It Started in Texas

by M. B. Feeney

  "Yeah, I was there. I was the sober one, remember? So, what we doing, then?"

  "Finding me something to wear?"

  Without protest, I grabbed my stuff, and we went out to find the perfect shop. I knew Karina wouldn't be interested in the whole white dress malarkey, and Matt would appreciate it even less, considering they were doing the whole Vegas thing.

  "What's the groom up to today?" I asked Karina while we walked along the strip arm-in-arm.

  "Looking for James Dean."

  At the sound of my text alert, I pulled out my phone.

  Matt's stressing over a wedding ring. What does she like? Gx

  I looked at the jewellery she was wearing in an inconspicuous way and typed back.

  Something simple, but pretty. He'll know it when he sees it. Cx

  Karina was stress personified while we strode up and down the aisles of what might have been the eighteenth shop. I had lost count after about nine. She would stare at the rack, tug at the occasional dress, and sigh, shaking her head at every single one. Soon, I worked out that she was looking at things she thought people would expect her to wear rather than something she wanted.

  "Why don't you go for something that's 'you'?" I said once I’d managed to get her to have a break by dragging her into a diner we passed.

  "Because there's nothing that is me here." Karina scowled, looking at everything but me, "I hate this." She was starting to throw a strop one of my kids would be proud of.

  "Oh, stop being a diva. We'll go to the nearest shopping mall and look in some high street style shops."

  She relented with some reluctance, though she did look a lot happier at the mention of a high street store. "God, I miss H&M."

  "They have that here, don't they?" I didn't have a clue. "Personally, I would be lost without New Look."

  Karina grinned at me, looking both tired and excited. "I'm getting married," she muttered, poking at what was left of her food. "Kill me?"

  "Nope. I want to give you away."

  "Nuh-uh. That's my dad's job. He and my mum let it slip that they’d known all about this whole thing.”

  "Why doesn’t that surprise me?" It didn’t, since I knew Matt was a bit of a traditionalist at heart.

  We finished our food and grabbed a passing taxi, heading to the nearest mall. Karina kept moving, her knee jerking up and down while she tried to keep herself calm and stared out of the window.

  "You okay?" I placed my hand on her bouncing knee in an effort to distract her. It was a bit of a stupid question, but I couldn’t think of what else I could say, given the circumstances.

  "Yeah, just . . . I can't believe he did it at a gig, of all fucking places."

  "Worst proposal ever?" I asked, but she shook her head.

  "Dumbest maybe more than stupid, but brilliant and very Matty. I'm just . . . terrified. I try not to think about the future too much, and here I am, tying myself to one person for the foreseeable."

  "You'll be fine. Half an hour, maybe a little longer, and it's all over. I’ve got another fucking seven or eight months yet. And I'm going to get fat."

  "He wants us to have kids," she blurted out, making me want to kick myself for bringing up my pregnancy. "And . . . well, that's even more terrifying than getting hitched."

  "You're both still young. I’m sure he'll understand if you say you want to wait."

  We had arrived at the mall, so I paid the driver, and we were soon walking around looking in shop windows.

  "It's not like you're old like me," I continued.

  "We'll see, I guess." She paused to look in the window of one of those ‘alternative’ places that reeked of patchouli and everything was made of hemp, "Oh, my God! I love it!"

  She dashed inside, leaving me standing in front of the window. When I followed her into the shop, I found her holding up a flowing, purple dress.

  "That?" I couldn’t quite understand the draw. It was a nice enough dress, but not something I would picture as a wedding dress.

  "I want it," she said, glancing around for the changing rooms and ignoring my question.

  "Well, you are the bride. Your wish is my command."

  "Thanks. I'm more than glad you could make it for Matt's party." She hid behind a heavy velvet curtain we found at the back of the shop. "Otherwise, I'd be on my own today and collapsing in a heap from stress."

  "What, you're not doing that now?"

  "You're so funny."

  Then Karina pulled the curtain back almost violently, and I was surprised to find I really liked the dress. On her, it just worked.

