Old Habits

by Tabatha Kiss

  “For some reason,” he says, “out of all the lines in that play, that one still stands out to me the most. I’m pretty sure it’s because of how you said it.”

  “How did I say it?”

  Will pauses our stride and turns to me. “I remember looking over at you. Just by chance. My eyes left the page, fell on you instead, and it’s like you felt it. Your voice stopped, you quit breathing, and you looked right at me as you read that line. My love is deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite. Then… we just stared at each other for who knows how long until I realized that it was my line but then…”

  “The bell rang,” I say, reliving the moment with him.

  He smiles, pleased that I remember. “The next day, that moment had passed but I couldn’t get it out of my head. Almost like a part of me knew that it would be important someday.” He gives my hand a stronger squeeze. “My love for you is infinite, Jovie Ross. And that’s how I know you love me back because the more I give you, the more I have. My bounty is boundless.”

  I press my lips together, hoping to stop any of the tears threatening to spill over as even more people wander past us.

  “That’s really sweet, Will,” is all I can say.

  He smirks. “And here I thought you’d scold me for quoting stupid teenagers that got a bunch of people killed over a bout of puppy love.”

  I laugh. “I guess I’m growing soft.”

  He starts us forward again. “Works for me.”

  We round the block, leading directly into the town square and even more confusion sets in.

  First Street isn’t the only place that got hit with a Jovie last night. Toilet paper hangs down from the branches of the dozen trees throughout the square but no one seems to be angry or annoyed by it.

  Several rows of wooden folding chairs sit throughout the grass, hugging an empty aisle where all of the random neighborhood walkers have gathered — and not just from our street. I notice several groups traveling in from all corners with bright and happy smiles. A few look over at us and their smiles shift into knowing grins.

  Lucky’s set up a table for refreshments on the corner by the coffee shop, the only business that seems to be open.

  A group of musicians sit off to the side. I instantly recognize them and their instruments as the swing band we hired for the dance.

  As the crowd quietly settles into their chairs, I catch sight of Natalie and Tucker standing at the end of the aisle beneath a decorated altar. Sara and Andy are there, too, lingering near the front row with Rachel and Dave and…

  My father?

  “Will, what the hell is this?” I ask.

  “Our wedding.”

  My heart stops. “Our what?”

  He shifts around to stand in front of me. “Say what you will about Jovie Watch. They are very, very organized.”

  I blink. “Huh?”

  “Now, it’s not much but it’s actually really great for such short notice. The toilet paper is a nice touch. Not sure whose idea that was—”

  “You did this?”

  He nods. “I made the call. It was mostly Tucker that got the ball rolling but once he recruited Natalie, it was all over.”

  My jaw sags. “You want us to get married?”

  “Yes,” he answers.

  “Today?”

  “Right now.”

  I take a step backward but he counters with a quick forward stride.

  “Hold on, Will,” I say, extending my arms in a panic. “Don’t you think we should talk about this first?”

  “No.”

  Will lunges and takes hold of me, easily raising me off the ground and tossing me over his shoulder.

  “Will! No! Put me down!”

  He carries me down the long aisle. Those still standing there hurriedly bounce out of his path to take their seats. They all fall into gasps and whispers as I kick my legs and my cheeks explode with embarrassed heat.

  “Will!” I punch his back. “Are you crazy?!”

  “You sprang the engagement on me,” he argues. “It’s only fair that I get to spring the wedding on you.”

  “That’s not…” I sigh. “Okay, that’s a fair point, but… Will, come on. A document with an expiration date is one thing. This is something else.”

  “I thought you wanted to stay engaged.”

  “Uh-huh. Exactly. Engaged! Married ain’t engaged!”

  He sets me down beneath the altar and holds my shoulders while I gather my balance but he doesn’t let go.

  “How did you even do this?” I ask.

  “Nothing spreads faster in this town than tales of Will Myers and Jovie Ross,” he says.

