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THANKFULLY WE GET our marriage license without any issues. Emily and Lucy follow us across the street to the courthouse where there’s already a judge expecting us, since apparently Jack made an appointment at some point this morning…probably when he was patiently waiting for me to get myself ready. Idly I think back to our interaction on either side of my bedroom door.
There was a moment there where I thought that, for maybe the first time ever, Jack had decided to be vulnerable with me. But then the moment passed. There and gone before I could even be sure if it had really happened.
I can’t believe he thought his money troubles would make me change my mind about marrying him. Yes, I get it–nobody wants to be saddled with debt. But hello! Debt is better than prison. And anyway, Joy Reynolds is someone I would gladly spend my money on. She is one of the most fabulous human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of spending time with. People who don’t have anyone with Down Syndrome in their lives may not realize this, but these individuals often have the sweetest of souls.
Plus, I’ll admit, there is a small part of me that is happy there might be something I can do for Jack in return for him marrying me. I make pretty good money doing what I do. Not to mention, I have great insurance. I wouldn’t be surprised if I have some group home or even in-home care coverage on my plan. After all, with both of us in Jack’s house maybe there’s a chance Joy could come live with us. Unlike Jack’s, my work schedule is fairly consistent and predictable. I’m sure we could find in-home care for the hours I’m gone.
I’m getting ahead of myself, though. First, we need to get married and, you know, make sure I don’t go to prison for murder.
“Judge Karplin,” Jack greets the judge with a smile, holding out his hand to shake. “Thank you for your time this morning.”
“Wait!” Lucy cries as the two men shake hands. We all turn to look at her. At first I’m worried she somehow found out about Ian and is going to blow up this whole wedding before it can happen, but then I see she’s smiling. “I just remembered!” she trills. “We have a veil in the car! It’s my veil, well, sort of…I mean it started out as mine, but then Emily wore it for her wedding because we had this idea to have us all wear it at our weddings. So Emily brought it to give to Mel since, you know, her wedding is next month.”
Oh yes, I know exactly how many days there are until Mel’s wedding because I’ve been staring at my RSVP card ever since the invite arrived wondering whether or not to go. I knew going would mean seeing Jack. Worse, that it could mean seeing Jack with some other woman on his arm.
I guess if there’s any silver lining to this whole murder debacle it’s that I don’t have to worry about that anymore. I’ve got my RSVP and plus one all figured out. Jack is about to become my permanent plus one.
I find I don’t hate that idea.
I glance Jack’s way to find him staring at me, a softness to his features that makes my stomach flip.
Yeah, I don’t hate that idea at all. In fact—I might even like it a little.
“But now your wedding is today,” Lucy goes on. “So you should wear it. Right, Em?” She turns expectantly to Emily who nods enthusiastically.
“Absolutely she should!” she agrees.
“Really?” I’m floored by this show of inclusion from them. “But you just met me.”
“Pshh!” Lucy waves off my protest. “Please, we’ve been waiting for you to come back into Reynolds’ life and be our friend. So it’s only fitting that you should wear the veil.”
Her words are like a hug to my soul. Outside of Jack and my grandparents, I’ve never experienced this type of unfettered acceptance from anyone. I swallow hard, blinking against sudden tears.
“Oh, don’t cry!” Emily urges. “We can’t have you getting married with a red, puffy face.”
“I’d say that wouldn’t be good for pictures, but Reynolds still has my phone,” Lucy says wryly.
This makes me laugh, effectively drying my tears. I swipe once under each eye for good measure, then smile at the pair of women.
“It would be an honor to wear your veil. Thank you.”
“Oh, yay!” Lucy says with a little jump of excitement. “I’ll go get it. Wait,” she pauses, catching my eye then taking my hand, “come with me? That way you at least have a little bit of a grand reveal for your future husband.” She waggles her eyebrows at Jack with a grin.
“Do you mind waiting?” I ask, glancing over at him to see what he thinks about this plan. I know we’re in a hurry, and it’s not as if a grand reveal actually matters when it comes to this faux marriage of ours, so if he nixes this whole thing I’ll understand. I try to convey as much with my eyes, but Jack surprises me by nodding.
“Nah, you go ahead. I’ll be fine.” He slides his hands into his pockets, looking too handsome for words. “You’re worth the wait.”
“Awwww.” Lucy and Emily both let out sighs at his words, grabbing me by the arms and grinning madly at me like don’t I have just the sweetest future husband. A blush rises to my cheeks, but I try to keep my emotions in check. He said that for their benefit, so I’m not going to read into it. After all, actions speak louder than words, and three years ago he walked away from me because I wasn’t ready to get married—proving undeniably that, to him, I actually was not worth the wait.
“Sooo,” Lucy says conversationally as we make our way to her car, “tell us everything. How did you two reconnect? Why the rush? Does his cat hate you as much as he hates me?”
This last question gets a laugh out of me. “Briggs hates most people,” I tell her. “Don’t feel bad.”
“But he doesn’t hate you?” she asks, one eyebrow popping up.
“Well, no,” I admit. “But he and I share an affinity for yarn. We’ve bonded over it.”
“Yarn? Do you knit?” Emily asks.
