No Strings

CHAPTER 1-- BOY MARRIES GIRL

Cracking open my bedroom door, I watched my new husband, William, emerge from his bedroom and stumble towards the stairs. I eyed his white-and-blue striped pajamas. I hadn't expected him to have on fifties stereotypical nightwear.

I closed the door behind me, tripped, then leaned against the hallway wall.

At the end of the hall, I peered down the stairs. I wondered if I could get used to using stairs in the morning. William almost lost his balance on the last step. He turned at the bottom of the staircase towards the kitchen.

I took a deep breath and went down the stairs. I looked out of the front door into the darkness. Seeing that made me feel sleepier. I yawned before turning my back to the door.

I veered too wide and stubbed my toe on a box in the doorway of the living room. I said a belated, "Ow."

I steadied myself against the wall before going to the kitchen.

I found William rummaging through the boxes.

He looked up at me and raised an eyebrow at my hair. I pointed to his which was enough to make birds nest in it, then down at his pajamas. He smiled at my choice of pink and white sheep pajamas. I thought he'd look decent for the breakfast table.

"Bargain deal," I explained.

He held up a coffee cup. "Want some?"

"Half a cup."

He pulled out of the stacks of boxes the materials he needed and put them on the counter.

I would have to make coffee at the office. The thought of work brought back a flash of lovely expense reports, supply forms, folders, cataloging mock ups and phone calls. I wasn't looking forward to a two hour commute to Boston.

I shuffled towards the cabinet where I'd shoved my Cheerios box and raisins last night. I grabbed the box and looked over. William was mixing together ingredients. He didn't have a recipe. I pointed to the milk. He shoved it in my direction.

I settled down at the table and stared at him. I wondered if he had any other motivations for marrying me besides that he wanted to buy this house. Content that none of his other motivations was love, I shook Cheerios into my bowl and sprinkled raisins over the top. With my left elbow on the table, I settled my head into my hand and ate my breakfast with my head tilted sideways.

My eyes focused out as I crunched down on the o's. I looked up from my bowl and found that he had a stack of pancakes in front of him. He pushed over my half cup of coffee.

I watched him as I crunched through my cereal playing with the o's and making patterns, but still trying to eat them fast enough so they wouldn't get nasty. A dragon with severed front legs roared back at me from my cereal bowl. Staring at the o's allowed me time to collect my thoughts.

"Why did you get up early?" I asked. I took a sip of coffee.

"I have a model to finish by the end of today."

"Ah."

I guessed that meant he would stay home all day. Lucky bastard. I wasn't going to ask him to confirm. Whatever he did wasn't my business and would break the marriage contract if I asked.

I gulped the remainder of the milk. I looked out the window behind him. The sun was up. The microwave wasn't set up yet, so I didn't know what time it was. I leaned back to look at the stove. I had to get going to open the office soon.

"Good luck," I said, getting up.

He nodded.

I swallowed my coffee as fast as I could and grabbed my share of dishes from the table to wash. Getting up this early was a pain, but I hoped the benefits would outweigh the disadvantages. I washed out the bowl and cup, then put them on the drying rack. I thrust the raisins and Cheerios back into the cabinet.

I ran up the stairs. I didn't want to face rush hour traffic. I darted into the bathroom and took a shower. I brushed my teeth and thought over which clothes to wear. The black skirt was clean and I had a clean white blouse. I wrapped myself tight and ran for my bedroom, happy that William was still downstairs. I threw on the clothes. I peered into the animal room to make sure everything was still OK. They still had food and water. Satisfied, I sprinted down the stairs, paused to collect my purse from the front hall closet and grabbed a coat. I needed to get to the office before everyone else.

I fumbled for my car keys and cellphone from the end table. William leaned into the hallway and waved from the kitchen table as I shut the front door. I waved back. I rubbed my ring finger. I wasn't used to the new twenty-dollar ring. My only safeguard from all of the dangerous men of the world that would take away my soul. I had no idea why William would wear his ring, but I couldn't pause to worry about that. I needed to beat traffic.

I looked up at the door of the house before dashing for the car. A miracle must have happened to make William and me stay friends.