Three Years Later

by Casey McMillin

  "No," she said, her hand muffling her words.

  "No what?" I asked.

  "Don't get that close. I have dragon breath." I smiled at her. I didn't care what her breath smelled like, but I carried her into the bathroom where we brushed our teeth and took a shower together (which I'd like to sign up to do everyday for the rest of my life).

  We ordered enough breakfast for a small army. Room service showed with two rolling carts completely loaded with food. One of the people who delivered the carts, a lady about my mom's age, said, "Mr. Perrin will be taking care of your room and anything we bring you for the next two days. He said to tell you to order whatever you like."

  I looked at Rachel with mischief in my eyes and waggled my eyebrows. I was just kidding around. Neither of us would take advantage of Joel's kindness. If anything, we'd probably be ordering less now that we knew he was paying. We tipped the delivery people and thanked them for the message before taking on the monumental task of putting a dent in the mountain of food they brought.

  Once we were mostly full, Rachel went over to the sitting area where she left the paper bag full of impromptu wedding gifts. Going through that bag turned out to be a lot of fun, Rachel said this type of thing should be a tradition for every couple on their wedding day.

  We got lucky with how it worked out. I knew there were really rich people in attendance at that banquet and Paul's party. I guess a few of them made it to our wedding too, because we totally scored.

  The contents of the bag were as follows:

  One Target gift card, balance $86.22

  One Exxon gas card, balance $140.00

  A check for a hundred

  A check for five hundred

  (Neither were from names we recognized.)

  Two watches, (one a Rolex)

  A gold necklace with a diamond pendant

  $835 cash

  And last but not least…

  $4,220 in casino chips

  "Not a bad haul," I said.

  "We can't actually cash these in for real money, can we?" Rachel asked, in disbelief.

  "Oh, yes we can," I assured her. "Unless you want to gamble with a little bit of it."

  "Those people gave us thousands of dollars in chips when they passed the hat last night, and they're worth real money?"

  "Yep. They're real money all right," I said, laughing.

  ****

  Later that day, Rachel noticed a legal size envelope that someone had slipped under the door. There was no name on the front just a big heart with the letters C and R inside.

  The envelope contained two 8x10 photographs, one of Rachel and me at the chapel, and one of us with most of our guests in the background. It really was quite a few people. I could tell she enjoyed looking at the photos, and I was glad someone had thought to deliver them. A little more digging and we found out who it was.

  There was a note from Gretchen that read:

  "Good morning Honeymooners! Here are a couple photos for your viewing pleasure. It really was beautiful Ray, and I look forward to reliving the whole magical thing with you at work. I sent the one of you and Collin to your mom via email. She responded already and said to tell you what a beautiful couple you are. Collin, I would have done the same for your mother, but I didn't have her contact info. Ethan is planning on taking Collin's truck back to San Diego with Josh (and maybe the showgirl that was still with him when I went by his room just now) haha. I'm hitching a ride back to L.A. with Joel. That leaves you headed for two different cities with one car. Good luck with that. Just kidding, let me know if I can help. Today is Sunday, so I'll reschedule your meetings and tell your clients you should be back by Thursday. I assume that'll give you enough time to fulfill Collin's mandatory seclusion and then some. (Just call me if you need more time.) Congratulations and much love to the beautiful couple! Gretch"

  After I finished reading the note, I set the paper down on the coffee table and looked at Rachel. "I could get used to having access to a personal assistant. You think we can give her a raise and she can work for me also?"

  "I wish," she said. "I don't even know how much longer she'll be with me. It'll make me sick to lose her, but I think she's going to make it as an actress. She's really good."

  "She wants to be an actress?"

  "She is an actress, she just wants to be noticed."

  "And you've seen her skills first hand?" I asked.

  "Yep. I've seen everything she's done in the last year and I'm seriously a fan… and that's not just because I love her."

  "You think you would still be friends if she didn't work for you?"

