Married This Year

by Tracey Pedersen

  Luckily, the camera settled on a couple three seats to their left, and Jordan could breathe a long sigh of relief. It wasn’t over yet, though. At another long break, the cameraman finally dumped her in it and focussed on her and David sitting together in the stands. His collar and leash were unmistakeable, and the crowd went crazy. He raised his arms, not at all ashamed of what he’d asked her to do.

  At full time, when they spilled out into the carpark, Jordan abandoned Emily and Cooper and made a break for her car—she couldn’t risk David asking her on another date.

  June

  “What do you think?”

  “It’s beautiful. I love the detail on the skirt.” Jordan touched the delicate lace on the white dress Shelly was trying on. Her fingers ran across the beading and sequins and she glanced up to see her friend smiling down at her.

  “Should we buy your dress while we’re here?” she asked.

  “Absolutely not. There’s been quite enough talk this year about my attempt to get married. We are focussing one hundred percent on you today. When I have a ring on my finger, we’ll think about my dress. Do you want to try another?”

  Shelly giggled as she stepped off the podium. “I want to try every damn dress in this store!”

  “You shall have your wish, then,” Jordan laughed as the sales assistant stepped forward to start the long task of unbuttoning the fifty tiny buttons that held the dress tightly closed.

  “How about this one? They have it in your size.” Emily carried a beautiful dress with a full tulle skirt over for her perusal. “Size ten,” she said wistfully. “I wish I was a size ten.”

  “You’re a twelve, Emily—that’s so much better than being a perfect ten. It’s off the charts, babe.” Andrea joked from her seat on the lounge. She hadn’t joined in the dress selection, saying too many cooks would spoil the dish. Jordan suspected she was saving her strongest opinions for the bridesmaid dresses, and she hoped they would agree on the right one, when the time came. Disagreeing with Andrea when her heart was set on something was always bad.

  Shelly slipped into the dressing room and talked to them through the door. “Do you girls want to bring dates to the wedding?”

  “Not me,” Emily said. “Cooper and I didn’t work out, so I’m planning to snag a groomsman. Tell me there’s one that’s single.”

  Shelly laughed as she slipped the next dress over her head. “Boyd has chosen his support team, and I can confirm that two of them are single. Hopefully they still will be by October.”

  “That’s me done, then.” Emily turned to Jordan as she rifled through the dress rack. “How about you? I know it could be different by then, but if you chose right now, who would you bring?”

  “I wouldn’t bring anyone. Bridesmaids are meant to hang out at the bridal table. A date would feel weird sitting at a table with people they don’t know.”

  “You could bring Luke. He knows all of us.”

  Jordan turned and gave her a frown before going back to the dresses in front of her. “Luke and I are just friends. Inviting him to a wedding gives the wrong impression.”

  “Well, maybe Andrea could ask him as her date.” Another frown from Jordan had Emily smirking to herself as she turned away and rolled her eyes at Andrea. “How about it, Andrea? You’re not taken. Get Luke to come with you, and we can have the pleasure of his company.” Andrea sat up straight and cleared her throat. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her awkward stance had Emily narrowing her eyes. “Oh, ladies, I think Andrea Hilton has something to share with us all.”

  Jordan turned around and looked at her, waiting for the announcement. Shelly stepped out of the changing room and motioned for Emily to zip up her dress. They all watched Andrea, waiting.

  She looked awkward, like her words had caught in her throat. It wasn’t like her to be lost for words, and suddenly she had their full attention. Even the shop assistant had an ear cocked in their direction, although she pretended she was adding up figures on a calculator.

  “Out with it, girlie,” Emily said quietly, and Andrea closed her eyes for a second.

  “I won’t be bringing a boyfriend to the wedding,” she announced, and by the look on her face, she hoped that would be the end of it. She knew better, of course, and when the silence stretched out into seconds, she stumbled on. “I want to bring my friend, Lori.”

  “Lori wants to come to Shelly’s wedding? Won’t she be bored there, like Luke would be, since she doesn’t know anyone?” Emily asked.

  “Well, I guess she could be.” Andrea’s face was pale, and Jordan crossed the room to sit next to her on the couch.

  “Did Emily miss a vital part of this announcement, Andrea? Are you and Lori Byrd together?”

  “We are.” She looked like she might cry—behaviour very unlike Andrea.

  “Oh man,” Emily shrieked. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” She rushed to the couch and pulled Andrea up so she could hug her. Shelly hiked up her thick skirt and stepped into the hug, too. Jordan stood and wrapped her arms around the three of them as they all talked and laughed at once.

  “I’m sorry, you guys. I didn’t know what to say.” Andrea grinned at them when they finally pulled apart. “I’ve wanted to tell you for a while. I was hoping you’d just notice and I wouldn’t have to say a word.”

  “Well, we might have noticed, if you’d ever brought her out with us. I’m so happy for you.” Jordan hugged her again, careful not to step on Shelly’s long dress.

  “Thanks. I’m glad the secret is out.”

  Shelly laughed as she took sliding steps back to the mirror, still clutching the layers of tulle. “What a secret it is!”

