by Ashlee Price
"This must seem overwhelming," Sidney tells me when he joins me in the kitchen later on. "All of us being here."
I've left the dogs with Otis in the yard and was just about to grab myself a bottle of beer. Too early, I know. Then again, it's never too early to drink when you're having a bad day.
"Yeah," I say as I open the fridge. "I'm surprised you didn't bring Mom."
"Well, you know she doesn't like to travel anymore."
I grab a bottle of beer and offer it to Sidney. "Drink?"
He shakes his head.
"Oh, right." I close the door. "You never liked beer. There's wine in the cellar if you'd like."
"I don't drink anymore."
"Right."
I open the bottle.
"I see you still do."
I take a sip. "Just because I'm married doesn't mean I have to give up all the fun."
"What have you given up?" Sidney asks.
I lean on the counter. "Risking my life. Sleeping around. Oh, and throwing things away. I believe those were the three things you said my life revolved around, so essentially, I've given up my old life."
His eyes narrow. "When did I say that?"
"Oh, right. You don't remember because you were on drugs."
His eyes grow wide. "I don't do drugs, either!"
"I mean the good ones that they gave you at the hospital before your surgery."
"Oh, right." He nods. "Candace said you came to see me before my surgery, but I can't remember."
"That's fine. It happened to me, too - not remembering what happened before my surgery."
I take another sip.
His eyebrows furrow. "So I said those things?"
I wave my hand. "Forget it. Anyway, like I said, that's in the past. Now I'm a married man, a man who's grown up and trying to be better."
Sidney pats my shoulder. "I admit I was surprised when Candace told me you were married. I wish you'd told me before you did it, but hey, it's never been your habit to give warning."
I say nothing as I take another sip.
He squeezes my shoulder. "Are you happy?"
I nod. "Yeah."
And it isn't a lie. Marian and I get along. I'm starting to love this house. I have two dogs. I wish Marian and I would start having steamy sex all over the place, yeah, but other than that, I'm good.
"Happier than I thought I'd be," I add.
Sidney smiles. "That's good."
"What?" I narrow my eyes at him. "Did you think I'd be miserable by now? Did Candace convince you to come here to save me?"
"Of course not," Sidney says. "I wanted to check on my little brother, that's all."
I sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you - ?"
"You'll always be my little brother, Dustin," Sidney tells me.
Right.
"And Art and Greg?" I ask him. "Why are they here?"
He shrugs. "Because Candace told them to come along?"
Yeah. I can imagine that.
"Your wife can be scary. You know that?"
"I know," he admits.
I chuckle.
"I'm sorry we came here without telling you," Sidney says.
"Candace's idea, too?" I ask him.
He nods.
Of course it was.
"It's fine," I tell him. "The house has been feeling empty lately anyway."
"Aren't you going to hire some maids?"
"I will. Eventually."
Maybe after Marian and I have had sex in every room in broad daylight.
Just then, Candace enters the room.
"There you are," she says triumphantly.
"We were just talking about you," I tell her.
She taps her fingers on the counter. "Sidney and I are staying in the Blue Room."
"Okay," I say.
Too late, I realize what that means. Fuck.
"And I was unpacking, but then I realized there are clothes in the closet. Women's clothes. There's stuff in the bathroom, too, and in the drawer of the bedside table."
Great. Now she really thinks I'm having an affair.
"They're Marian's things," I say both to her and to Sidney, who's now throwing a questioning glance in my direction. "You can ask her yourself later."
"And why are her things in the Blue Room?" Candace asks. "I thought the closet in the master bedroom was big enough."
I suppress a frown as I try to think of an excuse.
I take it back. It's not fine that they came without calling.
"She likes the Blue Room," I say.
That's not a lie.
"That's where we both stay."
Well, we did sleep there once.
Silently, I wonder who got the Mountain Room, my room. Hopefully, no one so Candace won't know my stuff is there.
