Nuptials for Sale

by Virginia Jewel

  I watched her face as she spoke and saw for the first time how much it hurt her to not be a part of the whole wedding process. Most moms got to help plan the event, or at least be there when their daughter picks out her wedding dress. My mom was giving up all of that because Josh and I had gotten ourselves into a crazy ordeal and taken those chances from her.

  I started to tear up again, but the sound of the front door opening saved me.

  “Is it safe to enter?” my dad called out from a cracked door.

  “Yes, yes, everyone has left. It’s just me and Mel now.” My mom shouted back at him.

  “Well, isn’t this just like the women, Josh? They’ve come in and made a mess and left it for the men to clean up!” my dad said sarcastically.

  Josh laughed as he walked in behind my dad.

  He looked at me questioningly and I mouthed back, “don’t ask.”

  “Why don’t you two leave this for us? It won’t take that long for us to get this mess cleaned up.” Mom offered to us when she caught us smiling at each other.

  “We don’t mind helping out, Mrs. Holden.” Josh countered her offer.

  She stopped cleaning, “Please call me mom now, Josh.”

  “We’ve got this. Why don’t the two of you head home and sort through all the gifts Mel got tonight.” My dad gave him another slap on the back, but this one was punctuated by a wink.

  An awkward look was exchanged between me and Josh, but we obliged my parents. He helped me load the bags into the car and we waved to my parents as we drove off towards our apartment.

  “So, how was it?” Josh asked when my parents’ house was completely out of sight.

  I groaned, “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m scarred for life now.”

  My cheeks burned just thinking about what I’d seen, heard, and been forced to do.

  He laughed loudly.

  “Did you have a good time with my dad?”

  Josh tilted his head to the side slightly and a grin formed on the corner of his mouth. “He talked to me about sex.”

  I groaned again and threw my head back against the car seat. “I’m so sorry!”

  Josh chuckled, “Don’t be. It was pretty informative. I kind of wish he’d had the talk with me years ago.”

  “Yuck! Gross! What did he tell you?” I was disgusted. The thought of my dad talking about sex was awful. The thought of my dad talking about sex with Josh was just horrendous!

  “He didn’t go into any details, but,” Josh paused and gave me a wicked look, “let’s just say that your mother is most likely a very satisfied woman.”

  I screamed, “Ugh! Seriously, please stop talking about this!”

  Josh laughed some more. “Just one more thing and then I’ll stop.”

  We were at a stop light so he turned to face me. He waited until I looked at him and gave him permission to continue.

  He grinned widely at me, “If we really were engaged, then tonight would be a very fun night!”

  I raised an eyebrow at him and he nodded seriously, but kept the goofy grin.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “So, did you get anything good tonight?” he asked as the light turned green. I could see the grin on his face.

  “My parents got us a honeymoon in Hawaii.”

  “I know. Your dad told me about it.” He looked over at me with a smile. “This fake wedding and marriage is turning into a very fortunate turn of events for us.”

  I smiled at him, but my thoughts were elsewhere. I thought of my mom and all the things that she was giving up.

  As we pulled into the parking lot of our apartment building Josh nonchalantly asked, “So, any chance that there might be a lingerie fashion show in our apartment tonight? After all, the gifts aren’t just for you, you know.”

  I looked at him and said seriously, “I suppose it could be arranged, but honestly Josh, some of that lingerie is not going to fit you.”

  11.

  There was no lingerie fashion show. I carefully tucked all the lacy articles away in the back of my closet. I could have used some new bras and panties, but the thought of wearing any of it made me sick to my stomach. Everyone had purchased those items with the intent of me wearing them for Josh, and I just couldn’t bring myself to look at any of it.

  On Saturday, a giant box was delivered to the apartment. Josh helped me carry it into my room.

  “Don’t open that!” I screamed when he started to pull the tape off the package.

  He stopped and looked at me, “Why not?”

  “Because, Josh, it is bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding.” I tried to push him away from the enormous box sitting on my bed.

  He laughed, “You’ve got to be kidding me. We’re having a fake wedding, Mel.”

  “No, we’re not. We’re having a real wedding, followed by a real marriage.” I pulled the box towards me.

  Josh sighed, “Real or fake, the wedding dress superstition is ridiculous. How many episodes of that stupid dress show have I sat and watched with you where the boyfriend goes with the girl to get the dress?”

  “Look, I just want this one thing to be traditional. You need to find somewhere to go for the next few hours. I’m calling my mom to come over.”

  He gave me a strange look.

  I sighed.

  After the lingerie shower incident, I’d been thinking a lot about what my mom was missing out on. As far as she knew, this was a real wedding. What we were going through was real to her, and I had managed to find a way to keep her out of it all.

  “I want my mom to have this one thing. She wasn’t there to help me pick it out or to help with any of the other wedding details. I want her to have this one part of the wedding.” I gave him a pleading look.

  “Fine,” he sighed. “I’m going to the gym. I’ll call you before I come home.”

  “Thanks Josh.” I flashed a smile at him and wrapped my arms around him.

