Page 55 of The Marriage Narrative
Jordan spent weekdays alone in his dad’s office. Back home, he kept the same schedule more or less—wake, work, home, relax. But something about doing it at the estate made life feel extra monotonous.
Talking to Sadie continued to be his first order of business.
“She’ll befine,” his sister said while on speakerphone. “It was just a surprise double-cross subplot. No big deal.”
Lulie’s outburst hadn’t stopped weighing on him since it happened. How she felt like a prisoner. The line between teenage melodrama and genuine cries for help.
“I’ve never seen her this upset before. I feel like she might take it out on Zinnia,” he said.
“Nah, Lulie isn’t actually mad at her. Our lovely new sister-in-law is just caught in the crossfire for now.”
He exhaled in a huff and placed his head on the desk. Her explanations made sense, but something was still off. The answerfelt just out of reach, like someone tapping on his shoulder and disappearing as soon as he turned around.
Eric had become Lulie’s biggest pressure point in the prior season. He hated that the show kept using him to upset her, that it was even allowed in the first place.
Jordan’s identity was the initial inspiration behind theZaffre Hoursblacklist, but the bulk of the rules involved the twins. There’d always been strict rules in place regarding their storylines. Obvious points like not being allowed to film them in their rooms, while they were wearing bathing suits, or if anything medical-related was happening.
A thousand think pieces had launched when a viewer had pointed out the show never acknowledged Lulie getting her first period. Apparently, the omission had been a “missed opportunity to normalize it” and “give representation to young girls everywhere.”
Sadie made the first of her now-infamous video rants, blasting invasive commentators and defending their sister’s right to privacy in response.
The blacklist continued to grow over the years as needed. Children were now forbidden from appearing onZaffre Hours. Even if they attended an extended family function, everyone under sixteen was protected by careful editing or had their faces blurred out.
But now that they were nineteen, all bets seemed to be off.
“I can feel you brooding. Cut it out.” Her laugh sounded different, shorter and mostly air. “There’s a rhythm to filming. Things must’ve been feeling stagnant during footage review and the writers pitched this sub to ramp things up again. You’ll get used to it.”
“Are you walking around? You sound like you can’t breathe.”
“Because I can’t. My beans are squishing my lungs. Fuck walking, I get winded taking a deep breath.”
It’d taken her a while to land on the nicknamebeans, Baked and Butter. Their mom yelled at her for initially calling themcreaturesandparasites, but that was Sadie. She did and said whatever she wanted.
“When’s your next appointment?”
“I’mfine, Alfie.” He justknewshe’d rolled her eyes. “Most of us can’t breathe when they get big enough and I have two in there. Things happen twice as fast.”
“Really?”
“No, god damn it, read a baby book or something.” She snickered. “Thereisless room, though. My hips are already killing me, but I’m holding my beans in there for as long as I can.”
After ending his call with Sadie, he sat at his desk for ten more listless minutes before grabbing his laptop bag and walking to the pocket forest. “Hey, you.”
“Hey, yourself.” Zinnia was reclined on the bench. She smiled up at him from under a floppy wide-brimmed sun hat. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Well, I was working in my office. Feeling miserable.”
“Mmm.”
“I realized I had two options: keep wallowing in my unending misery or go see my wife because I missed her.”
“Aww.”
“I also thought we could try coworking today. See if it’s something we like.”
“Emotionally vulnerableandpractical? It’s like I won the husband lottery.” Zinnia started to get up, but he motioned for her to stay where she was.
“Lift your legs for me.”
