A Walk Down the Aisle

by Holly Jacobs

  She didn’t need to ask what it was. She wanted to tell him that the distaster of a wedding was her fault. That Colton’s leaving her was her fault. That everything was her fault. But she didn’t say anything other than “thank you” as she patted the elderly man’s back and disengaged herself from his comfort.

  On his heels, Marilee and Vivienne started heading their way, so she ducked into a tent of tie-dyed T-shirts and teenage jewelry, the Allens right behind her.

  When Tori bought a couple of braided bracelets, they started through the crowd again. Sophie worked hard at not making eye contact with anyone, but she couldn’t miss the sympathetic looks from everyone. Between those looks and the other booths they visited, the Allens continued their banter as Sophie pointed out the sights.

  She spotted Colton, along with Finn and Sebastian, over by the dunking booth. She’d known she was bound to run into them—and into Colton again. Every fiber of her being wanted to turn and walk in the other direction, or simply ignore them like she’d been ignoring everyone’s sympathy, but she wasn’t going to slink around Valley Ridge, avoiding Colton and his friends. Time to practice her social face. She purposefully didn’t alter her course, and smiled at the group. “Hi, guys. Finn and Sebastian, I’d like to introduce you to the Allens. Lieutenant Sebastian Bennington and Dr. Finn Wallace, this is Dom, Gloria and Tori Allen.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Finn said, while Sebastian merely gave a brisk nod.

  “We were on our way...over there,” Finn said, and the two of them headed across the high school lawn at a quick pace.

  Colton stared after his friends with an expression that said he had no idea what had just happened. Sophie might have clued him into the fact that his friends were snubbing her, but he’d figure it out on his own sooner or later.

  “Good seeing you again. I hope you’re having a good time today. Valley Ridge pulled out all the stops,” he said. Making social small talk wasn’t his forte, and Sophie shot him a smile of thanks, which seemed to encourage him, because he said to Tori, “I hear you’re going to be helping Maeve out at the library this summer?”

  Tori looked surprised.

  “You’re coming from Cleveland, so you might not know how small towns work, but here in Valley Ridge, news travels faster than you can tweet. Not only did I run into Maeve, but I heard it from about half a dozen other people, too.”

  Sophie knew that in addition to talking about Tori and her job, people were discussing her and Colton’s wedding and speculating on what went wrong. She wanted to groan. She wanted to tell everyone it was all her fault. But, instead, she kept her social smile in place as Tori looked skeptical at the thought of the small-town gossip mill, and Dom said, “It was like that on the commune. If I did anything, my parents heard about it before I got home.”

  “I’ve always lived in a city, so don’t look at me,” Gloria told Tori with a laugh. “But I guess that there are some bonuses to that kind of grapevine. You’ll hear how Tori’s doing before Tori even knows how she’s doing.”

  “You’ve got that right,” Sophie said.

  Colton cleared his throat. “I better go check on Finn and Sebastian. I’ll see you at the library, Tori.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Tori said with as much animosity as his friends had shown Sophie.

  “Sorry about Colton’s friends,” Sophie said to the Allens. “Let me assure you, it was me, not you.”

  “They’re rallying around their friend?” Gloria asked.

  “That’s not fair,” Tori said. “I broke up the wedding, not you.”

  “You didn’t break up anything,” Sophie reiterated. She wouldn’t allow Tori to feel guilty about that. “As for Finn and Sebastian, they’re simply watching out for Colton. I like that he has friends who have his back no matter what. Everyone needs someone like that in their corner.”

  “But I—” Tori started.

  “Not your fault. It will all work out,” she said for Tori’s benefit, and maybe for her own. It felt good saying the words out loud. It will all work out. When she’d been pregnant with Tori, her life had been as emotionally chaotic as it was now. It had been hard to believe, in the midst of it all, that things would ever be okay again.

  And look at her life now. Though she’d missed Tori every day, her daughter had been raised by two wonderful people who obviously loved her. And Sophie had built for herself a life she loved.

  Her hand rested on her stomach, and she reassured herself that a year from now, she’d be in a good place again. The chaos would have settled, and she’d have her daughter back in her life, and a baby to raise.