  We’d been doing that a lot more lately. Being forced to look like a loving engaged couple had somehow made our friendship a bit more physical. We hugged each other, even when no one was around to see us.

  My mom showed up about twenty minutes after Josh left and immediately helped me pull the dress out of its box.

  “Oh Melody, it’s absolutely beautiful,” she said after we had it laid out on the bed. She started to cry as she grabbed my hand and pulled it up to her face.

  “Do you want to try and help me get into it?” I asked timidly.

  It took us almost fifteen minutes to get the dress on and laced up. However, when we were done, it was worth every uncomfortable tug and pull. My mom stood in front of me with a tissue pressed against her eyes, dabbing at the tears streaming down her face.

  “You are so beautiful Melody.”

  “Do you think dad will like it?” I asked, suddenly feeling like an insecure child.

  “I know he will. I bet he cries when he sees you in this next week.” She sniffed loudly. “I can’t believe that in less than a week you’ll be a married woman.”

  “Me either,” I whispered to myself.

  “I brought something for you.” My mom said as she left the bedroom. She came back in seconds with a small box in her hands. “This was mine and it was your grandmother’s before that. I wasn’t sure if it would go with your dress, but I think it matches quite well.”

  I took the box from her and opened it up to find a delicate lace veil.

  “Let me put it on for you.”

  She walked behind me and carefully pinned the veil in place on my head. We both smoothed the lace over my head.

  I looked at myself in the mirror. I actually looked like a bride, not a fake bride, or someone who was just pretending, but a real bride.

  “Mom,” I said softly as she gently smoothed out the veil and dress.

  “What is it honey?”

  “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  She put her arm around me and looked at me in the mirror. She smiled warmly at
our reflection and squeezed me against her.

  “It’s perfectly natural to have fears about marriage, sweetheart. Most women do. What you have to do is try to imagine your life without him. Is that a life that you want?” She gave my reflection a questioning look.

  I didn’t hesitate, “No, it isn’t.”

  She smiled, “Then you have your answer.”

  Before we took the dress off, she took a few pictures on her cell phone and sent them to my dad.

  “I think you should take the dress home with you, just in case Josh tries to sneak a peek when I’m not around.” I said once the dress was carefully zipped into the garment bag that had come with it.

  “I think that’s a good idea. We know how mischievous that boy can be.” She laughed and grabbed the hanger as I picked up the bottom of the bag.

  As we walked past Josh’s room my mom said nonchalantly, “Mel, dear, why is that bedroom such a mess? It looks exactly like it did when Josh was staying in it. Don’t tell me that you won’t give up any of the space in your room for him? You’re such an only child, Mel. Marriage means that you have to share everything.”

  “We’re still working out all those little details.” I covered my tracks as best as I could, but filed that away as one more thing we had to figure out about the whole fake marriage thing.

  “Not all the little details, I hope,” she raised an eyebrow at me.

  I rolled my eyes at her and she laughed.

  Monday evening Josh and I met Sam, from Wake up America, and Nathan, the suit from SuperMart. They took us to dinner at a restaurant that neither of us had ever been able to afford. They spoke giddily about numbers and ratings while Josh and I sat in silence with fake smiles plastered on our faces.

  “So, any pre-wedding jitters for the two of you?” Nathan asked us over dessert.

  Josh laughed, “Not at all. We’re as solid as a rock.”

  I swallowed hard and forced a smile to my face.

  Nathan must have noticed the hesitation on my part, “What about you, Mel? Solid as a rock?”

  I nodded, “Of course, it’s just all very overwhelming. That’s all.”

  Josh looked at me, “We’re both just ready to get our normal lives back. I’m sure it’s like that for every couple planning a wedding.”

  Sam and Nathan, who were both wearing wedding bands, laughed.

  “Nothing changes a woman more than a wedding.” Sam said dryly, held his glass up and pointed it towards me. “No offense meant.”

  I raised a glass of my own, “None taken, I assure you. I can not even begin to imagine how difficult this process would be if I were actually the one handling all the details.” I finished the rest of the wine in my glass and placed it back on the table.

  Josh watched me and took a sip of his own drink.

  Nathan jumped right back into business.

  “I’d like for you all to come to the store after we leave here. I’d like to go over some of the details of the ceremony and reception if you’ve got time.”

  We all agreed and the conversations continued around me.

  “Are you okay?” Josh had pulled my arm to slow me down as we followed Sam and Nathan into the store.

  “I’m fine.”

  I pulled my arm out of his grip and kept walking.

  Nathan stopped us in front of the women’s dressing room. “Mel, you’ll be waiting in here,” he pointed at the dressing room. “Then you’ll walk up this little aisle here, turn and walk up this main aisle to where Josh will be waiting for you here.” He walked the path as he spoke.

  The beeping of the registers rang loudly in my ears as I followed behind him. I pictured myself walking through the store wearing the elaborate and formal wedding gown that was currently hanging in my mom’s closet.

  I must have made a strange face because Nathan smiled and spoke, “Don’t worry. The registers will be closed completely. We’ll have chairs set up along the sides here so that there will be a little aisle here for you to walk down.”

  “How will the rest of the people in the store get around or get their shopping done while this is going on?” Josh asked him.

