This Is Crazy

by Natasha Madison

  Zoe is the first one to gasp, and then all eyes are on me. “Zara Stone, check your Twitter account,” I tell her, and she looks around.

  “Someone get me a phone,” she shouts. My sister steps forward wearing a smile and hands over her phone. No doubt planning what I told her to do. Zara looks down at the phone and sobs.

  @ZaraStone will you be willing to change your name to @ZaraRichards.

  “What started off as a simple tweet became the best thing to ever happen to me,” I tell her and see that our mothers are hugging. “I don’t just want you to be my girlfriend. I want you to be my wife, and I want you to be the mother of my children. I want to commit the rest of my life to making you happy.” I grab the black box that I also picked up today after I signed the contract. “Will you be my wife?”

  “Yes,” she says, nodding her head. The whole crowd cheers, and when I look over, I see we are on the screens. She comes to me and grabs my face in her hands. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  So there in the middle of five hundred people, she agrees to be my wife. I slip the five-carat princess cut rose gold diamond ring on her finger and seal it with a kiss and not just a little peck. I seal it so everyone knows she’s mine.

  “Dude, that is still my sister,” Matthew says behind me, and we both laugh.

  “This has to be the craziest thing that has ever happened to me,” she says.

  “Beautiful, this is just the beginning of our crazy!”

  Epilogue

  Zara

  “You need to leave,” I whisper when he finally collapses on top of me. “Everyone is going to be here soon, and it’s bad luck for you to be here.”

  “It’s bad luck for me not to start the day with you in my arms,” he says into my neck, and I turn in his arms. “Why did we agree to this big ass wedding anyway?”

  “Um, because your mother said she would kill you, and then my father seconded that motion.” I remind him of the conversation we had at Christmastime after we moved into our own home.

  When he accepted the offer with the team, the first thing he wanted was to buy us our own home. With the flooding at Zoe’s place and her living with us, it became his mission. But he just didn’t have one mission, he wanted to be close to my family. Now the only thing wrong with that is there were no houses for sale. Until one day there was, and it wasn’t anywhere near what we were looking for, but he didn’t care that this house had ten rooms, or that he would need a golf cart to make it from one side of the yard to the other.

  I wanted to contribute to the house, but that got me a long side look from him, and no matter how much I complained about it to everyone, they just shrugged. “It’s my duty to take care and provide for you,” he kept saying.

  My mother would offer advice, and it sucked. “Pick your battles.” I didn’t really know what she meant, but I knew that eventually I would have to find a battle to fight.

  Zara’s Closet was also the biggest talk of the town. After I dressed seven of the A-listers at the last Oscars, designers were beating down my door to work with me. I had more work than I had time, and even though I was in demand, I still made my own schedule. I traveled when I knew that Evan would be on the road, and when he was home, so was I. I knew that I didn’t want us to be apart any more than we needed to be, so the decision was made for me. Or was it really?

  “You need to go,” I tell him, not letting go of him or even moving away from him. “If they find you in here—”

  “Then they find me in here,” he says, and I just smile and close my eyes, basking in his arms. I wish I could say that we didn’t adapt well to living with each other. I wish I could tell you that the spark that you have at the beginning had dwindled down. I wish I could tell you that after over a year together, it was just same old, same old, but it wasn’t. It’s so much more. I have a connection with him that I didn’t know I could have except with Zoe.

  “Oh, my God.” I hear Zoe shrieking from the doorway. “I thought we told you not to be here.”

  Instead of him feeling guilty, he just looks at her. “Don’t you knock?”

  “I knock when I know you are home,” she tells him, folding her arms over her chest. “I don’t knock when I’m sleeping right down the hall, and you aren’t supposed to be here.”

  “I live here,” he says to her, trying to hide his smile. Zoe and he have a special bond, a bond that was so important for me. A bond I didn’t even know I wanted them to have. They both have my best interests at heart, they both team up when they know it’s good for me, and they both really just love each other.

