Stay Forever

by Darcy Schroeder

  He couldn’t help but smile at his mother’s obvious happiness. She seemed almost giddy to have him sitting back at this table. Andrew had often thought about his family, but for some reason he had never really thought about just how his mom might have felt about him leaving.

  “We did have a late night, but it wasn’t too bad. Lester cut us off and we all drove out to Miles’s place and drank the contents in his fridge.” Andrew crossed to the stove, put a spoonful of eggs and bacon on his plate, and then sat back down with his parents. It was something he hadn’t done in years. It made him feel eighteen again.

  “It’s really good to see you looking like your old self again.” His mom stared at him, and then leaned in to pat his hand.

  “I don’t really feel like my old self, but I’m better. It’s been a busy few years.” Andrew pulled away from his mom’s grasp.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Not really,” Andrew said between bites. “There’s not much to tell. It’s life. Parts of serving in Iraq and Afghanistan were hell, but I got used to it. Ironically, I watched friends get blown to bits, and somehow I walked away with only a few bumps and bruises.”

  “You almost sound as if you wanted to die,” his mom said, causing his dad to finally put down his paper and look into Andrews’s eyes.

  “Andrew, we’ve put up with your sulking for too long. We all lost on that day. It was a horrible tragedy, but we have to move on. I’m assuming you’ve come back to stay awhile, and possibly help out with the family business.”

  “I don’t have any intentions of staying. I’m leaving tomorrow morning,” Andrew said matter-of-factly. “I have things I need to do and anywhere is better than being back here in Sable Falls.”

  His mother gasped. “But you just got here. Are you sure you have to leave so soon? Please don’t go. We need you here.”

  “I know, but duty calls.” Andrew looked up from his plate in time to see his father walk out of the room.

  “Where’s Dad going?” he asked, annoyed. His father always seemed to disappear when the conversation took a tough turn.

  “I’m sure he’s just trying to get away from you, like you keep trying to get away from us.” His mother took a sip of her coffee before also walking out.

  Andrew hadn’t expected them to be so upset. When he’d called to say he would come to the wedding, he’d specified that he would be in town for two days. Only two days. He had no intention of staying any longer. It was just too hard and he didn’t want to be here.

  The other guys arrived and started filling up their plates.

  “Where are Mom and Dad?” Miles said, looking over at Andrew as he scooped out another serving of eggs.

  “Oh, you know my charm. It was just too much for them to handle, so they left,” he responded dryly.

  Miles cocked his head. “Brother, you’ve seriously got to adjust your attitude. It’s annoying.”

  Andrew had been called ‘creepy’ and ‘annoying’ in less than two hours. They just didn’t get it. He never wanted to come back to Sable Falls, but he had done so for his brother.

  “Why am I annoying?”

  “Because we want the old Andrew back,” Warren chimed in as he rolled his eyes. “Look, I could be at home with my wife and kids, but I’m here with you guys. Obviously, I want to see the old Andrew too.”

  Miles started laughing. “Warren. You’re here right now because you’re afraid to go home.” He looked over at Andrew, “Apparently, our buddy Warren told Cassie he would be home shortly after midnight. She’s called him a few times this morning, and she doesn’t sound very happy.”

  “Yeah. She can be a little dramatic. I can confirm that from my last phone conversation. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s best for all parties to give her some space.”

  “Because you’re scared to go home.” Miles’s eyebrows arched upward. “Dude, just admit it.”

  “That too.”

  Chapter Ten

  Andrew’s tuxedo felt snug. He rotated his thick shoulders in an attempt to loosen the fabric. He needed to be able to breathe if he was going to make it through the rest of the day. Andrew was trying to be happy, but secretly he felt a pang of dread about spending the afternoon stuck at a wedding with people from his past.

  His brother and Anne were getting married in the same Baptist church their parents had taken them to every Sunday until he graduated from high school. It was a small southern church with wooden pews and large stained-glass windows. He sucked in a deep breath of the familiar musty smell that brought back fond memories from when he was young. It had been a long time since he had been in this place.

