"It's up to you," I smile, "since we're married, anything is possible. I just want to get to know you better first. Sleeping with a stranger bothers me. Don't take it personally."

"I know," Gabrielo says, getting up. You're not like that, Alma.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, totally lost.

"We've already met before. And you already caught my eye then, but it wasn't mutual. And you were already in a relationship. I haven't forgotten you since then. That's why when you proposed to me, I said 'yes'. Did you really think I would marry a stranger overnight?"

"When was that?"

"You remember that, Stellina. For now, good night," he says, placing a kiss on my forehead. "Call me if you have any problems," he says as he leaves my house.

Did I know him from before? What is he talking about? I'm sure if I'd known a man this handsome in the past, I'd remember him. Unless we never spoke. Either way, I have no idea.

It's all a little too disturbing for me. But I would not mind getting an answer to my question. Anyway, I'd better go to bed for now. The ringing of my phone cuts short my thoughts and I pause to answer.

I answer when I see Gabrielo's picture on the screen. When did this happened ?

"Hello, Gabo? What's up?"

"Nothing important", he answers quickly. "I just wanted to tell you that my mother wanted to meet you on Monday for lunch."

"What?! What do you mean, nothing important? That's super important !"

"Relax, she just wants to see you. You don't have to make a big deal out of it."

"I didn't prepare anything for this. Gabrielo! Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I forgot. In any case, on Monday we'll go to have lunch with her," he concludes. "I have to go, I have an important call to take."

He hangs up and I start to panic. I need a gift and an outfit. Something original and unique for a good gift. Even though I have an idea in mind, it might be complicated to pull off. I take out my phone to make a call.

"Meav' I need your help, I say quickly through my phone".

"Breathe and tell me what's going on."

"My mother-in-law ! I'm meeting her this Monday for the first time. I thought I would have a little more time but I don't. I need a present to give her, an outfit and-"

"Alma!" Meavy interrupts. "Relax, if it's about an outfit, I'll come and help you. You need to have an idea for the gift and if there's one thing I've learned from my sister's experiences it's to be yourself no matter what. It will always be better than pretending. I'll come see you in the morning, okay?"

"Okay, I'm going to go take a bath and go to bed then. Good night."

Meavy hangs up and I collapse on the couch. I would never drink again in my life. I was able to forget my problems for thirty seconds only to have twice as many problems fall on my head.

In 48 hours, I went from single-which-sister-stole-her-fiance to married-woman-who-is-going-to-meet-her-mother-in-law. I hope everything goes well, especially because of this damn contract I signed. What kind of sane person gets married and signs up to never get divorced? Not to mention the little clause that said no adultery would be allowed under penalty of fine and lawsuit.

What kind of family did I end up in?

__________

DING! DONG! DING! DONG!

The ringing of my phone together with the doorbell rings in unison in a deafening din. I turn off my phone without looking to see who is calling me before I go to open the door.

"Meavy I got it," I shouted as I opened the door.

"Finally, I've been waiting for five minutes," she said as she entered. "Now tell me everything."

"Before I tell you anything, I'm going to clean myself and get dressed. Then we'll see. If you want, I have your favorite coffee, the one that costs a bunch of money, in the cupboard."

Meavy doesn't reply and rushes to the kitchen. I go to get ready and twenty minutes later I am finally dressed and clean. My dear friend is on my couch watching an episode of The Bachelor, like every morning I want to say.

"How much time is left?" I asked as I sat down next to her.

"It's over," she said as the credits rolled. "So, we have to choose an appropriate outfit to go see your mother-in-law. Wear something that looks very... You. Something classy and elegant. Keep it simple."

"Okay. I'll give it a try. Let's go to the dressing room."

After half an hour of searching, I finally found what to wear. Meavy plays my mother and criticizes everything she sees without chewing her words. Total Meavy. Now that I know what I'm going to wear, I just have to prepare a gift.

"Where are you going?"

"To prepare a gift?" I answer hesitantly.

"No, no, no. Not at all. When you want to be presentable, physically, it's all about the details. Fortunately for us, you work out to stay in shape. We'll prepare a manicure, a pedicure and a proper hairstyle. I'll think about the makeup later. And what perfume you will wear."

Meavy and aesthetics. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. It's not for nothing that she is one of the greatest image consultants in the country. I can always count on her in this kind of situation. But I think I spoke too quickly when I told Gabrielo to come this afternoon. It's already 11:30 and we haven't even done half of the things we need to do.

After I finally find the right hairstyle and accessories to match my outfit, someone rings the doorbell. Meavy goes to answer it and I put my indoor clothes back on. Now that I think about it, I'm getting really hungry. I haven't eaten anything since this morning and thinking on top of that doesn't really help.

"Alma!" Meavy calls as she comes into the dressing room. I'm coming with your husband.

Damn! I had forgotten that he had to come here. And I'm still in my pyjamas, even if it's more of a mini-short and a very long t-shirt. Meavy enters the room followed by Gabrielo wearing suit and a tie. This guy really has no regular clothes ?

"He's a hottie, honey. Honestly, you did the right thing by signing this contract," Meavy whispers in my ear.

It's true she's always been the type to want to end up with a cute boy no matter what. I hope she doesn't regret it.

"I see you have company," Gabrielo says, smiling at me.

"My best friend, Meavy. Meavy, this is my husband, Gabrielo."

They smile at each other and Gabrielo turns to me.

"I just wanted to tell you that I will pick you up tomorrow around noon. Send the address of your company so I can pick you up. And about my offer yesterday, we'll discuss it when you're free. Is that okay?"

"No problem," I replied with a smile.

"Very well," he said, approaching me. "See you tomorrow, Stellina. Send me a message later."

He places a kiss on my cheek and waves to Meavy as he leaves.

"Wow, what was that?" my best friend asks, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I don't think I've ever seen you act so stupid in all the time I've known you. Could it be love at first sight?"

"Stop talking nonsense, Meavy! It's just that... It's nothing ! How about a manicure?"

" I'd love to!"