  "Oh yeah, without a doubt. She's like the sister I never had."

  "Do you have any siblings?" I asked. A surprised expression flashed across her face like she had forgotten I knew so little about her.

  "Only child," she said, smiling. "You?"

  "A brother and a sister. I'm the oldest."

  "You mean I get siblings out of the deal?"

  "That's exactly what I mean. And they're gonna love you just like I do." She was grinning at me, and for the thousandth time lately, my heart sank at how beautiful she was.

  We spent the next two (plus) days getting to know each other. We explored all the nooks and crannies of each other's personalities and each other's bodies. By the time we left that room, I was even more convinced we'd done the right thing by getting married.

  Chapter 21

  Rachel

  Collin and I checked out of room nineteen twenty-two at ten o'clock Tuesday morning. We had all of Sunday and all of Monday to immerse ourselves in the extremely pleasant job of getting acquainted.

  Collin's body is… how could I put this? Ridiculous.

  Swimmers have the most amazing bodies, tall and muscular. I spent hours just looking at him, his big hands, his back, which was corded with muscles, or the lovely place where his neck met his chest.

  I seriously felt like I'd won the lottery. He was so beautiful it caused me to feel self-conscious at times, like I didn't deserve him. I remembered having those same feelings when I first met him three years ago. Those types of thoughts were probably what made me leave like I did. Collin was extremely open about how right we were for each other, so confidence came easier and easier as the two days passed.

  I knew a spur of the moment wedding in Vegas wasn't what most people dreamed of, but I couldn't have been happier. Or maybe it was just because the end result was that I was married to Collin Blake. Either way, I was pleased as punch. I even loved my plastic ring.

  Figuring out what to do next seemed like a daunting task, but we didn't even discuss it very long… everything just sort of fell into place.

  Collin volunteered to be the one to move. (Which was a huge weight off my shoulders.) He said he knew a good coach in Los Angeles, and his current coach had family there, so he would probably be willing to drive up from San Diego as many times as it took to make sure the transition went smoothly.

  Despite his family living in the San Diego area, Collin seemed excited about the prospect of making a new life in L.A. He said he would have no problem cheering for the Lakers, but when it came to baseball, nothing but the Padres would do. He made me promise to go with him to San Diego a few times each summer for a baseball game.

  His big move would take place in two weeks. Until then, he'd be in San Diego getting things squared away. I'd be going two whole weeks without seeing Collin. It wasn't that long considering all the things he needed to do to make a move like this. He had to talk to his family, his team, his friends, and his landlord, and who-knows-who else. There was just a lot for him to do, and we agreed that a couple of weeks to wrap everything up was only reasonable.

  Being reasonable didn't make the thought of being separated from him any easier, however. The past two days of nothing but Collin had only served to wet my appetite. I knew I'd be busy, and the time would go by fast, but I still hated to be apart from him this soon.

  Collin decided to get a flight from Las Vegas
to San Diego since Josh and Ethan took his truck. I offered to give him a ride, but he said if he took me up on it he might not be able to let me leave San Diego to go back to work.

  We checked out of our hotel and stopped at a bakery for a muffin and coffee before I gave him a ride to the Las Vegas airport. His flight was at one o'clock so I ended up just dropping him off in the loading zone. Actually, he drove. Turns out Collin's one of those guys who thinks the passenger's seat is for girls. I didn't care. I liked him driving. He pulled into the loading zone and we both got out of the car.

  "This sucks," he said smiling from over the car after grabbing his duffel bag from the back seat.

  "I know," I said poking my lower lip out. "It'll go by fast, though."

  "Not fast enough." He walked around the back of the car and set his bag on the curb so he could pull me into his arms. I looked up at him, still unable to believe how things worked out. Holy Moses, I'm this guy's wife, I thought.

  "I love you," I said, smiling up at him.

  "Oh yeah? How much?"

  "To the moon."

