He looked at my face, “What’s wrong? Have you been crying?”
I pulled him towards an empty classroom.
“Mel, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? You’re scaring me. Is everything okay?” he asked frantically.
I pulled his backpack off his shoulder and pushed him down in a chair.
“My mom just called me. She said your dad has been trying to get in touch with you. He couldn’t reach you so he asked her to call me.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
“What’s wrong, Mel?”
I could feel the tears coming up again as I heard the fear in his voice.
“It’s your mom, Josh. She was in an accident,” I gulped for air and sobbed, but continued. “She didn’t make it, Josh.”
He grabbed my arm. “Stop it, Mel. That’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking. You have to go home now.”
Josh let go of my arm and started speaking rapidly. “This isn’t true. It can’t be true. I just talked to her last night. She’s my mom. She can’t be dead.”
I bent down so that I could look at him in the eyes. “She’s gone, Josh. She didn’t make it. I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head back and forth. I stood up and wrapped my arms around him. He broke into sobs. I squeezed him tighter and cried with him.
We sat in that room for an hour. I didn’t let him go until his sobbing stopped. When he had calmed down enough to leave, I grabbed his bag and carried it for him. He leaned on me as we headed straight to my car. We didn’t talk the whole ride home.
When we pulled into his driveway, my parents were there to greet us. His dad was still busy working out the details and taking care of paperwork. My mom rushed to Josh and pulled him into a big embrace, causing him to burst into tears again. My dad grabbed me and hugged me.
“You’re a great friend to him, Mel. Thank you for being so brave,” he whispered to me as I cried against his chest.
My family stayed with Josh until his dad came home. When Mr. Matthews walked in the front door, he and Josh hugged and cried into each other’s shoulders. My parents and I left quietly.
Back at my house, my mom made my favorite dinner. My parents didn’t let me out of their sight and kept telling me how much they loved me. I headed to bed early and pulled the comforter up around me tightly.
A light tap on my window made me sit up. I flipped my light on and saw Josh standing outside my window. I jumped out of bed and ran to the window.
“What are you doing here? Are you alright?”
“I can’t stay in that house tonight, Mel. Can I stay with you?” he sounded broken, and I couldn’t say no.
“Sure, my mom can make up the guest bed.” I pulled the curtain back to make more room for him.
He crawled in through the window.
“You could have used the front door, you know. My parents love you and would do anything for you, especially now.”
“I know, but I don’t want to be alone right now. Can I just stay in here with you?” He pleaded with me.
“Of course,” I crossed the room to lock my bedroom door.
Josh shut the window and closed the curtain.
He sat on my bed and kicked his shoes off then just sat there staring at the floor.
I sat next to him and said softly, “I’m really sorry about your mom.”
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore, Mel. I just want to go to sleep and hopefully wake up and have this whole thing be over with.”
“Okay.”
I slid across the bed and crawled under the covers. Josh did the same. When we were both lying down, I pulled the comforter up over us. Josh pulled me into his chest and held me there.
15.
It took me most of the day to sleep off my hangover. Josh came in a few times to check on me, but I mostly just stayed in bed.
“Are you going to sleep all day?” Josh asked the last time he popped into my room. He leapt onto my bed causing the whole thing to shake.
My stomach churned as the bed shook. “Are you going to eat all day?” I rolled over to face him.
“I have a high metabolism, you know that!” he said with a smile and popped another pretzel into his mouth.
“Yes, I know,” I said with disdain. I sat up and leaned my head against the headboard next to him. “It’s really not fair that you eat as much as you do and still look like that!”
Josh rubbed his flat stomach and flexed his muscles teasingly.
I reached over and pinched him in the side.
“Are you going to let all this go to waste now that you’re a married man?” I teased him.
“I might. Maybe I’ll change my whole image, dye my hair, gain a little weight, and change my wardrobe.” He nodded as he spoke, and then ate another pretzel.
I rested my head on his shoulder, “Don’t. I like you just the way you are.”
Josh sighed and I closed my eyes and rested some more.
“Speaking of changes, are you going to change your name?” he whispered shyly, breaking the silence.
“I don’t think so. If I do then that would just be one more thing to do when this is all over. Plus, this isn’t a real marriage anyway.” I added with a little shrug.
I felt Josh’s shoulder tense up, “Right.”
He moved and I picked my head up. He slid off the bed and moved towards the door.
“By the way, your mom called and said for you to pack and bring an overnight bag with you tonight,” he said dryly as he left the room.
I jumped out of bed and followed him out of the room. I caught a glimpse of his back as he walked into his room.
“What do you mean I’m supposed to pack an overnight bag?” I asked, but was immediately distracted by the state of his bedroom. “What happened in here?”
The floor, which was usually covered with piles of clothes, was not only visible, but also freshly vacuumed. There were no clothes, clean or dirty, anywhere in sight.
“I cleaned,” he shrugged.
“Why?”
“I just figured that if anyone stopped by, and happened to see this room, they wouldn’t suspect anything if it looked like this.”
