Katie's eyes widened. She hadn’t seen the woman since Nick’s funeral. Mona had always had a soft spot for Nick, ever since their junior year when Nick had been trying on a tuxedo at Richard’s Formal Wear, the shop next door which was owned by Mona's husband.
Katie had heard the story many times. When Nick came out of the dressing room, he found Richard lying on the ground, holding his left arm and was gasping for air. Nick – rather than freezing up or panicking as most kids his age would have done – immediately called 911 and then began administering CPR.
Nick had learned this valuable skill during his life guard training, but as far as Katie knew, he had never had to put it to the test while performing his duties the previous summers up at Whisper Lake.
When the paramedics arrived, they said that if Nick hadn’t been there and started CPR. Richard most likely would not have made it – would probably not have even survived the ambulance ride. Mona always called Nick her “guardian angel” after that.
Needless to say, he had never paid for another tux!
“Oh my goodness, look at you,” Mona said, her voice an almost reverent whisper as she recognized Katie, “You're so grown up! You look so beautiful.”
“Well, what did you expect her to be, a dog?” Aunt Wendy blurted out. Katie couldn't tell if this was her natural outspoken nature coming to the forefront or if she was trying to save Katie from yet another maudlin scene, but whichever it was, Katie was grateful. “Of course she's beautiful, she's as pretty as a picture, she comes from good genes. Now, Katie, you go on and try this dress on. You’re the last one and I need to get you checked off my list.”
“It’s good to see you, Mona,” Katie smiled as she was shuffled into the changing stall by Aunt Wendy. She continued to talk, knowing that she could be heard clearly on the other side of the curtain. “You look great, too. How is Richard doing?”
“Oh, Richard! He is just fine, thanks for asking. All thanks to Nick, of course, God rest his soul. Your brother is still my guardian angel, Sophie.”
Mona yelled this last part to Sophie, who was in the dressing room with her mom and cousin.
“I know! He is to all of us, too. Right, Mom?” Sophie replied.
“Right,” Grace agreed readily, her voice calm and steady, “He's always watching over us.”
Katie had to pause for a moment and steady herself with a hand against the wall. She concentrated on breathing deeply and slowly, centering her emotions. Damn! That little exchange had taken her by surprise. It was so odd for Katie to hear people talking about Nick so casually, not crying or speaking in whispers. Just mentioning him as a part of everyday life.
But, she thought, I guess that's what you're able to do when you stay and deal with something instead of running away, moving to another state where no one even knows who Nick was, let alone ever mentions him.
It was also odd to think of Nick watching over them, and it was a concept that Katie had never thought of before. Maybe that's what she had sensed outside of the shop. Maybe the feeling of being observed was Nick was watching over her.
She shook her head. No, no, no. She was letting her imagination work overtime. That crazy feeling was probably just her subconscious trying to deal with all of the emotions she was feeling today. All of the stress she had been under didn’t just disappear – it had to surface somewhere.
Suddenly, the curtain to Katie's cubicle was whisked aside briskly by Aunt Wendy.
“Hey!” Katie said in surprise, “I could've been naked in here!”
Aunt Wendy waved this away like it was a small concern, “Oh, please, honey. Do you think I don't have the sense God gave a grasshopper? I knew you'd be taking a minute to collect yourself before you started undressing. But come on out now before you try on your dress. Sophie's ready for everyone to see her. You can finish after.”
Katie nodded and stepped back out into the main part of the shop.
“Okay is everyone ready to see the most beautiful bride in the world?” Grace asked as she pulled the curtain covering the entrance to Sophie’s dressing cubicle to the side.
As Sophie stepped out of the dressing room, the entire shop was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone just stared, speechless.
The sight of Sophie took Katie’s breath away. She was a vision, gorgeous.
Sophie had altered Grandma Marie’s dress, modernizing the feel by transforming the three quarter sleeve into a cap sleeve. But other than that one small adjustment, the gown looked exactly as Katie remembered. It was incredible, and Sophie looked as if she had stepped right out of a sepia-toned formal wedding portrait and into the real world.
