He Priced Me At A Penny So I Married Another Chapter 02
I lunged for his phone.
“Those were left to me by my mother. If you dare bring them here—”
Derek turned, avoiding me. He didn’t hang up until he’d finished giving the address.
“Those quilts were going to be used after the wedding anyway. I’m just changing the destination. Do I need your approval for that, too?”
My mother died two years ago. In the end, the one thing she couldn’t stop worrying about was my marriage.
By then, she barely had any strength left in her hands. The fabric kept slipping from her knees. Whenever I tried to take it from her, she’d hold fast to the corner, insisting she could keep going if she just rested a little.
It took her a long time to finish the eight quilts she’d promised me.
In the corner of each one, she’d embroidered the same small words: *For Lydia, love Mom.*
I’d asked her what the point of writing my name on them was.
She searched for a loose thread through her reading glasses and laughed at me for overthinking it.
“When you take them to your new home, you’ll know at a glance which ones are yours.”
Those quilts had been stored in my apartment this whole time.
Today, Derek had finally agreed to let me move them into the townhouse, and he’d promised to spend the afternoon helping me settle on a wedding date. I had zipped up the dust bags carefully and reminded the driver not to drag them on the ground.
My phone rang. The driver was asking how to get through the west gate.
I gripped the phone tighter and stepped somewhere quieter.
“The contract is in my name, and I’m the one paying. Pull over. I’ll come to you.”
I had just put my phone away when Tori blocked my path again.
The woman from before was back, this time with a man carrying a thermos.
“My son drove all the way here just to see you,” the woman said. “Don’t act like you’re too good for him. You’ve been with one man for five years, and we’re still willing to consider you. That’s more than generous.”
She pushed the thermos toward me.
“You’re not holding anything. Hold this for him. His back is bad; he can’t carry heavy things.”
The bottom of the thermos knocked against my knuckles. I stepped aside.
The man frowned, pushing it back into his mother’s hands.
“Didn’t you say she was good at taking care of people? How can she not even get something this simple?”
Tori came over, laughing.
“Oh, she can do all kinds of things. When the curtains came down at Derek’s house, she washed the entire set by hand in the bathtub. Don’t let her temper scare you off.”
Derek laughed too, though his eyes stayed on me.
Last year, when the seasons changed, I’d knelt by the bathtub washing those curtains. When I finally stood, my knees were so weak I had to lean against the wall for a long time just to catch my breath.
Derek had been shouting from outside the bathroom, telling me to bring him his charger.
Later, when his friends asked, he said he couldn’t bear to let me do heavy work and that I was the one who refused to sit still.
I hitched my bag strap higher on my shoulder.
“Derek, how long are you going to let them talk?”
He wrapped an arm around me and lowered his voice.
“I just want you to hear what other people think. Maybe next time we fight, you’ll remember I’m not so bad after all.”
“How could I really give you away? Just humor her for a minute. When we get home, I’ll buy you that new furniture set.”
That furniture set was one his mother wanted to replace. She had picked the style, too.
I looked up at him and honestly didn’t know where to begin unraveling the lie.
By the time Mrs. Hale came back, she had already sent the west gate’s location to her son.
I took out my driver’s license and sent Everett the name and date of birth so he could book the ticket.
“Everett’s driving in from the suburbs,” she said. “Lydia, let’s go wait for your things at the west gate.”
Tori looped her arm through mine.
“The event’s not over. That lady even brought her son. You should at least give them an answer.”
The woman jumped in at once.
“Come by my house for dinner first, then come back afterward. You’ve all been shouting for this long—you can’t tell us it was all fake.”
She pulled out her phone and insisted Derek show her his Venmo.
The alert for one cent came through. Derek actually slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“I’ve accepted the deposit. You can take her home for dinner. If she doesn’t like your cooking, I’ll come pick her up.”
He looked at me, as if he was waiting for me to rush over and cling to him.
“Go on. It’s good to compare. Then you’ll know who you really want to be with.”