LANA STYLES
Harry and I have been married for exactly two months today, and although nothing has really changed apart for our symbolic jewelry and my legal last name, everything feels different. Truth be told, I felt different the morning we woke up on our honeymoon in Oslo, which was a dream in and of itself. I guess it just feels amazing to reach a milestone that I've always wanted but never saw as guaranteed.
Maybe it's cliche, but there's also just something about saying the word husband. When I was at Whole Foods last week, I couldn't find an ingredient on the list Harry made for me. I asked one of the shelf stockers and she pointed me in the right direction, after which I laughed and told her that my husband is a chef. That was the first time I said that word to a stranger when referring to my actual husband, and it made me feel so happy, so adult.
I also feel different now that I know I'm a wife. Harry wouldn't dare impose gender roles on me and force me to feel like I have to be some kind of traditional 50s housewife, but I feel responsible to care for him and our children in a different way from before. I want to have dinner made every evening when he comes home from work and I want to do the grocery shopping and tidy up the house to make sure my husband can come home to a clean space after a long day of working to provide for me and our family.
And Harry has started pulling his weight in different ways. Similarly to his arrangement with Allison before, he makes sure that he's home for dinner and bedtime with the kids twice a week at the very least. The restaurant is still closed on Sundays to make sure that he and his team get one full day a week to spend with their own families. On the days he's home, I hardly have to lift a finger. He insists on holding Mason to keep him happy, and he'll let Jane do his makeup to keep her entertained. We'll have movie nights and make-your-own-pizza nights, and we'll have sleepovers on the couch. So yeah, I'd say married life very much is a dream.
The doorbell rings, pulling me from my thoughts and concentration from the packages on the dining room table. I stand to cross the living room and open the door for Jackie in a pair of Levi cutoff shorts and a ribbed white tank top. She has a bottle of wine, which she said she would bring to dinner with Harry and me tonight.
"Hey, come on in," I step aside and she moves quickly to cross the threshold.
"This heat is fucking ridiculous," she holds the wine out to me. "This is boiled now."
"I know, it's crazy," I laugh and take the bottle by the neck to put in the fridge.
"Where's my baby?" She gasps as she spots Mason in his pack and play on the living room floor. "Jane's with Allison, yeah?"
"Yeah–oh, that reminds me," I sit back on my chair at the table while she picks up Mason to walk him over to me. "She's moving in with Jameson just like they talked about a while ago."
"Oh! That's exciting, right?"
"I think so, yeah," my smile is genuine. I'm the suckiest sucker for love ever since getting married as well. "I hope he's the one."
"That'd be nice," she agrees, letting Mason put his fingers to her mouth. "He seems like a good guy."
"Yeah, I think so too," I finish sealing the package I was working on before I needed to get the door.
"So, how is this whole gig going?" Jackie smirks, dodging Mason's curious wandering hand on her face.
"It's going really well," I smile at the stack of packages on my left. "Custom baby clothes. Who knew?"
"That's every Upper East, Upper West, and Tribeca mom who wants their babies dressed in something cooler than all the other babies."
I laugh at the image, but she's right. The majority of my clients are socialites in the city, and a couple of Real Housewives. The business really blew up shortly after Harry and I got back from our honeymoon and it's been growing ever since. Once Jane is back in school after summer vacation is over, I think it'll be easier to keep up with.
