Coming Attractions

by Robin Jones Gunn

  The rest of the items on the list Katie attacked one-by-one on Thursday in between packing up her room. Her greatest organizational tip from Nicole that semester had been, “Only keep what you consider to be beautiful or useful.” That motto helped her to decide on a whole lot of miscellaneous items that had served their purpose.

  She went from simple living to bare essential living after two trips to the Dumpster and loading three boxes of giveaways in the Salvation Army trailer that parked on campus every year during the last week of school.

  Katie’s worldly possessions could fit in the backseat of her car. She felt like a gypsy. She even parted with the stand of a table lamp that had burned out at the beginning of her sophomore year, but she had kept, saying she would have it repaired. The lamp was toasted and needed to be tossed. Her next task was to take down what was left of the decorations of their hall’s Peculiar Treasures theme from that year.

  Carrying the lamp stand and her final trash bag through the lobby and out the front door, Katie nearly ran into Rick.

  “Hey!”

  “Hey, yourself.”

  “Hey, it’s Thursday,” Katie said.

  “Yes, Thursday.”

  He looked great. A little nervous, but his true, suave self.

  “So Nicole told me you guys are going to hit an art show and then have dinner someplace tall.”

  “Someplace tall,” Rick repeated.

  “You know, some place high. A tall restaurant.”

  He nodded. “You’re sure you’re okay with this, Katie?”

  She laughed at her own gibberish. “Yes, really, I am. I didn’t expect to see you here. Not like this.” She was in her oldest T-shirt, which she planned to throw away at the end of the day. Squaring her shoulders, Katie gave Rick a smile. “Have a great time. I hope you guys have fun.”

  “I hope so too.”

  Katie turned to head to the Dumpster when Rick said, “Oh, hey, Katie, did you get the email about the café opening? It’s set for Saturday.”

  “This Saturday?”

  “Yes. We got the pizza oven installed and cleared the electrical inspection. Everything is a go.”

  “I have a wedding this Saturday. Julia’s. I don’t think I’ll be able to do both.”

  “Right, the wedding. Well, I hope that goes well too.”

  “Thanks. Congratulations, though, on the café and on reaching your goal and everything.” Katie lifted the stem of the broken lamp she held in her hand. “Here’s to you, Rick. A job well done.”

  He laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been toasted with a lamp before.”

  “Well, it’s a toasted lamp, so there you go.”

  Katie made a point not to return immediately to her floor after dumping the trash. She didn’t want to go past Nicole’s room and see her in her perfectly gorgeous, dressed-up state of happiness. The two of them were going to work together on the wedding flowers the next day. Katie imagined she would receive enough of a report then to fill in for any visual glimpses of Nicole on her way to meet Rick.

  Quite a few students were packed up and ready to check out during Katie’s shift Thursday night. In past years, the exodus hadn’t started until Friday and ran at uncharted intervals all weekend. Katie stayed busy her whole shift and remained on duty for another two hours to help Jordan once he came to work. When she headed for her basically empty room at 11:10, she realized that was the last time she would ever have front desk duty in her life. She was done. Her official hours as a resident assistant were over.

  Katie didn’t expect to feel such emptiness as she walked down the hall with its bare walls and partially vacated dorm rooms. She paused in the quiet space. “Thank you. Thank you for all of this. This whole year. All these women. Everything that happened. Thank you.”

  She found it hard to sleep that night. Her appetite had never quite returned since… Katie tried to think of when she lost interest in eating at her usual capacity. She realized it started the morning of the sunrise trip to the mountains. When she bought the warm donuts, and she and Eli tapped them together and she said, “To us,” he had looked at her and said, “To us.” That’s when she felt the buffalo stampede.

  Eli’s African quote came back to her about going fast alone but going far together. Putting her pillow over her head, Katie turned in her bed and let out a muffled wail. “No!”

  A tap sounded at her door. “Katie?”

