His Sister's Wedding

by Carol Rose

  "He's probably realizing you have a mind of your own, too, and are very capable of making your own choices."

  "Maybe." Melanie glanced at her, a sly smile on her face. "Or maybe he's changing his mind about love."

  She paused significantly. "You and Luke have been spending a lot of time together, haven't you?"

  "Yes." Lillie eyed her soon-to-be sister-in-law warily. "Weddings take a lot of preparation."

  Melanie smiled like a cat who's spied the cream. "I knew you'd like each other."

  * * *

  Lillie had never been to a family wedding shower quite like this one she realized when Melanie's Aunt Mary greeted her at the door. The elderly woman truly did have a flair for making a statement.

  Everything in the house shrieked of seventies decor done from top to bottom--the earth-toned shag rug and the hammered-metal leaf sculpture on the wall. In honor of the celebration, Mary had draped streamers and balloons on anything that didn't move. Over one doorway hung a plastic banner with streamers that read "Melanie and Scott - Happy Forever."

  Pausing in the arched doorway, Lillie spotted Luke across the room. From what she could tell, two older gentlemen were grilling Luke on his business and offering him loud-voiced suggestions as to how he could improve it.

  Glancing toward the door as if he sensed her presence, Luke met her eyes for an intense, heated moment, his gaze jolting her.

  Still confused about her response to his proposal, Lillie felt the urge to pull back out of his sight. In the four days since their cake fight, he'd deposited a potted flowering azalea at her front door and left three messages on her machine. Lillie hadn't known how to respond to any of them. He was probably wondering if she'd skipped the country.

  Dodging him had bought her more time to think, but thinking didn't seem to help. The logic of pros and cons made no sense in this situation. All her pondering had accomplished was to leave her in a state of nervous exhaustion. She still didn't know what to do.

  She loved him, but how could she be sure he loved her?

  Should she accept what Luke offered even though she couldn't be sure it matched up to her parents' loving marriage?

  "Come in, my dear," Aunt Mary invited, her hand outstretched in welcome. "Let me introduce you to everyone."

  Allowing herself to be urged into the room, Lillie glanced around, taking the scene in. Against Mary's artfully done backdrop, a mix of long-lost relatives greeted each other and helped themselves to refreshments. The living room buzzed with conversation.

  Lillie spotted Scott in a far corner talking to several other young men.

  In the dining room, she could see a table that held a punch bowl screaming of red Koolaid next to nut cups shaped like wedding bells. Even the mints were in heart-shaped containers flanking a sheet cake which proclaimed "Eternal Love."

  Despite the excess of sentimentality, Aunt Mary seemed kind-hearted enough. Her smile was warm and welcoming and she took pains to introduce Lillie to everyone.

  Apparently the whole extended family had been invited. Lillie thought, trying to keep track. By the time she and Aunt Mary made the circuit of the room, she'd met three uncles, four aunts, an elderly grandparent in a wheel chair and at least six cousins ranging in age from twenty-five to forty.

  Even Janet was there, to Lillie's surprise. Luke and Melanie's mother sat in a chair in a far corner talking to an elderly woman.

  "And here's Melanie's Uncle Roy," Aunt Mary proclaimed enthusiastically.

  Lillie offered her hand to the older gentleman and exchanged a few words before she became aware of Luke standing beside her.

  "Hi," he said, his dark eyes fastened on her face.

  Lillie moistened dry lips.

  "Hello." She met his gaze, the ability for normal conversation deserting her.

  Fortunately, Aunt Mary was chattering away beside her, distracting the elderly relative she'd just introduced.

  "How have you been?" Luke asked, the softness of his tone like the stroke of velvet. He took her arm and turned her away from the others.

  "Fine," she said, feeling suddenly warm and edgy.

  A slow, sensual smile curled Luke's mouth. "I see you managed to wash the crumbs out of your hair."

  Laughter rose in Lillie's throat. "Yes," she said. "But I had to call Maud four times before she'd guarantee not to put something ugly in Scott and Melanie's cake."

