The Third Marriage Certificate

My silence made Luke uneasy.

"Wait here," he said. "I will call him."

The phone rang for a long time before Grant answered, sounding irritated.

"What?"

"Grant, Elara is here," Luke said. "Aren't you coming down? Weren't you supposed to visit her grandfather together?"

Grant was quiet for a beat.

Then he said lightly, "What is the rush? Let her wait. I said I would go, didn't I? I am not done here."

Right after he spoke, Nora let out a soft, suggestive cry in the background.

Luke's face changed. He hung up so fast his thumb slipped.

After a long, awkward silence, he said, "Elara, do not misunderstand."

I almost laughed.

Before I could answer, my best friend called.

Madison's voice exploded through the speaker. "Elara, I just landed and saw your message. You and Grant did not get married? Are you serious?"

Everyone nearby could hear her.

"Has he lost his mind? He used to talk about marrying you until my ears hurt. Now the day finally comes and he marries someone else?"

The men around me scratched their heads, looked at the ceiling, or pretended to check their phones.

Madison was still going. "Wasn't this the same man who swore he would love only you when he confessed back in college? How did he turn into this?"

I did not answer.

A notification appeared on my screen.

Nora had sent me a sixty-second voice message.

I tried the transcript feature. It produced almost nothing except a few breathy sounds, then one final sentence:

"Elara, hang in there a little longer. Grant is almost finished."

I replied, "No rush."

Then I said to Madison, "I got married."

She went silent.

"What?"

"He is a good man," I said. "When you are back, I will introduce you."

Grant's friends laughed nervously.

"Elara, come on."

"Everyone knows about you and Grant. He does care about you."

"Six years does not just disappear overnight."

As soon as he finished speaking, a black car stopped at the curb.

The door opened, and a man in a perfectly tailored suit stepped out.

The laughter died.

He walked toward me slowly. No one said another word.

-

Across town, Grant finished rubbing Nora's ankle and stood to put on his jacket.

"This is the last time I let you play games like this," he said.

Nora lounged on the couch with one foot propped up. "What game? You rubbed too hard, so I cried out. What is wrong with that?"

Grant shook his head. He knew exactly what she had done, but he did not call her out.

Nora rested her chin on her hand. "What do you think Elara looked like when she heard that voice message?"

Then she answered herself. "Oh, right. She is so sweet. She probably did not mind."

Something in those words made Grant's smile fade.

After he fixed his cuffs, he opened the door and said with certainty, "She says she does not mind because she is pretending. She minds more than anyone."

"I have been with her six years. I know her."

He called Elara first. She did not answer.

He sent several messages. She did not reply.

A strange restlessness rose in him.

Carrying that irritation, he went to see Grandpa.

The old man was sitting upright in bed, carefully studying two marriage certificates.

Grant relaxed at once. He smiled and walked in.

"Grandpa, Elara had something to handle, so I came first. Remember me? I am your grandson-in-law."

Grandpa looked at him, then at the photo of me and my husband taken in front of the city hall.

"Huh? How could you be my grandson-in-law? You do not look anything like the man in the photo."

He handed one over.

When Grant saw the photo, his eyes went wide.