Page 11 of The Impossible

“I’m not sure yet. I’m still in shock, you know.”

He chuckled. “Yeah I do. You got about seven days of that. That’s about as long as I can keep my mama off you before she shows up at your job with my cousin and a wedding planner.”

“Seven days,” I repeated.

“Probably not even that fucking long.” He laughed to himself.

I laughed. “I’ve always loved your mom. She’s always been so sweet to me. She reached out after my mom died and told me whatever I needed she’d always be there. Crazy because I didn’t get it then, but I guess I do now, huh?”

He nodded. “About that, I’m sorry for your loss, Nic. The way all that shit happened was fucked up.”

I shrugged. “It’s fine. I guess I should have prepared myself for that, seeing as O’Leary women don’t live long, by blood or married in.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, his eyes locked on me.

“Don’t you notice it’s a family full of men? The only women alive are myself, my sister who is not here, and my brother’s new wife? No aunties, mothers, or grandmother?”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Men have always been regarded higher, protected more in my eyes.”

He was quiet for a moment after my explanation. “Well, it’s a good thing you’ll no longer be an O’Leary soon.”

“You want me to take on your last name, no hyphenation?”

“Well before you shared that piece of information, I was sure you’d hyphenate it. Patience Nicolette Carter has a good ring to it, no matter how uninterested you act. And for the record, the moment I put that ring on your finger, your protection became my responsibility.”

“And that means?” I asked.

“The number of motherfuckers who will lose their head if even a strand of hair on your head is harmed has just tripled. You are safe and you don’t have to worry about anything, ever.”

“You can’t guarantee that,” I countered.

“Watch me.”

After having lunch with Hondo, he dropped me off at my condo and promised I’d see him soon. I didn’t question that, given the last time he said he’d see me soon two days later I found out we were engaged. As soon as I made it into the house, my first call was to my sister, who answered only after I hung up on her voicemail and called her back.

“Some of us hate our jobs and actually have to focus while we’re at them, Pat. Why are you calling me like it’s a freaking emergency on a Monday?” Paige asked as soon as she finally answered.

“Because it is and you actually love your job.”

“Shidd. But what is the emergency that has me questioning some PTO?”

I explained all of the events from Friday until today to her, and by the time I was done speaking, she was speechless.

“P, say something,” I demanded after I had been done with my explanation for what felt like forever.

“Bitch, I can’t. I’m freaking stuck and I don’t know what has me stuck the most. The fact that they arranged for you to be married or the fact that it’s to a nigga you’ve lowkey had a crush on since we were kids. Like freaking how? And oh my god, what about Christian? How the freak are you going to tell him?”

Until she said my ex’s name, I hadn’t even considered him. Self-consciously, I glanced at my ring finger. The big rock gleaming looked back at me and immediately I felt like shit. Christian and I were together for years and going well until he became obsessed with marriage. Well maybe not obsessed, but in a one year span he asked me three times, making things so awkward. In his defense, all his friends were getting married, so I guess I got it. But it wasn’t that black and white for me, marriage to me was a life sentence and still was.

My eyes went back to my ring finger where Hondo’s diamond rested.

The difference between Hondo and Christian was I didn’t have a choice… right?

“Earth to Patience, do you hear me freaking out over here and it’s your life?”

I tuned my sister back in, looking away from my hand and out of the window. “I hear you, Paige. This is definitely a lot, like a lot. But what am I supposed to say or do? We don’t all have the luxury of going no contact and moving away. My whole life is here.”