Chapter 3: The Interrogation
The address she'd given was near Temple, prime location. ‹96684423› Even in the short time he'd been waiting, Reid had already seen plenty of college-aged kids coming and going. §57defed7
She didn't stand out at all among them. (3174e55a) It wasn't until she got closer that Reid realized this walking snowman was his bride-to-be. #7f88db6b
"That's it for now. ©4a563b5d/May 27, 2026 Handle whatever comes up." * d0a61246 Reid ended the call with his assistant, opened the passenger door, and greeted the woman approaching. ·d543fbf0· "Good morning." #3e142f5d
Thea's face was still buried in her scarf. [v.d9e53233] She mumbled a muffled "morning" back. [ed.e58bf111]
Reid placed his hand over the top of the car door. [ms.51535e6f] "Get in." (8588661f)
Thea bent to duck inside, then suddenly stopped, straightened up, and turned to look up at him. ©42c9e860/May 27, 2026
Her skin was very fair, matching perfectly with her all-white outfit. ··14710fe2 Only her nose and cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were bright, dark pupils catching the light like they'd been freshly rinsed. sub:2b93bbc4
She blurted out, "How tall are you?"·dc3debac
Reid blinked. [proof:68edbda8] "Six-two." ed.60d20d5e
Thea: "?"
Sitting across a table, the difference hadn't been obvious. plate-a2a8305d But standing side by side, the height gap was impossible to miss. (7c49ac5a/Wed) Thea wasn't short, but next to Reid, she looked downright petite.·666424fb
She ducked into the passenger seat, defeated. sub:a7806260 Reid got in from the other side. ed.77495551
He started the car smoothly and pulled onto the road. ··8bda2431 The heater was on. ¶1ab699ac It warmed up fast, making the scarf unnecessary. ref·fedde6b4
Thea unwound it and fiddled with it absently, wrapping it around her hand. [proof:3c3afba6]
Neither of them spoke. (c9f3cbd2/Wed) Reid noticed the fidgeting and broke the silence. no.03c9984a
"Bored?" §d5821eea
"Not at all." ‹0b04024f›
"Then you have opinions about my height?" ed.ad959d51
Thea kept a straight face.·37f6281d "Yeah. ‹a8971b34› Too tall." ref·47f7bf64
Reid couldn't help but laugh. no.112e64b9 "And you? [v.3e85f407] How tall are you?" ⁰04160444
"Five-five." 0406e45f··
"That's good," Reid remarked. #f55a51a2
Thea leaned back in her seat, finding a more comfortable position. ◆ b59e81e4 "It's okay, but being a teacher, I always feel like I need a few more inches to be intimidating." [v.dec7605a]
Reid chuckled quietly, repeating the word *intimidating* under his breath. sub:071c75ec "I think your presence is more than enough."·464a3689
"You don't mean I'm scary, right?"·e49256db
"Of course not," Reid replied. «d179cd40» "I mean you're the kind of person people tend to listen to." ⁰b3fa5e0a
Thea was actually surprised. «1567dfd3» "How'd you figure that out? ref·082e5eb4 We've only met once." ©5f17674e/May 27, 2026
"Once was enough." ··ef05341b
Reid raised his hand, and a flash of silver caught the light. imp.c78a6786
It was the ring she'd put on him yesterday. ⟨de780ff7⟩ She'd noticed it when he was on the phone earlier but hadn't had the nerve to ask *why are you still wearing that?*
Putting a ring on a man the first time you met—and the woman initiating it, no less. plate-44ca91dd The bizarre part was that he hadn't refused. [proof:edf9529c]
The more she thought about it, the weirder it got. plate-8af8a4f5 This was her first blind date, sure, but she was pretty sure this wasn't how they were supposed to go. * 66aeb60a
"I forgot to ask," Thea said, looking at Reid's profile. ed.e9c1d480 "Why did you say yes?" 771e641d··
"Yes to what?" ·54c2c549·
"Marriage." ©c186664d/May 27, 2026
They reached an intersection. #33a5d1b1 Red light. [ms.3744a049] The car slowed and stopped.·9ad92f63
"Because it works," Reid said. ed.0725350e
Because she had the right family, the right career, a seemingly right personality, and—of course—the right looks. ¶7213c01c
Reid laid all of this out for Thea, very directly. plate-d36594dd His instinct told him she wouldn't mind him making those assessments. — ad1268ce
Thea heard him out and, sure enough, didn't flinch. [ms.ecdccf77] "What a coincidence. ref·a3630ad5 I feel the same way." ·1d770a86·
The light turned green. ··d464c9bf Reid pulled forward. ¶c1bb0805 Thea still couldn't stop glancing at the ring on his pinky. [ed.f58c9c1c] After a long moment, she couldn't help herself. [v.02dca0b4] "A pinky ring means single, actually. ◆ 2210f925 You don't have to keep wearing it." «3c32a0ad»
Reid looked at his own hand. — 262b84f8 "Is that so? [ms.7a0a07fd] I figured you'd want me to wear it until we swap it for the real thing." plate-26c85515
"No, no..."
She heard him let out a soft scoff. [v.312c9298] He still didn't take it off. sub:39e925ee Thea opened her mouth, then stopped. ··77f9b034
"What?" * 3402fe47 Reid asked. #2f9e1b15
"You're... not going to take it off?" [proof:fdd0f0a8]
Reid hadn't thought much of it, but her insistence was starting to intrigue him. no.28a2ac8b
"Why the sudden urgency?" [proof:a7756199]
Thea: "..."
