How To Tie A Tie On Someone Else

While shopping, I spotted a good-looking men's tie. I bought it as a birthday gift for my son. I was paying when the clerk suddenly muttered under her breath, "Disgusting!" I was furious. When I got home, I told my husband what happened. He was ready to file a complaint, but the moment he saw the tie, his face took on a strange expression. "Did you really buy this? If you did, we're getting divorced right now!" My mother heard the commotion and came to see what was wrong. When she saw the tie in my hands, the color drained from her face. She pointed at me and screamed, "How did I raise such a monster?!" I stood rooted to the spot, completely lost.

At a family gathering, my fiancée gently wiped her recently returned childhood friend’s mouth with a tissue right in front of me. “Sorry about that. Clairy had always been this thoughtful.” I nodded, then turned to her younger sister. I draped my jacket over her shoulders and fed her the shrimp I had just peeled. “If she was so thoughtful, I could not fall short on courtesy either.”

Forced to Wear My Sister's Wedding Dress I, Eva Hart, was given seven minutes to become someone else's bride. My sister ran. My family panicked. So they zipped me into her wedding dress and pushed me down the aisle instead. I thought I was just saving my family's name. Instead, I married a stranger who looked at me like I'd already betrayed him once before. He says I promised to marry him five years ago. He says I disappeared without a word. I don't remember any of it — not his face, not his name, not the ring that somehow still fits my finger. By the time I found the photograph, it was already too late to walk away. **READ NOW**

I, Darlene Cooley, have an ability. Whenever I touch an object, I can see the scenes it has experienced over the past day. I've been married for five years. Every time I help my husband, Bernard Hoffman, tidy up his suits or organize his briefcase, what I see are conference rooms, whiteboards, and workstations. Once in a while, I appear in those scenes. He'll be secretly reading my messages under his desk, the corners of his mouth lifting unconsciously. Bernard is so gentle that it feels almost unreal. In winter, he places my slippers by the heater to warm them up. No matter how busy his business trips are, he video calls me right on time. When I casually mention I feel like eating caramel popcorn, he drives halfway across the city to stand in line for it. My friends all say I'm blessed, and I feel the same way. That is, until yesterday, when he comes back from a trip. I go to help him unpack, and the moment I touch that gray cashmere sweater, a flood of images rushes in. Bernard is sitting across from a short-haired woman. Her eyes are bright, and a shallow dimple appears when she smiles. He listens to her speak, earnest and focused, with his head tilted slightly to one side. A faint smile lingers at the corner of his mouth. It's been a long time since he has listened to me speak like that. The vision ends. I crouch in front of the suitcase, my hand still resting on the cashmere sweater, unable to snap out of it for a long while. Then, I stand up and walk over to the cabinet, where I pull out my own suitcase.

During the long holiday, to accommodate the travel plans of my hospital director wife, I—someone who hadn't taken a single day off all year—begged and groveled, burning through every last bit of goodwill in my department just to scrape together seven days of comp time so I could go with her. But I waited at the airport from morning until night. After a hundred ignored calls, she finally rang me back, her voice totally casual. "The signal's a nightmare out at the scenic area. I forgot to mention—Julian booked the tickets a day early by accident, so we're already at Tamoe Mount! Since you missed your flight anyway, just go back to the hospital and cover some shifts. It's the hospital's busiest time. Didn't you say everyone in your department was upset about you taking time off? Go make it up to them." On the other end of the line, the wind was howling. Her young colleague, laughing brightly, jumped in. "Hey, Rita, I had no problem switching my shifts. I guess he just slacks off too much—no wonder nobody likes him." Not only did she not stand up for me, she actually agreed. "You hear that, Kevin? Learn to play nicer with your coworkers. Stop obsessing over fun all the time. Then later, it'll be easier for me to push through your raise and promotion." I didn't argue or make a scene. I just said "Got it," hung up, and walked straight to the hospital run by her biggest competitor. "Are you still looking for a vice director? I work hard, I don't need weekends off, and as long as I get normal comp time, I'm good."

Lucy's boyfriend betrayed her when he got his best friend pregnant and kicked her out of the house when she was pregnant with his child. He said the child wasn't his. Lucy has to go back to stay with her evil stepmother and her kids who made her life miserable. She had to stay and take care of her child and save money to move out, but nothing ever goes right for her. Lucy met Henry,who brightened her and her son's life with his warm smile, but their past came knocking on the door to ruin the small happiness they built together. **Excerpt from the book** When I got closer to them, I saw Daniel was looking at the man in front of him in awe as he had the cutest smile on his face. "Danny ,what's wrong?" I asked and he seemed to snap out of his thoughts and smiled as he pointed to the man in front of us. "Mommy, I want a Daddy in a tux." Daniel squealed while pointing his finger at the man and the man turned his attention to him. I was so embarrassed that I drew him to myself and put his hand away. "Danny don't say things like that." I scolded him softly, avoiding eye contact with the man and I wondered if I should apologize until I heard a hearty laugh. "Oh so you want a Daddy in a tux as well?" He asked Daniel, his velvety voice made me stare at him in awe as his face was plastered with an unwavering smile as I watched him as he squatted down to Daniel's level.