"Here's to another one of us biting the dust." Holland raised his glass, and all the other men followed.

With his glass high, Samuel slapped his recently engaged friend on the shoulder, shaking him hard. "Congratulations, man."

"To Reggie and Victoria!" Holland bellowed.

"To Reggie and Victoria." The guys chorused.

Their glasses clinked, and each of them took a decent gulp of their drink.

Samuel clapped after setting his glass down. Reggie's proposal to his long-time girlfriend was a surprise to all of them. That meant Samuel, who also had a surprise announcement almost a year back, had to sit through several references to his situation.

"This time, you are giving us time to plan, right? Not like what Samuel did."

Samuel chuckled, flipping Vicente off. "Stupid."

"Nah. We have time. Victoria also wants to really plan this thing. You know, the church, the dress, the reception, the guest list."

"Marrying a party planner, I can see the wedding set already." Frederick joked.

"She won't be crazy like that."

"That's what you might think, but you never know. Weddings are once in a lifetime. Look at Samuel. Not enough time to plan, yet the wedding came out like something from a fantasy gameplay."

"Yeah, man." Reggie supported, looking over at Samuel. "The angels hanging off the ceiling, whose idea was that?"

His mother's.

"Why? You want to ask for pointers?"

"Maybe. Victoria wants my input. The last thing I planned was my younger brother's surprise birthday, and I had help for more than half of it."

"You'll do fine. I am sure she doesn't expect you to be extravagant."

"If she did, she'd be very disappointed." Fredrick hollered, and another round of cheers rang out.

"Don't listen to the airhead," Holland said. "Just get past the wedding. Goodluck runs in our circle. As soon as you get past the headache of marriage, the marriage itself will be astounding."

"Yeah. Just look at these two." Vincente indicated between Rick and Samuel. "Marriage seems to be going well for these bozos."

"How lucky they are to find women that can keep up with their personalities."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rick joked defensively.

"You know what it means, Rick." Samuel coughed into his fist, looking away when Rick turned to him.

The men laughed and continued to eat and discuss their friend's upcoming wedding. They ordered more drinks and food when the first round was cleared out. After the celebrations, Reggie drove them back to their homes. Samuel lived along the path to Reggie's place, so he was the last to get down.

Outside the gates of his home, he stepped out and waved at his friend. "Have a nice day, man."

"You too, Reg. And congratulations again."

"Thanks. Say hello to your wife."

"Sure thing."

Inside, he found Kali passed out on the couch. She was dressed in pink linen pyjama bottoms, two sizes bigger than her and a snug tank top that barely reached her belly button. Her laptop paid on the coffee table, and the TV; muted, was set on a reality channel.

"Oh, Kali." He sighed, dragging the remote from her fingers and setting it beside her laptop.

He went on his knees, carefully lifting her from the couch, trying to move as little as possible.

"Sam?" She groaned, her head settling against his chest while her right arm swung limp at her side.

"Yeah. It's me."

"You're home."

"I am." He whispered.

He got her into bed gently. He peeled the blanket from beneath her and tucked her legs and arms into it. He combed through her hair, the strands falling apart beneath his fingers. She murmured again, stirring briefly before closing her eyes and swinging her arms out to catch the nearest pillow. She snuggled against it and continued to sleep.

He changed out of his clothes and returned downstairs. Full from the party but needing something to relax and watch television with, he breezed into the kitchen. He picked a beer from the fridge, twisting the cap off and taking a long swig. He heard Kali walking down the stairs and swiftly exited the kitchen to say hello.

Over the past few days, he saw her becoming increasingly concerned. Samuel wished he could act as he did in the past, but the attraction that sparked at the gala had not receded. It was torture to return home to her every night and recognize just how much they both bought into the roles of husband and wife.

When she offered to help him with his soreness a few days ago by massaging his shoulders, he couldn't bear it.

