Page 155 of My Wife
I narrow my eyes.
Jessica, likely not privy to my sense that my brother knew our marriage was originally for convenience, innocently asks, “Whatever do you mean?”
“You’re the real deal.”
She winks.
He swishes his mouth from side to side. “I’m still considering payback. Soggy skates. Lumpy oatmeal. Missing keys,” he says, naming different pranks we’ve played on each other over the years.
I explain a few to my wife.
Hendrix blurts, “Glue.”
My eyebrow arches. “Glue? What do you mean glue?”
He chuckles.
Jessica, as smiley as ever today, wears one that’s different from the others I’ve seen. It’s almost, dare I say, mischievous. “Hendrix, I’d be careful. I’ve lived with a dozen families, meaning I have a deep bag of party tricks to draw from.”
The family goofball’s eyes widen. “You mean pranks?”
She takes my hand and leads me away from the group. In a low voice, she says, “What are the rules?”
“Remember? We don’t have those anymore.”
“No, I mean in your family for pranks.”
A smile slides across my face. “Jessica, are you a private prankster?”
She shimmies a little.
“What else don’t I know about you?”
“That I like when you call me Jessica. Everyone calls me Jess and when you use my full name, I feel like I’m all yours. That it’s our special thing.”
“You are special.” I dust my nose with hers but before we can press our mouths together, we’re bombarded with balloons.
* * *
The party wasa hit and KJ and Ranger are curled up in bed, totally wiped out. Jessica looks a little tired herself and I lead her from the kitchen where she’s putting some things away to the living room.
“Sit.”
She tilts her head and lifts an eyebrow.
“Please.”
She does so and I bring her feet into my lap, rubbing them.
“Oh. I could get used to this. Thank you.” She moans a little as I get a good spot on her heel.
Lying on the couch, she says, “I’m glad I no longer live with the fear that everyone is going to leave me. That I need to play a role in order to be loved and that you’re not burdened with the belief that you weren’t worthy of a relationship and had to focus only on hockey. You can have both. Hockey and me.”
Her candor surprises me. “I love you. Always will.”
She sits up and asks, “When did you start liking me?”
I think about this for a moment. “The Bundt cake.”
