Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“The doctor said it might be fine for another twenty years.”
“That’s not exactly what she said.”
“No, what she said was, she has no idea when it might become a serious problem,” he said. “So far, I’ve lived with it for twenty-seven years. I get a little tired sometimes, and I fainted once, which may or may not even be related to my heart condition.”
“And every day you leave this untreated, your heart is literally damaging itself.”
“I’m going to treat it. I just can’t do that right now. But I can come back in a few months, after I find a job with insurance benefits, and they can fix me right up.” He looked around and asked, “Any idea where they hid my clothes?”
“You could go into heart failure tomorrow, Collie.”
“I could also get hit by a bus. But chances are, neither of those things are going to happen.” He circled around the bed, opened a narrow cabinet, and took out a plastic bag with his clothes.
“I don’t understand why you’re not taking this seriously.”
He whirled on me with tears in his eyes. “I am taking this seriously, Miller! But come on, you saw the number on the bottom of that form. Do the math! Divide that amount by five years. Sixty months. There’s literally no way. Hell, even if they spread it over ten years, I still couldn’t pay it.”
As he dumped the contents of the bag onto the bed, an idea suddenly occurred to me. It was so perfectly obvious that I was surprised I hadn’t thought of it sooner. I blurted, “Marry me, Collie.”
“What the hell?”
“I’m serious.”
He snatched the call buzzer off the bed and asked, “Are you having a stroke? Do you need medical intervention?”
“My job has excellent benefits. If we’re married, you’ll be covered by my insurance.”
“But why would they cover me, now that my heart condition is on record?”
“A coworker and her husband just went through this, so I know for a fact that this type of group insurance can’t deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. There’s literally a law preventing them from doing that.”
He stared at me for a long moment before asking, “What would we have to do?”
“We just need to get married ASAP, ideally today. Then I can file the paperwork with HR tomorrow, and your benefits will kick in on the first of the month. September first is this Tuesday, and today’s Sunday—that’s why we need to hurry. Otherwise, they’ll kick in on October first, and I don’t think you should wait that long.”
He met my gaze and asked, “Would you really be willing to marry me? I get that we’re talking about an only-on-paper marriage, but it still seems like a huge ask.”
“You’re not asking. I’m volunteering.”
“But why? You barely know me.”
“I like you, Collie, and this is such an easy way to help. We’ll get married, and then a few months from now, when you’re on your feet and have a job that’ll provide you with your own health insurance, we’ll have it annulled.”
“You need a prenup. You can’t be that trusting, Miller. A spouse would be entitled to half your stuff under the law.”
“You’d never take advantage of me like that.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” he said. “But I still want you to have a legal document that says I get nothing when we split. It’s important to me, because it shows you’re taking care of yourself.”
“I have a good lawyer. He’s also a friend of mine. I’ll contact him and ask him to draw up a quick agreement.”
“Okay, that’s good. But what about a marriage license? I doubt the county clerk’s office is open on a Sunday. And isn’t there a waiting period?”
“No, there’s no waiting period in California, and you’re right that the offices are closed today. But there are authorized agencies and private officiants who can issue the marriage license and perform the ceremony on the same day, even if it’s a Sunday.”
“And that’s legal?”
“One hundred percent.”
He asked, “How do you know that?”
“Because this time last year, I was about to get married.”
“Oh. Right.”
“So, what do you think? Will you fake marry me?”
A smile spread across Collie’s face. “Yes. I’ll absolutely fake marry you, Miller.”
“Awesome.” I leaned across the bed and gave him a high-five before saying, “I’ll call my lawyer first, and then I’ll track down one of those same-day officiants. We’ll need a witness too, so I’ll call Daria and ask her to come to the hospital.”
“Yes to Daria, no to the hospital.”
“What do you mean?”
“The doctors and nurses already think we’re married. If they find out you were lying, they might ban you from visiting me, and that can’t happen.” He dropped his gaze and added shyly, “Besides, this might be the only time I get married. Even if it’s make-believe, I want it to be a nice memory.”