Page 35 of Why Not Forever?
Werentedalimoto take us back to Vancouver. Let everyone assume we’re going to a hotel or something to spend our first night as husband and wife in carnal bliss. Instead, we’re going back to Vic’s apartment, where we’ll go to sleep in separate beds.
It’s not exactly how I pictured my wedding night to end up, but here we are.
We don’t say much on the drive in, but we’re both exhausted. We get to her place, and she leans against the wall of the elevator, one hand behind her back, the other holding her bouquet of white roses and the paper heart I’d given her. She said she’d rather keep the flowers than throw them, especially since her friends aren’t single, anyway. Lis and Ava are already married and for Adalie, it’s only a matter of time.
“You want me to carry you over the threshold?” I ask.
She lifts one brow at me. “I’m not particularly vulnerable to evil spirits, and I’m not planning to run to my mother’s home.”
The elevator dings and Vic walks out as soon as the doors open.
“What?” I ask, laughing.
“That’s where the tradition comes from,” she says as she unlocks her door to let us in. “In Britain, it was because of the fear of evil spirits. In Rome, they worried about the woman running back to her mother.” She enters, stepping out of her shoes and placing her keys on the table by the door. “That’s yours, by the way. Sorry it took so long. I had to contact building management to get the new fob.” She points to a set of keys next to hers.
“How do you know all that stuff?” I take my shoes off as well, watching as she pulls the pins from her hair, letting it fall, running her fingers through it. I have to stop myself from asking if I can do that for her.
“Blue Vista has some options for bridal parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, that kind of thing. One of them includes a trivia game. I did a bunch of research on weddings and early marriage traditions.” She glances at me over her shoulder. “That’s the main reason I didn’t want my dad to walk me down the aisle. I’m not property to be transferred.”
I hold up my hands in surrender. “I supported every decision you made with this wedding. I think it went well, don’t you?”
She moves across the apartment without turning the lights on. “I think so. The thing is done, anyway.”
Right. Done. We’re married now. I’m still having a hard time reconciling the idea of Vic actually being my wife.
She stops at the china cabinet and takes an elegant white porcelain vase from inside it, bringing it to the kitchen to fill with water. As she’s walking away, I notice something on the china cabinet, moving closer to see if I’m right. There it is. The white paper rose I’d made her seven and a half years ago.
“Well, I’m going to bed,” she says, setting the vase with her bouquet in the middle of the dining table. “Good night, Tanner.”
Everything is all jumbled up inside me. She’s my wife, but only on paper. We’ve known each other for almost a decade, but for most of that time, she’s hated me. And yet… she kept the paper flower I folded for her on that one perfect morning.
I turn toward her, pulling up that cheeky grin she finds annoying. “Good night, Mrs. Marcus.”
She sighs and shakes her head, but the corner of her lip turns up in half a smile. Then she goes into her bedroom and closes the door. I return my attention to the paper flower, taking it carefully from the small vase she’d placed it in. I turn the pipe cleaner between my fingers a couple times before I put it back and retreat to my room.
The first couple days after our wedding, I don’t see Vic at all. There are major events going on at Blue Vista, and she mentions the fact that having her wedding on August first made sense in a lot of ways, but meant that they weren’t there for one of the biggest parties Blue Vista throws every year. It went fine because their staff are good at their jobs, but it means Vic is stressed as they get through the remainder of the Vancouver Pride Festival and the events they have scheduled.
The rest of the week flies by in a blur of activity as Sterling finalizes a purchase on a major hotel chain that had been about to go under. Now that it’s under the Sterling umbrella, it stands a chance to grow again. On Saturday, Vic gets a call from Spencer at breakfast, where he tells her to take the day off. I know because I can hear him from the chair beside her at the pass through counter where we’re eating a breakfast of yogurt and granola I made.
She sighs when she hangs up.
“Apparently I’m not needed today. He told me to stay home and relax.”
“How do you think that’s going to go?” I ask.
She glares at me. “Not you, too. I know how to relax.”
“Do you?” I ask out of genuine curiosity, because I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it. Not even when we were at university together.
She lifts her chin. “Yes. I learned.”
“Of course. And what did you learn? Are you going to veg on the couch? Read a book? Watch TV?”
“Those are evening relaxation things,” she says, before taking a bite of her breakfast.
“My mistake. So what are you going to do instead?”
She eyes me for a moment as though coming to a decision about something. When she answers, I’m surprised by what she says. “I’m going to go to the Aquarium. Do you want to come with me?”
