Accidentally Married

Chapter Twelve

The Thor wrap party was amazing, even better than the awards after parties since I didn't have to worry about spilling red wine on a dress that probably cost more than my little car.

There was music and dancing, an open bar, a photo booth with dress up props, and many people I had come to like.

I grew a little melancholy when I realised that I might never see some of these people again.

This was Tom's life, a series of short term connections, most of which would never be renewed. Then I remembered his look of gratitude sometimes, when he came home after a long day to find I was ready to take care of him.

I turned to look for him and found him in the DJ booth, lining up the tunes and grinning like a fool while he danced along. He stopped to have a sip of his beer, then breathlessly introduced the next track.

He was a gregarious person and easily able to make new friends, but everyone needed something with a little more permanence. Even his long term friends and family weren't available to him much of the time since he was often away from them.

I pushed the thoughts aside for now and switched to water, before I began bawling my eyes out and declaring my love for everyone here.

A bit later Chris grabbed me for the photo booth, then I grabbed Miriam, one of the makeup artists, then I went off to find my Thomas, who was downing beer in thirsty mouthfuls. Judging by how wet his shirt was, he'd been dancing.

"There she is!" he cried with the enthusiasm of a child as he put his beer down and grabbed my hands. "We have to do the photo booth."

"I've just done it twice!" I laughingly resisted his attempts to drag me back.

"But not with me! Surely you won't turn your beloved husband down, will you?" You can probably guess that those words were accompanied with the puppy dog eyes.

"Fine," I sighed dramatically, rolling my eyes and giving my best stroppy teenager impression.

Tom laughed and pulled me over.

I remember putting a feather boa around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss, but the rest of the night is a bit of a blur, until I woke up in bed the next morning, stiflingly hot as I was still fully clothed, under the covers and with Tom spooning me from behind.

We took the day to recover but the next day we spent packing. Our flight was that night and while we travelled first class, the flight was still long and arduous.

Once we landed and on the drive home, the proximity of our anniversary suddenly hit me. Five weeks! Well, four weeks and four days.

It was like an invisible countdown to the end of my marriage.

I wondered about suggesting we keep the things going a little longer, just so that people didn't become suspicious of a 365 day marriage. I was tired and grouchy though, and not at all brave enough to suggest something like that.

My courage failed me the next day, and the next, and for the week after that.

Tom didn't say anything either though, and I began to wonder if maybe he was just going to let our anniversary slide by and stay married to me. Or maybe he'd take me out to dinner and ask me to stay married to him. Or possibly he was planning an elaborate ceremony, secretly inviting our family and friends so we could renew our wedding vows in front of them.

I knew I had ventured out of the realm of possibility and into the fantasy land but each day that Tom ignored the upcoming deadline though, I became a little more convinced that he was doing so for the same reason I was, because he didn't want this to end.