Candace's eyebrows crease. "What's wrong with the master bedroom?"
"It's too big," I say. "And she thinks the bed really belonged to a king once, which doesn't seem to sit well with her."
"Well, it did not," Candace says. "I picked all the furniture myself."
"You did?" My eyebrows arch.
"Well, I had the help of an interior decorator, but yes. I bought this house some years ago."
"You did?" Sidney looks surprised.
"That was when I still thought we could have... a big family," Candace explains. "Well, of course, we can still have one. We can still adopt. But since we haven't, and Dustin here got married and this house was just sitting here, I thought I'd give it to him."
She looks at me. "See, it really is a present."
One that comes with her hopes and dreams.
"So, yeah," she goes on. "That bed isn't cursed or anything, and that room isn't haunted."
"Good to know," I say. "I'll tell Marian when she arrives."
"When does she get back from work?" Sidney asks.
"Late," I answer. "Which means you don't have to stay up and wait for her."
She'll be even more surprised than I am.
"Oh, I think we will," Sidney tells me. "At least, I will. I can't wait to meet her, after all."
I take another, longer sip of beer.
In that case, maybe I should warn Marian.
~
"Dustin told me you were all here but I didn't believe it," Marian says as she steps into the larger dining room.
In the end, everyone except for Greg's kids waited up for her. Art is still on his laptop, but he's here, too.
"Yeah," I agree with a sigh. "It takes a while for it to sink in."
Though it already has for me. More or less.
"Well, we didn't believe it either when we first learned Dustin was married," Sidney says.
"I never thought he'd get married just like Art," Greg says.
"Don't compare him to me," Art says without looking up from his laptop. "We're nothing alike."
"He did seem like he would never settle down," Renee agrees. "But maybe he was just waiting for the right woman to find him."
"And it seems like he's been found," Sidney continues. "And by what looks like a beautiful, kindhearted, smart woman at that."
Marian puts her hand over her chest as she gives a flustered grin.
I pat her shoulder. "She's not used to compliments."
"Oh," Sidney says. "Well, anyway, we wanted to see you, maybe get to know you a little."
"We want to know about the woman who made our little brother grow up," Greg adds.
I glance at him. "You don't get to call me that. We're only two years apart."
He shrugs.
Marian puts her hand on her neck. "Wow. I didn't know I was such a marvel."
"You are," Sidney confirms.
"Or a fool," Art says. "For marrying a man who doesn't know what he's doing with his life."
I narrow my gaze at him. So does Sidney. But Art still doesn't look up from his laptop.
"Oh, don't mind him," Candace tells Marian. "He's always grouchy when he's working. And he's always working."
"Oh." Marian n
ods.
"Sit and eat." Candace gestures to the empty chair. "You must be tired and hungry."
She sits down. "Thanks."
Renee pushes the pot of chicken and mushrooms towards her. "I made the creamy chicken casserole, which the kids love. Dustin cooked the lamb."
"Apparently we're the only two people here who can cook," I remark.
"You have kids?" Marian looks at Renee.
"Two - Otis, who's eight, and Zoe, who's six. They're asleep now."
Marian glances around the table. "And you've all already eaten?"
"Sorry," Sidney says. "We were a little hungry."
"But please eat," Candace urges.
Marian throws me a pleading look.
I take the hint and pull out a chair. "I can eat a bit more casserole."
Thank you, she mouths.
"So, how was work?" Candace asks her.
So the interrogation begins.
"The usual. Hectic, with ups and downs," Marian answers as she scoops some of the casserole onto her plate.
"What kind of doctor are you again?" Art asks, looking at Marian for the first time.
"I'm still a resident," Marian says as she hands me the pot. "A surgical resident. I haven't chosen my subspecialty, but I'm leaning more towards obstetrics."
"Nice," Renee says. "Maybe if Greg and I have another kid, you can be the one to cut me open."