  “At least you don’t have to worry about me stealing your wedding thunder,” she nodded toward Jordan, who rolled her eyes. “I can’t legally get married in Australia, so it’s off the table.”

  “That sucks. But now we all have a valid reason to go to the next marriage equality march in the city,” Emily mused as she watched Shelly in the mirror. “I look great in rainbow colours.”

  They all laughed at her never-ending vanity before turning their full attention to Shelly and her search for a dress.

  ***

  Two weeks later, Jordan arrived for dinner to discover that her friends had ganged up on her.

  “We’ve called you here for an intervention.”

  “An intervention? What the hell for?”

  “We think you’re cheating a bit.” Emily took a sip of her drink and raised her eyebrows at Jordan. “You’re not sticking to the list.”

  “Yes, I am. I cheated a bit at the start on Tinder, but that’s because those guys were all gross. I’ve been out with everyone who’s asked me out, and it’s been exhausting, actually. I should be allowed to cheat more!” She glared at her three friends as they sat opposite her at the table. They’d angled themselves into an us versus them configuration, which she had definitely noticed. She almost felt like she was at a job interview, the way they were cross-examining her.

  Shelly spoke up next, “It’s June, Jordan. If you’re getting married before the end of this year, you have to lift your game. The rules said you had to go on two decent dates a month, and you haven’t.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake. I made the rules, so I can change them. I’ve been out with loads of men.”

  “Yes, but you went out with Richard several times and then you counted that as a date. That wasn’t in the original assignment, young lady.” Andrea nodded, as though the rules were an important feature on the scale of national security.

  “So, if I meet someone and it becomes serious, I have to keep dating all the other guys, too? This is becoming stupid.”

  “No, you have to put a bit of pressure on him to see if it’s going to be serious. If not, you need to ditch him and start from scratch. Time is running out to get a rock on your finger.”

  She pressed her lips into a tight line and sipped her drink. “I don’t want to pressure him. We text every day, and I think
it’s serious, but I have only been out with him three times in person—and one of those times, he did that thing that must never be spoken of.”

  They all laughed at that. It had been the talking point of their group, until she’d begged them to never mention it again. Since then, they only made only veiled references to that night in the bar.

  “Alright, so don’t pressure him, but don’t stop looking for Mr Right, either. We don’t think Richard is the one.”

  “You could be right. Where am I going to start looking next, though?”

  “I’ll take you out,” the waiter filling their glasses interrupted as they all looked up at him with looks of surprise. “What? Is that too forward?”

  Jordan was the first to recover. She was getting good at handling awkward dating moments. “It’s not too forward. I have a resolution to say yes to all invitations, so where will we go?”

  He grinned and continued pouring their drinks. “I didn’t think you’d say yes—that made my day. Write your number down, and I’ll call you after work to make a date. My name’s Geoffrey.” His eyes sparkled, and she wondered if, finally, this was it: a normal, everyday guy that she could get to know. She handed him her number, and he almost skipped away from the table.

  “Well, you made his day,” Emily repeated. “I’ve never seen someone go from bored to thrilled in such a short space of time.”

  “He could be fun,” Shelly mused. “In the meantime, though, you need to jump on eHarmony and see if you can book three extra dates in quick succession. I’m starting to worry that I’ll be the only one in this group who ever gets married.” Shelly looked at them each in turn before her eyes settled on Andrea. “You’re off the hook, honey, since your marriage isn’t legal, yet.” She smiled, and Andrea raised her glass in salute. “The rest of you better get on it, though. Jordan, here, is proving that it takes a lot more than an app, a list, and a desire not to fail at life’s biggest challenge!”

  They all raised their glasses and clinked them. Jordan took the biggest sip and pushed her drink to the side. “Okay, now that that’s out of the way, can we get to what I thought we really came here for? We have a wedding to plan, ladies!”

  ***

  As soon as she got home, Jordan did what the girls had suggested: she pulled the dating site up on her computer and logged on to find love… again.

  She scrolled through the profiles that the site said matched with hers and selected three potential men, messaged each of them, and made a date. What no one needed to know was that she made the dates for September and October, so that hopefully by then, she wouldn’t even need them and could cancel.

  She banged the laptop lid shut and then went to bed. Rex jumped up and snuggled in behind her knees before he commenced his usual snoring. As she lay awake in the dark, she thought about Richard and what to do about him. When she finally nodded off to sleep, she was no closer to making a decision.

  I’ll run it by Luke tomorrow. He’ll know what to do.

  July

  Jordan sat in the stands, eating the hot dog and sipping the Coke that Geoffrey had bought for her. He’d sounded a little embarrassed when he’d asked to make a date with her for three o’clock. When she asked about the odd time, he’d confessed that he was competing in a track meet first. She’d lost her mind for a moment and suggested she tag along to watch him race. He’d seemed happy about that, and now here she was.

  His first race had gone well and he’d won his heat. He finished third in the second qualifier, which meant he’d be running in two races in the finals. Jordan had been keen on athletics in high school, so she was happy to watch the various competitors across the field. A proud mum sat next to her, screaming encouragement at her two teenagers who were also competing, and Jordan chatted to her between races.