  It was Nicole. The doorknob turned, and she pushed the door open a few inches. “Katie, are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” She bucked up her courage. “How was your big date?”

  “Amazing! Do you mind if I come in? If I don’t talk to someone, I’ll burst.”

  Katie was experiencing the same feeling but on the opposite side of the love teeter-totter. “Yeah, sure. Come in. Just don’t turn on the light. And don’t worry about bumping into anything in the dark. My room is empty.” She sat up in bed and made room for Nicole at the end.

  The light from the hallway shone in as Nicole entered. She left the door open a few inches to provide enough light for her to reach the foot of Katie’s bed. Nicole sat down in her elegant red dress. Katie remembered how Rick used to tell Christy he liked her in red, a color Katie couldn’t pull off with much success because of her red hair. Nicole looked great in red.

  “We had such an amazing time, Katie. The art exhibit was world class. They had original pieces from museums in Russia, Vienna, and Paris. I saw an original Monet. Original! It was breathtaking. Rick knew so much about the paintings of the Italian artists. I didn’t know he had relatives in Italy. He’s been there. And the restaurant had the most amazing view of the harbor and the lights. We talked nonstop. Katie, I’m so happy. So happy.”

  Katie’s eyes had adjusted to the light. She could see the soft glow on Nicole’s face.

  Katie knew she could snipe Nicole’s experience with Rick to pieces with resentment and jealousy and make Nicole a victim of Katie’s self-pity. Or she could extend to Nicole the same love and inclusion God offers and make Nicole a victim of grace.

  Reaching over, Katie gave Nicole’s hand a squeeze.

  This was going to work out nicely between the two of them. Katie wondered how long it would be before Rick and Nicole realized they were going to end up married.

  Maybe they knew already.

  28

  The morning of Julia’s wedding, Katie headed over early to Todd and Christy’s apartment. It had rained sometime during the night. Clouds hid the sun, hinting at the possibility of another sprinkle.

  She went through her to-do list for the day, starting with turning in her check to the apartment manager and picking up the dove from Todd and Christy. The previous afternoon Katie had gone to the apartment complex with her rental papers and her cashier’s check. However, the manager was out. She left a note on his door saying she would be back this morning.

  Since it was only 7:35 when Katie arrived, she decided to go to Christy and Todd’s apartment first. They were expecting her, and that way she wouldn’t run the risk of waking the apartment manager on a Saturday morning and making him even grumpier than usual.

  Christy answered the door with the birdcage in her hand.

  Katie laughed. “You wouldn’t be overeager to get rid of the little darlin’, would you?”

  “No, the bird was a perfect houseguest. I’m in a hurry to get going. Todd has to drop me off at work early because he has an outing with some of the high school guys. Hey, did you turn in your rental papers yet? We’re so excited about you living here.”

  “I’m on my way to the office now. Thanks for watching this little dove.” Katie held up the cage.

  Todd appeared behind Christy. “Did you decide yet where you’re going to stay for the next week or so?”

  “Not exactly. I’ve been kinda’ caught up with the wedding stuff.”

  “Stay with us,” Christy said.

  Katie looked at Todd.

  “Yeah, just stay here, Katie
. We were serious when we invited you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Todd and Christy said, “Yes,” in unison.

  “Okay, if you’re sure. It’ll only be for a few days. You can kick me out anytime if I snore or make too big a mess or blow up your microwave again.”

  “Those sound like reasonable terms,” Todd said with a half-grin.

  Christy made a don’t-listen-to-him face. “We’ll be eager to hear how the wedding goes today.”

  “I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow when I move in with my two bags and two boxes — the extent of my worldly possessions.”

  “We’ll have the air mattress ready for you.”

  Katie thanked them again and headed for the office with the birdcage in hand. She turned the corner of the path that circled the apartment complex and saw the manager heading in her direction.

  “’Morning! I was just on my way to your place.”

  “Is that a bird?”

