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“What is this, huh?” she whispered, moving to sit beside him so he could be a part of what she hoped was a surprise from Eric. Pulling on the edge of the tape, she managed to tear the cardboard and felt something, causing her to pause. Reaching inside, she saw that it was a tiny envelope… and froze.
She smelled something!
“Oh gosh… oh Max…” she breathed, her voice trembling as she realized what was in the box. Tearing it open further, she was stunned to see a bouquet of red rose buds that were just starting to unfurl. As she finished opening the box, she saw that there was a vase in the bottom, and each long stem had a capsule of water at the bottom to keep them fresh – with the thorns removed.
“An dat?”
“That’s a flower,” she whispered softly, setting the vase on the table and putting the roses inside… and giving one to Max for him to explore. “See? Smell. Doesn’t it smell pretty?”
“Eeeety,” he repeated slowly, and curled his button nose before blowing air out of it, pretending to smell the flower.
“See, touch. It’s soft and smells pretty.”
Max stood there, holding the stem and investigating the leaves with his fingertips before grasping the rose bud with his hand. Smiling, she didn’t say a word, not wanting to tell him ‘no,’ but rather letting him explore the world so he could learn. This was safe, and she was watching him to make sure he didn’t try to eat the flower.
“Flower…” she prompted, picking up the envelope. “Can you say ‘flower’?”
“Fwwwooorr,” Max concentrated and reached for her mouth, making her realize that he’d done the same thing with Eric. Maybe this helped him? His fingers touched her lips, and she obligingly said ‘Flower’ several times slowly, watching her son move his lips in time with hers. “Fwwwooorrrr.”
“Very good,” she praised, and saw his bright smile gaze up at her with so much love and affection that she immediately hugged him, kissing his sweet forehead. “I love you.”
“Fwwwoooorrr…” he said, pulling away and grabbing the rose she’d given him, realizing that Mama was now ‘forgotten’ while he was entertained with his newest ‘toy’.
Smiling, she opened the envelope.
Happy one month anniversary, my M&M
I miss your smile.
There was no name on the card – but only one person called her M&M, and that was enough of a giveaway for her, combined with the fact that he was acknowledging they had been married a month.
Picking up the vase, she moved to put it on the dining room table, so she didn’t have to worry about Max getting a hold of them or breaking the glass vase. Staring at them, she felt her heart flutter in awareness and wonder, wishing she could talk to him or see him right now.
… Because right now, she was more than ready to talk about what this would look like after a year – and how she didn’t want to have a marriage on paper anymore. She wanted to get to know him better, be around him just so she didn’t have some imaginary idea of who he was, and hold him close… as a partner and husband.
* * *
Crawling into bed,she grabbed her kindle and looked at her social media to see that Asher had sent her a friend request.
“Uhhh… block?” she retorted aloud, hitting decline, only to have her phone vibrate in her hands. Hesitating, she answered it, and was fully prepared to hang up if it was anyone other than Eric.
“Hey…” Eric began softly. “Happy one month anniversary.”
“Oh Eric,” she melted, realizing he’d not only gotten her the flowers, but had taken the time to call her after not hearing from him for a while. Things seemed strained between them, and she was starting to get worried that maybe it was falling apart after all. She wasn’t the best pen pal and didn’t handle stress well, always retreating into her world… but she wanted him there. “Thank you so much for the flowers.”
“I got your box today – thank you,” he said quietly. “Can we talk for a moment about something I need to get off my chest?”
“Of course. Friends talk, remember?”
“About that…”
“Yes?” she whispered, hoping her voice didn’t waver as audibly as she thought it had. She felt a violent sinking sensation as a bout of nausea rolled through her, almost physically painful at his terse voice.
“I’ve been thinking, and all of this is really hard to handle, you know? I barely know you and you barely know me, but we got married and…” his voice trailed off, making her heart clench painfully. That nausea was making its way in record speed downwards. Her entire midsection spasmed as her intestines gave an audible rumble as if to say ‘Hello!’
“Oh?” she croaked out in a falsetto voice, knowing he was on a calling card.
“Madison, I’m coming home for a few days.”