"Why not neuro?" Art asks. "That makes the most money, right? Don't you need money to keep a house like this?"
"Art," Sidney scolds him before I can. Then he turns to Marian. "Sorry. He's a banker, so all he thinks about is money."
"Money makes the world go round," Art says.
I wish he would just work and shut up.
Marian picks up her spoon. "I'm not all that confident, so I don't think neuro is a fit."
"Yeah," Greg comments. "When you're a neurosurgeon poking into other people's brains, you've got to be sure you know what you're doing."
Marian nods. "Right."
"I heard that your father is Dr. Hal Stevens," Sidney tells her. "Am I right?"
"Stepfather, actually," Marian corrects him before bringing her spoon to her mouth.
"So you're not going to be in cardio like him?"
She shrugs. "I'd say that's my second choice. I'll make my mind up in the next few months."
"But what if you get pregnant?" Renee asks her. "Will you have to stop your residency?"
Marian doesn't answer at once.
So I do. "We're taking precautions to make sure that doesn't happen."
"I bet Dustin's an expert on that," Art remarks.
My jaw clenches. One more snide remark and I'm going to send him out of this room. It is my dining room, after all.
"So you're not trying to have kids yet?" Candace asks with a look of concern. "When are you going to?"
I'd forgotten that kids are a sensitive topic for her.
Marian shrugs. "Maybe when I'm done with my residency."
"But that isn't for ages," Candace complains.
"Honey, they'll have kids when they want to have kids." Sidney touches his wife's arm. "When they're ready to have kids."
"That's what we thought, too, but by the time we were ready and wanted kids badly, look what happened. It turned out to be too late." Candace looks at Marian, then at me. "Don't make the same mistake we did."
I meet her gaze. How can she say that? How can she expect us to have kids so soon when she's the only one at this table who knows Marian and I ended up married by mistake?
Marian falls silent.
"I think it's okay to take precautions," Renee speaks up.
Bless her.
"Just maybe not wait too long?" she asks. "Parenthood seems daunting, I know, but it's also amazing. You get to discover things about yourself that you never knew."
"Yeah," Greg agrees.
Renee turns to him. "Yeah? Like you do a lot of parenting."
"I still am a parent, Renee," he points out.
I roll my eyes. Are they going to argue again?
"Maybe we should just go," Sidney says. "And let Marian eat in peace. We'll get to know her more tomorrow."
"They've got a whole day with you planned, I think," I warn Marian. "I hope you didn't make plans for Memorial Day Weekend."
"What? Like visiting a cemetery?" She shakes her head. "I prefer to be in the company of the living, thank you."
"Yeah." Renee yawns. "I think I'm going to bed."
Art stands up and lifts his laptop. "I'll work a bit more in my room."
"I'll just make a phone call," Greg says.
Renee narrows her eyes at him.
"Just one phone call," he tells her.
Sidney pats Marian's shoulder. "It was nice meeting you, Marian."
She wipes her mouth with a table napkin before glancing at him over her shoulder. "It was nice meeting you, too. All of you."
After a few more niceties and good night wishes, everyone else leaves. I let out a sigh of relief as I sit back.
"Finally, some peace and quiet."
"Mm-hmm." Marian puts down her fork. "But I think I'm not too hungry anymore."
"Yeah. They have the same effect on me." I wipe my mouth. "By the way, Sidney and Candace are in the Blue Room."
"What?"
"Art is in the Grey Room. Renee and Greg are in one of the White and Gold rooms. Zoe is in the Citrus Room with her nanny. Otis is sleeping in the basement with the dogs. He absolutely loves them." I look at her. "You know what that means, right?"
"I have no room?" Marian answers with a frown.
I tap my fingers on the table. "It means we have to sleep in the master bedroom."
~
A few springs creak as Marian lies down on her side of the bed.
"This bed is quite comfy, actually," she says.
"It is," I agree as I direct my gaze up at the canopy.