  "It’s actually perfect." I took the dress from her after she changed back and went to pay for it as my wedding present to her. "What else do you need?"

  "Let's . . ." She stopped for a minute and looked herself up and down before doing the same to me. "I'm paying for us to get our hair done."

  I froze. "What do you want to do to my hair?"

  Karina rolled her eyes. "Calm down. Nothing too drastic. Just a dye job for me, and a shaved head for you."

  I punched her lightly on the arm. "Do you want me to deliver this baby right here, right now?"

  She shuddered.

  "Yeah, that's what I thought. What's going on with the hair?"

  "I don't know. I figure . . . just telling them to do something pretty."

  "Easy enough to deal with.”

  She rolled her eyes at my use of the quote from Wings.

  “But first, I need to get you something." I pulled her by the arm into a lingerie shop and bought a purple garter to match her dress. "Matty needs something to take off you with his teeth at the reception."

  Karina flushed bright pink and dropped her head with a laugh.

  "Yeah, thought you'd like that idea."

  When I got back to my room, Gage and the kids were watching some cartoons on the TV. I wasn’t quite sure who was more engrossed, him or them. For a moment, I stood watching them and thinking about Jenny’s comments about me moving to the States after the baby was born. Seeing Gage with my children could be a regular thing. My heart swelled at the thought.

  I put down my bag on the side unit, drawing Gage’s attention away from the programme.

  "Have fun today, darlin'?" he asked and stood up, walked over to me, and pulled me into his arms.

  Holding him tight, I breathed in his scent, a mixture of cigarette smoke, the faint hint of aftershave, and something else, something I could never quite pin down, but was forever linked to him. "Once she stopped freaking out, yeah. How about you and Matt? How did you two get on?"

  He groaned. "I swear, that guy is worse than a teenage girl spending birthday money."

  I sat down between the kids and let him continue.

  "We got the rings from the hotel jewellers. He did good on his choices. Then he had to go out and buy a new shirt, and it wasn’t even offensive." Matt was never seen in anything other than a t-shirt with some sort of offensive slogan printed on it.

  "He's making a bit of an effort. What's wrong with that?"

  "Just wait ‘til you see it. He’s even bought Karina’s dad a fancy new tie to wear when he gives her away. Then he went all out and hired a sweet Caddy to get them to the tacky chapel up the strip."

  "I'm suddenly a bit scared."

  "It's not that bad, but it's still a chapel in Vegas. Not the way I would personally go for a wedding, but it's Matt. He’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I’ve paid for them to be upgraded to the honeymoon suite tonight. Least I could do as his best man."

  "That's very considerate of you." Then I realised what he had said. He had ideas of how he would plan a wedding? I set that question aside for now, not quite sure how to broach the subject with him. "Is he nervous?"

  "Doesn't seem to be. He's just excited more than anything." Gage grinned. "But that's Matt all over, darlin’. Nothing seems to faze him. Have you thought about what Jenny said last night?"

  "About moving to LA?"

  He nodded.


  "It’s cropped up in my thoughts. I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit scared about it."

  "Why? Leaving your parents behind?"

  "That's one reason, yeah. It's a whole other country, thousands of miles away from everything and everyone I know. I guess I'm just thinking about the 'what ifs'."

  "The ‘what if we split up’ one?"

  "Yeah, that’s the main one. I hate thinking it, but my kids are already in love with you and that's when they hardly see you."

  "I understand that, I do, but I'm not going anywhere."

  I knew Gage would support me, whatever I decided.

  "Even when I get fat?"

  "Especially then."

  We arrived at the 'Chapel O' Love’, situated just off the main Vegas Strip, and found Matt pacing. He was wearing brand new black jeans, black high tops, and a black t-shirt printed to look like a tuxedo.

  "No breaking from tradition, huh?" I asked him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  "What? I look really smart."

  I just smiled at him and went to sit down with the kids while Gage took up his role of best man. Soon after, Jenny, Wade, and Ali came in. Ali ran to join us, and soon we were all waiting for the blushing bride.