  But not Colton, a small voice whispered in her head; she ignored it.

  They wandered through the booths. Food. Games. Until they came to the small booth filled with paperbacks. Maeve Buchanan was working it. “Hi, Maeve,” Sophie said. “Nice booth.”

  “The library’s got so many paperbacks. We thought this was a great way to clear out some of our donations and make some money for other books we really need. Do you know we don’t even have one copy of any of Shakespeare’s plays?” Maeve shook her head at the thought, setting her wild red hair in motion.

  She seemed to sense her hair’s undulations, because she reached up and tried to smooth it into place, but it didn’t help. Maeve heaved a put-upon sort of sigh and gave up, then turned to Tori. “And is this my summer volunteer?”

  “It is. Maeve Buchanan, this is the Allen family, Dom, Gloria and your victim—volunteer—Tori.”

  Maeve grinned. “It’s nice to meet you all, especially you, Tori. I can really use the help.”

  “Sophie said you pretty much run everything yourself and you don’t even get paid?” Tori asked, as if the concept of not being paid for work was a mystery to her.

  “I don’t get paid in money, but I get paid,” Maeve assured her. “There’s something magic about suggesting a book to someone, and having them read it and get as excited as you were about it. When I was younger, I had someone who did that for me. She’d hand me a book I wouldn’t have picked up if you paid me, and because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, I’d try it and find the magic.”

  “Yeah, Mom made me read—”

  “Suggested.” Gloria humphed, which made Dom and Tori both laugh.

  “Yeah, suggested in the same tone she suggests I clean my room, or put my dishes in the dishwasher. Anyway, I tried them because she suggested them, plus I knew she loved them, and I was surprised to find I love them, too. And last summer, we had Shakespeare Sundays.”

  “Shakespeare Sundays?” Maeve asked.

  “We read the plays aloud. I hated reading them, but it was fun with Mom and Dad. Dad made the best Puck ever.”

  “I did,” Dom said, with a modest smile.

  Maeve dug through a pile of paperbacks and asked, “Have you tried this?” as she handed Tori a ratty copy of The Hunger Games.

  “No. I saw the movie, though.”

  “Try the book. I love that you read Shakespeare, but you’ll need some more contemporary YAs for the kids who come visit.”

  “YAs?” Tori asked.

  “Young adults. It’s a very hot genre, and I think most of the people who will be using the library in the afternoons while you’re there will be kids.” Maeve looked beyond their group and said, “Speaking of kids, let me introduce you to some of our more frequent visitors. Joey, come over here.”

  “Joe,” the young boy corrected.

  Maeve nodded and continued. “Joe, Allie and Mica Williams, this is Tori Allen. She’s going to be opening the library a couple of hours an afternoon for the summer.”

  The tiniest blonde sister, Mica, gave Tori a once-over and asked, “Do you read books to little girls?”

  Tori knelt down. “I don’t think I ever have, but I’d be willing to learn.”

  Mica considered it a moment, then nodded. “Okay. I’m Mica and I’m five. I know all about reading. My brother, Joe, he reads to me and he can do the voices. You gotta hold little kids
on your lap, and you gotta do the voices. My friend Abbey and I will help you.”

  “I’d appreciate that,” Tori said.

  “We’re gonna look for books at the booth. Ya got any for kids, Miss Maeve?” Mica asked.

  Maeve led the girls into the booth, and Joe smiled at Tori. “Sorry. She doesn’t generally accost strangers like that. She must like you.”

  Sophie watched as Tori blushed and answered, “No problem. I like kids for the most part.”

  “Me, too,” Joe said. “For the most part. Do you want me to introduce you around? I hear you’re going to be spending the summer here in Valley Ridge.”

  Tori looked back at her mom and dad for permission, and when they nodded, she said, “Sure, that would be great.”

  “Let’s get the kids and we’ll see who we can find.”

  Maeve sold each of the little girls a book, and the group of kids left. “See you in the morning, Miss Maeve,” Tori called out.

  “And that’s that,” Gloria said with a laugh. “Tori is a social butterfly. Before we get back next weekend, she’ll know half the town.”