  “And how many of them showed up just to see if I’d run away screaming?”

  “Most of them, probably.” His smirk travels up his cheek. “Just prove them wrong, Jove.”

  “So, you arranged a surprise wedding knowing full well how much I desperately want their approval, thus forcing me to go through with it or else tumble right back to square one.”

  “Yep,” he says.

  I shake my head. “Well played, Myers.”

  “And besides…” he gazes down at me with those deep, bright eyes, “if you do this, I might be compelled — as your new husband — to love, honor, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.”

  My heart swells. “Now you’re just cheating.”

  Will shifts a little closer. “Either you love me enough to spend the rest of your life with me… or you don’t. I know where I stand on that. Where do you?”

  My eyes wander from his face to the crowd. There must be at least a hundred of them filling these chairs. Marv, Mr. and Mrs. Trin, teachers, old classmates, and neighbors. So many people, several of which attended that damn meeting just to vote me out of town, now sit here with smiling, welcoming eyes.

  This is it. This is the moment I always dreaded. Born in Clover, Kansas. Die in Clover, Kansas. Both equally as cringe-inducing before but now… I don’t know anymore. I thought living in Clover, Kansas would be just as awful but maybe not with Will by my side.

  I look at Hank again. He smiles in his own stern, hard-assed way. We still have a long way to go as father and daughter, there’s no denying that. He wasn’t much of a dad but I can’t say being a daughter was my best trait either. We’re willing to try but I can’t do that from anywhere but here.

  I turn back to Will, my eyes slowly trailing up to his loving, victorious eyes.

  Will Myers. My best friend. My oldest habit.

  Of course, I’ll spend the rest of my life with him.

  Natalie stands behind me with a wide grin and two bouquets of red roses. I twist toward her and extend a hand.

  “Just give me the damn flowers,” I say.

  She gleefully tosses me one. I catch it with quivering fingers, just barely hanging on as my nerves kick in and threaten to knock me over. The tension in the crowd shifts as they audibly exhale and sit back in the chairs, almost as if they’d all expected to tackle me as I hurled back down the aisle.

  Will extends his hand to me. I lay my palm in his and every ounce of fear and doubt in me melts away.

  “Dearly beloved.”

  I flinch as Coach Rogers’ voice booms in front of us. He stands at the altar in a black suit with a small notebook in his hands, reading aloud from it with a glorious smile on his face.

  I look at Will with confusion. “He’s ordained?” I whisper.

  He leans in. “Tucker asked Pastor Clark but he wouldn’t do it,” he murmurs. “Apparently, Mrs. Clark is still a little hung up on the whole George Washington thing. We had to improvise.”

  “Okay...”

  “But it’s all right.” He winks. “I had Tuck leave a little… you-know-what on their porch.”

  I bite my cheek to keep my laugh in. “God, you’re perfect.”

  He straightens back up with a deeper smirk.

  “I look at the two of you…” Coach continues, smiling at us, “and I’m remin
ded of a quote by the great Albert Einstein.”

  Will groans softly.

  Coach doesn’t seem to notice. “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”

  The crowd chuckles behind us.

  “Really?” Will asks, his voice deadpan.

  Coach holds up a hand. “Now, hear me out…” he says, unable to obscure the obvious grin in the corner of his mouth.

  Will rolls his amused eyes at me and I smile.

  “They don’t call this place The Forgotten Paradise for nothing,” Coach says. “Once you’ve achieved true societal bliss as we have, the last thing you want to do is mess it up so we have a certain way of doing things around here but you two know that. You were born here. You grew up here. And you spent countless hours of your youths rebelling against that very fact — Jovie, especially.”

  I scoff. “No, I didn’t.”

  “Yes, you did,” the crowd argues back.

  Will chuckles as I shut my mouth.

  “But…” Coach says, “when I say that the two of you remind me of the definition of insanity, I don’t mean what you think I mean.” He pauses. “I mean that maybe it’s time for Clover to change its ways.”