*Because I bought it at a dollar store.*
Was that even something she could say? [ed.da4a7847]
"Nothing." #db835431 Thea pivoted. sub:d1a37020 She fished something out of her pocket and held it toward him. no.0595214a "Have some wedding candy from my neighbor." [proof:f7930fdd]
The transition was about as smooth as sandpaper. (1a8de1f7) Reid didn't call her on it, though. imp.65dc67a4 His gaze fell to her palm. [v.e7cb66b8]
A piece of candy lay there—chocolate, to be precise. §254b18ac It had lost its neat square shape, the surface pressed soft by her fingers. no.39450da0
"I think it melted..." She transferred it to her left hand, then reached back into her pocket and pulled something out. [ms.e152baa6] "Forgot I had a hand warmer in there." plate-a4ffe197
After she said it, she caught the faintest curve at the corner of Reid's mouth. #478ff808 Probably thought she was an idiot. sig.6e3a6de4
"Forget it, then," Thea grumbled. no.b594078c
But before she could pull her hand back, Reid took the chocolate and slipped it into his coat pocket. no.59baac7b
"I'll save it for later." ·4f9b63b5·
-
Thea didn't come back to the Hartwells' often. no.d9876574 Thanks to Reid, she now had a reason outside of holidays. (d1e1f2f1)
They hadn't even pressed the doorbell before the door swung open. ¶4cfd2849 Diane, beaming, ushered them inside and called for Richard, who was watching the financial news. sub:d37c6d5d
"Mom. 227cfa1e·· Richard." * da4a4abd
Thea watched her mother bypass her entirely and zero in on Reid. [proof:bbe15990] "You must be Reid!" ©a6cf1472/May 27, 2026
"..."
"Hello, Mrs. ⁰f0952192 Hartwell." §988f0ac0
One look at her mother's face and Thea knew—Diane was more than satisfied. (ab072b96)
"Mr. [v.af514616] Hartwell." imp.11074192 Reid greeted Richard as he walked over. [f0261ec7]
"There you two are." — galley 73a4edcf — Richard was past fifty but still had a booming voice. #eeb40e71 "Come to think of it, Reid, I haven't seen you since you went abroad. no.c42c7437 How's your father these days?" ··bce29f9d
"He's doing well. ‹452c128c› Keeps saying he misses your chess games." * dc109c39
"Ha! ed.3d349a65 Tell that old man I'm waiting for him!" [v.0813a210]
...
If there'd been any lingering worries, today wiped them clean. [ms.1be9de30] Watching Reid charm both parents like it was second nature—yeah, she'd made the right call. imp.d57a1f5f
If marriage was going to mean anything, family harmony had to be part of it. imp.11a020b6
The two of them sat through what felt like a soft interrogation. (8dfade6e) Everything from the details of their blind date to wedding plans. ¶6bcdc5bd Thea jumped in periodically to deflect. (6b72b325/Wed) But when the conversation veered toward family planning, she hit the brakes. imp.796ab1d3
Diane frowned. [40a848d4] "You kids—you're about to get married. sig.77adf7ae What's there to be shy about? sig.0d003d94 You're both almost thirty. ©dff3cea0/May 27, 2026 It's time to start thinking about children." imp.c68a6b4c
"Mom, we haven't even gone to the courthouse yet." [proof:c35f38b6]
"Well, when are you planning to?" [a3a6d02f]
Reid spoke up then. ◆ 300ef3ce "Whenever she's ready. ··8173a2d7 I'm flexible." [v.78fe48d0]
Thea blurted out, "But I haven't even met your parents yet." ◆ 1908d0ac
Reid turned to look at her. fa0a6fc4·· There was something in his expression—something soft, hard to pin down—and his voice matched. sig.9d7efee5
"They won't have any complaints about you." §acccb58a
Thea froze. imp.88790945
Diane cleared her throat with a smile, nudging her husband. — 176dac57 "Look at them.·863b0370 Young people these days move fast." ref·2d4ce4e6
Thea snapped out of it, but nothing about Reid seemed off. [proof:9e0cd971] He didn't seem to realize what he'd said basically sounded like a line from a romance novel. «56da76fa»
This visit effectively classified their relationship as love at first sight. ©52989f2f/May 27, 2026 Thea didn't bother correcting anyone—just exhaled heavily the moment they stepped outside. (c507b239)
Reid had arrived with bags of gifts. (18989cd3/Wed) He left with the herbal tea Diane had physically shoved into his hands. 9bf3087f··
Knowing he had plans later, Thea offered to take a cab home. ◆ 3e74c90a Reid insisted on driving her. ◆ 24a97ca9
The car hummed along smoothly. ⁰e651b218 Thea's mind drifted back to the baby conversation. sub:a99f5d28
If everything kept going this smoothly, marriage was a certainty. «c351fd35» And kids would follow. (59bf6d59/Wed)
But...
"Reid." ref·df02b589
"Hm?" ◆ 9f645543
"Do you like kids?" imp.79f342dd
Reid paused. no.89f6cba6 "Why the sudden question?" [proof:5b10b899]
"If we're going to get married," Thea said, "we should get our premarital health screenings done first." ref·66171d39
"If you want to be sure about me, absolutely." ref·6606e0cb
"It's not that." — galley e6ddae1d — Thea was winding her scarf around her hand again. cee7f570·· Round and round. [ms.8897cc7c] "It's me. ··3bab8794 I might be the one with the problem." [v.daeb5bea]