“Good point,” I nodded. “Is that our new bed?” I pointed to the new wrought iron looking bed.
“Yeah, I figured I’d take it since you have a nice one already.” Josh was standing across the room, looking through a dresser drawer.
“No problem,” I sat down on the new bed. “It’s pretty comfortable, but I think we should get you some new sheets and stuff.” I picked at the tattered comforter.
“Your mom wants you to bring a bag of clothes because you are staying at their house.” Josh said, bringing the topic back to why I followed him into his bedroom.
“Why?”
“She said something about how we’re not supposed to see each other the night before the wedding.”
I rolled my eyes at the idea.
Josh walked over to his closet. “What are you wearing tonight?”
“I was thinking that I’d wear that pink dress.”
“Okay, so what about this black suit?” he pulled out a nice, but plain, black suit.
I hopped off the bed and squeezed next to him in front of the closet. I flipped through some of the shirts and jackets looking for something that would look good. In the very back, there was a gray suit. I pulled it out and held it up to him. “I like this one.”
I held the suit up to him and he took hold of the hanger. “Wear this shirt and tie with it,” I handed him a white button up shirt and pink tie.
“Pink? Are you sure? Isn’t that a little obnoxious, both of us wearing pink?”
“Josh, this is our wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We have a right to be obnoxious. It’s practically a requirement.” I said, and smoothed my hands over the suit I’d picked out for him. “You are going to look so handsome in this suit. I love it when guys were pink with a suit.” I stepped back and admired what I’d put together for him.
> “I know. You gave this tie to me, remember?” he added with a smile.
“That’s right, I did.” I smiled back at him. “What time are we leaving tonight? The rehearsal is at seven, so we probably don’t need to leave until quarter till.”
Josh turned and placed the suit on his bed. “Actually, I need to run an errand beforehand, so we’ll need to leave here around five.”
I followed him and sat down on the bed again, “Five? That’s in like forty minutes! What kind of errand do you need to run that requires us to leave an hour and forty-five minutes earlier?”
“We’re picking my dad up from the airport.” Josh didn’t turn around, but I could see him watching me in the mirror.
My face immediately went white, “Your dad is coming? I thought he wasn’t going to be able to make it because his schedule was too busy.”
He eyed me from the mirror. “He called last night and said he’d rearranged everything so that he could be here. He’s flying in tonight and leaving tomorrow after the reception.”
It had been months since we’d seen his dad. After Josh’s mom had died, his dad had taken a job with his company that required him to move to the west coast. He came back to Virginia once or twice a year, but he and Josh kept in close contact over the phone. I knew that Josh would be excited to see his dad, but part of me started to panic a little at the idea. Josh’s dad coming to the wedding made one more person we had to fool. He was one more person we had to lie to.
I stood up from the bed and headed towards the door. “I’d better get ready if we’re going to leave that soon.”
“Hey,” Josh grabbed my arm and stopped me. “Are you okay?”
I gave him a weak smile, “Yeah.”
He lowered his eyes at me, “Really?”
I sighed, “Your dad coming to the wedding is great, but I’m just starting to freak out again about lying to everyone about this.”
He let go of my arm and looked sternly at me, “Mel, you’re the one who said we had to go through with this. I gave you the option to let me take the fall for this, but you said we had to do it.”
“I know that!” I raised my voice to him.
“I’m just reminding you, don’t get angry with me!” he shouted back at me.
“I’m not!” I walked out of the room and down the hall towards my own room. “I’ve got to get ready!” I slammed the door to my room behind me and went to work. My hands shook as I curled my hair and applied my makeup. I pulled my dress on and gave myself one final look in the mirror before I left the room. Despite the fact that I’d just put makeup on, my face still looked paler than usual.
I picked up my shoes and carried them into the living room with me. Josh was standing in the middle of the room waiting for me. I stopped in the hallway and drew in a breath when I saw him.
“What?” he asked when he noticed me looking at him.
I swallowed loudly and choked out, “You look amazing, Josh.”
He surveyed himself then looked up and smiled.
As I watched him stand there, looking gorgeous, and smiling at me, it reminded me of the first time I saw him. When I turned around in my desk to see that smiling blonde haired boy, my heart had stopped for just a second. Now, I was looking at that same boy all grown up. His blonde curls had been replaced by a shorter straight haircut, but those blue eyes and that gorgeous smile were still present. My heart beat rapidly as he looked at me.
Josh walked towards me, “You look beautiful, Mel. That dress is incredible.”
I didn’t trust my voice, so I just gave him a weak smile. He pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me. I took a deep breath and drew in his scent. I’d always loved the way Josh smelled. I loved the way my car always smelled like him after we rode together. I didn’t notice it as much at home because it was everywhere.
Josh tucked my head under his chin and squeezed me tighter. “I’m really sorry about yelling at you earlier.”
I smiled against his chest, “Don’t be. I started it. I’m sorry that I yelled at you.”
He stepped back and pushed me away enough to be able to look at me. “You’re very easy to make up with. I hope we can continue to fight and make up this well when we’re married.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes at him. “I can’t stay mad at you, you know that.”
