Surprise

Autumn was in a bad mood. And that wasn't all. The worst part was she didn't know why she felt this way. The three women-Nora, Evana and Isabella had come to visit were extremely friendly to her, Arabelle, and Gabe. Even though they had shown up without warning, they brought lots of food and gifts for Arabelle, much to Arabelle's delight and 'to not be a bother' to her. The thing she had feared—that they would be snooty and stuck-up—had not happened. There had been an odd moment when Arabelle had introduced herself but she hadn't been able to make that out.

Yet, she still felt unhappy with them. As she put away the dinnerware that Gabe and Isabella had washed and dried, she realized she felt envious of the easy camaraderie these women shared with Gabe. It was a sobering realization to understand that while she had started to consider her husband as her friend, she was not his only friend. All his sisters-in-law were his friends too.