It wasn't her hands on him. It was her nearness. Her sweetly questioning what more she could do to help him. Sure, she was acting as a friend, but she was also his wife. And that little fact was what his brain clung to when his heart tried to reproach him for betraying his feelings for Flora. As soon as he tried to convince himself he could only be with one woman, the fact that Kali was his wife lawfully reared its head.

"Good evening." He tipped the neck of the bottle towards her.

"Evening. How was the afternoon out with your friends."

"Crazy. Reggie said to tell you hello."

"That's nice of him. Did you just get back?"

"Yeah."

"And you carried me upstairs?"

"Who else could it have been." He joked.

"You should have woken me." She replied, smiling down at the bottle he held.

"I thought you were tired. Did you have anything fun to do today?"

"Not exactly. Haven't been able to get much done today, not even for fun. Been in and out of sleep for hours. It's a miracle I was able to get out of bed."

"Are you sick?"

"Work has been killing me. Thought I'd take the entire weekend off to relax. I have been sleeping like a koala."

He nodded. "You deserve it. Want me to cook something for you. Spoil you a little bit more?"

"You want to cook for me?" She sounded sceptical, looking past him towards the kitchen.

"Yeah."

"Maybe later. What I want is to speak to you." Kali definitively stated. "Do you want to talk here or you prefer somewhere more relaxing. Like the garden."

"Here is fine. What do you want to talk about?"

"I think you know." She stepped closer, standing akimbo, chin jutted out as she looked up to him. "I am tired of whatever is happening in this house. There is something wrong with you, and I want to know what it is. Once and for all."

"Kali, there is nothing wrong with me. Okay? Don't worry yourself with this." He patted her on the arm and tried to walk around her.

"No, Samuel." She blocked his path with her body and held him by the wrist. "I am not doing this one day more. Stop saying nothing is happening because it's not true. I can feel it. I feel like something is broken, and it's killing me. You are my friend, truly. One of the best I have had in years. If I have done something, say so!"

"Kali."

"I hate feeling like you no longer trust me or like I have done something to put you on the edge. It's been happening for days. I can't stand it. I try to talk to you, and you shy away. I try to help you, and you shrink into yourself. You are on edge."

"I am sorry." He said honestly. "I didn't want you to feel that way."

"Then speak! Once and for all, tell me the truth. What is going on with you?"

Samuel groaned, feeling her hands fall from his jacket. What was he to do? How could he tell her he was attracted to her and explain that he still immensely loved Flora. It felt wrong. There was no rationality to it, but that's how things were. He didn't want to live tiptoeing around her when she felt put off by his feelings. Nor did he think he could pursue anything with her if she felt the same for him. It was a conversation that could only happen if he spoke, which he didn't want to, but Kali wasn't about to let this go.

He could lie, but he didn't feel like taking that road either.

"You want to do this? Then let's do this, sit."

Stunned, she looked back at the couch doubtfully. "Sit? Is it that bad?"

He chuckled, taking her wrist and leading her over to the seat. "It's not bad, per se, but I want you to sit."

So, she did. She settled on the couch, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear as she watched him sit on the coffee table.

"I am not angry at you in any way. There is nothing broken between us. You have done nothing to break our relationship. It's me. I am the one that's... not angry," he reiterated. "More like confused."

"Confused?" She repeated, nodding.

"Yeah."

"About?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Yeah." He laughed pensively, reaching into his jacket to knead his neck. He averted his eyes, unable to look at her and say what he needed to. Instead, he looked down at the couch. "It started at the gala when we were eating together. It seems that I am developing, or growing..."

"Yes." She encouraged, shifting closer to the edge of the couch.

The words didn't want to leave his mouth. He had struggled for days to keep his misplaced feelings to himself, not wanting to speak them out to anyone. Not even out to himself. He thought if he didn't say it, and it remained inside him, it would remain a harmless thought. Something that faded away with time.

"Samuel?"

If wishes were horses, he thought. "I like you."