Page 37 of The Impossible

She was right, I was, but she didn’t have to know that. “So I’m still not permitted to go back to work after the vacation days I didn’t request.” I rolled my eyes to the ceiling.

She scoffed. “You know my theory on that.”

I laughed lightly. “Yes, I do.”

“Anyways, your husband isn’t gonna let that fly too long. Just being in the space with y’all lets me know he isn’t gonna let anything happen to you. Not only that, even though this whole thing was arranged, something about the whole space gave happily ever after.”

I laughed. “I said the same thing.”

“It was in the way he looked at you and the moment he told your simp ass daddy to sit his ass down. I trust you with him because he has your best interests at heart.”

“Shut up.”

“And mind you, I told you years ago when we were forced to be at all that family friends bullshit that he was feeling you. All quiet and stoic, insisting on calling you by your middle name. The same way he looks at you now is how he looked at you back then,” she pointed out.

I dropped a stack of shirts into the donation box before moving back to my phone. “Maybe.”

“Girl, fuck a maybe. The way y’all were at that reception lets me know you’re giving me a niece or nephew very soon and I am here for it.”

“Whoa, stop giving me kids before I have them, Paige.”

“Bitch, I’m not giving you kids. Your husband is gonna do that.”

Very soon unless I get on something or he wraps it up.

“But on another note. You are two days short of two weeks married. How is it?”

“To be honest, I like it and him. I know every moment isn’t gonna be perfect and this is probably the honeymoon stage talking, but he’s different, and our marriage isn’t what I expected.”

“That’s good. Now imagine if this arranged marriage had happened with someone you didn’t spend several summers of your adolescence crushing on.”

“It would be a disaster.”

“But it isn’t. It’s working out for the best and did I mention I love your mother-in-law? She’s the sweetest and she reminds me of Mom.”

I nodded, not responding immediately because she definitely did. That wholesome pureness oozed from her pores. “Yeah, she does.”

A knock at the door had me looking up from the stacks of clothes that seemed never-ending. I locked eyes with Alysia, who spoke immediately.

“You asked me to let you know when it was eleven, Mrs. Carter.”

“Dang, time flew that fast?” I looked from her to the clock above my shoe wall.

She grinned. “Yes, you’ve been here all morning. I took the liberty of preparing a to-go snack for you.”

I nodded. “Thank you. I’ll be down in a few.”

“No rush. I’ll alert you when the other Mrs. Carters arrive.”

“Thank you, Alysia.”

“Anytime.” She was gone seconds later, leaving me to talk to my sister.

Paige and I talked for a little while longer, then I had to rush and get dressed. At this point, I was never gonna get through this damn closet because there was so much, including the clothes I used to keep in the guest bedroom of my condo. At this point I felt my ex-shopaholic ways catching up with me.

“How are either of you existing in an empty home?” Amethyst asked as me, her, and Mama Carter sat down for lunch after countless hours of shopping.

I shrugged. “It’s not that empty. There are the basics, considering when we came back from our honeymoon he had the contents of my condo sitting in the living room.”