Mrs. Matched | Complete

Chapter Twenty-Three

The next afternoon, while we were setting up and playing Monopoly, board sitting atop an overturned empty box instead of the coffee table no more than five feet away, Chris was still raging about how awful it was that my parents had tried to quit my job for me.

"Okay you gotta stop that!" I said, moving my piece six spaces forward and landing on an unclaimed railway.

"Stop making you land on unclaimed spaces? I didn't do anything."

"No. Stop complaining about my parents. That's my job! You're so good at it you're making me want to defend them or something."

"I'm sorry. I promise I'll try, okay? Also, you owe me three hundred."

"What?" I look at the space my little top hat landed. "Shit, I do. Are you good at this or just distracting me?"

"Wouldn't you like to know. Cough it up." His hand is outstretched between us, silver ring catching the light coming from the lamps in the corner and throwing it up onto the ceiling. I had one, too – simple and silver – but I didn't love it.

We went around the board several hundred times, stopping only for food and bathroom breaks. Finally, Chris was about to win when he put the dice down on the board for my turn. "Oh, hey did you get that message from Match Made this morning?"

Did I?

I pulled out my phone and read the message. Thank you. Your confirmation of completion paperwork has been received. Your final task will be delivered to you in no more than five business days and is to be completed by the conclusion of your customary honeymoon break from work. Good luck!

Five days? Does that seem like forever to anyone else? I'd finally read the email from the lawyer and it was clear there was a way to exit the marriage peacefully if I could just get through this task. I mean, it wouldn't be easy and I'd probably lose my savings paying the lawyer, but it was possible.

Chris seemed entirely unbothered by the whole 'five days' information, and I tried to follow his lead. It was nearly impossible to relax back into the game, both because I was about to lose and because I just wanted the whole thing to be over. The longer I drag this out, the more I'm going to hurt him. And the more I hurt him, the worse I'm going to feel.

Even though it hadn't been long since we were married, it felt like it had been dragging on forever.

"So," I tried to speak as calmly as Chris looked. "What should we do with the next five days, then?"

He picked up a handful of the trail mix that had been his most recent snack and tipped his head back to drop the whole pile inside. If it were me, I would have done that to give myself time to think. Maybe we have that in common.

"Oh!" His eyes brightened with an idea. "We could go hiking."

"Hiking? Where? Like the mountain?" I've historically not been a huge fan of hiking, but I might do almost anything to avoid staying home and staring at each other while we wait for the last task from Match Made. Especially since I know what it brings, and the more I think about it, the more he's likely to figure out.

"Yeah, I have a cabin up there." He gestured to one of our walls which is vaguely in the direction of the mountains visible from our backyard. His eyes lit up with the idea. "We could drive up to the cabin and use that as our home base. We can take a big hike or two small ones and I can show you what I love about it." He stood up and walked toward the large picture window, staring out in the direction of the water.

"Before I answer," I started. "I should warn you that I'm very bad with the outdoors. I tend to hurt myself or get bit by creatures of all sorts and I have, on occasion, ended up in the hospital."

He turned back to face me as a chuckle mocked me from across the room. "I think we can figure it out."

"Well, if you're really sure, then I guess I'll go." Might as well give it a try, right?

"Yeah? Really?" The smile spreading across his face was contagious and I found my own cheeks aching from the size of my smile.

"Yes. Really."

"I'm so excited! I have to go pack." The Monopoly game was abandoned on the box, unfinished as he stood up to take the dishes back to the kitchen. When he came back through the living room he added, "And so do you. We should probably start that."

I raised my eyebrows at him, because he sounded like my dad, and I crossed my arms dramatically. "I'll be up when the show's over. I'm very invested in Charlie's success here."

"All right." He kissed my cheek on the way by before walking up the stairs. "Don't forget to pack a hat!" he called from the top of the stairs.

"I won't!" Hopefully I was loud enough for him to hear.

I sat on the couch, eyes trained on the show I definitely wasn't watching. Will Match Made hold up their end of the bargain and actually let us out of his? They have to, right? I mean, my lawyer said we could get out of it so surely he's right. Calm down.

The men on the television flew around the kitchen and I couldn't tell if I was more nervous about not having a way out or in actually ending the marriage once the task was complete. How are people going to react? Will my parents ever speak to me again? Will Chris still be my friend? I mean, is that even allowed to matter? Will my parents try to marry me off to someone else? Is that possible?

I really should have thought all of that through long before, but I hadn't. And, while I was on the topic, I had to wonder if getting out was what I really wanted.

When the show was over I had at least eight more reasons to worry and no desire to think about it anymore so I turned off the television and went upstairs to pack. I might not have any idea what I was doing in any part of my life except that I was going hiking the next day. And packing for hiking was something I could control.

It wasn't until I was in my room standing in front of my closet that I remembered I didn't bring any backpacks with me. Suitcases didn't seem very practical for hiking and my purse seemed too small.

When I finally reached Chris's door, I knocked gently on the frame. "Chris? Are you in there?"

"Yeah. One second." His voice is thick and slow, as though he had been woken from sleep.

It's not like him to sleep in the middle of the afternoon.

The shuffle of his feet was all I had to keep me company while I waited for him to open the door. "What's the matter?" he said as the door opened.

"Sorry to wake you. I just noticed I don't have a backpack or anything...You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Must have fallen asleep. Last few days have been busy coordinating work stuff. Nothing major." He trod over to his closet and pulled out two backpacks, throwing them unceremoniously on his bed. "You can have whichever you like better."

Stepping into his room felt like a big moment, which didn't make a lot of sense even then. But I quickly chose the smaller of the backpacks, thinking I wouldn't want to carry anything larger. "Thanks. I'll go pack now. Um, see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning," he whispered before closing his door. I stood there, staring at the door between us much longer than I should have.