Page 16 of For the Record
It all felt simple to me. If she wanted to stay married, who was I to argue?
“You’re the only person I’d ever want to marry. Why would I argue?”
Her eyes went wide, and now I was beginning to wonder if we were on the same page at all. “Adam. You cannot be this irrational. You are a grown adult. Think here for a moment. This is not something you can just say okay to. I need you to be the brutey, grumpy troll you are right now.”
“I did think about it. Right before I asked you to marry me.” And possibly before then too, but that was irrelevant right now.
“Stop being so literal here.” She furrowed her brows like an angry chipmunk.
“If you wanted me to be against it, why did you even ask?”
She took a deep breath. “I do not want to sound like a gold digger—”
“Great start to our marriage,” I mumbled.
“But Calla may or may not have mentioned that military members who are married get extra benefits.”
I nodded. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t considered that in the shower this morning. Her dad needed help, and so did she. Rachel loved to pretend like she was fine. She loved to pass everything off with an it is what it is excuse. Meanwhile you could visibly watch the pain grow in her eyes. I’d watched her break down before over the bills piling up. How she couldn’t get her dad on Medicare yet due to his younger age and because his early onset dementia wasn’t enough to qualify him for the resources they needed. How, since he’d passed all of his health evaluations with flying colors, his slipping memory didn’t allow them a lower cost in healthcare. It was all a load of horseshit. And she’d had to carry it by herself for years. She’d quit school to take care of him, worked a mediocre paying job, and spent every minute of her life saving others.
If I could lighten that load by legally being her husband, I was willing to do just that.
“We do.”
“So I could maybe get on your health insurance. And since I am in charge of Dad’s medical bills, maybe he would be connected. Or at the least maybe get him a couple benefits that the VA couldn’t on his end.”
“He would.”
Her rambles went on without a breath between them. “So it would really, really help me out. I know that sounds extremely selfish, but you know how hard it’s been on both of us. I feel like this would be an opportunity for me to set us straight so I won’t have to spend so much on healthcare visits and—”
“Rachel. Stop.” I reached for her hand, wrapping my fingers around hers and letting my thumb rest on her ring. “How many times have I offered to help?”
She sniffled, and my heart cracked. “A million.”
“And you would never take it. You practically cussed me out every time I even tried. I’m not offended, and you shouldn’t be either. Plus, there are benefits for me too.”
“Like what?”
Her eyes looked up innocently at mine, and I wondered if I should spill it all here. Tell her every bit of truth from day one and leave nothing behind. Say screw it to some family brunch and tell her everything I had spent years working hard to keep to myself.
But no. This wasn’t the time or the place. She deserved it, yes. Deserved to know everything. But not in some rushed ramble after we had already made drunken mistakes the night before. We needed to get settled. Needed to get home and breathe. Then I would share it all. Every piece of me.
Therefore, my answer was simple. “I would receive extra compensation each month.”
She eyed me, scrunching up her face. “Aren’t you basically rich?”
My lips curled. “No, I’m just good at saving. But I have an investment with too many monthly expenses that I need to pay down. This would help.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t entirely the truth either. It was enough to get by on till we got home.
She paused. “So you are also a gold digger?”
“No.”
“Face it, Adam, we’re basically the seven dwarfs, except there are only two of us.”
“I…no.”
She smiled, most of her skepticism wiped off her face by now. “But still, you’re sure about this? I feel like you should be pushing back at least some.”
I should be. I should be asking questions. I ought to have at least some hesitation regarding marriage. But for this part, I could easily tell her the truth.