"It'll take two weeks to get a replacement."
"Two weeks?" He seems relieved. "That's long enough. Go ahead and get that started."
"Won't I need a visa?"
"Nope. US passport holders get a 90-day visa upon arrival. Also, being married to a national helps a lot."
He hands me a copy of the marriage license and the wedding certificate to include in my paperwork. I don't know why I hesitate to take it from him, but something in me hesitates.
"Do you mind if I don't include all of this?"
"Why?" He frowns.
"I just...I'm not ready. I mean, after next year we'll be divorced anyway. I don't want to -"
"I get it." He cuts me off and drops the paperwork on the table. "Its there if you need it. Put it someplace safe, just in case."
I want to comfort him but I don't know what to say that isn't a lie and won't be a promise that I can't keep. Instead, I decide to change the focus.
"I need a computer," I say, walking gently on my injured foot.
"What?"
"I need a laptop or something. I'm not working right now, but I could pick up a few freelance gigs. there's a lot of companies that outsource a lot of HR things."
"You're the wife of a rich man. You don't have to do that kind of work anymore."
"Okay, but I still need to find a way to fill my days. I can't just spend my time shopping and wait for you to come home from work."
"Why not? Isn't that what women dream about?" He doesn't bother to look at me as he speaks, picking up his cup and sipping slowly.
"Maybe some kinds of women, but not me. And you know enough about me to know that," I reach for his chin and he flinches but doesn't run. "Hey, what's the problem?"
"Nothing."
"Rayyan, we're partners in this until it's all over. I'm not saying you have to give me your life story."
"I already gave you that."
"Okay, fair enough," I admit, recalling the day he spent recounting all of the things that a wife should know about her husband. "But that doesn't mean I'm a mind reader. I still need to know what's wrong right now."
He presses his cheek against my palm and closes his eyes. The tension in his body begins to slip away.
"Let me hold you," he says, stretching his hands out around my body. I nod and step closer, pressing myself against his chest and letting him hug me. I slip my arms under his and rub his back gently, like a child.
"Whatever it was, I didn't mean it," I assure him. Sometimes human beings are like battlefields littered with landmines. You never know what will set people off. Hurt people, traumatized people, abandoned people, we all have more landmines than most others. Some days it can feel like living in a freaking DMZ. If anybody understands that it's me.
"Let's go shopping," he says, releasing me and smiling. "You need a laptop and some clothes."
"More clothes?" I roll my eyes and groan.
"You'll like this," he says, smiling more broadly. "Why don't you take a painkiller for your foot and let's get going."
"I don't like taking painkillers," I admit in a small voice, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Why not?"
"Life is supposed to hurt. Pain lets you know you're still living." It's my go-to reply to that question. I've used it so many times that it sounds true even though it's not...not really.
YOU ARE READING
Unintended Consequences (Act One) Completed
Spiritual"It's simple; you help me convince everybody that we're a normal married couple and I help you hide from your homicidal gangster ex-boyfriend." "And the cuffs?" Unique held up their shackled wrists. "Don't look at me! I was as drunk as you were!" *...