  “I’m sure you could be without her for twenty-four hours, Evan.” She shakes her head. “I’m not going to tell anyone you are here.” She turns to walk out of the room. “But I won’t deny it either.” She closes the door.

  “We should get up.” I look over at the clock, seeing it’s almost eight. “The hair and makeup people are going to be here at eight thirty.”

  “Fine,” he finally says and rolls away from me, getting out of the bed and putting on his shorts that were right next to his side of the bed. And a soft knock on the door makes me look at him and smile.

  “Come in,” I say. I’m shocked when both of our mothers walk in the room. As soon as they see Evan, their smiles slide off their faces.

  “I told you it’s bad luck,” his mother shouts at him. “I put your father in charge of you.”

  “Mom,” he says, and my mother just rolls her lips. “I know what you told me, but I’m not going to spend the night without Zara just because of an old wives’ tale.”

  Jackie turns to my mother who just shrugs her shoulders. “I’m just happy he didn’t throw her over his shoulder and elope.”

  “Will I ever live that down?” Allison says from the hallway.

  “No,” Karrie says from beside her, and they both walk into the room. “Isn’t this a shocker?”

  “Well, I see someone glowing this morning,” Allison teases me, and I put my hands to my cheeks.

  “Where is he?” I hear Matthew shout from downstairs and then hear him running up the steps. Evan tosses me his shirt to replace the cover. I slip it on, looking up at the mothers who look at each other and then see Allison and Karrie now trying not to laugh. “Dude, seriously, we left you at eleven, and you had strict orders to go to bed.”

  “And I did,” Evan says. “I just did it in my own bed.”

  “Where is Zoe?” Matthew asks, and she walks into the room with a mimosa followed by Vivienne.

  “I am right here,” she says, walking to the bed and handing me the mimosa. “Why is this my fault?”

  “You were supposed to make sure he didn’t come in here,” Matthew tells her, putting his hands on his hips.

  “Well, it looks like someone shouldn’t be wearing white today,” Vivienne says, holding up her drink and smiling.

  “Is he here?” I hear my father yelling, and then I look at Evan who I swear doesn’t even bat an eyelash at having our whole family standing in our bedroom. “Son,” my father says, poking his head into the room and then spotting my mother. He smiles at her and kisses her. “You can’t be here.”

  “I can be here,” Evan says. “One, I own the house, and two, she’s here.” He points at me. “And where she is, so am I.”

  “Well, I can’t argue with that logic,” my father says, and Matthew just nods.

  “Now that we have that settled,” Evan says, leaning down and kissing me. “I love you.” He walks to the now crowd of people at the entrance to our bedroom. He kisses his mother and then mine on the cheek and then walks out without a shirt because I’m wearing it.

  “You get up and wash yourself,” Allison says. “We are going to be downstairs getting our drink on.”

  I shake my head as everyone but Zoe walks out of the room. “What do you need me to do?’

  “Hold my hand.” She nods at me, and I get out of the bed and walk to the bathroom, opening the little test and peeing on the stick. I walk out of the bathr
oom. “Three minutes,” I tell her and go back to the bed. My hands shaking. “I should really drink something.”

  “Here is your virgin mimosa,” she tells me. “It tastes gross, by the way.”

  “It’s orange juice,” I tell her.

  “I know, but if you call it a mimosa, I’m expecting bubbly, and not getting it makes it gross.” She doesn’t say anything she just holds my hand. “Does he know you’re late?”

  “No.” I shake my head. “I didn’t even know until last night when I knocked over my tampons.” Last night right before we left for the rehearsal dinner, I had a mini meltdown when I knocked over my tampons. I ran to my office and checked the calendar and realized I was nine days late. But I thought it was stress, so the first person I called was Zoe, and I begged her to get me a test.

  “What in the hell are you guys still doing up here?” Allison asks and then stops midway into the room. “What happened?”

  I try to hold it together and not let her see that I’m freaking out. “Nothing,” I say and then put my hand to my mouth, blocking the sob.

