It was still folded in my lap.
“There’s another one.”
“Yeah.”
“Is it another surprise?”
“It’s the biggest one.”
I laughed nervously.
“Leo, I don’t know if I can take anything bigger than what you’ve already shared.”
He smiled.
“It’s a very good one. I promise, my love.”
I placed my palm against the folded paper.
There was something firm inside.
Something official.
My whole life, love had come with a receipt.
My parents had trained me to look for it.
To expect it.
To flinch before the bill arrived.
Sitting there on that sagging motel mattress, I suddenly understood something.
The real fight in my marriage wasn’t going to be Leo against my family.
It was going to be me against the girl my parents had raised.