  "That's way further than San Diego, so I'll definitely be covered," he said.

  "Oh, San Diego is totally within range."

  He was smiling down at me and it made me want to just melt. "I love you too," he said, giving me a squeeze. "To the moon at least." I breathed a contented sigh which made him chuckle. "You better get going. This'll never get easy."

  He bent to put a perfect kiss on my lips. It made the ache in those deepest of places start up again, so I was glad he only left his lips on mine for a few seconds. "I'll be in touch when I land," he said with one last squeeze.

  "I'll talk to you soon, then."

  "Okay." A stunning smile from over his shoulder, and he was off.

  I drove back to Los Angeles in a stupor, lost in deep thought about the events of the last four days. I hardly remembered the drive at all, it seemed like I was just somehow transported to my apartment.

  We'd both let our phones run out of battery while we were in the room. We figured if there were a real emergency, our family knew what room we were in. I charged my phone on the trip home, but didn't even give a second thought to the multitude emails, texts, and voice mails that had accumulated over the last few days. It was nothing that important anyway. Everyone who really knew me knew what was going on.

  Now that I was in my apartment, I took a second to look at my phone. I answered a few texts and emails before calling my mother to fill her in on all the details. She asked a lot of the same questions I'd thought of on the trip back to L.A. Will I change my last name? Answer: yes, with no hesitation. Will my apartment be big enough for both of us? Answer: I thought so, but now that I was here, I was having second thoughts.

  One question after another, and so on and so on. This was exactly why I hadn't called my mother on the way home. I knew she'd be asking all the good questions and I wasn't sure if I knew the answers to all of them. All I knew was that we would make it work. Just how we'd go about doing that was another question.

  ****

  Wednesday was business as usual at work. Gretchen had been there all week, so she had already filled everyone in. My colleagues were all anxious to offer their congratulations, saying they were looking forward to the party we were planning to celebrate.

  "Is there supposed to be some kind of party?" I asked Gretchen once I made it past the slaps on the back and into my office.

  "Yeah, I thought I told you that on the phone yesterday, I'm sorry. I knew everyone at work would want to celebrate since they didn't get to see the wedding. I figured we'd do something next month. I'll look for a venue and we can work on a guest list. Don't let it stress you out, though, it doesn't have to be a big deal."

  I hugged her. I loved the idea of a party. I couldn't believe I didn't think of it myself. I wanted to tell the world that Collin Blake was mine, and what better way to do it than to have a party to say specifically that?

  "Thanks Gretch. I love the idea."

  She looked at me like I'd just said, "I love to eat small babies."

  "Really?" she asked, genuinely shocked, but trying to recover. "It's just that you usually don't let anyone make a fuss… I mean, you hardly even let anyone tell you happy birthday without shrugging off the attention, like you're sorry they feel like they have to say it."

  "Oh, come on. I'm not that bad… am I?"

  "You're pretty dang bad. But, hey, I'm not complaining since it looks like you've turned over a new leaf here."

  "Well, thanks for thinking of it. I'm excited! Do you think I should invite my parents, and maybe his? We thought of having another ceremony so our families could come, but both of us liked our little wedding, and we feel like it's just overkill. A party might just solve the whole family dilemma."

  "Of course, we'll figure out a guest list, and choose a venue accordingly."

  I really was excited about having a party, and an added bonus was that it gave me something to get my mind off of missing Collin for the next two weeks. I had plenty of work to catch up on, so I decided to save the party planning for when I got home.

  The morning flew by and before I knew it, I was having lunch with my boss and a few of the other partners in the firm. It was a last minute thing… my boss loved any excuse to take a few people to lunch, and a new marriage was a great excuse. There were six of us at the restaurant. I was the youngest one by a good twenty years, but they were all easy enough to be around.

