"Are you planning to go see your mother?"

A nervous laugh escaped me. I already don't get along with my own family. The proof, the only call my mother has made to me in two years was yesterday. Look at the fallout. On top of that, I just found out that I got married. And that I was no longer a virgin. I think that's enough to handle in one morning.

" No, I told her to wait and we'll see her later. For now, I have work to do. I'll drop you off at your place."

"I don't live in Vegas," I replied.

"We're in New York. From your accent, you must be from here, right?"

"Yes, I am. I live near downtown", I replied, shaking my head. "How did we get here?"

"Private jet," he replied, taking my hand. "You fell asleep just before we embarked and woke up when we arrived."

We leave his apartment by the elevator. We arrive directly in a parking lot loaded with cars. Gabrielo stops in front of a huge black car. The kind of car whose price must have seven or eight zeros in a row. I sit down gently on the seat after Gabrielo opens the door for me.

"Where should I drop you off?" Gabrielo asks.

"In front of the Time Warner Center, please."

"Not at your place?"

"No, I have to go see someone first."

After a fifteen minutes drive, Gabrielo drops me in front of the mall before starting again to go to work. I take out my cell phone from my bag and call Meavy. After the second ring, she answers the phone.

"I know you're back in New York, I saw your post. Meet me at Magnolia Bakery, right now."

I hang up without another word. Twenty minutes later, Meavy comes trotting in on her heels.

"All right! I'm here," she huffs as she sits down.

"Meav', why did you let me you leave to go drink on my own last night?"

"Correction: you went out for a drink and had a sudden urge to go to the toilet. I offered to go with you and you said you were fine. I waited for a while, but you never came back. I looked for you for a good 30 minutes before I gave up. So what happened?" She asks while drinking her coffee.

I raise my left hand in front of her so she can see properly. Meavy chokes on her coffee before regaining her composure. She grabs my hand and moves it back and forth to observe the ring on my ring finger.

"You got engaged without telling me. And my invite? Where is it ?"

"Married. I got married," I repeated, glaring at her. "Because last night, someone wanted to let me drown my sorrows in alcohol."

Meavy avoids my gaze and fiddles with her cup. She gets up abruptly and sits down next to me on the bench.

She blinks several times and kisses me on the cheek. "Sorry?"

"It sounds more like you're asking me a question. Meavy, what am I going to do?"

"Divorce", she proposes.

I explain to her what Gabrielo explained to me less than an hour ago. She bursts out laughing and starts wiping tears. I look at her without saying anything.

"I can't do anything for you now. Who would sign this kind of paper voluntarily? What's gotten into your head? Did you think you were in a fairy tale?"

Ah. . I was expecting it, Meavy's frankness. Always so painful yet effective. She bursts out laughing before finishing her coffee.

"If you needed a date I would have crossdressed with a good wig and be gorgeous for you ! You know that, right ?"

"I know that." Way too much. "Meavy do you know how screwed I am ?"

"Look at the bright side, this ring is gorgeous. If he could afford to buy it because he wanted to, that means he's rich. What are you going to do now?"

Good question.

"Take responsibility?" He doesn't look bad after all. And most importantly, no one forced me to sign this contract.

"Take care of yourself anyway. And call me if you have any problems, okay?"

"OK. Now let's get to our monthly shopping day."

The last Saturday of the month is usually the only shopping day Meavy and I are allowed. The reasons are simple, we want to rest on the other weekends. And especially because we need money to pay the bills and eat before that. Well... We decided to slow down with our shopping.

And spend it all on the last weekend of the month!

"Alma, I haven't asked you yet, but what is your so-called husband like?" Meavy asks at the exit of a store.

"6'4. Black hair, blue eyes and the whitest smile I've ever seen. He was cute."

"I'll see when I meet him", she concludes. "For the moment, we're going to a lingerie store!"

"Why?" I asked confused.

"You're not going to wear granny panties anymore, are you? Even more so now that you are married. And that your marriage has been consumed. Are you going to show off or not?"

"First of all: I don't have any granny panties –you know that. And secondly, how do you know?"

"Women's intuition, sugar plum ! And with that hickey sticking out of your cleavage, it's impossible not to notice. It seems like you had a great time yesterday, didn't you ? "

"Meavy !"

"What ? I'm reminding you good memories ! That's all. Look at the smile on your face !"

Meavy pulls out her must-have pocket mirror and I observe my neck. This moron didn't give me one hickey, but several. And they're so obvious that except for putting on a scarf at this time of year, I don't see how I'd hide them. No more cleavage for now.

Our shopping day ends quietly and I call a cab to go home. Now that I think about it, I don't have the number of Gabrielo. But it's not that bad.

I finally arrive home and put all my bags in the hall. My phone rings in my bag. The screen shows: Gabrielo. When did I give him my number?

"Hello?"

"Hey. Where are you right now?"

"I'm at my place. Do you need anything?" I asked.

"Send me the address, please", he asks. "I wanna talk to you about something."

I do what he asked before quickly putting my new clothes away. I start to cook after having showered and the doorbell rings. Gabrielo is on my doorstep waiting. I open the door and he starts to smile.

"Am I disturbing you?" he asks, running a hand through his hair.

"Not at all, come in. I was just making dinner."

I leave the kitchen and join Gabrielo in the living room.

"I wanted to talk to you," he begins, turning to me. "I thought it would be better if we moved in together. It's only a proposal and you can always refuse. I just-"

"Why not? I don't see any harm in it and besides, we're already married. I said I would take responsibility and I will."

Plus I litteraly said that we should act like any other couple.

"Great," he said, exhaling sharply. "I thought you were going to reject me. We'd better look for an apartment as soon as possible. Or a house if you prefer."

A stomach rumbling cuts him the word. Gabrielo looks away, blushing. He's cute when he blushes.

"I think we'd better eat before we make any decisions. There is nothing pressing after all."

"I think so too," agrees Gabrielo.

The dinner passed in a good mood between our laughs and each one telling his day. It had been a long time since I had gotten along with a guy so well. Maybe this marriage will go smoothly.

Time will tell.

Gabrielo still seems to have some work to do and some calls to make. I should get started too. I take out the sketches from the day before to work on them. I have to finish making a wedding dress before the end of next month. Not to mention the adjustements that'll need to go with it.

"Finally, finished!" I exclaimed as I stretched.

I look at the sofa and see Gabrielo sleeping peacefully. It's already 10:30 pm. Has it been that long? At least I was finally able to finish the sketches and determine the fabrics and gems we will use.

"Gabrielo? Wake up."

I shake him by the shoulder and he grunts, moving his head slightly. I repeat my action and this time Gabrielo grabs me by the waist. He holds me firmly in his arms and continues to sleep. Well,

I could stay like this for a while before waking him up.

Since we are face to face, I have a good view of his face. He is ruthlessly handsome. I grab him by the jaw before caressing his cheek. He opens his eyes still asleep. He rubs his eyes before looking at me, totally lost.

"Sorry", he says, releasing me.

"That's okay. Instead of sleeping on a couch, you'd better sleep on a bed. You'll end up with aches and pains."

"Are you inviting me to sleep here?" He asks, grabbing my waist and pulling me closer.