The Wife's Agreement

Synopsis

Edward Grant once made a promise to his female best friend, Charlotte Stone. "Until you get married, I won't get married either." I was twenty-six that year. Then Charlotte got her heart broken, and he postponed our wedding. She called off her engagement, and he canceled ours. When she wrapped her arms around him and told him she couldn't bear to let him go, he turned around and comforted me. "Wait one more year. I promise. It's the last time," he said. So I waited until I was thirty. Last month, Charlotte finally got married. Surely, it was my turn now. On the day of Edward's ninth proposal, he had just opened the ring box when Charlotte handed me a document titled "Wife's Agreement." On it stated: [The second bedroom in the marital home will always be reserved for Charlotte. [If she gets into a fight with her husband, Edward must pick her up within thirty minutes. [If she has a prenatal appointment and no one is available to go with her, Edward will automatically step in. [Birthdays, family emergencies, and guys' nights out must never become a lower priority simply because he's married.] And the final rule: [A wife can be divorced. A best friend can never be cut off.] Edward and Charlotte had already signed their names side by side at the bottom. Charlotte, seven months pregnant, pushed the pen toward me. "Come on, Vivian. I have a husband and a baby of my own now. You don't still think I'm a threat, do you?" Edward was still on one knee, the ring box resting in his palm. When he looked up at me, his expression was as gentle as ever. "Sign it, and I'll put the ring on your finger." I didn't take the pen. Instead, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in two years. "Michael, is that custom couture line in Baylor City you mentioned before still available?" There was a two-second pause on the other end, then came the reply. "It is." "Okay," I said.