He answered after a single ring. “Miss me already?” There was a smile in his tone.
“What did Glamma tell you about her appointment with Dr. Martins?” I asked, cutting to the point.
Sounding confused, he replied, “She said, and I quote, ‘Doc told me you and Jada are a couple of worrywarts who don’t understand old knees.’ I assume she was paraphrasing... Why?”
Looking down at her date book, reading her careful cursive, I said, “I think she’s looking into a knee replacement.”
“What? Why?”
When I told him about the notebook, he was quiet for a moment before saying, “Maybe she just didn’t want to worry you before she had more information?”
I looked over at my Glamma, snoring softly. “Seems like all I do is worry about her lately.”
“She worries about you too,” he said gently. “She wanted to make sure I’d take care of you.”
My lips lifted slightly as I moved back toward my bedroom. “What did you say to that?”
“I said, ‘Jada’s a grown woman who can handle herself and doesn’t need a man.’”
I narrowed my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me. “What did you really say?”
He chuckled. “That I’d do everything in my power to treat you, and our daughter, like a princess or risk being haunted by her very well-dressed ghost.”
I laughed at that. “I’m sure that made her happy.”
“It seemed to at least delay further threats of haunting.”
I smiled to myself, sitting down on my bed. It was crazy to think that a whole team of movers and designers were currently working overtime to get our new house prepared so we could move in after the wedding. This would be one of my last night’s sleeping in this bedroom, walking in to hear my grandma’s snoring.
“A lot on your mind tonight,” Bryce commented.
“A lot on my mind since I met you,” I replied.
He was quiet for a moment. “It’s funny, because the only thing on my mind is how good it’s going to feel to call you my wife.”
My heart stuttered. “Not too much longer now.”
“Can’t come soon enough,” he replied.
We said our good-nights, and I got ready for bed, replaying the day in my mind and wondering how different my life would soon be.
I hope no matter how different, it would still be good.
I snuggled under the covers, wanting to savor this night. But then my phone went off with a notification.
$650,000 has been added to your checking account.
Jude: More to come if you don’t get married.
70.Bryce
Friday afternoon,I walked toward my office to close out my last day of work as an unmarried man. Maya had already gone to Cottonwood Falls to spend time with her parents and younger sisters before the wedding tomorrow.
It felt strangely peaceful to be up here by myself; the only sound was my dress shoes echoing softly on the marble floor.
But when I reached the glass door to my office, I saw someone on their hands and knees by my desk, digging through the trash. Little scraps of paper were laid out in front of her, like she was looking for some kind of clue.
I pushed into the room, saying, “Rei, what the hell is going on?”
