“I forgot my phone at home.”
Somehow, like magic, she produced a rolled-up newspaper from her purse and the next thing he knew he was getting swatted upside the head with it.
“Stupid, stupid boy! You make us all worried sick. Caleb worried, I worried, and sweet, sweet Audrey worried.”
He wasn’t thrilled with being called a stupid boy, but he loved that Nonna had included Audrey in the group.
“I know. I’m going to make it up to her. I promise. I’m sorry. Can we please go in and watch the wedding of my hopefully future sister-in-law?”
Nonna’s face brightened. “Sister-in-law?”
“If Audrey will have me.” He hoped he hadn’t fucked things up too bad. But he had faith in what he and Audrey had.
Nonna patted his cheek with a smile on her face. “Stupid, stupid boy, you finally smarten up.”
He smiled. Nonna had no idea how right she was. Over the past thirty-six hours he’d had several revelations about himself, his childhood, and how much that had affected his adulthood.
“Come on, we’re going to miss it.” Nonna said as if he’d been the one to drag her out.
When they walked back inside, they slid into their seats undetected, and he looked up at the altar. Audrey had tissues in her hand as she looked lovingly at her sister as Caleb talked about the meaning of love and what it meant to love someone.
Josh didn’t need to hear his friend’s explanation, because Audrey had shown him the meaning of love and what it meant to love someone. Now, he just hoped she’d let him return the favor.
30
Audrey walked into the tent that was set up at the Riverside Rec Area and her breath was taken away. She was so happy that Ava had decided to have the reception at this venue. It was literally perfect.
The tent was somehow both grand and intimate at the same time. There were fairy lights strung from the outer wall to a center chandelier. A mixture of farm and round tables were scattered throughout the room, each with its own large bouquet of flowers in the center. There was a photo station in the corner with valentine themed props that guests could use.
It was the perfect balance of fun and classy. As she scanned the tent, she couldn’t help but look for one person in particular. While she’d been taking pictures with the rest of the wedding party, she’d made herself promise that she would not seek him out when she got to the reception, but apparently her eyes hadn’t gotten the memo.
“Hey.” She turned and saw Pastor Harrison.
She smiled. “It was a beautiful ceremony, Pastor Harrison.”
“Please, you can just call me Caleb.”
She wasn’t sure why he always tried to insist that people call him by his first name.
“It was a beautiful ceremony, Caleb.” It felt weird not referring to him as his title.
“Thanks. Um, Josh wanted me to let you know that he went home to change and drop off Thor, but he’d be back.”
Audrey did her best to keep her expression blank and passive. She knew that Caleb and Josh were close friends and she didn’t want the good pastor to report back that she’d gotten excited when he’d relayed the message.
She shrugged. “Oh, okay.”
She was going for casual cool, but feared she might have come off sounding a little bitchy. Damn, it was truly a fine line.
“I don’t know if it’s my place to say anything…”
Normally, she’d appreciate any advice from Pastor Harrison, er um, Caleb. He was a good man, a good leader both spiritually and in the community. He was all about service and relationships with people. He didn’t stand at the pulpit and preach at people, he just shared with them his experiences and insights. Caleb wasn’t religious, per se. He challenged his congregation to question things, not just blindly follow. He told them to seek out their own relationship with the big man above. Well, he didn’t use those words. That’s how Viv had described it after Audrey had drug her to church one Sunday.
“I don’t know what is going on with you and Josh, but I do know that a couple weeks back, Nonna left a message on my phone asking me to meet you at the community center because you needed a dance partner for the evening.”
“She did?”
“Yep. And then I got a text from Josh telling me not to worry about the message from Nonna because he was going.”
Audrey remembered that he’d told her that he’d volunteered, but she hadn’t known what that meant exactly.
“Like I said, I don’t know what’s going on with you guys. But I do know I’ve never seen him dance before. Not at prom, not at homecoming and not at every wedding reception he’s ever been to. He never got out on the dance floor. But he did for you. Voluntarily. I know that might seem insignificant but, believe me, it’s not. Josh might not be good at expressing himself, and he’s probably going to mess things up from time to time, but he loves you, Audrey. He might be really bad at showing it, but he does.”
Audrey nodded, suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed. She believed what Caleb was saying. She even believed that Josh loved her. It was the “he might not be very good at showing it” part, that was giving her pause.
“Pastor Harrison!” Sue Ann called out his name, waving at him. She was standing with Renata and a young woman who Audrey had met once or twice. She was new to town and had so far kept to herself. She had a son, who Viv had mentioned had some medical problems.
Caleb smiled at Audrey before heading over to his adoring public. The guy seriously was like a rock star in Hope Falls. Everyone clamored for his attention. She understood why. He had such a calming yet authoritative vibe. He made you feel like no matter what, everything was going to be okay. Well, usually he did.
In this particular situation, his talk had only made her feel more confused. As much as she knew that Josh loved her, and he’d had a good reason for taking off like he had, the past thirty-six hours had felt eerily familiar and Audrey couldn’t explain why. But then, during the ceremony when Ava was walking down the aisle, alone, it hit her.
Their dad wasn’t there. He’d taken off. And somehow the past thirty-six hours had tapped into a part of Audrey’s subconscious memory and made her walls go up.
“We need to talk.” Viv grabbed Audrey’s arm and pulled her over to a table in the far corner of the tent next to the service entry, away from the dance floor and where most of the guests were congregated.
“Where did you go?” Audrey asked as she lowered down into the chair.
Viv had disappeared right after they’d finished pictures without any explanation.
“I had to get this.” Viv plopped the folder that had the words Project Valentine on the table.
Audrey was confused. “I thought your last event was this morning.”
“It was.” Viv motioned to the binder. “Open it up.”
Audrey was still confused, but she did as her sister asked.
“Turn to the Project Valentine tab.”
Audrey looked at the tabs, they weren’t color coordinated or in alphabetical order. Which instantly gave her anxiety, but she tried to ignore that. She finally found Project Valentine between vendors and balloons.
She pulled it open and saw a picture of herself and Josh. It had been taken at the Christmas Parade, the one where Easton had asked Grace to marry him. She and Josh were standing beside the carolers drinking hot cocoa. She didn’t even know that Viv had taken this.