  Mr. Wright insisted on buying us a nice bottle of champagne to celebrate, and even though a lunch cocktail was really rare for me, I did drink a glass. I must admit, I had a good time with my coworkers. Most of the conversation consisted of ball and chain banter, along with marriage stories and lots of well wishes.

  I came back from lunch feeling great. To get to my office you have to go through Gretchen first, and as I walked up to her desk I could see she had a vase full of flowers that hadn't been there when I left. I knew Gretchen wasn't seeing anybody, so I let myself hope they would be for me.

  "Who are the flowers for?" How ridiculous. I should have just let her tell me who they were for. She just looked at me and smiled.

  "Mine, I guess. Sort of." I gave her a confused look. "Joel came by looking for you while you were at lunch." She shrugged like she didn't know what to make of it. "He had these in his hand," (she pointed at the flowers) "Said he bought them for some girl and she refused to take them. I told him I would put them in your office for you because you were out to lunch with Mr. Wright and he said I could just keep them, that they would look good on my desk."

  "Are you serious? What a crock. What's he talking about some girl? Why can't he just say they're for you?"

  "Because they're not for me," Gretchen said, with a totally serious expression. And I couldn't tell if she was genuinely convinced of his story or if she was just being a good actress.

  "Aww, whatever. I saw you two in Vegas, you know. You can't fool me."

  "No really," she said, with that same serious expression. "I can see how you would say that, but nothing happened between us. I'm not saying this because I don't like myself or anything, because I'm a huge me fan… you know that, but we're just in two different leagues, two totally different worlds. I hangout with actors and musicians and he hangs out with scientist millionaires. We don't shop at the same grocery stores, or eat at the same restaurants, or have anything else in common, really. I think he's a nice guy and everything, but I honestly don't think the flowers were for me."

  "I don't know," I said, shaking my head thoughtfully. I wasn't convinced that Gretchen and Joel were as different as she thought.

  "I thought you guys hit it off, I'm surprised to hear that you wouldn't even consider it."

  "I never said I didn't consider it," Gretchen said. "I just meant it wouldn't be very conventional for either of us, that's all. Plus, I'm happy being single. You just have love on the brain because you're all happily ever after with Mr. love muffin now."

&n
bsp; "You're probably right. But you have to admit the flowers are a little unconventional."

  "Oh that reminds me! You got flowers too. They're on your desk."

  I left her sitting at her desk and walked into my office where I found a beautiful bunch of white Calla Lilies in a huge glass vase on my desk.

  The card attached read:

  Hope you're having a good

  first day back at work Mrs. Blake.

  Love, Mr. Blake

  I smiled and instinctually held the card to my chest. If only I could close my eyes and be transported in time… ahead two weeks.

  Gretchen's voice came over the intercom, surprising me.

  "They're nice aren't they?"

  "Beautiful," I called back.

  "Mr. Perrin is on line one."

  "Really?"

  "Yep."

  "Okay, I'll pick up."

  I picked up the telephone receiver and pushed the button for line one. Joel had a lot to say. Most of it was job-related, a tiny bit of it was personal, and one thing could be categorized as a little of both. "I want you to know I'm going to be talking to Collin about representing Perrin Goggles," he said at one point in the conversation.

  I asked him if he was one hundred percent sure about it, because I didn't want to say anything to Collin if he didn't have it in the bag. He assured me Collin was his choice, but asked if he could tell him himself. I told Joel to make it quick because that's not the kind of information I could hold onto for very long. He said he'd be ready to make the announcement by the end of the week. It was definitely going to be hard, but I thought I could keep it a surprise if he wanted me to.

  Chapter 22

  Collin

  I hadn't seen Rachel for almost three weeks. Getting everything settled in San Diego had taken a little longer than I anticipated. The housing situation was surprisingly the easiest part. Josh had been sleeping on our couch, so he just backed out of his other lease agreement and took over my share of the rent. He was really open with Ethan about not wanting it to be a permanent situation, but the two of them got along fine. For now it worked out for everyone.