  “That’s the kind of help the library could use. The idea of having a kid there in the afternoons might make a draw,” Maeve said. “I’ve got a bunch of people who will be helping out, too. I don’t want you to think I’m simply dumping everything on Tori. But I’ll be showing her the ropes tomorrow, and she’ll be heading things up.”

  “So she won’t be alone?”

  “No, I’ve lined up some adult volunteers. Mayor Tuznik, Mrs. Dedioniso, Mrs. Esterly... We’ve got a bunch who will be in and out during Tori’s afternoons.”

  “I thought your mayor was your friend Mattie’s brother?” Dom asked.

  “He is. Stanley Tuznik was the mayor years back. He’s retired now and is the crossing guard for the school, but he still gets Mayor as an honorific,” Sophie explained. “Kind of like once you’re president, you’re always Mr. President.”

  Dom laughed and nodded.

  “Thanks again, Maeve,” Sophie said. She walked through the crowd, waving at people and trying not to get too close to anyone who had “that look” in their eye. That’s what she dubbed the look that said they wanted to hug her and assure her that everything would be all right. She wasn’t sure she could take too much more of either.

  So she stuck to introducing Gloria and Dom to people who didn’t seem likely to swoop in for a hug. When they reached the school, they put their blanket at the corner of the football field as evening descended and it started to get dark. Sophie was alone with Tori’s parents. It was the perfect time to tell them about the baby and ask their opinion. But she couldn’t find the words.

  Big shock there. She obviously could never find the words for the things that really mattered. “I—”

  “Aunt Sophie,” came a voice, interrupting her before she even started.

  Abbey Langley threw herself onto Sophie’s lap. “I missed you so much. So did Bear. He said come visit.”

  Abbey didn’t wait for a response. The small redhead prattled on about what she’d done with Finn and Mattie that day. “...and popcorn. Mickey almost puked.”

  “TMI,” eleven-year-old Zoe Langley said. “You ran too far ahead. Aunt Mattie’s gonna get you.”

  “Uh-uh.” Abbey turned to the Allens. “Aunt Mattie don’t get me. She loves me.”

  “But I’ll get you,” screamed Mickey Langley, who was rewarded by an earsplitting shriek as he chased his little sister around the blanket.

  “Here we are, bringers of chaos,” Mattie said. “Harbingers of doom. Have you seen Finn?”

  “A while back. He was with Colton and Sebastian.”

  “Boys,” Mattie groused with a grin.

  “Mattie, these are Tori’s parents, Gloria and Dom Allen. They’ll be in town most weekends this summer. They’re staying at JoAnn’s.”

  “My fiancé...” Mattie said, stumbling a bit over the word, as if it was still a surprise that Finn was her fiancé, “stays there. At least for a few more weeks until the wedding.”

  Gloria and Dom both looked at Sophie. “I’m going to stand up for Mattie.” She faced her friend. “You know, we’re going to have to go dress shopping.”

  Mattie groaned. “With Lily, the bridesmaid-zilla.”

  “Lily’s that bad?” Gloria asked.

  “Worse,” Sophie and Mattie said in unison.

  Mattie regaled Dom and Gloria with her disgruntled renditions of Lily’s list of wedding rules.

  Sophie realized that all three of them gave her concerned glances, so she forced a smile and joined in the laughter.

  She noticed her hands were once again cradling her still-flat stomach. She couldn’t help but notice how often she did that.

  She forced her hands onto her lap. She’d tell her friends, and Gloria and Dom, about the baby next week. If these were the kind of sympathetic glances she got after a broken engagement, she’d need to gird her loins in order to deal with the looks she’d get when everyone found out about the baby.

  Mattie and the kids left and returned to the blanket they were sharing with Finn, which sat next to a blanket with Sebastian, Hank and Lily, which sat next to Colton’s solo blanket. Sophie couldn’t help glancing their way. Part of her wished she was there with them, part of the group again.

  But when Tori found them just as dusk turned to straight-up night, Sophie realized she was part of another group now. One that included her daughter, her daughter’s parents and, someday soon, a new baby.

