Read the f*ing manual

“The manual didn’t mention that,” she said.

“No, it didn’t.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, let’s go to the living room. I’ll make popcorn and we can discuss what’s going to happen at wedding number eighteen.”

“Eighteen?”

“I’ve lost count.”

“Yeah, so have I.”

“You’d think they’d notice us already. I’m sure they know who we are by now. If they don’t, then we’ll go to the wedding dressed as aliens. That should get some attention.”

He laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”

She followed him into the living room, her eyes scanning the walls. They weren’t exactly decorated, but there were a bunch of family photos. There were pictures of him, pictures of his parents, pictures of his grandparents, pictures of his cousins and even pictures of his aunts and uncles. She was surprised that he had so many family photos and she wondered if his family was as close as hers was.

“They always move too fast,” she said, pointing to a picture of his grandparents with their great-grandchildren.

“Yeah, time does that.”

“I don’t want that.”

“No, you don’t.”

“But I do want kids.”

“What?” Brody asked.

“We’re going to have kids.”

Neither one of them looked very happy about this revelation.

“We are?” Brody asked.

“We are,” Lily said. “And they’re going to be beautiful.”

“They’ll be the most beautiful children in the world,” Brody said automatically.

“And they’re going to have your eyes.”

“They’re going to have your eyes,” he said.

“And my hair.”

“And my hair.”

“And my nose.”

“And my nose.”

“Do you have a preference for boys or girls?”

“Boys,” he answered.

“Will there be a lot of them?”

“I hope so.”

“I want four,” Lily said, drawing a number in the air.

“Let’s start with one,” Brody said. “If we have four, I might go insane.”

She grinned. “Deal.”

“What about the manual?” Brody asked, pointing to the book in her hand.

“What about it?”

“Shouldn’t we be using that?”

“I think we should.”

“You can start by reading me that section.”

“I’m going to read the entire chapter,” Lily said. “I think we should start from the beginning.”

“Read it,” Brody said.

“You’re going to make fun of me.”

“No, I promise I won’t.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You’re going to read it anyway,” he said.

“Fine.”

She opened the manual and found the beginning of the chapter. She looked up at Brody and he nodded.

“Go.”

She took a deep breath and began to read:

“A wedding night is a special time. It’s the first time that a new husband and wife will be alone together and it’s a time for exploring each other. The wedding night is a time for experimentation. A time for trying new things. There are no rules. There are no expectations.

“It’s also a time to relax. The last few months have been stressful. The wedding planning, the wedding day, it’s all been leading up to this moment. It can be tempting to want to do everything on the wedding night. To try everything. But that’s not what it’s about. The wedding night is about being together.

“There are no rules on the wedding night. You can do whatever you want. You can stay up all night talking. You can make love. You can sleep. You can do whatever you want. The only rule is to enjoy each other’s company.”

“That’s it?” Brody asked.

Lily shrugged. “Basically.”

“So, we can do whatever we want?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” Brody said as he stood up and walked toward her.

“What are you doing?” Lily asked.

“I’m going to enjoy your company,” Brody said.