  "Darlin', Karina's here. She wants you to walk with the girls when she walks down the aisle.”

  Tears sprang to my eyes, and I led the girls to the main entrance. Karina was dressed entirely in purple, from her converse and candy striped socks to the dress we’d bought earlier that day. Diamond had given her a small bouquet of flowers, which was clenched in a death grip.

  The older woman smiled at me, and then wandered down to sit next to Eli at a piano. The two of them began to play a convoluted arrangement of the wedding march.

  "You look stunning, yet rather like a plum. A nice ripe plum." I gave her a tight hug. "Ready to become pronounced Mrs. Callaghan by the State of Nevada's finest James Dean?"

  "Yes and no." She took a deep breath. "Let's get this show on the road so I can get wasted."

  Karina’s dad, Phil, and I chuckled.

  The service seemed to go by in a flash. One minute, the couple were being introduced, next minute, James Dean was giving them permission to kiss and calling them Mr. and Mrs. Callaghan. It was rather surreal, and I got a fit of the giggles. Jenny had to nudge me with her elbow before I got too carried away.

  After the nuptials and photos, we all made a mad dash to last night’s venue because the guys had another gig. Wade had taken the kids back to the hotel to get them settled in with the hotel sitter.

  As soon as we arrived, Becky handed me a glass with just a little champagne in it.

  "You have to celebrate. One won't do any harm, right?"

  "One's fine. Thanks." I smiled, and Becky continued to rush around, handing out the drinks before the band finished setting up.

  Karina came over to join Jenny and me. "I'm dreading tonight," she announced.

  "Why, babe?" Jenny asked her, kissing her on the cheek in congratulations.

  "How much does that ring stand out on Matt's finger?"

  We all looked over, and sure enough, the plain silver band on his finger indeed stood out like a neon sign.

  "Oh . . . yeah. That's gonna be interesting. Even with the way he proposed, it's gonna be an interesting night. “Thank Christ people can't tell I'm pregnant yet.

  The tension seemed to leave Karina's body a little. "I'd love to be around when the fans catch on to that one," Jenny teased me.

  I just rolled my eyes at her and sipped my champagne.

  “Wait, didn’t Gage mention it last night?” Shit.

  "Are you sure you should be drinking that?" Gage took my glass from me, replacing it with a coke.

  "Are you going to be one of those?" I asked him, feeling a little pissed off.

  "One of what?"

  "Not letting me do stuff? How many books are you going to read and take as gospel?"

  He looked a little shamefaced.

  "How many have you ordered?" I couldn't help but laugh at him.

  "Should I cancel the orders?"

  I gave him a gentle kiss and a nod. "I've done this before, and I know what I'm doing. I've quit smoking and stopped the drinking, but everything else I can continue to do. I'm pregnant, not terminally ill. Now go perform for your adoring masses."

  I indicated the fans, who were starting to flow into the venue. Gage kissed me again and made his way backstage, where the others were waiting for him. The three of us settled ourselves at the side of the stage and waited for the show to start.

  The fans were their usual screaming selves, and the guys were their usual bouncy, entertaining selves. Then things started to go a bit downhill when Matt stepped forward to sing. A girl in the front row pointed out his ring to the girls around her.

  "Oh, joy," Karina mumbled and stood up to go to the bar for another round of drinks.

  The fans tried to get Matt's attention, pointing to his hand. Once he'd finished singing, he looked at them and winked.

  "See something you like, girls?"

  He grinned over their heads at Karina, who yet again flipped him off, the smile on her face just as wide as his.

  "What's that on your finger?" one girl called out.

  "What does it look like? Or do you need glasses?" Matt held up his hand so that the crowd could see the ring. "Earlier today, I became a happily married man. However, as we've only been married for about two hours, I'm sure that's likely to change. My wife can be . . ."

  "I wouldn't continue with that sentence, if I were you," Gage said, cutting into Matt's speech.

  Karina was shooting daggers from her eyes at him.