  “Yes. You know what they say. One of these in the hand is worth two of these in the bush.”

  The apartment manager didn’t look amused. “Is it your bird?”

  “Yes, but it’s not moving in with me. Christy was watching it for me for a few days.”

  “How many days?”

  “Three. Why?”

  “She’ll need to pay extra this month.”

  “Are you serious? Here.” Katie pulled from her jeans pocket all the cash she had on her. “Will that cover it? Three days of bird security fees.”

  He looked satisfied and stuck the cash in his pocket.

  “I have all the rental papers and my check with me.” Katie put down the cage. She pulled the envelope from her shoulder bag and handed it to him.

  He took it from her and looked even more disgruntled than usual.

  “You saw the note I left yesterday, right? I said I would bring everything over this morning.”

  “I saw the note. But the apartment’s not available.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “Someone else put down money yesterday morning. I’m waiting for clearance on their paperwork.”

  “But you knew I wanted the apartment. I — ”

  “That’s the way these things work. You’re first on the waiting list. I’ll call you next week.” He moved past Katie and kept on walking.

  She stood there in shock for several moments before the cooing dove nudged her to get going. Striding back to her car, Katie picked up her pace and tried to think of what to do next. The only sane choice was to put this unexpected turn of events aside and worry about it tomorrow. Today, she had a few other pressing matters to focus on.

  When she arrived back on campus, Katie couldn’t believe how the front of Crown Hall had turned into a circus of boxes, trucks, and aggravated students trying to force their overstuffed car trunks to close. It had been this way for the past two days. The congestion this morning was double what it had been the previous days. Once again, Katie was grateful she had put in all her front desk hours before the moving frenzy broke loose.

  She showered in an eerily quiet dorm bathroom and was met with a stream of open-dorm visitors roaming the halls as she scurried to her room with her robe pulled tight. Closing her door, Katie put on some music and turned it up to drown the noise of the moving traffic in the hallway. Katie’s new dress fit. Her hair dried just right, even though she knew she needed to have the ends trimmed soon.

  A little makeup, a little spritz of something fresh and fruity she had tucked in her makeup bag. She had tossed all the used-up lotion and fragrance bottles Thursday. She was ready. More than that, she was early.

  Katie regretted that she couldn’t trot down to Nicole’s door as she had so many other times that year, give a big ta-dah, and hear Nicole exclaim how impressed she was that Katie was early and that she looked gorgeous.

  Nicole wanted to get to Rick’s new café in Redlands as soon as she could, so she had left early that morning to work with the campus grounds people to place all the flowers as they set up the chairs and put down the runner. The plan was for Nicole to leave the bouquets and boutonnieres in the chapel on upper campus, and Katie would take it from there.

  Since this wedding was small and simple, Julia had cut back on a lot of traditional extras such as a rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. That made Katie feel even more confident her small gift of the dove would be a special touch.

  Katie went upstairs and tapped on Julia’s door.

  “If you’re Katie, come in. If you’re not Katie, then I’m not here.”

  “It’s me.” She entered and then asked, “So how’s it going? Do you need me to fasten any hooks or snaps on your dress or jewelry or anything?”

  “No, but come on back. We’re in my room.”

  Katie stepped into Julia’s bedroom and was introduced to Julia’s mom and dad. Then Katie let out a long, low, appreciative, “Ooh, Julia, you look absolutely stunning. What a perfect wedding dress for you.”

  The dress had classic lines and followed all of Julia’s best curves. Katie loved the way the skirt flowed with a timeless sort of elegance.

  “Thank you.” Julia was radiant.

  “I’m so happy for you.” Katie leaned in and gave Julia a light-touch sort of hug that wouldn’t ruffle her gown or veil.

  “Thanks, Katie. Did Nicole work out everything with you on the flowers? I know she drove out to Redlands this morning.”

  “Yes, I’m leaving now for upper campus. I’ll let you know if there are any glitches. But you know it will be fine. Nicole did this. It’ll be flawless.”

