Page 14 of The Widow's Husband's Secret Lie
Grant tossed back his head and laughed. “No, it’s actually blue and black.”
“It looks white and gold to me.”
“How could you think such a thing?” He snorted. “Are you blind, Alice? It’s very clearly blue and black.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. I think it looks white and gold.”
The smile quickly faded from his lips, which set into a straight line. “What is wrong with you? How could you look at this dress and see white and gold?”
“I just… do.”
“Well, you need to get your eyes examined, then. Or maybe your brain.” There was no trace of humor on his face anymore. We had been together two years, and he’d never spoken that way to me before. “This is unacceptable. I can’t believe I’m married to a woman who is too stupid to tell the difference between white and gold versus blue and black.”
“Sorry?”
“Sorry!” he burst out. He flung his laptop onto our overpriced coffee table, and the screen shattered. “That’s not an acceptable answer! The dress in that picture is clearly blue and black. I want to hear you say it.”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
“The dress is blue and black,” he spit at me. “I. Want. To. Hear. You. Say. It.”
I could only shake my head. “I’ll say it if you want. But to me, it does look white and gold.”
Grant stared at me, seething with anger. Without another word, he got up off the sofa and stormed out of our home, slamming the door behind him as he left. I could hear his Mercedes zooming away, into the distance.
He didn’t return for two days.
I was worried sick. I called the police, but when I told them that he had left of his own accord, they informed me that they would have to wait seventy-two hours to investigate. They were kind to me, though. They said that it’s normal for newlyweds to have little lovers’ quarrels. They told me he would probably come home with his tail tucked between his legs and an apology.
And that was exactly what happened. Grant returned home two days later, carrying a huge bouquet of flowers and a gift-wrapped box with my name on it. He encircled me in his arms, and although it took a few moments for me to thaw, I eventuallyrelaxed into his hug. Every couple argued—I supposed in our case, it was just a matter of the honeymoon finally being over.
“The flowers are beautiful,” I told him.
“Not as beautiful as you.”
I felt a deep sense of relief. Yes, I was still mad at Grant for disappearing for two days, but it was inevitable that Grant and I would have our first fight. It was good to finally get it over with so we could move on with our lives.
Grant thrust the gift box into my hands. “And this is for you as well, my love.”
Inside was an ornate white box with a gold ribbon on top. It was so beautiful I almost didn’t want to open it. I brought the gift to the sofa and set it down on the coffee table in front of me. I undid the ribbon and carefully lifted the top off the box. My heart skipped a beat when I saw what was inside.
Grant was watching me, a strange expression on his face. “What color is the dress, Alice?”
I peered down at the silk dress folded inside the white box. “It’s blue and black,” I said numbly.
“Right,” he said in a slow voice, like he thought I was stupid. “And what color are the box and ribbon?”
“White and gold.”
“Very good. Now do you see the difference?”
I still wonder what would have happened if I had simply agreed with him. But instead, I said, “But the dress in the photo looked different.”
“No, it didn’t!” Grant was shouting now, loud enough, it seemed, for the whole neighborhood to hear. “The dress in the photo is that exact same dress! You were wrong, Alice. Wrong!”
He grabbed his phone from inside his pants pocket. He unlocked the screen and then shoved the phone into my face. That striped dress was on the screen.
“What color is the dress?” he demanded to know.
