Married By Mistake

also one from Brodie-Ann, and several from people who were concerned her wedding might make Casey unavailable to help them. People like the church choir director (did the wedding mean she wouldn’t be singing her solo this Sunday?) and the head of the Parkvale Children’s Trust (Casey was still okay to bake two cakes and a batch of cookies for next week’s open day, wasn’t she?).
    No and no. She couldn’t help smiling. She’d figured getting married would give her the perfect out, but not like this. Still, she wouldn’t call anyone back just yet. Not until she and Adam had talked. His phone rang again, and she sighed. Whenever that might be. She realized she hadn’t touched her food yet, and took a mouthful of yogurt-smothered melon.
    Then her own phone rang, chirping “You Are My Sunshine.” By the time she’d convinced the Parkvale librarian she wasn’t available to fill in during children’s story hour that afternoon, Adam was off the phone and regarding her quizzically.
    “Did your phone just play ‘You Are My Sunshine’?” he asked.
    “Uh-huh. It’s a personalized ring tone. It’s affirming.”
    He laughed, until the dignified raising of her eyebrows told him she was serious.
    “Affirmations are good for your self-esteem,” she told him. “Every time my phone tells me I’m its sunshine, it makes me feel good.” Though at this precise moment it didn’t seem to be working. Still, she gave Adam a sunny smile as she popped another piece of melon into her mouth.
    “You really believe that?”
    She nodded. “You have to find an affirmation that works for you, of course. ‘You Are My Sunshine’ gives me confidence.” Casey thought about that furrow that had made a permanent home in Adam’s brow. “Whereas you might want to look in your mirror each morning and tell yourself you won’t get stressed today.”
    He frowned, and the furrow deepened. “I hope you didn’t pay good money to learn that psychobabble.”
    “That comes direct from my community college lecturer,” she protested.
    “I’ll bet he didn’t tell you to get affirmation from your cell phone.”
    “No, she didn’t. I’m extrapolating.”
    Adam tackled his bacon and eggs, which must surely be cold after all those phone calls, with renewed energy. “So why are you studying psychology? To overcome childhood trauma?”
    “I’m not in therapy,” she said with exaggerated patience. “I study psychology because it helps with characterization in my writing.” Her phone warbled again and she looked at the display. “It’s my dad.”
    Her father took a moment to remind her he loved her, then launched into a monologue about how much her family needed her and how she’d better sort out this confusion and get back home as soon as possible. He ended with a plaintive query: “How am I supposed to get to physical therapy on Tuesday?”
    Call a cab. Don’t you think I have more on my mind right now? But she’d taught her father she would always be there when he needed her, so how could she blame him? She was saved from answering by a beep on the line.
    “Just a moment, Dad, I have another call.” She switched to the other line.
    Her sister. Casey straightened in her seat. “Yes, Karen, I did just get married. No, I’m not crazy—” she hoped that wasn’t a lie “—and no, I’m not coming back to Parkvale.” She hoped that wasn’t a lie, either. “I’d like you and Dad to— Hello?”
    When she got back to the other line, her father wasn’t there.
    “Bad connection,” she explained to Adam. She put her phone on the gilded, glass-topped table between them and looked hard at her plate so he wouldn’t see the hurt she knew must show in her face. “Now that we’re both free—”
    “Free being a relative term,” he interrupted. “We’re still married.”
    “—let’s have that chat you mentioned.” Her phone rang again, but after a glance at the display she ignored it.
    “You could always turn that thing off,” Adam said. His own phone rang, and he answered it. Which at least gave Casey a chance to regain her fighting spirit.
    “You were saying?” she asked sweetly, when he’d finished.
    He frowned. “I’m expecting a call from Sam. I don’t want to miss it.”
    “And I need to talk to my family,” she said. “Even though I don’t know what to tell them.”
    There was a moment’s silence. Then Casey’s phone chirped “You Are My Sunshine” again.
    “Karen, please, honey, don’t