  “She’s just really happy to be getting married,” Zoe tries to say, but Allison doesn’t move from her spot, and I don’t have a chance to say anything because Evan comes into the room.

  “I forgot …” he says and then stops when he sees me with tears running down my face. “What happened? What’s wrong?” He looks at us, and he comes to me, kneeling in front of me. “Beautiful,” he says and then he looks at Zoe, asking for help. I don’t hear Karrie come back into the room nor do I hear our mothers.

  “Did you change your mind?” he asks, grabbing my hands in his. “We don’t have to get married.” He brings my hands to his mouth. “We do not need to get married at all.”

  “That isn’t why I’m crying,” I tell him when I see the worry fill his face. I get up and hold out my hand to him. “Will you come with me?” He nods, and I look over at our mothers who are now holding hands with tears in their eyes. “The wedding is still happening,” I tell them and walk into the huge ass bathroom. “Sit,” I tell him, and he sits on the little seat I have in there.

  “Beautiful,” he says, his voice almost cracking. “I don’t know how much longer I can take this.”

  I walk to the counter and pick up the test not looking at it. “I’m late,” I tell him in a whisper, and he looks at me confused. “My period.” Two words making his eyes open. “I didn’t know before last night, and well, I had a mini panic attack and forced Zoe to buy a test for me.”

  “Are you?” he asks. I walk to him, standing in the middle of his legs. His hands go to my hips as he looks up at me.

  “I haven’t looked yet,” I tell him and hand him the test.

  He turns the test over, and we both look down at the word that is on the middle of the test.

  Pregnant

  I look at the word, and then the tears fill my eyes. We never planned on getting pregnant. And I know that when I got sick last month, they told me that the pill would not work with the antibiotics so we were just a touch careful, not ever thinking it could happen right away. My hand goes to my stomach while he brings my stomach to his mouth.

  “Beautiful,” he whispers and kisses my belly, then pushes the shirt up and kisses it again. “I love you.” My hands go to his hair, rubbing it softly, and he looks up at me.

  “We are going to have a baby,” he whispers to me, and I just nod at him, the tears flowing like a waterfall down my face. He puts his ear to my stomach. “I wonder if I can hear the heartbeat.” Only he can make me cry and laugh at the same time.

  “Are you guys going to be long in there?” I hear Zoe softly say from outside of the door.

  “What do you want to tell them?” he asks me, and I just shrug my shoulders. “You know that Zoe is going to know.” I nod at him. “Hell, she’ll probably go through the pregnancy feeling your pain.”

  He gets up, taking my face in his hands and kissing me on the lips. “I love you with everything that I have, with every beat of my heat, and with every fiber of my soul.”

  “That better not be your vows,” I joke with him, and now we hear men’s voices also. “We have to get out there, or I think they are going to break down the door.”

  “What do you mean she was crying? Why was she crying?” I hear my dad, and his voice goes higher and higher.

  I unlock the door and open it, and there in the middle of our master bedroom is everyone who means something to us. My father has my mother in his arms as he tries to comfort her. Patrick doing the same to Jackie but now with Candace standing beside them. Matthew and Max stand behind Karrie and Allison. Vivienne and Zoe both sit on the bed with Vivienne’s arm around Zoe’s shoulders.

  I stand there beside the man who answered a crazy random Twitter date request, the man who brings me coffee, the man who holds my door open for me, the man who sends me flowers just because, the man who owns not half my heart but the whole thing. The man I know I want to grow old with, I want to have babies with, and I want to bitch about. He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me to him, kissing my forehead. I wrap my arm around his waist. “I know this is crazy,” I start, and the tears and laughter come at the same time, “but we’re having a baby.”

  Everyone gasps in shock. Zoe shoots to her feet and comes to me, hugging me. Everyone else comes to us all.

  “Well, is she still going to wear the white dress?” Vivienne asks from the bed, taking a sip of my mimosa from before. “This is disgusting. It’s just orange juice.”

