He was persistent. She’d pick up before he’d stop calling, and if she didn’t, he’d find her in Magnolia.

  Finally, somebody picked up. "Tatiana, don’t hang up."

  "I’m afraid this isn’t Tatiana," an older woman’s voice said.

  "Oh, I’m sorry. I must have dialed the wrong number."

  "No, this is the correct number," the older woman said. "But I’m afraid Tatiana isn’t here right now."

  "Oh." Now Alex was confused. He didn’t like that either. "I’m sorry. It’s important, actually. Do you know when she’ll be back?"

  "She went into town this afternoon," the older woman said. "She took the car, so I don’t know when she’s coming back."

  "Town? Do you know—Did she say?" Perhaps Alex hadn’t waited long enough. Perhaps he’d waited too long. Deep breath. "I’m sorry to have bothered you. I’ll see if I can find her."

  He strummed his fingers on the phone after he hung it up, trying to suppress the dark thought growing in his mind.

  CHAPTER 38

  At two, Miranda took a deep breath and dialed.

  "Hi Zainab, how was your weekend?"

  Zainab sighed. "Miranda, what are you doing? And don’t tell me you’re not crazy. Last weekend you’re crying because of Alex and Michael, then I find out that you’re at Michael’s place, doing I don’t even want to ask what, and then Richard tells me that he’s just given you a credit card to escape to parts unknown. And now, here you are again, calling me from Michael’s number. What is going on?"

  "We got married."

  Silence for a full minute. "To whom?" she finally said.

  "To each other."

  "Can you explain how he went from hated enemy to husband in less than two weeks?"

  "No, but I can tell you what happened."

  "Okay."

  "Any chance you can get away for lunch tomorrow?"

  "Yes. Just tell me where."

  ~~~

  Zainab hung up the phone and shuddered. What was Emily going to do when she found out? She didn’t need to ask to know that Emily hadn’t been called yet.

  The phone rang. "Hello, dear," Zainab said.

  "Did you just talk to Miranda?" Richard asked.

  "I did. Did you just talk to Michael?"

  "I did." Silence. "Please promise me that when we get married, we are going to do it the old-fashioned way. With guests and pictures and a cake—and that we won’t hate each other."

  "I just...wow."

  ~~~

  Richard had one more call he needed to make when he got off the phone with Zainab. He didn’t want to, but he was never one to flee from responsibility or necessity.

  Alex took Richard’s call immediately. "Is Miranda alright?"

  "Miranda is fine. Zainab spoke to her just ten minutes ago."

  "I’ve been trying to call you for the past week."

  "I’m sorry, Alex, I didn’t know what to tell you. I didn’t have any information to give you—at least, not that I wasn’t pretty sure you knew yourself."

  "Where has she been?"

  "She’s been with Michael."

  Silence. "The whole time?"

  "Just about."

  "You have no idea what’s been done here, do you?"

  "Maybe not entirely, but I called to tell you not to worry about her. She’s fine. She’s better than fine. She’s happy."

  "Happy with Michael?" Alex laughed incredulously. "They hate each other."

  "They don’t anymore, and I’m not sure they ever really did."

  "Please Richard. You know you don’t need to be in love with someone to screw them."

  Richard couldn’t articulate why, but Alex’s tone made his skin crawl. "In this case, you’d better hope you’re wrong. They got married yesterday."

  Richard didn’t hear Alex breathe for over a minute. "Alex?"

  "You have no idea what’s just happened, do you?"

  CHAPTER 39

  Michael called Miranda and asked her to meet him at the jewelry store at six thirty. He beamed when he saw her. She thought he grew more handsome each day.

  Michael had already asked the jeweler to put a few rings aside. Miranda squeezed his hand. He’d gotten the colors and shapes right. They finally picked out a platinum band with pink stones. Not entirely traditional, but still tasteful. Michael picked out a matching platinum band of his own. The rings would be ready on Wednesday.

  "Perfect," Michael said as they left the store. "Richard and Zainab will be joining us on Wednesday."

  "Right, because they’re going to think we made the whole thing up unless they see us in some heavy-duty rings. Sadly, I will be seeing Zainab before that, so hopefully she’ll be able to suspend her disbelief a little bit."

  Michael smiled when he unlocked the door. The room was filled with roses. "Oh, Michael," Miranda gasped. "It’s beautiful." She closed the door and pushed him against it. "When did you get to be so romantic?"

  He gripped her skin and gently bit her lip. "When I knew you loved me."

  ~~~

  Miranda practically walked on air as she walked to meet Zainab for lunch. Michael continued to surprise her everywhere. He took her breath away; she felt like she might cry just thinking about him when he wasn’t there.

  Zainab stood up when Miranda got to the table. "Congratulations!" she said and threw her arms around Miranda. Miranda hugged her back. She was so happy that Zainab, at least to her face, was happy for her.

  "I should be really mad at you though," Zainab said after they’d ordered. "No one wants me to be in their wedding?"

  "Think of it as not making you wear a bridesmaid dress, and then it doesn’t seem so bad."

  "True. Well, regardless, I got something for you. I think Richard wants to bring someth
ing else tomorrow night, but this is from me to you."

  It was a photo album. There were pictures of Michael and Miranda throughout the years. Very few of them had the two of them together, which made Miranda laugh. And then there were pictures of Zainab and Miranda and Michael and Richard. Miranda’s eyes welled up. Zainab had been very careful not to put in pictures of anyone else.

  "This is lovely," Miranda said, wiping her eyes as the food came.

  "Something to capture your happiness..."

  "So it doesn’t flit away?"

  "Is it going to?" Zainab asked quietly. "How...what happened?"

  Miranda wished Zainab’s voice didn’t sound so concerned, but she didn’t resent her for it. "I...it’s so hard to explain. It was like everything became so clear once I found out about my mother. I wanted to start a new life and be a new person. I mean, I didn’t really have much of a choice. And-" she smiled, knowing how stupid it was going to sound. "I think Michael wanted to be a new person too, or maybe the person he always was deep down inside. We spent a lot of time together."

  "I bet," Zainab said with a little chuckle.

  "It wasn’t just that," Miranda said earnestly. "And even if it was a lot of that, it was more than what it sounds like." She traced the lines of her knife. "He is...incredibly gentle. Sweet. He wants to make me happy. And not because that’s how he always is—I think we can all vouch for that—but because..." she looked up, foolish again. "Because it’s me." Then she laughed wickedly. "And I actually do have proof. You can ask Richard some time."

  "What?"

  "Long story," Miranda giggled.

  ~~~

  Miranda got home at four, looking through the photo album. But she was really thinking about the party at Alex’s house at the beginning of the summer. She remembered laughing with Emily and even missed seeing Mitch. She missed Jessie. She missed laughing with her friends. She missed having them in her life. She cried a little bit, then splashed her face with water so Michael wouldn’t notice when he came home.

  It was no good. "What’s wrong?" he asked when he kissed her.