I Agreed to Be Her Fake Boyfriend for One Night and Now She’s My Wife

“Do you think we’ll still be doing this in 10 years?” Sophia asked. “Coming back here every anniversary?”

“I hope so.”

“What about 20 years? 50?”

I looked around the bar.

“As long as this place is still standing, yeah. I think we will.”

She leaned her head on my shoulder.

“Good. I like our traditions. Even the weird ones.”

“Especially the weird ones.”

2 years after our wedding, Sophia announced she was pregnant. We were sitting at home when she told me, and I immediately suggested we go to the bar to celebrate.

“We’re celebrating at the place where I ambushed you?”

“Where else would we celebrate?”

We went that night. The bartender congratulated us and gave us sparkling cider instead of our usual drinks.

“This place is going to be in your kid’s origin story,” he said. “How do you feel about that?”

“Proud,” Sophia said. “Our kid is going to have the weirdest ‘how did mom and dad meet’ story of anyone in their class.”

When our daughter was born, we named her Grace. Not after anyone in particular, just because we liked it.

But also, Grace felt like the right word for what had happened to us. Grace for Sophia’s impulsive decision. Grace for my willingness to say yes. Grace for everything that followed.

We brought Grace to the bar when she was 3 months old. The bartender took a photo of the three of us sitting in the same spots where Sophia and I had first talked.

“This is going up on the wall,” he said. “You two are officially bar legends.”

When Grace was old enough to ask how we met, we told her the truth. The whole story, nothing left out.

She listened with wide eyes.

“Mommy grabbed a stranger?”

“Mommy grabbed Daddy,” Sophia corrected, “but yes, technically a stranger at the time.”

“That’s silly.”

“It is silly,” I agreed, “but it worked out.”

As Grace grew up, she loved hearing the story. She’d ask us to tell it at bedtime, adding more questions each time.

“What if Daddy said no?”

“Then I would have had to grab someone else.”

“What if nobody said yes?”

“Then I would have had to tell Grandma and Grandpa the truth.”

“Would that have been bad?”

Sophia and I exchanged a look.

“It would have been honest,” I said, “which is usually better than lying, even if it’s scarier.”