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He briefly scowls at my comment then unlocks the Civic, obviously excited to show me all the bells and whistles. Madden tosses me the keys with a big grin and I drive my new car to my parent’s place.

I’m still a bit uncomfortable with the gift but not enough to reject it. Not gonna lie: connecting my phone to Bluetooth will be incredibly handy.

I park in front of my parents’ duplex. I have to hide my grin when Mom opens the door before we even knock. She’s that excited to have us both for dinner that she must have stood watch by the window for our arrival. She and Dad crowd the doorway with big smiles on their faces.

“Happy 29th!” They exclaim. Mom sets a plastic tiara on top of my head before I’m through the doorway. Looking over our shoulders, she spots the car. “Is that new?”

“I replaced the Buick for her birthday. I hope that’s okay.” Madden says with a smile.

“Doesn’t bother me,” Dad says. “‘Bout time.”

“I am just happy that you take such good care of Odette.” My mom’s eyes are filled with tears. Madden flinches slightly at her remark. But I don’t think my parents notice.

Guilt suddenly makes my stomach churn. My parents will be devastated when we end our marriage. Closing my eyes for a second, I try to push the thought away and just focus on enjoying the evening. We’ll worry about that when it comes.

Mom made my favorite meal: BBQ meatballs, baked potatoes, and a birthday cake, of course. They even got me a few small gifts.

The evening runs smoothly until they start sharing my embarrassing childhood stories with Madden. I groan and cover my face with my hands when they recount my nature-loving phase. I used to collect plant samples to grow on my windowsill, though they all died within days. I even painstakingly created a t-shirt emblazoned with “1-800-NatureGirl” and wore it around almost daily.

But as we all laugh together throughout the evening, it hits me again just how hard it will be–not only on me, but on my family–when my contract with Madden ends. Would it be more merciful to just tell my parents now?

I immediately dismiss the thought. It would surely hurt them more if my parents knew that I married a stranger to pay for their care. I’ll learn to live with this guilt in my gut.

I have to.

Chapter 18

Madden

We have a free evening the day after Odette’s birthday, an uncommon occurrence these days. I usually thrive with busyness, constantly having something to do and somewhere to go, but lately, I find myself more and more content to stay home with Odette and enjoy peaceful evenings together.

She’s waiting for me on the couch with a smorgasbord of Chinese takeout spread across the coffee table. I join her with two orange-flavored Fantas, flick on the TV, and take my seat next to her.

The news blares to life on the screen. I’m about to change the channel when something familiar catches my eye. I squint to make sure I’m seeing straight, then throw back my head with a dramatic groan. “Christopher Highman?”

“Who’s that?”

“He’s the jerk I used to have the displeasure of working with. You met him briefly when we signed the prenup. And the chubby, bald guy standing in front is his dad, Larry. I used to see him coming out of Christopher’s office every so often.”

We both focus our attention on the TV. Larry Highman and his wife, along with their three adult children, walk onto a small stage adorned with a Kansas flag and an American flag.

Odette grimaces. “It looks like they’re making an announcement.”

“Oh, no,” I whisper. I know what’s happening.

Larry Highman steps up to a microphone on screen. The camera cuts to a close-up of his face. “Thank you for joining us this evening. My family and I are extremely excited to announce my candidacy for the fourth district congressional race. I look forward to representing our great state of Kansas!” The on-screen crowd erupts in cheers.

Odette and I stare blankly at the screen.

I turn the TV off. I can’t stare at my old coworker and his family any longer. “This is bad. So far, the only person running against me is a Democrat named Mark Jones, and I’m not too worried about him. But Larry Highman could be a real threat. He’ll have the Republican vote in his pocket right from the start.” I scrub my hands down my face.

“Do you know anything about him?” Odette asks innocently.

“I’ve only met Larry a few times. Aside from being filthy rich and raising a jerk son, I honestly don’t know what he’s like.”

Odette stands up and walks across the room to grab her laptop. “Alright, so let’s find dirt on this Larry guy.” She says his name like it’s laced with poison, and I love her for it. Well, not love, per se.

“Good plan. We need to be prepared. If he’s anything like his son, he may play dirty during this election.” She returns to the couch, laptop in hand. I scoot closer to look over her shoulder so I can see the computer screen. I could go get my own laptop, but Odette smells nice, and this is the perfect excuse to sit close to her.