  As Geoffrey lined up for his first final, he waved at her sitting in the crowd, and she waved back. His smile was huge, and if he could win on enthusiasm alone, this race would be his. He slipped off his tracksuit pants and warmed up with the other racers. His colours were red, and he’d told her it was because red was rumoured to go faster. She probably laughed a little too much at that, since he’d frowned as he walked away.

  They lined up and the gun went off. There was a burst of speed, and then each runner found his stride. Jordan leaned forward, cheering as loudly as the woman next to her, and Geoffrey finished second. He was all smiles and waved again as he cooled down. There was a little while between his races, and he motioned her to come down to the field. She picked her way along the stand and went to join him.

  “Hey, second! What a great effort.”

  “Thanks, Jordan,” he beamed at her. “I’m glad you don’t seem completely bored. I’ll admit that I was worried about you coming along in case you wanted to go straight home.”

  “Not at all—I’m having fun. I’m also sitting next to a woman who can cheer, knit, talk, and eat simultaneously. She’s had me laughing all afternoon.”

  “Awesome. I’d better get back, but keep a close eye on me this race. This one, I’m coming first!” He high-fived her and she felt a little silly as she made her way to her seat.

  The woman she’d been sitting with was packing up her bag. “Oh, are you leaving?”

  “No, I was waiting for you. Your guy and my kid are both in the next race. I got us a seat down the front, since some people I know are going. Are you coming?” She headed off and Jordan quickly followed.

  They settled in the seats, which turned out to be in the front row. Jordan could lean over the concrete and wave to Geoffrey if he searched the stand for her. She didn’t want him to think she’d gone home; he wouldn’t race well if he was wondering where she went.

  The competitors were called again, and once again they slipped off their jumpers and long pants as they shook their limbs around to warm up. Some of them practiced the start position, and soon it was time for them to line up on the track. This race was the longest of the day: three full laps of the field were required before a winner would be crowned. No handicaps or staggered starts existed—the first past the finish line was the winner.

  Her neighbour, who had since introduced herself as Aracelis, commented on Geoffrey’s red shoes, red shorts, and red shirt. “I guess we’ll see if he can go faster,” Jordan said, wondering how many other people were checking out his colour-coordinated outfit. “Which one is your son?”

  She pointed out a tall boy wearing a blue shirt. “That one there, with Vestal printed on the back of his shirt. We named our company after ourselves, so he gets his sponsor name and his own name on his shirt in one go.” She grinned at their ingenuity. “I always wanted a school shirt that said Aracelis Vestal on the back, but my mum said there was no guarantee I’d marry my high school boyfriend. Didn’t I show her?”

  As the starting gun went off, the ten men in the race leaped into the field. They sprinted out of the blocks, and each tried to get the upper hand. Jordan cheered with the crowd as they came around the last bend that would have them complete their first lap. Geoffrey was out in front, and she hoped he’d manage to stay there. Their afternoon date could only be enhanced if he managed to have a good result at this track meet.

  On the second lap, the group was still close together, and Geoffrey had slipped into second. She watched his face as he focussed on the track and blocked out everyone and everything around him. She screamed as loudly as she could, hoping he might hear her and be motivated to run even faster. Aracelis was screaming right along beside her as her son was coming fourth. They laughed together, once the men had gone past and prepared themselves for the home straight.

  They were leaning forward and watching the racers fly across the back of the track when Aracelis pointed at Geoffrey. “What the hell is that?” she shouted with an incredulous laugh.

  “What?”

  “Look at his pants!” Several people next to them heard her and suddenly everyone was laughing and pointing. Jordan could hardly believe her eyes.

  Geoffrey
was running as fast as ever. He was still focussed on the track in front of him, not glancing away for a second, determination clear on his face. Unfortunately, his red shorts appeared to have lost a piece of their elastic, or perhaps they’d always been too loose. Either way, Geoffrey’s manhood was jiggling loose as he ran!

  Jordan covered her mouth, unsure of whether to laugh or keep cheering for him to win. She went with the cheering, but it was now with an enormous grin on her face as Aracelis and most of the stand laughed and screamed. They were all behind Geoffrey, now, wanting him to take the win, since he was displaying such focus in the face of the escape act that had just occurred from the leg of his shorts. As he tore past them, now in the lead, his penis did a happy bounce or two, and he passed the finish line first.

  The crowd went crazy, leaping to their feet and screaming for “the guy in red” as he quickly tucked his treasure inside his pants. The medal presentation ceremony was the best attended of the day as everyone tried to get a photograph of him. They left together some time later, and Jordan swore his face was still as red as his shorts.

  ***

  “What are you doing home so early?” Luke watched with interest as she banged the front door behind her.

  “I’ll tell you in a minute. It’s honestly too good not to share. Before we get to that, though, when did you start calling my apartment home?”

  He grinned at her and pointed at Rex, sitting on his chest as usual. “When your dog adopted me that first day.” He ran his hand across his furry companion and laughed as his eyes flicked to the movie he’d started.

  “Jeez. I’m going to start charging you rent.”

  “Nah. You have to pay rent if you sleep somewhere, and I’ve never gotten near your bed.”