  I blink, staying silent while Will gives my hand a slight pulse.

  “We were… a tad hasty in our judgment of you, Jovie,” Coach says to me. “And I think I speak for most of us when I say that we’re sorry. We can — and should — do better. Having you back home is a challenge but a little challenge helps us grow, as William here as proven multiple times over. If, even after everything you’ve been through, he’s willing to bind himself to you like this, then… maybe it’s time we stop trying to keep everything the same as its always been and embrace the change a little wild card like you can bring to our community. Otherwise… we’d be living in insanity. Not paradise.”

  I clench my jaw to keep it from dropping, but mostly to stop my bottom lip from quivering. “Thank you,” I say.

  Will nods. “Good save, Coach.”

  Coach stands taller, looking smug as he rolls his shoulders back. “Now, are we exchanging rings?”

  I feel a rush of panic as if I forgot something but Will’s confidence never leaves his face.

  He turns toward the front row and gestures with one hand, prompting Andy to slide off Sara’s lap. He rushes over, nearly tripping on the pant legs of his little suit, but he stays on his feet all the way up to us. Will bends down to his level and several in the crowd audibly gasps and swoons as Andy drops two wedding bands into Will’s open palm.

  I realize my own mouth is wide open and I force it closed.

  “Thanks, buddy,” Will tells him.

  Andy grins up at me and waves a little hand. “Hi, Jovie.”

  I laugh. “Hi.”

  He turns around and runs back to Sara. She picks him up and for a moment, she makes eye contact with me. I expect a hint of malice or annoyance but for the first time in our lives, I see neither. She half-smiles with acceptance instead. It’s no olive branch but it’s a good start.

  Will lays the larger ring in my shaking right hand and I grip it so tightly I feel the band digging into my skin.

  “William, repeat after me,” Coach begins. “I, William…”

  “I, William.”

  “Take you, Jovie, to be my wife.”

  “Take you, Jovie…” Will slowly exhales the shock from his eyes. “To be my wife.”

  “To have and to hold from this day forward.”

  “To have and to hold from this day forward.”

  “For better or for worse. For richer or for poorer.”

  “For better or for worse. For richer or for poorer.”

  “In sickness and in health.”

  “In sickness and in health.”

  “To love and to cherish until death do us part. This is my solemn vow.”

  Will draws my left hand closer and aligns the white gold ring with my fingertip. “To love and to cherish until death do us part.”

  He slides the ring onto my finger until it reaches the engagement ring already sitting there.

  “This is my solemn vow,” he finishes, still staring into me.

  I bite my cheek, refusing to let the tears fall from my eyes but I’m not sure how much longer I can hold them back.

  “Now, Jovie…” Coach looks at me. “Repeat after me.”

  My lungs jolt as I try to breathe, shaking the air back out through my fire red cheeks.

  “I, Jovie,” he says.

  “Uhh…” I stutter, instantly forgetting my line.

  Will lays his second hand over mine, creating a warm, stable cocoon around my trembling fingers. It sends almost immediate strength through me but just one look into his eyes threatens to bring it all back down.

  He smirks and I feel like myself again.

  “I, Jovie,” I say.

  “Take you, William, to be my husband.”

  “Take you, William, to be my husband.”

  A bit of relief rushes through Will’s eyes and I smile wider. Each new word feels a little easier, as if everything was destined to lead us here.

  “To have and to hold from this day forward.”

  “To have and to hold from this day forward.”

  “For better or for worse. For richer or for poorer.”

  My tongue shakes no more. “For better or for worse. For richer or for poorer.”

  “In sickness and in health.”

  “In sickness and in health.”

  “To love and to cherish until death do us part. This is my solemn vow.”

  I take hold of the wedding band and the sunlight shimmers around the rim as I gaze at it. Will straightens his hand and I slide it over his thick, strong knuckles.

  “To love and to cherish until death do us part.” I entwine our hands and he squeezes tightly. “This is my solemn vow.”

