She's everything I hate. She's loud, she hates silence, is terrified of dogs, and she's expensive. But I don't hate her- how could I? She makes me laugh, and I think I would genuinely kill if it put a smile on her face. She's pushy, and whiny, and dramatic, and I can't say no to her. SHe could do whatever she wanted to me, and I'd just let her. That's why I agreed to marry her, actually. We didn't really have a conversation about marriage, so much as she paused us having sex to tell me that I should be planning a proposal.

Now, we're at the only bakery in town, sampling cakes. We're not doing anything through the church, or doing anything the traditional way. She wanted a big wedding, but didn't force me into it. She knows every damn person in this place, and I talk to about maybe six people, tops. The only people that will be there are me, her, the officiant, and her sister. It broke her heart to not have her parents at our wedding, but her dad's the pastor. He says that as long as one of his daughters is marrying some rice-eating shitag of a woman like me, he won't be speaking to her. That's a direct quote, by the way.

She tries to hide it from me, but I can see how the sadness refuses to leave her eyes. She was so close with her family, but they consider me to dirty for her. I offered that we could break up, but she cried so hard she threw up because she thought I wanted to leave her. So here we are, tasting cakes, and she hasn't found a single one she likes. I truly don't care- as long as I'm marrying my woman, I don't care. I try a bite of what I'm told is a coconut cake, and I watch her beautiful face pinch. She hates coconut. I know she wanted her mother's Tres Leches cake, and that nothing the baker brings out will compare.

I push the plate with the slice away from us with a shake of my head, and my arm tightens around her shoulders. She's the youngest from a close-knit family- she's watched her family show up and her mother make Tres Leches cake for every one of her siblings except her. I'm a latchkey kid and an only child, I never felt connection like that. I rub her shoulder with me thumb, and take a forkful of a peaches-and-cream-inspired cake. She loves peaches. I bring it to her lips, and she turns her head away from me. I sigh, and take the bite instead. It's too rich for my tastes, my face pinches into a frown.

Next I offer her a forkful of something with pistachios, and she takes a tentative bite. I smile hopefully, and she smiles back. It doesn't reach her eyes, but she's trying her best. She wipes her tongue off on her napkin, trying to be discreet. I lean in for a kiss, but she moves last second so it ends up on the corner of her lips. I don't want my bride to be so miserable, but I don't know how to help. I've tried everything that usually cheers me up- how do I make my girl smile again?