Page 20 of Two Friends in Marriage
For his job, Evan always wears dress pants and a dress shirt, even if he’s just in the basement.He has more meetings than I do, so it makes sense.He used to be a staff accountant, but now he’s a financial analyst at a logistics company, and I think the switch has been good for him.
After work, he changes: he’s currently wearing shorts and a T-shirt.He’s a little sweaty, and there’s a dark smudge on the bottom of his shirt.I wonder if that’s a clue about my surprise.
He pulls me toward the living room and points out the back door.There’s a large outdoor planter, which I assume he got secondhand.Unlike the patio furniture, it doesn’t look almost new.Inside the planter is a selection of herbs, and I head outside so I can look at it more closely.Basil, chives, and rosemary.
I remember telling him, the day after our wedding, that I want herbs and cherry tomatoes in our garden, and I know that’s why he did it.
I’m not used to seeing evidence that someone is thinking of me.After all, when it comes to my father, I’ve spent too much time just hoping that he hasn’t forgotten my existence.He finally sent me a text to congratulate me on my wedding…a full week after it happened.I’m an afterthought to him.
“Thank you.”To my embarrassment, there’s a tiny crack in my voice.
They’re just herbs.No need to get emotional.
But more than two seconds of thought went into this, and it really is a novelty.
“I’ll make you something with them tomorrow,” I say.“It’ll be hot, so maybe pasta salad with some basil and chives?”
“Sounds good.”Evan pauses.“This weekend, there’s a retirement dinner for my parents.”
“Oh, right,” I say.“I forgot about that.”
“If you don’t want to come, I can make an excuse—”
“No, I want to go.Where is it?”
Years ago, Evan told me that his father loves the Keg, and that’s where their small family retirement dinner is held.It’s the first time I’ve seen Evan’s family since the wedding, and that makes me nervous for some reason.I’ve put on a summer dress and actually done my makeup.
“How’s married life?”Kim asks.She’s sitting across from me, and Evan is to my left.
There are nine of us at a long table on the patio.It’s a little too big to have a single conversation; I can only hear bits and pieces of what Howie and Lynne are saying.
“It’s good.”I reach for a piece of bread and slather it with butter.
“You’re not discovering that Evan has all sorts of strange, annoying habits you never knew about before?”
He does have the weird tendency to not stay in the washroom when he brushes his teeth—at least, I find it weird to catch glimpses of him pacing his bedroom and occasionally the upstairs hall—but this is a minor issue.
I shake my head.“Not at all.”
“You had to think about it for a moment.”She laughs.“I admit it was a bit of an adjustment when Max and I moved in together.Not that I wasn’t ready—he had a detailed list of things we had to figure out before living together, and we followed it—but still.I was so used to living alone.”
“Me, too.But I think it’s less adjustment, in some ways, because we have lots of space.”Max and Kim live in a two-bedroom apartment in a newish building, not far from downtown.Downtown Toronto, that is, not downtown Richmond Hill.“Owning a place is definitely an adjustment, though.”
The other day, the handle on the downstairs toilet broke off, and my first thought was that we should call the landlord.Then I remembered that there is no landlord.
No, it’s just us.
Really, it wasn’t so bad.I went to the store, got the part, and repaired it myself after watching a YouTube video.It gave me a sense of accomplishment, and I didn’t have to bug anyone to fix it.
Living with Evan is more of an adjustment than I let on, to be honest—but in a good way.He really has been very attentive.I fear if I talk about it, though, it’ll sound like we didn’t have a proper relationship beforehand, and he told me that he believes his family has gotten over their initial suspicions.
“What are you going to do with all your time now?”Yvonne asks Howie and Lynne, and Kim and I turn our attention to the other end of the table.
“Maybe one of you will give us grandchildren,” Howie says with a laugh.
Though I’m not opposed to the idea of children, my hand freezes in front of my mouth, tasty bread forgotten.Given that Evan and I are the ones who are married, I feel like this comment might be directed at us.
“Dad…” Evan says.