  Andrew paced aimlessly around the back room where they were sequestered until the wedding began. He just wanted to get this over with and get out of town.

  The woman with whom he was partnered to walk down the aisle was the same woman who’d been with Anne earlier in the day. She was sitting off to the side, looking at her cell phone, acting as if she wanted nothing to do with Andrew. Every now and then, she would look up and give him an ugly glare, as if he had done something to eternally annoy her.

  The rest of the wedding party sat around the room, talking and laughing while they waited for their cue to line up.

  Andrew really shouldn’t have been here. Miles should have asked Warren or Gregg to be his best man. He placed his hands on his hips, and then decided to walk over to his partner.

  “Do you know what we’re supposed to do?” Andrew asked.

  “Yep,” she responded, never taking her eyes off her phone.

  An uncomfortable silence followed.

  Andrew cleared his throat. “Would you mind telling me?”

  He hadn’t expected her to act so rudely. Andrew was already on edge and really didn’t need this to add to his anxiety.

  “We walk down the aisle,” she said dryly, and looked back at him, daring him to ask another question. “That’s all we do. I’m sure you can handle that simple task.”

  Andrew scratched the back of his head, and then threw up his hands. “Okay. I guess you answered my question. Thank you for being an unforgettable wedding partner.”

  She flicked her hand to wave him away. He walked over to Lucas and Warren, who were talking loudly.

  “Have a seat.” Warren patted an empty chair next to him. “It’s about time you got your ass over here to talk with us.”

  Andrew couldn’t shake the ugly look the maid of honor had given him just a few seconds ago. He was about to ask them about her when a lady with a clipboard entered the room. “Okay, wedding party. It’s time to go. Please line up in the order we discussed earlier. Andrew Montgomery, you are up here at the front.”

  The woman signaled to the rest of the group where each should be. Meanwhile, Andrew stood uncomfortably next to the maid of honor.

  He looked over at her and tried his best to give her a fake smile. “You ready?”

  She looked up at him, and then back toward the front, without giving him any sort of response.

  “All right. What’s the deal?” he whispered angrily. “I don’t even know you, but this is my brother’s wedding, and for some reason you are in it, and for some other reason you’ve decided to be a complete bitch to me.”

  Her eyes widened, and then narrowed back into an icy glare just as the sound of the organ caused both their heads to snap forward.

  The doors flew open, and Andrew looked down the aisle into a sanctuary filled with white and pink flowers. He was sure Miles hadn’t had anything to do with the décor. It had clearly been done by a woman—one who liked the color pink.

  The rest of the ceremony passed by quickly, and then they went outside for photos. The maid of honor refused to look in his direction, so instead, he glanced at the other bridesmaids. A few of them he remembered from school; the others he’d never seen before. The one paired with Lucas was hot. She had long blonde hair and legs that seemed to never end. As he watched, she flipped her hai
r over her shoulder and offered him a little smile. He couldn’t help but smile back.

  “Dude, Alexandra is hot, but she’s major trouble,” Miles whispered in his ear. “Trust me on this one. Cassie is an angel compared to Alex. Don’t even think about it.”

  Enough said. The hot bridesmaid pursed her lips and looked back at him. He winked at her, and then walked away. She might chase, but after his brother’s warning, he wasn’t interested.

  When they were finally released from pictures, he headed toward his Jeep and happily threw his jacket onto the passenger seat. He was done with that thing for a while.

  The reception was just down the street. He decided to walk, to give him some time to clear his head. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky orange and casting a golden light on the old buildings.

  The maid of honor had really been a piece of work. She’d managed to get through the entire ceremony, and the pictures that followed, without saying a word to Andrew.

  A warm breeze caressed his face. He could see several other members of the wedding party walking ahead of him, talking animatedly, but he was glad to have some alone time. He knew his parents were probably already at the reception hall, making sure all the guests were comfortable.