  They waited for the fireworks to begin.

  “Should we teach Sophie to play the ooh-aah game?” Gloria asked.

  The entire family talked over one another, explaining that if you listened to the crowd when the fireworks went off, their responses seemed to alter between ooh and aah of their own accord.

  When the fireworks started, they were silent a moment, and sure enough, after each burst of fireworks, the crowd oohed and aahed, which set the Allen family to laughing.

  Sophie joined in their laughter, but realized that despite the fact they’d tried to include her, this was a family thing. And though she was biologically Tori’s family, she wasn’t really. Not in any way that mattered.

  * * *

  COLTON WAS SITTING slightly behind Sophie and the Allens, which gave him the perfect opportunity to watch her.

  He noticed that the three Allens sat so close to one another they touched. The mom’s and dad’s thighs touched, and Tori held her mother’s hand as they watched the fireworks together, laughing over something.

  Sophie sat a bit removed. Oh, she laughed when they did, but it was apparent to anyone who really took the time to look that she was an outsider. Included, but not part of the family.

  Not anymore.

  That’s what Sophie had said when he asked if she had a family.

  Not anymore.

  He’d been so angry the day Tori showed up and Sophie had admitted that she still had family, that she’d lied to him, that he hadn’t asked himself what her parents must have done to make Sophie cut them out of her life.

  Each time a firework lit up the sky, he could see how isolated she looked, sitting there as part yet apart. He wanted to go over and sit next to her. Wrap his arm around her and provide support.

  But he’d given up the right.

  And though he knew he’d been justified in calling things off, he couldn’t help but wonder again what would have happened if he’d insisted that the wedding go forward, and then worked to sort things out with Sophie after.

  After they were husband and wife.

  After they were tied forever.

  He’d have had the whole story and been next to Sophie, helping her work things out with Tori. He’d have been there when she found out about their baby.

  He could almost imagine how it would have been. Something would have happened to make Sophie suspect. Maybe she’d missed a period. Maybe she felt sick in the morning. Sophie, being Sophie, she’d have shared her suspic
ions with him immediately. She couldn’t hold on to a secret to save her life.

  At that moment, his fantasy bubble burst.

  Sophie obviously could hold on to a secret.

  He glanced at her daughter.

  Sophie had more than proved that.

  How could he have married someone who couldn’t tell him the truth?

  How could he not marry the woman who was going to have his baby?

  How could...

  He forced himself to let those unanswerable questions go and watch the fireworks.

  “You okay?” Sebastian asked, and Finn turned to him, waiting to hear his answer.

  “Fine. I’m fine,” he lied.

  Maybe he could keep some secrets, too.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  AT NINE ON TUESDAY, Sophie knocked softly on Tori’s door. “Time to get up,” she called. “You don’t want to be late meeting Maeve on your first day of work, especially when she took time off from her own job to help get you settled.”

  Tori surprised her by opening the door, fully dressed. “I was on my way down.”

  “I didn’t hear you get up. Of course, I had the radio on.”

  “Yeah, I heard.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Did it wake you up?” She should have thought that the radio might have woken Tori.

  Sophie hadn’t lived with anyone since she left home. Even in college, she’d paid extra for a private dorm room. Funny, when she was planning the wedding it had never occurred to her to worry that living with someone might be an adjustment.

  Maybe because she had no doubts that she and Colton would mesh as well living together as they always had.

  “Sophie, it’s fine,” Tori said. “I was teasing. And it’s nice to learn you listen to regular music.” She started down the stairs.

  Sophie was on her heels. “Regular music?”

  “Contemporary stuff, not some old guy singing about a splinter in his shoe and in his heart because some woman done him wrong.”

  “I listen to country music, too. And it’s not like that.” Sophie listened to country music because of Colton. He didn’t like regular music. She refused to think about him but, instead, concentrated on her daughter as they walked into the kitchen. She turned the radio down. “I’m not sure what you like for breakfast. I have granola, or we can stop at the coffee shop on the way to the library. Mattie makes the most kick-butt muffins. We can go to the diner if you want something more, or I can make eggs, or—”