  "I'm still surprised she didn't make us scrub the floors," Luke said, his eyes alight with amusement, his hand warm on her arm. "I figured we'd have to do detention, at least."

  Lillie chuckled breathlessly, a giddy excitement racing through her like a drug. "Or get sent to the principal's office. I can't believe I started something as juvenile as a food fight. Although you did deserve it."

  "I just made an innocent remark," Luke insisted, his expression guileless as his fingers lightly stroked the sensitive underside of her arm. "And then you slapped me in the face with a slab of angel food cake."

  "Swiss Amaretto," Lillie corrected with a choke of laughter, trying to ignore the glowing sensations his touch roused. "Angel food would have bounced right off your face."

  "Whatever." He leaned closer, an intimate smile on his face. "You've got a mean way with pastry."

  Looking into his eyes, Lillie realized why she found herself in this predicament. Regardless of his occasional insensitivity and his refusal to trust himself to love, when she was with Luke she felt amazing things. Even in the midst of this prosaic gathering, her heartbeat jumped with the exhilaration of just being with him.

  He leaned closer, the warmth of his body seeming to envelop her.

  "Have you been thinking about what I asked you?" he asked, his voice husky.

  "Yes," she answered, her own voice low.

  "Well, maybe we can get together and talk after this thing is over," Luke murmured.

  "Oh, Luke!" Aunt Mary trilled, glancing around and spotting him with Lillie. The elderly woman clutched at his arm as she dabbed at her eyes with a lacy handkerchief. "Isn't it wonderful that Melanie's marrying such a nice boy."

  "Wonderful," Luke responded, his face deadpan as he tolerated his aunt's effusive embrace.

  Lillie hid a smile, familiar enough with Luke to know how little he was enjoying his aunt's display. Still, he was polite, only lifting his brow when Aunt Mary went on and on about how amazing it was to see little Melanie all grown up.

  "Everybody! Everybody listen!" Aunt Mary called out. "Find a seat now. We have a little game to play."

  Sitting at the end of the couch, Lillie was very aware of Luke choosing the folding chair next to hers.

  "Now everyone take a piece of paper and a pencil," Aunt Mary instructed, passing the supplies around, "and write down the one thing you hate the most about doing housework."

  After exchanging a few puzzled glances, the shower guests obediently bent to their task. The next few moments were filled with the sounds of pencils on paper punctuated by an occasional chuckle.

  Lillie thought a moment, nibbling nervously on the end of her paper as she tried to ignore Luke's presence at her elbow. Positioning her piece of paper on her knee, she finally wrote I hate that it gets you all sweaty and hot.

  Beside her, Luke scribbled something on his paper.

  "If you're all done, pass your notes back to me," Aunt Mary directed, clearly enjoying her role as taskmaster.

  The scraps of paper were passed around hand to hand to where Aunt Mary stood next to Melanie's chair.

  "Now," the elderly woman giggled, "we all know how important communication is to a good marriage. So in order to get Scott and Melanie off to a good start, we are going to have the bride read all the things she hates most about sex."

  Melanie and Scott groaned as the rest of the room erupted in a mixture of chuckles and snorts of laughter.

  "I hate all the scrubbing," Melanie read in a resigned voice, not looking at Scott. "You get it over with and then it just has to be done again the next week."

&nb
sp; Laughter rippled through the room with each piece of paper she read.

  "I hate that it gets you all sweaty and hot."

  Lillie laughed as the room exploded in mirth. She couldn't have written a better one if she'd tried.

  When the last scrap of paper had been read, Aunt Mary, brushing the tears from her cheeks, called everyone to attention.

  "Now we're going to let the happy couple open their gifts." Aunt Mary beamed at Scott and Melanie. "But first, I just want to say how thrilled I am to be able to help these two wonderful young people celebrate their joyous union. There is no greater treasure than love." She dabbed at her eyes. "With all the unhappiness in the world today, it's wonderful that Melanie has found someone as special as Scott."

  Lillie saw Scott shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

  The next half hour was filled with the rustling of wrapping paper and the chattering of the guests, punctuated by Melanie and Scott's sincere thanks as each wedding gift was revealed. Lillie watched from her seat on the couch, appreciative that so many of Melanie's family seemed supportive of the couple.

