Page 75 of Yours, Now and Always
Ifind Amelia in our bedroom on her hands and knees crawling across the carpet. Colin met me at the back door when I arrived at the house and advised me that Amelia had suddenly declared five minutes ago that the energy was weird downstairs and that she needed her wedding perfume to fix it, at which point she’d left everyone and come up to the bedroom. Marin came with her, and I find them mid-conversation, both on their hands and knees, facing each other.
“I just think,” Amelia says, “it’s borderline deceptive. Like, what if in ten years I look back and think I tricked him with cheekbones I don’t even have?”
My lips twitch. She’s being absolutely serious about whatever it is she’s trying to say. I don’t know what I expected—possibly the same type of high my mother exhibited—but it wasn’t this.
Neither of them heard me arrive, so I lean against the doorframe, cross my arms, and just watch for a minute.
“You do have cheekbones,” Marin says, her voice perfectly calm.
“Notthosecheekbones. Not the ones the glam squad told me they wanna give me.”
“Amelia. He didn’t propose to you because he loves your cheekbones.”
“He didn’t propose. I did.”
“And thenhewas the one who made it happen.”
“Wait. How do you know that? Did he tell you we’re already married?”
“No, you did, remember?”
Amelia looks horrified. “Did I? Shit, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.” She cocks her head. “Do you think I told anyone else? When did I tell you?”
“Calm down, babes. You just told me today, and only because you’re high. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Oh, thank god.”
“Okay, so back to your face. You can’t get married without makeup. I am one thousand percent positive you’ll regret that tomorrow.”
“But what if I look back at the photos and don’t recognize myself?”
Marin sits back on her heels. “Bestie. Respectfully? You’re spiraling. Like full send into the void right now.”
Amelia gives her a look. It’s the annoyed look I’ve seen her shoot Marin and Tim when they speak in slang she doesn’t understand. “Don’t say full send into the void.”
“You’re on the floor. Discussing cheekbones. While high.” Marin pauses. “That’s literally the definition of a spiral, which is,literally, a full send into the void.”
“I hate you so much.”
“I know you do but keep up. We’re running out of time here. Gage has seen you, like, a thousand ways. With makeup, no makeup, pre-morning-coffee, the ugly sex-face, mid-existential breakdown ugly crying—remember the banana bread incident?”
“Rude. I told you the banana bread thing in confidence and you said you’d never repeat it. Also, I don’t have an ugly sex-face.”
“I’m not dragging you, babes. I’m just saying the man is locked in. He’s not gonna be like ‘wow, contour, this changes everything.’ He already chose you. Repeatedly. With his whole chest.” She pauses. “Andeveryonehas an ugly sex-face. If you don’t, it means Gage hasn’t spiritually rearranged you while railing you yet. And honestly, I’d call that a red flag.”
Amelia’s quiet for a second. Then, “Do you think the perfume is under the bed?”
“Babes. Focus. We’re talking about your face.”
“Right. My face.” Amelia nods solemnly. “The face I’m deceiving my husband with.”
“You’re not deceiving anyone. You’re just enhancing what’s already there. It’s calledglam, notcatfishing.”
“What if he thinks I look better in the photos than in real life?”
“Then he’s an idiot and you should divorce him.”
I can’t help it. I let out a low chuckle.
