Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 121210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Yes. Forever.
67
Clay
Sunday, July 10th
The sun is just starting to come into my bedroom window when I blink awake. And when I look down, I find a naked Josie curled up beside me, her head resting on my shoulder. Her hand rests on my stomach and right there, in its rightful place, is her engagement ring nestled on its left ring finger.
I finally got my wife back.
I glance at the clock, and I see it’s only a little after nine. I wouldn’t be surprised if Josie doesn’t wake up for a few more hours. See, when you spend over five years apart from the woman you love, the night that you finally are back together, you end up having a lot of sex.
I’m talking a lot, a lot. I’m not certain what time we fell asleep, but I know it was at least four in the morning.
I grab my phone from the nightstand and quietly scroll through missed texts and calls. Norah, Bennett, Marty, Eileen Martin, and several other people who witnessed us kissing at the reception are more than a little curious about what’s going on. Nosy bastards. For now, I choose to ignore them, and I quietly scroll through some news articles.
I’m tempted to get up and head to Melba’s bakery to grab us some donuts, but when Josie starts to stir against me, I glance down and find her green eyes looking right at me.
“Morning,” she says, a sleepy smile already on her lips.
My wife stayed.
“Morning.” I smile and press a kiss to her forehead. “I was thinking about getting some donuts from Melba’s.”
“Now, that sounds kind of perfect.” She leans up to press a smacking kiss to my lips before hopping out of bed and heading into the bathroom.
“Though, I should probably warn you,” I call out toward her. “I’ve got a shitload of messages from half the town.”
“Oh God!” Josie exclaims. “I can only imagine what all those busybodies are saying. Surely Pete and Mayor Wallace are milling about CAFFEINE, trying to see if I’m in there.”
“Eileen Martin’s message is demanding an interview,” I update her, and her laugh echoes in the bathroom.
“That woman is so predictable.” The water switches on. “Just so you know, I’m using your toothbrush.”
The mere idea of that urges a big-ass smile to my lips.
“Maybe we should skip Melba’s and just, like, drive somewhere outside of town?” I suggest, and Josie doesn’t hesitate to agree.
“Yes, please!” But her words come out all muffled around the toothpaste because my wife is using my toothbrush to brush her teeth in my bathroom because she’s here.
Thank fucking everything.
“Quick question,” she says and peeks her head out the door. “So, you didn’t actually file those divorce papers, right?”
Her silly smile makes me laugh. “Fuck no.”
And my response makes her crack up. “Good.”
Yeah. We’re still married. But one day soon, I’m going to marry my wife again.
The Happily Ever After
Josie
2 and half months later
Wednesday, September 22nd
I step out of the bathroom of CAFFEINE and find Norah and Camille putting up blackout curtains on the windows and door so no one can see inside. They already have hair and makeup stations set up on the long counter and a few of the tables, and my white silk mermaid-style wedding dress hangs on the wall.
I walk over to my wedding dress and double-check to make sure that my veil is on the hanger with it. It is. Thank goodness.
“You ready?” Norah asks, a smile on her lips as she nods toward one of the empty chairs in front of a hair and makeup station.
“You want to do my makeup?”
“Are you kidding me?” she retorts on a laugh. “I’m honored that I get to do my big sister’s makeup on her wedding day.”
“Let me get a bottle of water first,” I tell her and head over to the snack and drink table Camille set up near the register.
It’s hard to believe that today marks my wedding anniversary, the day Clay and I had run off to the courthouse to elope. We were young and in love and happy. Everything had been perfect.
Everything had been so right. Before it had all turned so wrong.
It took us years to find our way back to each other. Took me years to finally tell him all of the things he deserved to know.
I never, in a million years, thought we’d be together again. But here we are, together, happy, and moving forward as a couple.
A few weeks after Clay and I got back together at Norah and Bennett’s wedding reception, he told me he wanted to get married. And I had teased him and said that he didn’t need to marry me because he was a stubborn mule who never filed the divorce papers.
Eventually, though, he expressed just how much it would mean to him if I’d marry him again, if we’d have an actual wedding. And the stress and fear I had felt all those years ago when he was telling me the same things after Grandma Rose passed didn’t exist.