Emma unlocked the door of Carl's condo - their condo - and stepped inside. She slipped off her red heels and lined them up with her other shoes on the mat. Suddenly, someone kissed her on the cheek.
"Hey, babe", Carl said, purposely kicking her shoes so they were all crooked. "That look of terror you get when I surprise you is sexy."
Emma didn't even turn around. "You're home early." She leaned over to straighten out the shoes.
"I had no more appointments, and I couldn't wait to see you again." Emma smiled. Carl was just too sweet. He cared about her. Nobody had ever cared about her before. Nobody except Will.
"We're married now.", Emma replied, although she couldn't believe it herself. They had been married a month now, and the words still didn't seem right. We're married now. "It's not like you're never going to see me again." Carl kicked her shoes out of line again. "And will you stop that!" She bent over to fix them again. Carl stopped her.
"Come on, Em. I'm just trying to help you. You have to learn to live with little messes." Emma turned to face him. He was smiling his sweet, caring smile. It sickened her.
"I'm just straightening them!" She said angrily. "It's not like I'm sanitizing them!" The germs didn't seem to matter as much ever since she started dating Carl, but she still liked things neat. Very neat. Carl lead her to the couch.
"Like I said, I'm just trying to help. What if we had kids? They are a complete mess." He sat on the couch and pulled her near him. She just couldn't stay mad.
"I'm sorry, Carl. I just don't think I'm ready." She snuggled closer to him. He held her, but she could practically read his thoughts. Not ready for what? Messes? Kids? Or just not ready for marriage? "I'm sorry Carl. I do love you."
Carl looked down at her, his eyes full of concern. Then he kissed her. It was a long kiss, full of love and passion. Emma kissed him back. She loved him. "I love him.", she thought to herself. "I really love him. So why does it feel so different from loving Will?". Carl placed a hand on Emma's blouse and undid a button. "Oh!", Emma cried, not from happiness, but from surprise.
"Is something wrong?", Carl asked, pulling away.
"No,", Emma shook her head furiously. Nothing was wrong. This was her husband! "I'm just...I'm not ready yet." She looked down, to embarrassed to face Carl. "I'll go...I'll go clean the kitchen, okay?" She quickly got up, needing to avoid the unasked question lingering in the air. Will you ever be ready?
On her way to the kitchen, she noticed the shoes were still knocked astray. She immediately fixed them, not wanting anything else to be wrong in her out-of-control life. Then she sanitized them.