Page 62 of Choosing a Forever
Last night, while I finished my dinner, we made amealplan. I can cook, don’t get me wrong, but I kind of just… go with the vibes and cook whatever seems easiest that night.
Tal, though? He’s prepared. He gave me a calendar with his schedule for the month and made sure to jot down when Harper has late rehearsals and Kinsley has chemistry club so he could make sure they would have food when they came home. Then, he proceeded to ask for our favorite meals and looked up recipes for each, jotting down ingredients as he went.
It was nice, not having to figure out everything on my own. Kinsley and Harper never know what they want to eat, so it’s like pulling teeth to decide on dinner. Most of the time, they’re gone with school stuff or holed up doing homework and make their own food, so I end up heating up a frozen dinner and calling it a night. Their lunches consist of PB&Js or turkey and cheese sandwiches with a bag of chips if they take one, or they use their small allowance to go out to lunch with theirfriends. They refuse to eat school lunch, which is fine. I never ate it, either.
Tal’s excitement surrounding cooking is a breath of fresh air.
I’ll just have to make sure I don’t get used to it since this isn’t going to last forever.
We’re halfway through our list when we turn down the bread aisle and see two men standing at the end of the aisle looking at the loaves.
“Oh shoot,” Tal whispers, looking behind us.
“What? Do you know them?”
“Yeah, they’re from the singles ward. I knowofthem, but we’re not, like, best friends.”
“Maybe they won’t recognize you—”
“Brother Monson! How’s it going?” the taller one with sand colored hair shouts. The other one has blonde hair so light it looks white. They both approach, and Tal’s demeanor visibly changes.
“Hey, guys. Bread for the sacrament?” Tal nods his head towards the two loaves they’ve got.
The blonde man chuckles nervously. “Yeah, bro. I know we’re not supposed to be shopping on a Sunday, but I think The Lord would rather us take the sacrament, right?”
“The Relief Society was supposed to bake it this week, but the president got the flu and cancelled the activity.” The sandy haired guy nudges his friend and rolls his eyes.
I clamp my lips closed to keep myself from saying something that would hurt their feelings.
Tal cringes. “Right, yeah. That’s… sad for her. I hope she’s okay.”
“Ah, you know women. They bounce back fast. We’ll have fresh bread next week, guaranteed.” The blonde guy looks at our cart, then zeroes his gaze on Tal’s left ring finger—where his wedding ring sits. His eyes narrow. “You no longer part of the ward, Brother Monson?”
I glance over at Tal to see his reaction, and his smile is soft as his gaze meets mine. “Nope. Got married yesterday. This is my wife, Mackenzie.”
I know it’s proper and polite to shake hands, but they look like they don’t wash theirs for anything other than to break the sacrament bread—maybe not even then—so I just give an awkward wave.
Both men appraise me, their gazes like slugs slithering on my skin as they inevitably pick apart every flaw and “sinful” thing about me. From my makeup-less face, to my pierced nose, to my round body. They can’t see my tattoos due to the hoodie and leggings I’m wearing, but I’m sure that’s not what they’d find most unappealing about me. Their faces morph into something like disgust mixed with incredulity.
“Thisis your wife? I didn’t even know you were dating anyone,” Sandy Hair practically sneers.
Talmage puts a protective arm around my waist, his thumb rubbing soothingly up and down on my hip. “It was a sudden thing. High school sweethearts who fell apart, but when we reconnected? It was like everything fell into place. When you know, you know, and I knew the minute she came back into my life I couldn’t let her get away again.”
Why does he make it soundso dreamy?
The two dudes share a puzzled look before Bleach clears his throat. “Well, congratulations, I guess? We should run. Wouldn’t want to be late for the sacrament meeting. People are counting on us for their salvation, after all.”
Gag.
“Yep. Bye.” Sandy and Bleach turn and scurry down the aisle like if they stay next to us a minute longer, they’ll become apostate by proximity.
“Well, that was fun.” Talmage gives my hip a squeeze, then releases his hold on me and pushes the cart forward, stopping in front of the bagels.
I can’t help the snort that comes out of me. “Yeah, nothing like a good old-fashioned judging on a Sunday morning.”
“I think it went as well as it could have gone. They’ll probably just go to church and forget all about it.”
I gape at him. “Tal, are you kidding? They’re about to walk into those meetings and tell everyone they know Talmage Monson married a harlot or some shit. You’re going to become the new boogeyman.” I lower my voice like I’m a man. “‘Talmage Monson is an example of what happens when you stray from the teachings. Do not let temptation lead you astray.’ They’re going to use you as a lesson now. I’d be surprised if the bishop doesn’t call you personally to make sure you haven’t been possessed by a demon.”
