Page 76 of Holding Grace

Michael laughed as he transferred a spiral of hot, gooey, cinnamony goodness to my plate.

“I figure you don’t get a honeymoon, the least I can do is make you cinnamon rolls.”

My stomach jumped at the thought of a honeymoon with Michael, but I focused on smiling back at him.

“I have no argument with that. And if you’d like to continue to make them every morning, I have no argument with that either.”

Michael chuckled again as he dug into his eggs. “I’ll make a note of it. What are your plans today?”

My nerves settled as we talked. Maybe disaster had been averted and we were going to be okay.

I told Michael that I planned to file our marriage certificate with the County Clerk’s office, then go to the Social Security office to legally change my name.

“Have you been cleared to drive?”

Darn it.

My shoulders slumped a little, but I forced them straight. “Not technically, no, but my shoulder is fine. I’m sure I’ll be cleared when I go in for PT next week.”

Michael didn’t comment on that, just sipped his coffee.

“And Detective Chase said you shouldn’t go out alone, right?”

Ugh. “Yes, he did,” I conceded. “But I’m sure he means at night, or places where I won’t be around a lot of people. No one’s going to grab me at the clerk’s office or Social Security office.”

Michael shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. There were people around when you were grabbed last time.”

I practically felt myself deflate. “I know. You’re right.”

“Why don’t I go with you?” Michael offered. “It’s probably a good idea anyway in case they need me there for verification of the marriage certificate or something.”

“But you have to work today,” I argued.

“Not until two. We can knock these things out this morning and they’ll all be done. Maybe we can grab lunch somewhere if we have time.”

I hated this. I really did. Michael constantly needing to rearrange his schedule and his life for me.

No matter how many times I swore to myself that I wouldn’t be a burden, it never seemed to work out that way.

Still, these things needed to be done, so I accepted his help – again – as graciously as I could.

“Alright, that sounds like a plan.”

We finished eating, cleaned up the kitchen, then headed to our separate bathrooms to get cleaned up ourselves. As I showered, I reminded myself to look at the positives. At least our plan for the day would give me a few unexpected hours with my new husband.

That was the silver-est of all silver linings.

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