  Used to being at wedding functions in her professional capacity, she found herself gathering up discarded dishes and making her way to the kitchen.

  The cheerful room was at the back of the house, the top of its chrome-legged dinette scattered with party goods. In contrast to the rest of the crowded house, only two people were there. Aunt Mary stood by the sink, smiling up at Luke as she rinsed out several punch cups.

  "You don't seem so upset anymore about Melanie's getting married," Aunt Mary said.

  "No," Luke admitted slowly. "I'm still worried that it's a mistake, but she's determined to make it work and I only want the best for her."

  "So," the elderly woman said to him, an arch smile on her face, "a little bird told me that we may soon have the joy of celebrating your surrender to Cupid's nuptial ties."

  Luke set his cup on the counter top. "You've been listening to gossip."

  "Now don't be shy," Aunt Mary insisted, glancing over her shoulder at him. "Love always wins out. And Lillie's such a beautiful girl, it's no wonder she's stolen your heart."

  Standing out of sight in the shadowed hallway, the stack of plates still clutched in her hands, Lillie held her breath.

  "Now, Aunt Mary," Luke drawled. "You know I don't have a heart to steal. I do, however, have a few other available parts."

  "Oh, love finds everyone sooner or later," Aunt Mary exclaimed, slapping at his shoulder.

  "Not me," he replied dryly. "I don't ever plan on falling in love. I fall into really great sex, instead. It's less complicated."

  Lillie stood unseen in the kitchen doorway, the roaring in her ears muffling the rest of their conversation. She was dimly aware of making her way back into the living room where Scott and Melanie were opening their presents, but everything inside her seemed suddenly cold.

  So that was that. Maybe Luke wouldn't pour out his heart to a rarely-seen, overly-sentimental aunt, but he'd framed his response to her question in the coldest, most dispassionate of terms.

  She'd been a complete fool.

  Lillie set the stack of dishes on a small table and walked slowly back to the couch.

  How easily Luke had dismissed loving her. With that nimble turn of phrase, he'd defined just how he saw their relationship. Their future together.

  She'd been an idiot to think he could have changed, to think that he might really love her and just be unable to say the words.

  No matter how much he claimed to value her, he didn't love her. Wouldn't let himself give her any power over his heart.

  As the minutes ticked past, her mind recovering itself like a prizefighter after a stunning blow, Lillie's confusion cleared. In its place came a darkness and despondency that seemed to engulf her. She felt herself lost in it, gripped with a terrible lethargy that felt almost like shock.

  She didn't even respond when Luke came to sit next to her and lifted her hand from the arm of the couch, intertwining his fingers in hers. Her body registered the contact in a distant, informative way. He's touching me, holding my hand after informing his aunt so casually that all he wants from me is sex. He doesn't give a damn about me.

  The roaring in her ears grew louder. She knew that Luke leaned toward her and said something, but she couldn't even register his words, much less respond. Across the room, the mound of discarded wrapping paper grew. Lillie saw the interplay of emotion on Scott and Melanie's faces, the laughter and appreciation as they opened their gifts.

  With the tick of each second, the numbness in her shifted to a deafening outrage. Luke sat next to her, relaxed in his chair, his hand holding hers, his thumb stroking her in slow, loving movements. She stared at him, noting his brief frown when she didn't respond to his comment.

  It was unfathomable to her that he could disclaim her so casually and yet sit there as if nothing had happened. Would he have said anything different had he known she was listening? At least this way, she'd heard his honest response.

  Lillie pulled her hand away, stifling the tremendous urge to hit him and run out of the room. Keeping her eyes focused on the engaged couple across the room, she determinedly ignored Luke's puzzled frown. For Scott's sake, she had to hold herself together when all she wanted to do was leave before she exploded.

  There was no way she was going to talk with Luke after the shower. She'd probably end up killing him on the doorstep with all his relatives standing around in astonishment.

  She'd never felt such fierce anger in her life. Her body seemed to tremble with it. He got no points for honesty. He was an emotionally-retarded sexual menace and she wanted to see him hurt, to watch him writhing in pain.