  And just like that, the room burst into laughter, the only thing never changing is that Evan never leaves my side. Even when the hair and makeup people come, he doesn’t leave. The only time he does leave is when I have to get into my wedding dress.

  Thirty minutes later, I’m walking down the aisle on the arm of my father toward the man who I know is going to do everything in his power to take care of me. “I never thought I would see the day that I would be walking you down the aisle,” my father whispers in my ear as we walk slowly smiling as we pass people he knows. “The first boy who said he liked you. Do you remember what you did to him?” I look over her and shake my head. “You kicked him in the balls.”

  “Oh right,” I say, thinking back. “But in my defense, you actually told me to do that.”

  “Yeah.” He laughs. “Don’t ever tell your mother that.”

  We finally get down the aisle, and he stands his arm never letting me go. “Who gives this woman to be wed?”

  “Her family does,” he says, and then he looks over at Evan. “Welcome to the family, son.” And then, just like that, he hands me over to the man who was always in my dreams.

  Epilogue Two

  Three Months Later

  Matthew

  “The plane will be landing in five minutes, Mr. Grant,” the flight attendant says before going to her seat, and I look out the window. Nothing but greenery, but what do you expect? It’s Arizona. The plane touches down smoothly, and I unbuckle my seat belt and get up, pulling down the cuffs of my sleeves. I put my aviator glasses on and grab the leather backpack that Karrie got me when they finally announced I was the general manager for the New York Stingers last year. I have a whole season under my belt, and as much as it pains me to say, we fell short. There is no way to sugarcoat shit because it is what it is. It just wasn’t our season. The pieces are definitely coming together, which is another reason I’m here in Arizona.

  My latest trade. Some say it’s general manager suicide, but I see it the other way. When the plane to the door opens, the stairs fall out, and I walk out with the warm heat hitting my face. It’s already scorching, and it’s only eleven. I walk down the four steps to the waiting black SUV parked there. The driver steps out of the car. “Mr. Grant?” He nods his head. “Pleasure to meet you,” he says, opening the back door, and I get into the cool car. I take my phone out and send a text to Karrie, telling her I arrived. I’m not going to be here long, but by the time I get back home, it will be
late.

  I look out and see the palm trees as we drive down the highway. I check my email; with the season almost starting, it’s time to get back into the thick of it, and this year, I’m going for the cup.

  We pull into the parking lot of the Silver Spring Recovery Center, and the car stops under the awning. I get out of the car and look around. It almost looks like a hotel, but I know it’s not.

  I walk into the front door, and I’m greeted by the girl at the desk who smiles. “Welcome to Silver Spring Recovery Center, how may I help you today?”

  “Hi there, my name is Matthew Grant, and I’m here to pick up Viktor Petrov,” I tell her, and she nods her head.

  “He was in the waiting area,” she tells me and gets up from her desk. “If you will follow me,” she says and leads me to a door she has to scan a card to open. We walk down a hallway that is all windows, and the sun is shining in. It really looks like a spa; she turns the corner and enters this huge room with four televisions on each wall all playing something different. A loveseat and two single seats are situated in front of each television. I look around to see a couple of people sitting in the room. A lone guy watches a sports channel, and I have no doubt who that is watching the show.

  I walk over to him and look at him. Fuck, he must have hit the gym hard while he was in here. He for sure is about thirty pounds heavier, and fuck, if he isn’t bigger than he was in May, and he actually looks healthy. He spots me and turns, and I see his hair is longer on top than normal. “Well, look at this. I get the VIP treatment.” He smiles and gets up, holding his hand out to me.

  “Figured I’d give you a lift home,” I tell him, and he just nods. He picks up the bag that I just noticed on the floor beside him. “Have you been discharged?” I ask him, and he just nods. “Then let’s hit the road. The plane is waiting.”

  He follows me out and says hello to the receptionist, giving her a little wink when he leaves, and the woman just sighs while he walks out of the door. The car ride to the plane is silent, and when he gets on the plane, he sits down in the chair in front of me. The attendant comes over and asks if we would like something to drink.