  "Unless you want to spend your wedding night on the sofa."

  "Er . . . yeah. Good advice, man. So tell me, is it true pregnant women are horny as hell?"

  I glared at him, not believing he had asked the question out loud. Jenny was torn between giggling and comforting me.

  "Buddy, you know how pregnant women are hormonal?"

  Matt nodded.

  "Well, I think one may be gearing up to kill you right now. So, if I were you, I would shut up and get on with the next song."

  Drew intervened. "We can save the bloodbath for after the show."

  Once the show had finished and the guys had cleared all their gear off the stage, they emerged to the usual rush of fans wanting pictures and autographs. Karina was watching the fans with an eagle eye while Matt was commandeered by the girls from the front row.

  "Yes. I got married, so what?" We could hear him speak clearly from where we were sitting. "No, she's not after my fame, so if you don't mind, I'm going to join my wife for a while."

  He disentangled himself from the many hands grabbing at him and sauntered over to us. To give him and Karina some privacy, I turned to Gage, who was talking to a couple of girls with a goofy smile on his face. I decided to join him.

  "Hey, darlin'. How you doing?" He wrapped his arm around my waist and stroked my stomach.

  "You two are so cute," one of the girls announced.

  I smiled at her, but also noticed her friend was a bit more sour-faced whenever she glanced my way. Instead of letting it bother me, I ignored her and tuned into Gage’s conversation with her more amenable friend.

  "Cute, my ass," she sneered. "I bet it's not even his." She turned to walk away, but I grabbed her arm, unwilling to let what she said go.

  "Do you even know me? What gives you the right to talk about me like that? Just because I'm with him and you're not doesn't mean you can slag me off left, right, and centre—let alone to my damn face. Just grow up and find a real bloke rather than obsessing over someone you can't have."

  The girl stared at me, but I stood my ground. When her friend sniggered, she opened her mouth to say something, closed it again, and walked away.

  "That was awesome. It's about time she had her ass handed to her. Can I take a picture of the two of you together?" the remaining girl said.

  Gage agreed to her r
equest on the condition that she sent him a copy via social media.

  Not long after the gig ended, we all made our way back to the hotel. Jenny and I wanted to make sure the kids hadn't driven Wade insane and that he hadn't given them an overdose of sweets.

  Gage and I collected my sleeping kids from Jenny and Wade's room, where all four of them were sprawled on the big bed, fast asleep.

  Jenny took hold of my arm before we left. "Think about moving to LA, please. I know it started out as a bit of a joke, but it would stop Gage worrying about you so much."

  "Worrying?"

  "Whenever he's not near you, he constantly checks his phone, debating whether to call or text you. This was before the baby, so can you imagine what he'll be like for the next seven or eight months?" Then she gave me a kiss on the cheek and let me carry Sam back to our room.

  "What did Jen want?" Gage asked while I tucked both kids in bed.

  "She wants me to give serious thought to moving to LA."

  He held his arms open for me to slide into them and rested his chin gently on the top of my head. "And?"

  Nineteen Months Later . . . Suburbs of LA

  Almost twelve months I had lived in this house, and this was the first time we had managed to throw a party of any kind.

  It had taken a surprisingly short time to sort out the visas for me and the kids so we could move over to the States to be an united family unit. We then spent three months in a rented apartment while we found the perfect house on the outskirts of LA itself. Once we found it, Gage had insisted on getting someone in to do all the decorating, so it was ready for us when we moved in. I’d wanted to do it myself, but he was being the overbearing, protective father-to-be. I was surprised he let me pick up a remote control to change the TV channel.

  After twelve months, my kids were settled into their new schools and had picked up an American twang to their accents, which didn't annoy me as much as I’d expected it to.

  Dermot was due to arrive within the next thirty minutes with his new fiancée to visit and see what we had made of our lives here. The kids had loved spending time with him in South Africa, and when he met Alice three weeks after making the move, he found real happiness. Sam and Grace were excited to show off Cassidy to him on her first birthday, even though he had seen pictures of her.