  “When you get up there, if the minister arrives, could you tell him we changed the song for when I come down the aisle? It’s Handel’s “Water Music” now. That won’t affect anything he does, but I don’t want him to be caught off guard.”

  “Got it. Do you need anything else?”

  Julia grinned. “No. We’ll see you in about half an hour.”

  Katie went out to her car and retrieved the bird. Instead of driving through the mess of cars and trucks left everywhere they shouldn’t be, she walked to upper campus, gently swinging the cage.

  Small tremors of uncertainty over the now-unavailable apartment came back, but she tried to ignore those thoughts. This was Julia’s wedding day.

  God will work everything out. He always does.

  It was quiet when she arrived on upper campus. The late morning air had warmed up nicely, and a pleasant breeze rustled through the palm trees. Katie smiled at them all lined up, shaking their shaggy manes like a bunch of surfer boys returned from the blue and awaiting the next promising set.

  Katie remembered how, at the reception for Christy and Todd’s wedding, Julia had approached her about being an RA. That provision for her senior year had been an out-of-the-blue surprise from God.

  God will work everything out. He always does.

  The chapel was open, and the flowers were exactly as Nicole had promised. Katie’s woman of honor bouquet was propped up with the door of the hidden cage open. She placed the dove’s current home right next to it, opened the door, and tilted the cage. Gravity was her friend and helped persuade the little dove to slide on into the new digs.

  “Cozy and fragrant. What do you think of that?”

  The dove protested with some wild wing flapping and not-so-content cooing.

  “Hey, it’s okay. You’ll be fine. Relax. It’s only for a short time. Then you’ll be free. Free as a bird. There, that’s not so bad, is it?”

  Katie put the bird in the bouquet to the side and let the dove settle down. Then she went outside to check on the setup. The cake was in place under the yellow canopy. A woman with a baby in a stroller beside her was leaning over the cake with a pastry tube, adding final touches.

  All hints of another shower had passed. The sun was doing what it did best. The air felt light and cool. It was a perfect day for a wedding.

  Katie spotted the pastor standing near the arch that Nicole had laced with flowers and g
reenery. Katie walked over, introduced herself, and gave him Julia’s message about the music.

  “And one more thing,” Katie added, as the violinist tuned up. “I’m going to release a dove from a cage hidden in my bouquet at the very end, before they go back down the aisle. Julia doesn’t know about this.”

  “Does John know?”

  “No, Dr. Ambrose doesn’t know either.”

  The minister looked skeptical. “How do we know the dove will exit on cue?”

  Katie shrugged. “Are you a praying man, by any chance?”

  “As a matter of fact, I am,” he said with an amused look.

  “And so am I,” said a voice behind Katie.

  She felt the return of the buffalos even before she turned around and looked at a version of Eli she had never seen before. Dressed in a black tux, standing tall and resolved only a few feet away, Eli looked like the most handsome and daring man Katie had ever seen.

  His wavy hair was combed back. His goatee was shaved off, and on his lips was that irresistible grin that made Katie nearly forget where she was and what she had just said.

  “I’m a praying man,” Eli repeated. “Was there something you needed to pray about? Any big life decisions? Future plans? Relationships you’re considering?”

  His boldness surprised the response right out of Katie’s mouth. “No! Don’t pray any more. Not for me. Don’t pray for anything.” She felt her face blush in a fluster and quickly trounced through the grassy field back to the chapel. Scenes from the past year flashed through her mind with each step.

  In this same meadow a year ago Katie had chased Todd and Christy’s getaway limo. She lost a shoe and her floral head wreath in the mad dash. Eli approached her that day with the lost “halo,” and she nonchalantly told him to toss it.

  Instead, Eli hung the wreath from the rearview mirror of his car. Months later, when Katie asked him about why he kept the dried-out wreath, he told her it reminded him to pray. For her. Eli had been praying for her for a year.