But it is also huge. A huge bed is only good when you're having sex.
"So, they're your family, huh?" Marian asks.
"Unfortunately."
"What do you mean? You're lucky you have a family."
Of course she'd say that. She doesn't really have one.
"You're still saying that even though you've met Art?" I ask her.
"Well, Art does seem to be a grouch."
"He is."
"But I'm sure he has a good side."
"I haven't seen it."
"So you and Art don't get along. So what? That's part of a family, too."
I say nothing.
"How come Art never married?" Marian asks.
"Good question," I answer. "I used to wonder if he was gay, but I don't think so. I think he's just too selfish and too absorbed in work. If he got married, it would just fall apart."
"So you think you can do marriage better than him?"
I sigh. "Why does everything have to be a competition?"
"I'm just asking. I mean no one in your family thought you'd get married, either."
"I'm well aware of their thoughts on me."
"Hey." She turns on her side towards me and props her head on an arm. "I'm not siding with them or anything. I'm trying to understand you here. Why? Why didn't you do girlfriends or dates? Why weren't you considering marriage?"
I shrug. "I guess I just don't want to get stuck in something boring."
"So you think things between us are going to get boring?" she asks me.
I turn my head towards her and give her a mischievous grin. "I think I can come up with ways to keep that from happening."
"Oh, can you?"
I lift my head. "I can think of a few ways right now."
Marian snorts and turns away from me. "Good night, Dustin."
I frown, but I'm about to turn on my other side, too, when I hear the door open. In a flash, I roll to Marian's side. I bury my face in her hair as I wrap an arm around her.
"What are you - ?"
"Shh." I rub her arm. "Just pretend you're asleep."
/>
I close my eyes and listen as the footsteps approach. I wonder who it is. Candace? Art? Sidney?
Then I hear a small voice. "Mommy?"
I lift my head and rub my eyes. "Zoe, where's your nanny?"
She shrugs.
Just then, I see the nanny behind her. "Zoe, what are you doing?"
Zoe turns around. "I'm looking for Mommy."
"Your mommy is in the White and Gold Room," I say as I look at the nanny. "That's the white door with the plain gold knocker on it."
The nanny nods and ushers Zoe out of the room.
"Sorry," she mumbles before closing the door.
I put my head down and let out a sigh. So it was just Zoe, huh?
Beside me, Marian stays silent. I wonder if she's fallen asleep. If she has, then she won't mind me staying this way. I won't mind, either.
The strands of her red hair caress my cheeks. They're soft like a swirl of cotton. I can smell her shampoo. Her back presses against my chest. My knees are touching the backs of hers. One of her feet rests on mine. My hand rests on her arm, but I slowly bring it up to her shoulder. I brush away her hair so I can plant a kiss on her -
"What are you doing?" Marian asks suddenly as she turns her head.
So she wasn't asleep after all. Or did I wake her?
"And why is there something poking me?"
I move away. "Nothing."
"I thought so."
She pulls the covers up to her chin. I go back to my side of the bed and rest my head on my pillow with a sigh.
Not tonight, I guess.
I close my eyes and try to think calming thoughts.
"Good night," Marian whispers.
The sound of her voice isn't helping.
"Good night," I tell her back.
"We should sleep," she adds. "Didn't you say your family has a big day planned for tomorrow? What do you think I should expect?"
I shrug. "Other than to be asked more uncomfortable questions? I don't know."
At least the thought of them has made my problem go away.
"But I think I heard Sidney and Greg saying something about spending a day in the wild."
Chapter Nineteen
Marian
A day in the wild indeed.
We started out by hiking. We tried zip-lining, which was not as scary or thrilling as skydiving but still nerve-wracking and adrenaline-pumping. And fun. And a little nauseating, too, but I was able to get over it. Then we had a picnic, hiked a little more, stumbled upon a butterfly sanctuary, hiked some more, and now here we are, fishing by the river.