Chapter 2

Karen was up before I was the next morning. She threw open the curtains and called out excitedly, "Justin, look how blue the ocean is! Come take a picture of me."

Still half asleep, Justin sat up. When he noticed me awake, he asked, "Did you sleep okay last night?"

Before I could answer, Karen grabbed his camera and pulled him toward the window. "Hurry. This angle's perfect."

Justin had fallen in love with photography back in college. During our first year together, he'd promised he'd take hundreds of photos for me.

As the years went by, he bought tons of expensive cameras, and his collection of lenses kept growing. Yet somehow, he took fewer and fewer pictures of me.

I'd thought this honeymoon would be different. I thought I'd be the only one he'd want to photograph. Instead, there was Karen. There was Justin. And somehow, I wasn't in a single picture.

I changed into my white dress and waited off to the side.

Justin glanced at me. "We'll take your pictures later. Let me get a few shots of Mom first before her makeup starts wearing off."

Karen walked over and ran her fingers across the hem of my dress.

"Isn't this a little too short?" she asked. "It's windy by the beach. It doesn't look very formal."

She rummaged through her suitcase, pulled out a dark red shawl, and draped it over my shoulders before I could stop her.

"There. That's more like a married woman."

The shawl smelled faintly of mothballs, so I took it off.

Karen's hand froze midair. A second later, she smiled as though nothing had happened. "It's okay. Young people have their own sense of style. I won't interfere."

Justin's expression hardened. "Zoe, it's just a shawl. Did you really have to embarrass my mom like that? She was only trying to help."

I'd lost count of how many times I'd heard those words since we started planning the wedding.

The wedding.

The keys to our new house.

Trying for a baby.

Every time Karen crossed a line, Justin always had the same excuse.

She was only trying to help.

I didn't have the energy to argue anymore. "Whatever," I said.

He seemed caught off guard by my response. His expression then softened a little. "Zoe, don't be like this."

…

At breakfast, Karen smiled as she pushed the half-finished plate of seafood risotto toward me. "Here, Zoe. Have some. It's good for you, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste."

Justin was peeling a boiled egg for her without even looking up.

I looked at him. "I'm allergic to seafood."

The first time I had an allergic reaction, Justin had carried me into the emergency room himself, his eyes red with panic. After that, he kept a list of all my food allergies in the notes app on his phone.

He'd even called Karen to make sure she remembered. Back then, she'd laughed and said, "Alright. Your girlfriend's precious. I won't forget."

Now she smacked a hand against her forehead. "Oh dear, I'm getting old. My memory isn't what it used to be."

Justin spoke up before I could. "She's gotten spoiled."

Karen quickly waved him off. "Justin, don't say that. You should cherish your wife."

A dull ache settled in my chest. I'd lost my appetite all at once. "I'm full."

As I walked out of the restaurant, my phone buzzed with a reminder.

A private sailing tour was scheduled at 10:00 am, and a sunset dinner at the cliffside restaurant was scheduled at 5:00 pm. Under the notes, I'd written, "Our first day. Just the two of us."

A few minutes later, Justin came out. "Mom wants to stop by a church."

I looked up at him. "But we're supposed to go sailing today."

Justin frowned. "We can go sailing anytime. Mom wants to pray for us—to ask God to bless us with a baby. When did you get so selfish?"

Karen let out a quiet sigh, her eyes glistening with tears. "I just want the two of you to have a child soon. I'm getting older… I don't know how much time I'll have left to see my grandchild."

In the end, we canceled the sailing trip and went to the church instead, just as they wanted.

Karen walked arm in arm with Justin under the blazing afternoon sun. The whole way, she talked about lighting candles, saying prayers, and asking for God's blessing.

A tourist smiled at me. "Are you traveling together as a family? You seem so close." She glanced at the mother and son walking ahead of me.

I smiled back. "Yeah. So close… There's hardly any room left for me."