Accidentally Love Her: An Accidental Marriage Romance

by Lauren Wood

  I didn't know what she was getting at, but I didn't like it either.

  “Why don't you tell me what you really want to know?”

  “It just doesn't make any sense Craig. You can see that right?”

  I could see that she was not taking it like I wanted her to. I wanted her to just believe me and not think twice about it. I knew that was going to be hard for her, and I knew that it was going to be an impossible task. It was like the ring and the marriage, I didn't think that she was ready for all those answers just yet.

  “Let's just say that some people can't go to the regular hospital and they need somebody that is going to take care of them, but at the same time be discreet. Discreteness is very valued in my country. I just happen to be that way. I am just here to help people, I am not here to get anyone in trouble.”

  “So they don't want the cops called?”

  For a woman that was so far removed from this lifestyle, she was very quick to you pick up on it.

  “Yeah, basically. Everyone knows that I will help them, with no questions asked. This can be very valuable for some people kinds of people for various reasons, but it can also be helpful for other people as well. Hospitals cost a lot of and a lot of people can't afford it. My emergency calls are a mix of both. I get some people that can’t afford it and then I get some people that should be in jail. I figure the two outweighs each other most of the time.”

  “And last night?”

  “Last night was the latter.”

  “I see.”

  I don't think she understood at all, but I wasn't going to argue with her. It seemed like at the moment, she was starting to understand what I was talking about. At least it was going to keep her off my back for a little while, and hopefully she would trust me a little bit more. It was far more than I thought I would tell her, but I was starting to get a little desperate because of how hard she was pulling away. I didn't want to lose her. I couldn’t let it all slip through my fingers.

  “Are you disappointed?”

  She told me that she wasn’t.“ Criminals need to get medical treatment as well, don't they?

  I wouldn't necessarily call them criminals, I really didn't like that term, but at least she was starting to wrap her mind around it a little bit. We had never talked about that side of my life, for obvious reasons, because Jeanine seen the type of person that didn't even want to jaw walk. I didn't think she would be so understanding of it, and I still wasn't sure if she believed me or not. I had found that little bit of truth, went a long way in a situation like this, and I was hoping that this was the case as well.

  Why couldn't she see that none of this really mattered? None of this mattered at all. All that mattered was that she was finally here and she was mine. She could find out the rest of it later, as our lives went on. I had really been wrong about this situation, extremely wrong.

  “Yes, everyone needs some medical treatment from time to time. I work in the hospital, but I also do my fair share in the community as well.”

  “So that is why everyone loves you?”

  I agreed that that was most likely the reason. That was enough truth for one day, as far as I was concerned. I don’t think either one of us could take any more of it.

  15

  Jeanine

  It started to make sense, this is what he was keeping from me. But at the same time, I had to think there was something more. He gave it away too quickly and I didn't believe him. I didn't believe that it was all he was keeping from me. I knew that there was more.

  While Craig wanted to get closer, I still wanted to talk. It was pretty obvious to me that he was not in the mood to talk, but I was here, and I wasn't going to be here that much long and I wanted to know where we stood.

  “So what else aren’t you telling me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean like the late-night doctor calls that you get from criminals. What else is there?”

  I felt like I had to ask because there was no telling what else there was. If he was willing to do that, there was no telling what else he was capable of doing. I wanted to know who I was getting in bed with. I was starting to see that the man I thought I knew, was so much more than that. The man I knew, he was something else altogether. The problem was, I didn't know what else he was. How far was he willing to go?

  “I don't know what you're talking about Jeanine. I have told you everything. We have been talking on the phone for months now, I think everything has come out.”

  “That didn't come out. Your extra moonlighting job.”

  “No, I guess it didn't. I didn't think that it was a big deal. It is just what I do, and I don't regret it. People need help, no matter who they are and I'm going to help them.”

  That was how I seen it as well, but I just knew in my gut that there was something more. I knew that there was something that he was keeping from me, and I wanted to know what it was. I knew that I would find out about it eventually, just like I had his late night going-ons, but I wanted to hear from him. I didn't want to find out some other way. This was something that he should tell me to my face.

  “I told you I'm sorry that I didn't say anything before. But there is nothing else.”

  “If there is Craig, it would be better if you just told me now. Don’t make me find out some other way.”

  “There is nothing. I’m telling you the truth. If there was something to say, I would tell you. But there isn’t. I kept this to myself because I didn’t think that it would be that big of a deal. I usually never get called this much. It is just a bad coincidence.”

  I wanted to believe him, so it was easy for me to go along with it. I wanted to go along with it. The last thing I wanted to do was argue with him about it. I loved him, and I wanted to enjoy my time here. Unlike Craig, I knew I was going home when the time was over. So, I wanted to enjoy it as much as I possibly could. I knew that the time together that we had was very fleeting.