He winked, “I do, and don’t think I won’t use that to my advantage.”
I pinched him in the side and he let me go.
“Are you ready?” he asked as he reached for his keys.
“Yes, I just need to put my shoes on.” I leaned against the chair and put my heels on.
“Where’s your overnight bag?”
I pointed to the bag sitting on the couch. He picked it up and opened the apartment door. He took a step outside then stopped and turned around to face me.
“What?” I asked.
A grin formed on his face, “This is the last time we’ll both leave this apartment as single people.”
I tilted my head to the side, “Don’t start with this.”
He winked, smiled, and walked away from our door. I headed out behind him, but as I closed the door, I took a look around and thought about how everything would be different the next time I walked into the apartment. Josh honked the horn from his car and made me jump. I closed the door behind me and joined him in the car.
16.
We arrived at the airport just as Mr. Matthews’ flight landed. Josh walked quickly to the gate, and I did my best to keep up in my ridiculously uncomfortable and impractical heels. By the time I caught up with him, he and his dad were already reunited and I was panting and exhausted.
“Do my eyes deceive me or is that little Melody Holden standing before me looking as gorgeous as ever?” Josh’s dad smiled broadly at me.
I waved shyly at him.
“Josh, how on earth did you finally get this girl to agree to marry you?” Mr. Matthews grabbed me and pulled me in for a bear hug.
“I just asked and she said yes.”
His dad whispered into my ear, “It only took him ten years, huh?”
I giggled in response.
He let me go and reached for Josh. He wrapped an arm around each of us. “I can’t believe you two are getting married! I don’t even think I knew you were dating. Did you tell me you were dating and I forgot?”
Josh and I made eye contact quickly before he answered.
“We didn’t tell anyone just in case things didn’t work out. We wouldn’t want our friends and families to have to take sides if things got ugly between us.”
Josh’s dad winked at me, “That’s wise, son, because most people would take her side without question.”
Josh’s dad had seen our video and subsequent television appearances and had many questions for us. We answered them the best we could without giving the truth away. Josh and I exchanged a few looks, but we were able to get through it without slipping up.
When we got to the store for our rehearsal, Josh dropped us off at the front entrance while he went to park the car. My feet were already killing me and I was grateful to Josh for saving me even a few steps in my shoes.
“I’m glad he left us alone, I have something I need to give you.” Mr. Matthews grabbed my arm as we left the car. He pulled me into the entrance and off to the side. He reached into his jacket and pulled something out of his pocket. “This was Helen’s mother’s, they both wore it on their wedding day. It was her wish that Josh’s bride wear it on her wedding day.”
He held out a gold necklace with a small blue sapphire pendant.
“I hope you don’t already have something old or blue. Those are the traditions, right?” he shifted nervously.
I timidly took the necklace from his hand. “Thank you. It’s beautiful. I don’t have anything blue, or I didn’t have anything blue until now.”
“Good,” he smiled at me. “I have something else, too. It’s for Josh, but I’d like it to be a surprise. I figured you could give it to
the maid of honor and then you could put it on him.” He pulled something small out of his pocket and placed it in my hand.
I stared down at the gold men’s wedding band sitting in the palm of my hand.
“It’s mine,” he smiled humorlessly; “it was mine. I thought Josh might like to have it for himself, you know for sentimental value and all.”
A sob caught in my throat, but I forced it back down.
“His mother would have been so happy to see you two together. She always loved you. She told me the day she met you that she thought you’d be the one for Josh.”
I couldn’t look up at him. I just stared at the wedding band in my hand.
“Tomorrow would have been her fifty-fifth birthday, you know. When Josh told me when the wedding was I knew it was her way of being here for you two.”
“Why haven’t you two gone in yet? What are you doing?” Josh’s voice called from behind us.
I quickly shoved the ring into my purse and closed my fist around the necklace before he got to us. “We were waiting for you. I didn’t want to walk in without you.” I added when he joined us.
“How sweet of you,” Josh said with a smile. He bent down to kiss me on the cheek, but I wasn’t expecting it and ended up turning towards him. The result was an awkward kiss on the lips.
Josh and I both pulled away quickly.
“For crying out loud, can’t you two keep your hands and lips off each other for just one night?” Mike shouted as he walked past us and into the store.
Josh and I both blushed. I followed behind him and did my best to avoid eye contact with Josh or his dad.
Everyone had gathered at the customer service desk, waiting for Sam and Nathan. My parents greeted Mr. Matthews with hugs and handshakes. They talked quietly catching up on things and gushing about me and Josh. Josh kept Mike busy, trying to avoid any more embarrassing jokes or comments. I did my best to look busy and ignore the gazes from the SuperMart customers.
“We’re not late are we?” Sasha waddled up with Tommy following behind her. “It took me forever to find something that actually fit, and then Tommy had to stop for something to eat. He’s such a baby. I told him that he should just wait until the dinner, but he’s worried that he won’t like the food.”
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