They Called Me Barren. They Picked the Wrong Wife novel · Chapter 15 of 24

Chapter 15: The Front Row

I could see Neil's shoes through the gap between the boxes.

They were the brown ones he wore to church.

Callum's hand was flat on my collarbone, holding me against the wall, and neither of us made a sound.

Neil did not come any closer.

He stood in the aisle and took out his phone, and in the empty shop it was loud when he put it on speaker.

"Mom? I'm at the store."

"Good boy." Lorraine's voice was low, and behind it I heard an organ. "Did you find the ring?"

"It's the one you picked."

"It's the one that photographs well. Now say it back to me."

"I kneel by the tile display," Neil said, "at ten-twenty, when you've done the welcome. I say I was a fool and I want to renew our vows. I say it where everyone can hear."

"And Margaret?"

"If she says yes, we're fine."

"She won't say yes."

"Then she says no, and she makes a scene."

"And what happens?"

"The doctor steps forward, because you've asked him to be there as a friend," Neil said. His voice had gone flat. "You say she's been unwell since Christmas, and you're frightened for her. I give him the paper from the cabinet."

"Her power of attorney," Lorraine said. "Signed in March, when we saw she was struggling. You've been so patient. Nobody in that room will blame you for looking after your wife."

Callum's jaw moved against my temple, and I felt him swallow.

"Mom," Neil said. "What if she doesn't make a scene?"

"She will. She's been making them since Christmas."

"What if I don't want to do this?"

There was a pause with the organ in it.

"You miss being looked after," Lorraine said gently. "Don't confuse it with missing her. Do you want to keep the shop, Neil, or do you want to go sell tile in Cincinnati for a stranger?"

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