揑抦 telling Mom and Dad you called them strange.?
揧ou know what I meant,?I grumble.
揘o, I get it. It makes sense and that way I won抰 have to take too much extra time off work.?
揑抣l talk to them about it, and we can make plans.?
揅ool. Talk to you later.?He ends the call and I slide my phone back in my pocket.
When I come back from my phone call, Salem stands outside the closet, double checking her bridesmaid抯 dress.
揥hat抯 wrong??
My stuff is already packed and by the front door along with a tux since apparently this wedding is black tie. Lauren knows a guy, so I was able to get one custom fitted. It cost a pretty penny, but I wasn抰 about to not do what the bride asked.
揑t抯 just this stupid cast is going to stick out like a sore thumb.?She pouts, holding up her arm.
揑抦 sorry, babe. But it抯 on for a few more weeks. There抯 nothing we can do about it.?
She sighs. 揑 know, and Lauren says it抯 no big deal, but I know it抯 going to stick out in photos.?
揑 think Lauren would rather you be alive and in a cast, than worry about how it抯 going to look in photos.?
揧ou抮e right,?she agrees. 揑t抯 probably me that it bothers the most anyway. Showers are awkward and it itches.?
揑t抣l be off before you know it. Do you have everything you need??
She does one last check of her bag and nods. 揕et抯 go.?
The train ride is easy enough, and when we get off Lauren is waiting to pick us up. She hugs Salem, dissolving into a spiel about wedding details that sounds like gibberish to me.
She lets Salem go and surprises me when she opens her arms to me. 揅ome on, neither of us is going to melt from a hug. Besides, Salem is like my sister, which means you抮e practically like my brother-in-law.?I accept her hug, not at all surprised when she whispers, 揟he threat still stands.?
揧eah, yeah, I know. You抣l slit my throat. Pretty bloody if you ask me.?
She lets me go, and turns back to Salem, launching back into wedding talk like she didn抰 just threaten to kill me.
Women are hostile梐t least Lauren is. I wouldn抰 want to cross her. I have a feeling she knows how to hide a body and get away with it.
She leads us out to the parking lot and to a waiting SUV. We all climb in the back since there抯 a driver.
揂nthony insisted,?Lauren explains of the driver. 揌e was worried about my road rage if I drove.?
Salem laughs, her eyes shining in amusement. 揟he man just knows you suck at driving.?
揇o not.?She sticks her tongue out. 揑抦 an excellent driver.?
揟ell that to your twenty plus speeding tickets.?
揑t抯 not that many. You抮e exaggerating.?
The girls talk the entire way from the train station to her fianc閽s parent抯 place. That抯 where we抣l be staying since supposedly the place is huge.
We pull up to a gate that slowly opens to reveal?
Fuck, she wasn抰 lying. This place isn抰 just huge, it抯 a whole fucking compound.
We抮e let out at the front of the house, with the driver grabbing our bags.
揟he guest house is this way,?Lauren says, motioning with her hand for us to follow.
Salem shoots me a look, thinking the same thing I am, that there抯 a whole separate house for guests?
揟his is where you all will be staying.?Lauren lets us into a cottage-like building on the property. 揜ehearsal dinner is at six o?clock out back. Don抰 be late. I抣l leave you two to it for now.?She waves over her shoulder, taking a pathway toward the main house.
揟his place is insane.?Salem spins around in a circle, taking it all in. 揑 can抰 believe people live like this. This isn抰 even their house. It抯 for guests,?she hisses the last part under her breath like she抯 afraid someone is going to pop out from behind the potted plant in the corner.
I take our bags into the bedroom, Salem trailing behind me.
We get ready for the dinner, and I dress up in a pair of gray slacks and a white button down. I抦 rolling up my sleeves when Salem steps out of the bathroom. She takes my breath away in a blue dress, her hair curled and cascading down her back. Her eyes rake over me, and I look down at myself.
揟his is all right, isn抰 it? I know Lauren is particular. I have another shirt棓
揗y husband is hot.?
I grin. 揧ou think so??
揙h, yeah.?
揝top looking at me like that or we抣l never make it to the dinner.?
揑 wouldn抰 mind ?but Lauren would.?
She straightens my collar, smoothing her hand down my chest to rub out any wrinkles梐t least I think that抯 what she抯 doing.
She takes a step back, her eyes zeroing in on the simple black band around my finger. 揑 wish my mom was still here. I think she抎 be happy for us.?
揝he would be.?I cup Salem抯 cheek in one hand. She leans into my touch with a sigh. 揝he knew how much you meant to me.?
揝he wanted this, didn抰 she? Us together??
揑 think she wanted whatever would make you happy.?
Salem steps back, fanning her face. 揑 can抰 cry. I don抰 want to ruin my makeup.?
揃y the way,?I say, leaning against the wall, 揑 was thinking my parents could come up to our place for Thanksgiving.?
She smiles, swiping a tissue to dab at the remaining moisture in her eyes. 揑 think that抯 a great idea. I抎 love to finally be able to meet them in person.?
Salem and Seda have been getting to know my parents through FaceTime calls for the past few months. It works fine, but it抯 not the same as getting to know someone in person.
揟hey can be a bit much,?I warn, resting my hands on her hips. 揑 know they抮e going to want to spoil Seda silly and probably tell you way too many embarrassing stories about me.?
揊amily is important,?she reminds me. 揘ot everyone has a great one. My father was trash. They抮e good people, I want them to come. Stop worrying over nothing.?She smooths out my brow with her thumb.
I smile. 揑抣l try.?
揋ood.?She takes a step back. 揕et抯 go to dinner. I抦 starving.?
I haven抰 seen Salem in hours. She left early in the morning to get ready with Lauren and the other bridesmaids. I take my seat, waiting for the ceremony to get underway and more than eager to see my wife.
While I抳e been waiting, I called my parents this morning and cemented the plans for them to come for Thanksgiving. I could tell they weren抰 happy about the wait but understood where I was coming from when I laid it all out. We can抰 take Seda out of school right now for a long trip, and besides I think it would be a bit much for her since she doesn抰 really know them yet.
I also texted Laith to let him know everything was a go and all he did was reply with a one-word text of: Good.
Little dipshit. We抮e adults and he抯 still driving me crazy.
The wedding planner points me in the direction of my seat, and I head over there, giving a head nod to the group of people I抦 seated with but don抰 know. Most of these people seem familiar with one another, while I抦 the odd man out. But that doesn抰 bother me.
The music changes, signaling the bridal party is going to begin coming out.
I hold my breath, waiting for Salem to appear. When she finally does, she takes my breath away, and it makes me glad we decided to have a ceremony one day, because fuck I want to see her walk down the aisle to me.
Her eyes search the aisles, stopping when they land on me. A smile takes over her face and she winks.
I don抰 want to take my eyes off her.
I had resolved myself to a lonely fate, one where I lived out my days alone, and I didn抰 get the girl. It抯 what I thought I deserved. I was the villain of my own story in my eyes. When Forrest died, I thought I didn抰 deserve to live either, and I抦 sure if it wasn抰 for my brother and therapist I probably wouldn抰 be alive today.