  Coach pauses and leans closer to Will. “Do you want her to say it again just to be sure?”

  I raise a brow.

  Will shakes his head. “No. I trust her.”

  “All right.” Coach feigns a sigh. “Then, by the power vested in me by the great state of Kansas, I have no choice but to pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride and Lord have mercy on us all.”

  There’s an uproar of shouts and applause as the band starts to play, but it all blends together in the back of my head as Will takes a single step forward.

  He lays a hand on my cheek, just barely grazing my skin as I tilt my face upward. Our lips touch, mouths closed in a sweet, thoughtful kiss...

  But we’re Will and Jovie.

  I hop up into his arms and wrap my legs around his waist, locking us together in a firmer, messier kiss.

  “Rock and roll!” Natalie shouts amid the whistles and cheers.

  I lose my breath quickly and lay my forehead against his to take a rest. Will keeps me held up high and I feel weightless and bold, completely comforted in a moment when I should be terrified.

  “Hey, Jovie?”

  I open my eyes for him. “Yeah?”

  “I love you.”

  We kiss once more.

  “I love you, too, Will.”

  He sets me down and we turn around to look out at the clapping crowd. Even more must have gathered during the ceremony, as they now extend far past the sea of folding chairs into the street beyond them.

  Will stands behind me with his arms hugging my waist, holding me against him as he laughs in my ear.

  So many of them, some family, others friends and acquaintances, all staring at me.

  But that’s just what people do when your name is Jovie Ross.

  Clover, Kansas.

  Home sweet home.

  Epilogue

  Will

  It’s a warm day in Clover, Kansas.

  The sun casts a bright glow throughout the town square. Birds are starting to return now that the snow and ice have melted away. Natalie wanders the street with a small storage bo
x under her arm to detach the last few pink and red ribbons that still remain on parking meters and road signs.

  Valentine’s Day 2020 is over.

  I step out of the corner market with several grocery bags in each hand, extending my foot to hold the door as a man passes by me.

  “Hello, William!” Coach Rogers says.

  I smile at him. “Hey, Coach.”

  He takes the weight of the door to let me slide out of his way. “I must say, you’re looking about a 9.5 today!”

  I nod. “I’d say it’s more of a 9.7.”

  “Well, keep that smile going!” He continues on into the market. “It’s contagious!”

  While I love getting into it with Coach about the morality of his coveted G-HIC system, I can’t say I haven’t seen the effects of it in action recently. In the few shorts days since the Valentine’s Day dance, I’ve seen the widespread smiles lingering on every face. There’s a light and fluffy feeling around every corner. The events of a few individuals really matter to the people as a whole.

  Happy life. Happy town.

  I step off the curb and pop the trunk to toss the groceries inside.

  “Hey, Myers!”

  I look at the toy store behind me and wave toward the shiny, bald head poking out the door. “Hey, Mr. Trin.”

  “Jovie doing okay?” he asks.

  “She’s great. How’s that new smock girl working out?”

  He rolls his eyes, barely lowering his voice. “Girl can’t tell the difference between a sauropod and a cerapod. You tell Jovie she’s needed back ASAP.”

  “I’ll pass it on.” I laugh.

  “I mean it.” He steps one foot back inside. “Throw the bundle of joy in a björn. Pump at the register. I don’t care. I need my assistant manager.”

  “It’s been three days, Mr. Trin,” I say. “You’ve got three months to go.”

  “That’s a lifetime in this business. Don’t you know anything about product cycles?”

  I shrug. “I fix cars.”

  He throws up his hands and retreats back inside.

  I step back onto the curb and linger near the window to look inside, catching sight of the new employee walking through the aisles. She’s young with a pixie hair cut — not unlike Jovie when she first put on that red smock a decade ago.

  The girl stacks a few dolls on the shelf, carelessly leaving them without meticulously straightening them first. Jovie would throw a fit but I won’t tell her. She’s got enough to worry about right now as it is.