  I let the rest of it lie. I didn't think that he was going to tell me anything more. He was far too worried about getting into my panties. It didn't take long for me to be on the same page. If nothing else, I'll always remember the time that we spent in bed together. It is something beyond magical.

  The next day we went back to his house in town and spent most of the day on the beach. The beach was my favorite place to go and Craig used that to his advantage. For a while, I forgot all about the things that were left out. I didn't think about his late nights where he was called out and then wouldn’t come back until morning. It happened three more times the rest of the week. Coincidence or not, he was gone quite a bit.

  But I tried not to think about it. I just wanted to pretend that everything was the way it was supposed to be. I didn't want to think about him working with criminals and God only knows who else. That world was not a world that I was used to, and it was a world that I didn't want to get used to. I had always stayed away from trouble as much as I could, and I certainly didn't want to be around it in another country.

  It wasn't just the late nights that he was gone either. There were a lot of random people that would come up to him and give him money. While he had said that it was for services rendered, I was starting to wonder what those services were. My mind was either playing tricks on me or I was finally seeing it all, the big picture. I just wasn't sure which one it was.

  “You have been rather quiet today Jeanine. Are you sure you're okay?”

  I blamed it on a headache, one that I had blamed it on before.

  “I think I'm going to go get some Tylenol. Where is it?”

  He told me that there was some in the bathroom, And I told him that I would be right back. He offered to go get it for me, but I needed a moment. My mind was coming up with too many scenarios and I just needed a moment. He had some friends over and I could no longer keep the smile on my face. Craig had a lot of people over, a lot of the time. It would have been fine, they were all really nice, but I had too many what-ifs and wonders in my head to carry a
conversation at the moment.

  On my way to the bathroom, Lisbeth stopped me in the hallway. I asked her what it was that she wanted, but she didn't say anything. She looked at my hand and I thought for a minute that she wanted to shake it. But then I realized that she was looking for something, and obviously it was something that wasn't there. She said a few words in Spanish and walked away, looking back at me and waving her hands in disgust.

  I really needed to learn some Spanish. If not for no other reason but to be able to communicate with Lisbeth. There is obviously something that she wanted to say to me, or a question that I needed to ask her, but I didn't know how.

  I found the tablets and took a couple. When I got back downstairs, Craig and one of the men were talking quietly in the corner. They were sitting next to each other at the table and whatever it was they were talking about, had both of them engrossed in the conversation. Ruiz, one of his friends that I had been introduced to earlier, came up to me and congratulated me.

  “Congratulations for what?”

  “Well for your nuptials of course. We would have come, but Craig didn't really tell anybody that he was getting married. I will have to make sure to get you guys a wedding gift.”

  “I think you are mistaken. We didn't get married.”

  The guy looked at me like I was the one that was confused. And then he looked at my hand, the same one that Lisbeth was so interested in, and it started to make sense. Did he really think that we were married?

  “Craig just told us about it. And then I heard something from the preacher. He said that he married you at the beginning of the week.”

  I nodded my head and went along with it, smiling. I didn't know what else to say and it was becoming clear that I needed to talk to Craig before I talked to anybody else. It appeared as though Craig had done something that I knew nothing about. Those moments in the church started to make sense now.

  I didn't want to believe that Craig would do something like that, so I tried to think of some other reason for this conversation to be happening. Obviously, this guy didn't know what he was talking about. Or maybe Craig had said something about us wanting to get married. I really didn't know. I didn't want to believe what was right in front of me.

  16

  Craig

  Something was different about Jeanine. She had something on her mind, and after everyone left, I still didn't know what it was.

  “Are you ready to come to bed?”

  “Not yet. I found out something that I wanted to ask you about. It came out of your jacket pocket, and I know that I shouldn't have looked, but you know how curious I can be.”

  I didn't know what she was talking about, until I saw the small box in her hand. She opened her palm and it was nestled in there. I knew instantly what was on her mind, because it had been on my mind as well. That ring had been weighing me down, far more than the little bit of metal could. It was what it meant, and what I needed to tell her. After her finding out about my extra clients., I realized that I was going to have to be far more careful then I was before. She wasn't ready to know the truth, but what was I going to tell her?

  “Yes, I got that ring before I realized how opposed you are to marriage. I thought you would be like most women, eager to be wed and start a family. I should have known that you'd be different Jeanine.”

  “Are you sure that it is not already supposed to be on my hand?”

  “What?”

  Now my mind was reeling. What did she know? She had this look on her face that told me that she knew more than she was supposed to. Who had said something? My first guess was Lisbeth, she was still upset about her granddaughter. I had told her before that it wasn't going to work but she was still holding on to the idea that we would come become more than just friends.

  “I asked you before if there was anything that you weren't telling me. I found out tonight that there is a lot you aren’t telling me Craig. You have been lying to me this whole time.”

  She was getting upset, and I knew that she knew. I don't know how, but I was really starting to lean towards the maid. She was the only one I knew that would do something like this.