  His mom had dreamed of having a daughter, but instead she’d gotten twin boys. He smiled at the thought. They had a running joke when they were small that their mother had never had any more kids because Miles and Andrew were quite the handful.

  He could hear the music’s beat several hundred feet away from the reception hall. It sounded like some sort of over-excited rap, but he wasn’t quite sure what kind of song was playing.

  He looked around the room. There had to easily be more than a hundred tables set up inside the lavish room. Large pink lights shot up from the floor, bathing the entire room in the girly color. He saw Warren waving both of his arms from one of the main tables near the front of the room. A woman with blonde hair pulled up into a bun sat next to him. She looked bored.

  Andrew walked over closer to Warren. He seemed almost excited and nervous at the same time. Andrew still wasn’t really sure what he thought of Warren right now. He was different than he remembered from when they were growing up.

  “I’m sure you remember Cass,” Warren pointed over at the blonde-haired woman sitting next to him. Andrew nodded. He had figured it was her.

  Time hadn’t been as kind to Cassie as it had to some of the others from their graduating class. Her skin looked droopy, and her eyes had lost their fire.

  “Of course. Hey there, Cassie. I hear Warren somehow managed to convince you to marry him,” Andrew said, causing a weak laugh to come from her.

  “He sure did something. But, yeah, we’ve been married for a while now.” Cassie slumped further down in her seat, looking bored with the conversation. It was an expression Andrew remembered well, but it almost seemed as if she was already drunk or on some sort of medication.

  Warren put his arm around her shoulders and lounged backwards in his chair. “Aww, come on, babe. You should have said fourteen blissful years. Isn’t that right?”

  Cassie rolled her eyes. Her head seemed a little wobbly, and from the empty glasses around her at the table, Andrew assumed she’d probably already knocked back at least two or three drinks.

  “Are you going to sit down?” Warren asked, his tone hopeful as he motioned toward the empty chair next to him.

  “Sure,” Andrew said. He looked around the room and saw others slowly finding their places. He then spotted Miles, who sat, beaming, next to Anne. It was official—they were married, and Anne was now a Montgomery.

  Andrew’s parents were sitting to the left of Miles. They also had huge smiles on their faces as they chatted and laughed. His mom took a sip of champagne.

  Then his eyes wandered down the rest of the long table, covered with candles and more pink flowers. Most of the faces he didn’t recognize, but sitting next to what he assumed were Anne’s parents was the maid of honor. She was also sipping champagne, while giving her full attention to the girl sitting next to her. Her face had softened as she listened to the other girl and then she let out a laugh, her hair falling around her shoulders. It was the first time Andrew had seen her look happy. He pulled out his phone, made sure the flash was off, and quickly snapped a picture of the maid of honor before she looked his way.

  Just as he dropped the phone into his pants pocket, he noticed the maid of honor’s demeanor change. Her back grew rigid as her head slowly turned to catch Andrew’s stare. He waved. Her eyes narrowed as she shot back a look of disgust. He turned away so that the situation wouldn’t get any more uncomfortable.

  “So, what have you been up to the past few years?” he asked Cassie, trying to sound as casual as possible.

  “Andrew, it’s been more than a decade since you’ve seen any of us,” she slurred as she abruptly put her glass back down on the table, causing it to slightly shake. “We’ve all gotten old, and bored of this stupid town. Why do you care what we’ve been doing since you left?”

  “I was just curious what you’ve been doing for the past fifteen years. Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you angry.”

  “I’m not angry. Seriously? You need to lighten up. As always Andrew Montgomery is the party pooper. Unlike you, I’ve gotten serious about my life. I’m now married, have three children, and I put up with my husband and help him run our small real estate/investment business,” she said, glancing at Warren, who was taking a generous swig of his drink.

