The Wrong Bride
My husband, Mark, and I have this thing
where we get a photoshoot done every
anniversary. It’s kind of our tradition.
Ten years, though? That was a big one, so of
course, we went all out.
The girl at the studio was flipping through the
pics on the computer when she suddenly
stops.
“Oh, looks like there’s a few extra ones of
your husband here,” she says, pointing.
I stare at the screen. The man is definitely
Mark. But the woman in the wedding dress?
That’s not me.
- 1.
The studio employee kept scrolling through.
the pictures. Mark, my husband, was there, all
right, but the woman rocking the white dress
wasn’t me.
It was his assistant, Tiffany.
They looked like they belonged together. Like
they were made for each other, the perfect
couple. He’s all mature and handsome, and
she’s this young, gorgeous thing, gazing up at
him with these googly eyes full of adoration.
The owner, Mrs. Peterson, came over to hand
me a framed photo when she spotted the
screen, and her face went white. She
slammed the laptop shut and hissed at the
employee.
<
“You messed up! That guy just looks like Mr.
Harrison, but it’s not him! Mr. and Mrs.
Harrison are our regulars, this is a mistake!
You can kiss your bonus goodbye!”
The employee, knowing she’d screwed up,
didn’t say a word.
I laughed it off, trying to make the situation.
less awkward. “No worries, they look great. I’ll
just grab these for him. I can text him.”
I saved a few of the best ones, the ones that
made them look like they were about to walk
off the set of a rom–com, and sent them to
Mark.
“Hey, I thought these ones of you and Tiffany
turned out the best. Hope you like my pick!”
く
My phone practically blew up the moment I hit
send. Mark was on the line, frantically trying
to explain.
“Honey, you’ve got it all wrong. It was
Tiffany’s birthday, and she said she wanted to
do a photoshoot as a joke for her folks. It’s
totally fake, nothing real! Please, don’t get the
wrong idea!”
Airthday wish to do a bridal shoot with your
boss? Yeah, right.
“So, the big–shot CEO takes time out to help
his assistant fulfill a birthday wish with a fake
wedding shoot, huh? You should win an
award for kindness,” I said dryly, and hung up.
I then clicked over to Tiffany’s social media
page.
Sure enough, there it was, the same wedding photos, with a caption that read, “Can anyone say #powercouple?”
The comments were all:
“OMG, your man is a hottie!”
“You two look amazing together!”
Even people in the know chimed in:
ly you, Tiffany, could get Mr. Harrison to go along with that.”
“You’re definitely his favorite, that’s for sure.”
Tiffany replied to everyone with a simple,
“He’s not my man yet, but stay tuned.”
She was young, full of that youthful
arrogance, that “I’m gonna win” energy. And
if it wasn’t Mark she was after, I would have almost admired her boldness.
I took a deep breath, tapped on her post, liked it, and wrote: “You guys look great! So when’s the big day? Why are you waiting? Is the courthouse too far?”
Mark called again, this time his tone was full
of anger
“Sarah, what the heck? I told you, it’s just a joke! Why do you have to be so petty with her? Do you have any idea how awkward
you’ve made it for her at work?”
“Delete that comment right now, and get your
butt down here to apologize to Tiffany!”
in the background.
“Sarah, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for it to go this far. The photos were just a birthday joke, and I didn’t think you’d care. We’re just doing the usual office banter, I forgot you’re a bit older and maybe don’t get that. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll call the studio and tell them to trash the
photos; I feel terrible.”
Mark was practically shouting now.
“Listen to her! She’s ten years younger than
you and way more mature! She’s crying and apologizing, and you, what are you doing? All
you know is how to stir up drama, you’re just
being a drama queen.
33
I took a deep breath and asked, trying to
keep my cool. “So, I’m the one in the wrong here? My husband takes wedding pictures
with another woman and I’m not allowed to
be upset? I can’t say a thing, right? Maybe you should just marry someone deaf and
mute, that way, they’ll never af and
up to.
Then, I slammed my phone down.
what you’re