  In a way, the hurricane of wrath consuming her brought relief. If she just concentrated on hating Luke, the gaping hole in her chest didn't hurt so badly.

  The rest of the shower seemed to pass in slow motion, a nightmare she knew she'd always remember. Eventually all the presents were unwrapped and the "thank you" speeches given.

  Lillie edged forward on the couch, a car revving at the start line. Moving fast was important because Luke would be right behind her.

  Returning from the kitchen, Aunt Mary stood next to Melanie's chair. "I really appreciate all of you being here. It shows how important family is when we all come together to celebrate special moments. I know Carl regretted not being able to be here for his little girl's shower."

  Gripping her purse in her lap, Lillie's eyes were glued to the woman's face.

  "Well, thank you all for coming," Aunt Mary said at last.

  On her feet in a flash, Lillie made a beeline for her elderly hostess.

  "Lillie," Luke said as she vaulted forward.

  Not pausing, she managed a garbled "thank you," shook Aunt Mary's hand and submitted to the woman's hug.

  "Lillie," Luke called, struggling through the cluster of people.

  "Thanks again," she mumbled to Aunt Mary before escaping out the door.

  * * *

  Unlocking the door, Lillie let herself into the house. It was long past midnight, the early morning hour when darkness seemed to suck her into an alternative universe, isolated and alone.

  Since leaving the wedding shower long ago, she'd driven around for hours, crying until she ran out of tears. She'd actually thought about finding a deep hole and burying herself in it.

  If she'd come home immediately after the party, he'd have called, and she didn't think she could even bear to hear the ringing of the phone.

  Still, when she'd shut the door behind her, Lillie found herself gravitating through the dark house to the phone message machine. It stood on the table, the red light flashing hell's invitation. Without even knowing why, she pushed the button.

  A beep sounded in the emptiness and Luke's voice filled the room. "Lillie, please call me. I don't know why you're upset, but we need to talk."

  That was it. One terse, irritated statement.

  Of course he didn't know why she was ups
et.

  Lillie leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes against the rage that blossomed in her like a mushroom cloud. It spilled into every corner of her mind, a purplish-maroon haze that stained every thought.

  Jerking her purse up from where she'd dropped it, Lillie stalked back through the house to the front door.

  He didn't know why she was upset, but he thought they needed to talk.

  Slamming the front door behind her, Lillie plunged into the darkness. She'd hoped to be able to be sane about this, but sanity no longer seemed a concern. All she knew was a consuming need to release some of her rage before the impact of it made her teeth shatter.

  The drive through Kissimmee’s empty streets was a blur. Alone in her wrath, she shot forward, aimed for the target.

  She'd help him understand why she was upset, all right.

  Lillie climbed the stairs to Luke's apartment, her steps echoing in the silence of the slumbering complex. Her first knock on Luke's door might have sounded polite. She followed it up with a thundering banging that bruised her hand and brought tears to her eyes.

  By the third time, she assaulted the door, she found herself crying deep, hiccupping sobs.

  The lock clicked abruptly and suddenly Luke stood in the doorway. Hair tousled, sleep-dark eyes, wearing nothing but a pair of red boxer shorts.

  "Lillie! What the heck--?"

  "I won't marry you," she said, forcing the words past her tears.

  "And you can go--" she hiccupped, swallowing the word, "--yourself!"

  "Honey, are you all right?" he asked, reaching to draw her in, his voice full of concern.

  "No," she said, pulling away from his grip. "I'm stupid and self-destructive. But not enough to marry you."

  Luke's face turned wary, his hand dropping to his side. "I don't understand."

  "I know you don't," Lillie sobbed. "That's part of the problem. You don't understand how I feel because you're determined to be emotionless."

  "What is this all about?" Eyes narrowed, he looked both irritated and confused.

  She shook her head. "Tonight I finally realized just how twisted you are."

  "Tonight? At the shower?"

  "I overheard your conversation with your aunt," Lillie told him. "I think you made your position perfectly clear. After Angie left you, you decided you're never going to be hurt again. Okay. I understand now."