My cousin Mia was a career-driven woman, who told me that she didn’t want to settle down or be tied up in a marriage. Her circle of friends consisted of those who are married or have become moms. They have tried to matchmake her with dozens of men, but to no avail.
Then one day I heard from my aunt that she was getting married. Not just that, she was going to be a second wife!
The proposal
Having looked up to her all my life, I reached out wanting to know what made her change her mind.
Mia is a no-nonsense lawyer, the go-getter who always has her eyes on her goals. She’s often seen as a cutthroat lady though, especially when dealing with people and her cases.
But the truth is, she has a soft heart. She’s fiercely protective of her loved ones, and takes great care of her aging parents. I think they’re the real reason why she refused to let a man or anyone in her life – she wanted to be by her parents’ sides always.
Here’s another side which most people don’t get to see of her (and also another reason why I look up to her) – Mia volunteers at a school for special needs children.
She often spends her time there whenever she can, helping the teachers out and being part of the school committee. She’s like a fairy godmother to the kids, always bringing toys and gifts.
Over the years, Mia befriended many parents at the school. Among them was Sarah, the mother of Zaki, an autistic boy. They got on well, and the boy adored Mia to bits. According to Sarah, that rarely happens with anyone outside their family.
Sarah often invites Mia over to their house, as Zaki is most comfortable being home. Her husband, Zack, is glad that Sarah has a friend whom she can trust with their son.
He’s comfortable with having Mia around the house too, as they’d often exchange opinions about everything. It turns out Mia and Zack had a lot of things in common, such as their love for books, running and hiking.
It got to a point where Mia sometimes babysat for the couple as well, allowing them to have the much needed breaks and date nights.
Love that comes in threes
As time passed, Mia, Sarah, and Zack got quite close, even sometimes going out as a family. One fine day, Sarah and Zack asked Mia to come over for a chat.
Mia told me that she didn’t suspect anything, and she thought it was just one of those days where Zaki was having his usual tantrums and they needed her help.
“Imagine my shock when Sarah proposed to me, asking for my hand in marriage on behalf of Zack and Zaki!” she shrieked.
Not surprisingly, Mia was taken aback, as she never thought of Zack in a romantic way, or ever thought of becoming a second wife! And for Sarah to propose? It was just ridiculous!
Mia later confessed that she never dreamt of being a wife. Period.
Sarah was adamant – pleading to her that she’d rather Zack has someone like Mia than anyone else and for their boy to be in safe hands if she’s gone. She made sure Mia understood that their marriage was still intact and solid, that she just wanted all of them to be together.
Sarah even worked out the sleeping arrangements, family holidays and other stuff too! She assured Mia that she won’t get jealous or envious. All she wanted was for Mia to join their unit.
Zack didn’t say much though. He kept nodding his head and agreeing to whatever Sarah was saying. “For a guy who always has an opinion on almost everything, he was tongue-tied that day,” Mia said.
He assured her that it was a mutual proposal. Though he mulled over it for quite some time, Zack said he finally agreed to the idea for the sake of their son, and that it’s really rare to find a gem like Mia for Zaki. Smooth.
Well, not for Mia.
She asked for some time to think the proposal over. It seemed ludicrous, sharing a woman’s husband. It wasn’t that she wasn’t fond of them both, but the thought of taking turns to sleep with Zack, wondering where his tongue and hands have been to the night before, thinking what happened between the sheets when she’s not with him and so forth just bothered her tremendously.
“Was I over-thinking stuff?”, she asked. Heck no! How on earth could someone sleep at night knowing their other half is doing all those stuff with another? Of course the thoughts would disturb her!
So Mia busied herself at work, and was spending less hours at the school. But Sarah refused to back down and kept persuading Mia to join their family.
Confused and unsure what to do – which irritated her too since she was used to decisive, Mia consulted her parents.
Surprisingly, they didn’t have any objections to it. All they wanted was for her to be happy and to have someone take care of her.
Well, in this case, make that 2.
Of course, being the lawyer that she is, she first made sure that everything was legally covered and that everybody will get their fair share of everything.
Not really the head-over-heels kind of love
Mia finally gave in to Sarah’s idea when she realised that the couple were sincere and genuine people. Plus, she has grown too fond of Zaki, and the boy had grown attached to her too.
She didn’t bother with any stigma of being the second wife. Her wedding, due at the end of the year would be a small do, not because she wants to hide anything, but because she’s a private person.
And stingy too, in fact.
“All I know is that I love Zaki to bits, and am sure that pretty soon, I’ll grow to love Zack, and Sarah too,” she said.
For more articles by Nazmie, read I Fell for My Boyfriend’s Best Friend but Lost to the ‘Bro Code’, and I Was with My Wife While She Gave Birth, and It Was Surreal – a Husband’s Thoughts.
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