The Marriage List by Jean Joachim

everything she knew. With every sentence, Carrie's eyes got
wider. When the shopping was done, the women filed silently out the
door.
    "Please don't be mad at me, Carrie…" Jenna
pleaded.
    "I'm not mad at you, Jenna. I'm grateful you
told me."
    "I sort of helped though."
    "I need to straighten this out with Grey,"
Carrie said, sticking her chin out a bit and clenching her jaw.
    The men tried to start conversation in the
car but the ladies were unresponsive. Carrie kept her eyes trained
on the road, refusing to look at Grey. Bill and Grey exchanged
puzzled looks and finally sat silently until pulling into the
driveway of the cabin.
    Grey took two bags in then pulled Carrie
aside, took her into the bedroom and closed the door.
    "What's going on?" he asked, his hand clamped
around her upper arm.
    "You tell me. Tell me about your list," she
said, standing with legs apart, hands on her hips.
    Grey turned pale and dropped his hand.
    "So it's true. You have a list of
qualities…or should I say qualifications for a wife?"
    "Sort of…" he stammered.
    "And I meet these requirements?"
    "You do."
    "So now…I'm 'it'?"
    "It's not like that, Carrie. You're
different…"
    "How so? If I hadn't met all
those…things…would you still be seeing me?" She asked, watching him
squirm.
    "Maybe…maybe not. But you do and you're
spectacular…way above and beyond…"
    "Bullshit, Grey!" She hollered.
    Grey gave a quick glance at the closed
bedroom door.
    "Let's go for a walk. We can talk in the
woods where it's more private. How did you find out about the
list?" He asked, moving toward the door.
    "Jenna told me." Carrie stated flatly.
    Grey opened the door.
    "Jenna!" He yelled, his face turning
purple.
    Jenna saw his face and ran out the front
door. Bill put down the groceries he was unpacking and followed his
wife.
    "It isn't her fault…it's yours!" Carrie
pulled Grey by his sleeve toward the back door.
    They walked in silence through the woods to a
pond. Carrie found a large rock jutting out of the earth and sat
down, pulling her knees to her chest.
    "I don't know what's wrong with having a list
of the qualities you're looking for in a mate, Carrie. Women do the
same…or so Jenna told me. Why are you upset?" He sat down on the
rock next to her.
    Carrie shot him a withering look.
    "Explain it to me, honey." He stroked her
arm.
    She yanked herself away from him and stared
out at the pond.
    "Do you think I'm some sort of Stepford Wife,
one who will cook for you, decorate your house and give you all the
sex you want at the drop of a hat?"
    "I don't, I don't think of you that way."
    "Then how do you think of me?" Tears stung at
the back of Carrie's eyes but she was determined to blink them
away.
    "I think of you as my ideal woman, smart,
creative, resourceful, sexy…the woman I love," he said, slowly,
quietly.
    "That stupid list! Everyone knows about
it…everyone but me! Jenna wouldn't explain the third item on the
list, said she didn't know exactly what it was but it had something
to do with getting enough sex and then she blushed redder than the
beets on display in the produce department."
    Grey laughed.
    "What's so funny?" Carrie sniffed.
    "You are. Do you care that my friends
and…Jenna…know about my list? Don't you think it's amazing I found
a woman I'm crazy about that also has those qualities?"
    "I think it's amazing I haven't killed you
yet…" She sniffed, turning away from his warm stare.
    "I admit those things are important to me,
because…because…well the other three horsemen complain about their
wives lacking those things. So I thought, if I could get those in a
mate, then I'd be a lot happier than they are."
    "Now finding a spouse…the best spouse is a
four horseman competition?"
    "It's more about me than about them. I want
to get married once and have it last forever. I'm picky…okay, maybe
fussy is a better word…but look at you…and how lucky I am?"
    With his last words he bent down and kissed
her. Carrie tried to