  “There won’t be any other people in the store. We’re planning on closing the store for a few hours while this is going on.” Nathan responded quickly.

  “Won’t that cost your company a lot of money?” Josh asked.

  “Not really. While the ceremony and reception are occurring, we’ll use that time to do some simple restocking and rearranging in other parts of the store. When it’s all over with, we’ll open the store up to the public and be ahead of the daily schedule.” Nathan smiled at us warmly.

  “He’s also failed to mention the fact that while the ceremony is happening here, it will be broadcast nationwide on televisions in all SuperMart locations. Shoppers all over the country will flock to their local SuperMart after watching you two exchange vows here.” Sam laughed and punched Nathan playfully on the shoulder. “At least that’s what he’s hoping for.”

  Nathan changed the subject. “Let me tell you about the reception.”

  He took us to the Lawn and Garden section and walked us through all the plans he had.

  “We’ll string lights up all over the ceiling. It’s usually a little darker in here than in the store, so the lights will help brighten the place up.” He pointed to the spot where bags of mulch and several rows of plants were sitting. “We’ll put tables and chairs up here for the guests to sit and enjoy the food, but for the most part we’re hoping people will just walk around and mingle.”

  “There will be cameras set up here,” Sam pointed around the outdoor section, “here, and here. Plus, we’ll have some camera men walking around getting some close ups.”

  “If you guys will give us a list of some music you’d like, we can pipe it in through the outdoor speakers to help with the atmosphere.” Nathan smiled at us.

  “What about the dances?” Sam asked him.

  “Well, the weather is supposed to beautiful that day, so I was thinking that perhaps we could have the first dance and the father-daughter dance here, in the open-air section. We can set up some of these fountains around and maybe a few benches for people to sit on.” Nathan smiled again. He had obviously been working very hard to plan a reception that would make us forget that it was being held in a SuperMart.

  “It sounds amazing,” Josh gushed.

  Nathan looked at me expectantly, “What do you think?”

  “I think it sounds very beautiful,” I smiled at him, “and expensive. I’m glad we’re not paying for this.”

  Everyone laughed.

  12.

  “What the hell?” I said as I pushed against the door of our apartment, which wouldn’t budge.

  “Sorry!” I heard Josh shout from the other side of the door. “Just give us a second and we’ll let you in.”

  “What’s going on, Josh?” I said through the small opening I was able to create in the doorway.

  “Our furniture was delivered today and we’re trying to put it together and get the old stuff out.” Josh said as he yanked the door open a little further.

  “Oh.”

  I’d forgotten that we’d picked furniture out from SuperMart’s website the day we appeared on Wake up America.

  Josh pulled the door open about halfway and stuck his head out. “Give me your hand and I’ll pull you over these boxes.”

  I gave him my hand and he pulled me up and through the door. I stepped up onto the box blocking the doorway. The entire living room was covered in boxes, both empty and full. There were long slender boxes resting against the walls in the hallway and several boxes sitting in the dining room.

  “What are we supposed to do with all this stuff?” I asked Josh as I looked around.

  “I called the guys to come over and help me get rid of some of the old stuff and put the new stuff together.” Josh pointed to the guys who were working diligently to put our apartment back together.

  “Hey Mel! Congratulati
ons!” Mike, one of our friends from college greeted me from the floor. “It’s about time you guys finally got together. I thought this guy was gonna have to wait forever for you to figure it out.”

  Josh tossed a screwdriver at him, but missed.

  Mike just laughed.

  “Seriously, Mel, how many times at school did we say that you two were going to end up together?” Tommy, another college friend, asked from the dining room.

  “Okay, that’s enough talking. Get back to work so that we can actually move around in this place.” Josh shouted at the guys.

  “I’m going to go change. Is it safe to go into my room?” I asked, but quickly added, “I mean, our room?” I grimaced at Josh, acknowledging my slip.

  “We haven’t touched the bedroom.” Josh answered quickly.

  “Josh wouldn’t let us into the love nest.” Mike teased from the floor.

  After I changed, I headed back out to help.

  “What can I do?” I asked while the guys sat in various spots assembling furniture.

  “You could order us a pizza and get us a few beers from the fridge,” Josh said without looking up.

  “Be careful now, Josh. You don’t want to start expecting her to wait on you hand and foot. Trust me, that doesn’t last long. Before you know it, she’ll be telling you exactly where you can stick those beers!” Tommy said with a chuckle. He’d been married for several years. In fact, Josh and I had been in his wedding.

  “Women don’t like to be ordered around,” Mike added, “except in the bedroom. Right Mel?” he winked at me.

  I ignored them. “What kind of pizza do you want?”

  When the pizza arrived, I stood on the box in front of the door and handed the deliveryman his money. The four of us sat on the floor and ate.

  “So how come you guys never told us you were dating?” Tommy asked before shoving another piece of pizza into his mouth.

  Josh shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess it never came up.”

  “It never came up! Are you serious? You’ve been talking about this girl since the day I met you.” Mike reached for another beer.

  I glanced over at Josh, but he avoided my gaze.