“Last time I saw you, you were being dragged out of the community center wearing the grin of a woman who knew she was about to have really good sex. Now you look like someone ran over your dog. There’s only one reason that you’d look like that, so I am going to repeat my question. What did he do?”
Audrey looked past Viv and saw that Ava, Grace, and Blake were all distracted as they debated whether or not Ava should have a smokey eye.
“You can’t say or do anything.” Audrey lifted her hand and held out her pinky.
“Oh, hell no, if this is pinky swear bad, there’s no way I’m promising not to say anything.”
“This is Ava’s day.” Audrey kept a smile on her face as she talked to Viv so just in case either of her sisters or niece looked over, they wouldn’t be concerned. “I just don’t want you to say or do anything that makes today about me.”
Viv sighed and lifted her hand, hooking her pinky around Audrey’s. They both kissed their thumbs sealing the sacred pinky swear.
“So yesterday morning, when I was leaving Josh’s—”
Viv clutched her hands to her chest and sighed as if she was having an ‘aww’ moment.
“What?” Audrey asked.
“Your first walk of shame. My little girl is finally growing up.”
Audrey rolled her eyes. “When I was driving away, I noticed a woman walking up the steps and when she got to door it looked like she put a key in it.”
Viv’s eyebrows furrowed. “What woman?”
“I couldn’t really see her that well, but from what I saw she was a pretty blonde.” Audrey shook her head. “The point is, I haven’t heard from him since. Neither has Nonna or Caleb. We’ve all called and texted and it goes straight to voicemail.”
“Holy shit!” Viv whispered. “Did she Glenn Close him?”
“What?”
“Did she try and Fatal Attraction him?”
For once she and Viv were on the same page. “I was worried about that, too. So, I went over to his house last night to make sure that he was okay and his truck was gone and so was Thor.”
“So what? He just took off with this mystery woman?”
Audrey could feel tears pooling in her eyes as she shrugged.
“Oh hell no. I’m going to kill him!”
“Shh!” Audrey silently shushed her sister but it was too late. Her outburst had drawn the attention of Ava, Grace and Blake.
“Kill who?” Ava and Blake both asked in unison.
Thankfully before Viv could reply the door opened and Monica, the day-of wedding coordinator, popped her head in. “It’s time.”
Audrey and Viv both stood up and followed Monica, Ava, Grace, and Blake out into the vestibule and took their places. Blake was walking first in the processional, followed by Audrey, then Viv, then Grace. Ava was waiting around the corner so no one would see her until it was her time to enter.
“This conversation is not over.” Viv said beneath her breath as they waited for the doors to open.
From inside the sanctuary Ava heard the music change to the song that the wedding party was walking in to. She clutched her flowers in her hand and put on her best smile. Monica put her hand on door that led to the sanctuary when another door opened.
Everyone’s heads turned around as Josh came through the double doors into the church. He was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, his hair was windblown, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
Audrey’s first thought was relief that he was alive and okay. Her second thought was that she wanted to kill him for putting her through the past thirty-six hours.
He rushed up to her and Monica dropped her hand from the door. “I’m so sorry. I’ll explain everything after the ceremony.”
Audrey nodded, not wanting to cause a scene.
Viv had no such impulses. “Where in the fuck were you?”
“My mom showed up. I had to drive her to a rehab in LA that was holding a spot for her until noon. But there was road construction over the Grapevine so we didn’t make it in time. But then they found a spot for her in Arizona, but she had to be there by this morning.” Josh was speaking so quickly and quietly it was hard to understand him.
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Viv seethed.
“I forgot it at home. I’m so sorry. I would have figured out how to call you, but I was just trying to get back to you.”
“Is everything okay?” Ava peeked her head around the corner.
“Yes. Sorry.” Audrey apologized then looked at Monica and gave her the nod to open the doors.
“I love you. And I’m sorry.”
Josh stepped to the side so he wouldn’t be seen by any of the attendees. Audrey walked down the aisle and when she got up to the front, she felt all the emotions that she’d been keeping at bay come to a boiling point.
Thankfully, her emotional floodgates opened at exactly the same time the doors did and her sister appeared at the end of the aisle so anyone who saw her crying would just assume it was over how beautiful her sister looked.
She was doing her best to pull herself together when tissues appeared in front of her face. She had no idea where Pastor Harrison, er um Caleb had gotten them, but she was happy he had.
Josh watched as Audrey disappeared into the sanctuary. He stood there for a moment after the doors closed contemplating whether he should go home, shower, change and then head down to the Riverside Recreation Area where the reception was being held. Or if he should sneak in the side door and watch the ceremony.
He hoped to someday be a part of the Wells sisters’ clan, so he figured it would be bad form not to witness the first of the sisters’ wedding.
Ever so quietly he opened the door to the side of the sanctuary and saw that everyone was still looking at Ava who was walking down the aisle. He slid inside and shut the door without drawing any attention to himself. He saw that Nonna was sitting in her usual seat which was in the back pew on the side closest to the door he’d just entered.
She sat there so she could slip in and out if nature called during service. By the time Caleb told everyone they could be seated he was beside Nonna and lowered down in unison with the rest of the guests.
It took a few minutes for Nonna to notice him, but when she did, she smacked him on his leg and demanded in a barely-there rage-whisper, “Where have you been?”
He turned to her and tried to mouth that he’d tell her after the ceremony but the next thing he knew she had him by the ear and was dragging him out into the side hallway like she had numerous times when he was a child. Thankfully Karina Black and her husband Ryan were performing a duet that had reached number one on the billboard charts a few years ago, so no one heard the commotion.
When they were safely out of earshot, Nonna released his ear and wagged her wrinkled finger at him. “Where have you been?!”
“My mom showed up. I had to take her to rehab,” he explained thinking she might understand.
“Why don’t you call and tell anyone where you are? I call, I call, and it just go to your mail voice.”
Josh knew that it was not the time to crack a smile, but he did think it was ridiculously endearing when his grandmother mixed up phrases like voicemail, or when she did things like call UPS ups, like ups and downs.