  Warren put his hand on the back of her chair and raised both his eyebrows. “Whoa, babe. That business is more like my business. I don’t recall it being ours.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes again. Andrew had a feeling it was something she did often. “Fine. Your business. Guess I don’t need to be there Monday morning to make sure your staff stays in line. I’ll just kick it at the house, have a few drinks, and watch all of my favorite soap operas.”

  “All right. It’s our business,” Warren said, giving her a little peck on the cheek, but Cassie didn’t show any interest in returning the sweet gesture. Warren looked over at Andrew. “So, have you decided?”

  “Decided what?”

  “If you’re going to stay in town or leave?”

  “I’m leaving tomorrow.” Andrew took a drink of water and looked around the rest of the room. There had to be at least fifty tables circling the large dance floor, each covered with a white tablecloth, with several candles in the middle. He took another sip, and then decided he needed something stiffer. “I’m going to head to the bar. You guys want anything?”

  “Sure. Two whiskeys. Neat,” Cassie said with a little smile.

  Andrew looked over at Warren, who jumped up.

  “Maybe I should come with you. You might run out of hands to hold our drinks.”

  Andrew ordered a beer for himself, and Warren and Cassie’s drinks. As he turned to go back to the table, he realized the maid of honor was standing behind him.

  “Hey there. Glad to see you’re loosening up a little tonight,” Andrew said, not trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice. She had been tough on him all evening and deserved his snarky comments.

  The woman looked back at him, but said nothing.

  Warren tugged on Andrew’s sleeve. “Let’s get back to the table. I don’t trust that icy look between the two of you. It’s not good.”

  As they sat back down, Warren pulled out a small bottle and let one of the small pills fall neatly into his palm. Andrew watched as his friend put it in his mouth and took a gulp of his drink. Warren seemed oblivious to the fact that Andrew was watching him. He sat quietly for several seconds, swirling the amber liquid in one of the glasses before addressing Andrew. “What’s the deal between you and Isabelle? Dude, be nice to her. She’s pretty cool.”

  “I don’t know anything about her. But obviously she knows me, and in case it wasn’t obvious, she doesn’t like me. I’ve tried to talk to her several times, but she just shuts me down.”
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  “Wow. It’s hard to fathom why anyone wouldn’t like you.” Cassie huffed, and then began to laugh. “Sometimes you make it too easy, Andrew Montgomery.”

  Andrew took a big gulp of his cold beer, almost finishing off the bottle. He was going to need a few more of these if he planned to get through this night. Just as he was taking another drink, he heard the familiar sound of someone clinking their glass. Slowly, the room grew quiet.

  “Excuse me,” a deep voice mumbled into the microphone.

  Andrew looked up to see his dad standing at the front of the room, looking uncomfortable. There were few things Wayne Montgomery didn’t like to do, talking in front of a large crowd was one of them. In fact, Andrew really couldn’t remember a time he had seen his father talk in front of a large audience.

  “I’d like to have everyone’s attention,” Wayne Montgomery continued, his speech slow with a slight sound of unease.

  Andrew couldn’t help but feel a small amount of pride for his father. He had accomplished so much, but most importantly, Andrew knew he loved deeply and cared tremendously for his family, so much so that he would get up in front of a room full of friends, family, and strangers and talk about one of his children.

  “My family and I are so glad to see all of your smug faces,” his father said, drawing out a round of laughter from the audience. “Seriously, thank you for celebrating this wonderful occasion with us tonight. I’m sure the open bar is what most of you are most happy about. I know, I’ve already had a few drinks, so I won’t take up too much time, but Miles, we are so proud of all that you’ve accomplished and the key role you’ve played in our family.” Wayne Montgomery looked over at Miles. “Anne, welcome to being a Montgomery. Family is everything. Cheers.”

  Wayne Montgomery lifted up his beer mug. The rest of the crowd followed. Andrew suddenly felt a wave of emotions overcome him. He was glad to be home, but he had heard what his dad had just said and he was certain part of that was a dig at him for leaving town…and his family.