  “Did Lisbeth tell you that?”

  “No, she can't stand me. I'm not sure why, but she has given me dirty looks since I got here. Is there a reason for that? Did you date her as well?”

  This was getting out of control very quickly and I tried to slow down the situation.

  “Don’t be preposterous. Lisbeth is old enough to be my mother. I certainly wouldn't be with her. I was with her granddaughter for a very limited amount of time and she is upset about that it didn’t work out.”

  It got really silent and I did not know what to say. She knew, and I didn't know what to say to her. It was a dumb thing to do, something I thought was going to turn out a whole lot differently. I never would have guessed she would be so opposed to it. But now I knew she was, and she was looking at me as if I had killed her best friend.

  “So why is she so worried about if I am wearing a ring or not? What does it matter if I’m a foreigner? She keeps mumbling that under her breath.”

  “She didn't want me to marry a foreigner. But it wasn't her place to say anything to you. Lisbeth doesn’t know when to shut up sometimes.”

  “You mean to tell me that we were really married? I mean it is one thing to tell people that, but we were really married, weren’t we? You thought that you would just force my hand, whether I liked it or not?”

  “It wasn't like that. I thought it was going to be romantic, but then you made it clear that you didn't want to get married, be here or be with me, so I didn’t know how to tell you.”

  “Why do you think I'm here? Of course I want to be with you. But how could you marry us and not even tell me? Who does that?”

  “I really thought it would be sweet and romantic. I didn't think that you would take it this way. When I found out how you really felt, I was afraid to tell you because I knew you weren’t going to see it the way it was intended.”

  “It feels like you just took advantage of my lack of Spanish knowledge. That’s all it feels like to me. You wanted something and didn’t even bother to ask me if I did as well.”

  I wanted to be real and tell her that was the exact reason, but I knew better. I had to convince her that this was all a mistake. I knew that it was the only way at the moment. I didn't think that she would believe anything I had to say though. I had ruined her trust, something that I knew was a big deal with her. I’d really botched this all up. I had truly thought that she would want to marry me. Maybe that was the biggest fault of all. She really hadn’t.

  “So, you aren't going to deny it?”

  I could see a tiny bit of her wanted to believe that none of this was real. That she had somehow come to the wrong conclusion, but I couldn't.

  “No, I'm not going to deny it. I was going to tell you, I promise I was. Lisbeth should've told you.”

  “She didn't tell me. One of your friends congratulated me on the wedding. Said they were sorry that I didn't get to make it, but you didn't invite anybody. That happened the first day I was here didn't it?”

  I felt bad for an instant that I had thought my maid had sold me out. She was pissed off at me, cussed me a couple of times, but I should have known that she wouldn’t do something like that. She was ever faithful, if nothing else.

  “Yes, it did. Like I said, it was before I knew how you really felt about it. We talked on the phone, we had talked about getting married, we had talked about a lot of things. I didn't know that it was all just talk with you. It wasn’t with me.”

  “Don't turn this around on me Craig. You married me without me even knowing about it. I said ‘I do’, not knowing that I was marrying you. I don't even think that is legal.”

  I didn't like the sound of that. It sounded like she was already trying to get out of the marriage.

  “It is legal. You are my wife and I'm going to do everything in my power to show you that I am sorry. I will mak
e it up to you, I promise.”

  She just shook her head and I could tell that she wasn't ready to talk about it. She didn't want to think of herself as married, that we were together, but we were. I just wanted her to know, that this marriage wasn't just some piece of paper. It meant something to me and whether she knew about it or not, I liked to think that she would have said yes anyways.

  “I don't know what to say to you right now Craig. I really don't. I know that I don't want to argue, but I think I need to sleep somewhere else tonight. Do you mind if I stay in one of your other rooms?”

  I didn't want her to, but I wasn't going to fight the situation either. If she needed a night to think about everything, I hoped that she would come to the same conclusion that I had. No matter how we got together, the end result was still the same. We were meant to be together, that much was clear.

  Taking her to another room, I tried to give her a kiss goodnight, but she turned her face away. It was apparently too soon.

  She still had the ring in her hand and she handed it back to me. “This is yours.”

  “No, like you said Jeanine, this is technically yours.”

  I left it in her hand and walked away. I didn't want to, but my wife needed some space and I was learning quick that space was something that was best to give her. I told myself that we would work it out in the morning, somehow.

  Right now, it was just too soon.

  17

  Jeanine

  I couldn't believe what what's going on. I laid in the bed for, I don't even know how long, staring up into the darkness and I just couldn't believe it. So the ring that I found in his coat pocket, was now on the night stand and I kept looking at it. I could only see the box of little bit through the light streaming in from the outside, but it was enough. It was a very stark reminder of the lies that he told me. I didn't know where to go from here. I still had another week here, but I didn't know what to say to him. There were so many things that had to be done now.