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Ireached for the oppositeends of my bed with my fingertips and toes, enjoying the full-body stretch. It was my wedding day. I’d rescheduled my Saturday clients to make time for the ceremony. I explained to a few regulars why I was moving them. Most had been congratulatory. Only my crotchety client, Michael, teased me about a shotgun wedding. Since he’d told me he married his wife in two days before shipping out before the war, there wasn’t much heat to it. I could hear the smile in his voice when he reminded me hasty marriages give you time to repent at leisure.

We’d gotten our license without a hitch, and I could only hope our wedding day went as smoothly. My heart raced at the thought of meeting Jimmy later. “Quiet,” I whispered. There would be no time for an ER visit today.

My medication appeared to be working, but I had scheduled a follow-up with a cardiologist for Friday. I hadn’t told Jimmy about the appointment yet. Considering he volunteered to marry me to fund my medical care, he’d shown restraint in asking about my follow-up appointment. I’d expected more questions, but his energy seemed to be focused on our upcoming wedding. And only on the wedding. I kept waiting for us to get to the important questions, like where would we live? Did he want to move in together right away or wait until he found a house? How involved would I be in the house hunt? It was simultaneously the fastest and slowest moving relationship I’d ever had.

To be honest, I hadn’t brought up any of my questions with Jimmy because I still didn’t really know the answers myself. I wanted to be independent, and I wanted to marry Jimmy. Those two things should be mutually exclusive. My mom’s sewing and alterations business had slowly withered under the weight of her helping my father. She took on fewer and fewer clients of her own so she could spend more time on construction permits and billing. I didn’t want that to be me. But maybe with Jimmy it didn’t have to be. It was all I could do to focus on what was next. And what was next was our wedding. Today. I don’t know what fool had decided the ceremony would be at eleven, but it was both too far away and way too close. What was I going to do for four hours? The longest shower my apartment’s meager water heater could provide was still only thirty minutes long. Full makeup and the long-sleeved dress I’d chosen for the occasion would take another forty minutes tops. I was too restless to focus on anything else. No book or TV show was going to hold my attention. Even I wasn’t Zen enough for yoga today, though maybe that was what I needed. Was it wrong I wanted to text Jimmy to see if he wanted to play video games before our wedding? Dream wife, right? Or delinquent wife. Whatever the distinction, I needed a distraction, stat.

The knock on my door was the answer to my prayers. Or, more accurately, Lisa.

“Come on, I’m taking you out to breakfast,” she declared when I cracked the door open. Dressed simply in jeans and a T-shirt, Lisa had a garment bag slung over one shoulder and a large red tote over the other. She dropped both over the back of the couch and turned to take me in.

“I’m not dressed yet,” I said, tugging on the oversize T-shirt and boxers I had slept in.

Lisa snarked back. “I see that. Throw on something easy, and we’ll go. We can get you glammed up later. Right now, mimosas are in order.”

I perked up. That was an idea I could get behind. I smiled. “Have I told you lately you’re the best?”

“Aw. You’re just saying that because I’m buying. Get ready and we’ll go.”

I threw on clothes and brushed my teeth in record time before returning to Lisa in the living room. “Ready.”

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at a small café in north Tacoma known for its odd collection of sun themed decorations. They had gone a bit overboard with plaques with suns, photographs of sunrises, and an assortment of sunshine-themed paintings but with a name like The Sunbreak, it had the intended effect. It was warm and cozy, and I couldn’t help but feel the day was off to a good start. The two mimosas I’d had with breakfast may have had something to do with my positive outlook. Lisa’s unending chatter kept the conversation flowing and distracted me from my impending nuptials. When she judged we’d burned enough time, she paid our tab and poured me into her car.

“Come on, bride-to-be. Let’s get you back to shower and change.”

Time with Lisa had calmed me, and I let the bubble of happiness from breakfast carry me through showering and blow drying my hair. It gleamed around my shoulders as Lisa moved in to help me wrangle it into some semblance of a hairstyle. She kept me laughing with suggestions of increasingly outlandish hairstyles before we settled on a simple one that suited my round face. Most of my hair was left hanging straight down to my shoulders, but she gathered a section from either side of my head and twisted it, pulling each section back and braiding it together. She helped me apply my makeup next, contouring and highlighting like a champ. I shouldn’t have been surprised, Lisa was always turned-out, but she’d never used her skills on me. The curves of my face had intriguing hollows, and my dark eyes looked smokey and mysterious. I could have been a bride or a badass. How aboutboth. I straightened my shoulders, standing taller.

A little after ten, Lisa helped me step into my dress. October in Tacoma could be hit or miss, weather-wise. I’d wanted something nice I wouldn’t freeze in. There hadn’t been much time to shop anywhere other than the local mall. My dress was the product of a quick trip on my lunch hour, but I was happy with my choice. It had long sleeves extending to my wrists. Having previously decided against a traditional white gown, the pale lavender made my deep skin tone glow with good health. The sheath hugged my curves and fell to below my knees. However, its key feature was the neckline. It hugged and accentuated my breasts with a deep sweetheart V. It was both sweet and swanky at the same time. Jimmy’s gaze wouldn’t make it beyond the girls. I could probably wear a burlap bag from the waist down and he’d never notice. With that in mind, I didn’t bother with heels and slipped into a pair of comfortable nude flats instead.

I spun to check out the overall effect in the mirror and smiled.

“You look beautiful,” Lisa said.

I beamed at her. “Thanks. I feel beautiful. I appreciate your help getting ready. I like your dress too. I’m impressed you found one on such short notice.”

She ran a hand down her long, blue maxi dress. “Oh, this old thing? Thanks. I’m joking; it really is something I’ve had forever. You know, since someone had to go and get married in a rush and we didn’t get a real shopping trip in.”

I shrugged. “Sorry,notsorry. I’ve only been shopping with you once, and it was enough.”

“What do you mean?” she crowed with a gamine grin. “I’m a joy and a freaking delight to shop with. Just ask anyone.”

I snorted. “Yeah, anyone who doesn’t want to be stuck with you for six hours inonestore. I love you like a sister, Lisa, but you’re torture in retail form. You’re the kind of customer I hated in the boutique. You have to try on every damn thing in the store.”

She shrugged. “How else do you know what works for you? Isn’t that the joy of shopping in person, trying things on?”

I shook my head. “We’d better go.”

“Do you have everything? What about flowers? Did you get a bouquet?” Lisa asked.

“Jimmy is bringing them,” I said with a soft smile. It was a sweet gesture, and knowing he cared enough to see to those details loosened some of the tension in my gut.

Lisa’s head tilted back. “Jimmy’s bringing them? He didn’t used to date a florist or anything, did he? If your bouquet is full of Oleander,run.”

I laughed. “It’s hard to imagine anyone bearing Jimmy ill-will.”

Lisa nodded knowingly. “Exactly. That’s whyyouhave to watch out. His ex may want him back. You make one wrong move, andboom, he’s a widow, ready for some other woman to comfort.”

I shook my head at her antics and took one last glance at myself in the mirror. The woman looking back at me stood with confidence, chest out, head up. I was skilled at faking it. I took a deep breath. Insurance. Companionship. Jimmy. Not necessarily in that order. I grimaced. One year. I could manage a relationship for one year without losing myself. I wasn’t truly giving up my independence, just changing my address. If my heart raced faster than it should, it was my heart condition. Not the thought of living with Jimmy. Sharing a bed with Jimmy. Making a home with him. I swallowed and forced a smile. I could do this and stay whole.