“So...” Sophie asked nervously, clearly unnerved when she was greeted by nothing but silence, “What do you think?”
At this question, the room exploded with comments.
“You’re beautiful!”
“You looked like you just stepped out of a bridal magazine!”
“You took my breath away.”
“You are perfection.”
“You have never looked so beautiful!”
“Bobby is going to cry when he sees you.”
“You look amazing!”
“You are what a bride is supposed to look like!”
Sophie didn't look as relieved at the barrage of positive comments as Katie thought she should have. As everyone was still speaking over each other, Sophie turned to Katie and said, voice trembling a little, “Well, what’s the verdict?”
“Oh, Sophiebell,” Katie cried, grasping the younger woman to her and holding her tight. “You’re utterly stunning. You take my breath away!”
“Oh, good!” Sophie joked, the relief she felt at Katie's approval evident in her huge smile, “because it’s too late to change the dress now.”
“You look beautiful, Soph. My brother is a lucky man,” Katie heard a familiar deep voice intone from a few feet behind her.
Oh no! Jason was here.
Immediately, Katie slipped back into the dressing room and took her sweet time (as Aunt Wendy was wont to describe it) trying on the bridesmaid's dress. She could hear the other groomsmen arriving, and Katie hoped that this was enough to distract Jason and lure him out of Mona's. She also heard Sophie being rushed back into her own dressing room so that Bobby wouldn’t see her when he arrived at Richard’s, since the two stores were connected by a wide open breezeway. She heard all the voices start to die down and rushed herself into the lavender sheath. She was just about to walk out when Aunt Wendy threw the curtain back yet again.
“Buttercup, what is taking you so dad-blamed long? All the girls are done and dressed and ready to head over for some yummy Italian eatin’!
“Again,” Katie intoned dryly, “Could've been naked in here.”
Aunt Wendy swatted away this sentiment as if she were swatting at a pesky gnat. Her attention had been focused elsewhere the instant she had laid eyes on the voluminous dress hanging on Katie's thin frame.
“Oh, sweetie, you’re swimmin' in that dress! You might as well be doing the backstroke!” Aunt Wendy fretted, and then yelled, “MONA!”
Katie looked down and realized that Aunt Wendy was right. The dress fit pretty well around the chest, but she definitely did not fill out the rest of it. It would need quite a few adjustments. Katie felt a wave of nausea as anxiety overtook her. It was Thursday – the wedding was on Saturday. Would there even be time for adjustments?
“I’m here. I’m here,” Mona said as she shuffled around the corner. When she spied Katie, she cried, “Oh dear, honey! I am going to have to take that in.”
“I know, but do you think that there is enough time?” Katie worried, twisting and turning in front of the mirror to try to get a better look at herself, “I mean...it’s not that big. Is it?”
“Yes and YES,” Mona said firmly as she began taking pins from her pin cushion and sticking them into Katie’s dress.
Katie stood perfectly still as the dress she was wearing was tugged and pulled and p
inned. Aunt Wendy's phone began to chime the notes of “Sweet Home Alabama” and Wendy hustled outside to take the call, looking at the screen and muttering something about a flower emergency and getting better reception outside.
When Wendy passed the front door, Katie was, for all intents and purposes, alone. Mona was there, but she was laser focused on her tailoring work. Katie took the opportunity to take one more cleansing breath and steel herself for this weekend. It looked like it was going to be one hell of a ride!
--- ~ ---
Jason walked into Mona’s Bridal and immediately saw Sophie, his soon to be sister-in-law. God, she looked gorgeous. It was still hard for him to see her as a grown woman sometimes, and not the impish little kid that he had always known – but not at that moment. She was beautiful.
As he pointed that out to her, he saw a flash of long blonde hair rush into a dressing room out of the corner of his eye. He shook his head, suddenly feeling a little impish himself. Oh, Kit Kat, he thought with an indulgent half-smile growing across his face. You can run but you can’t hide.
As he walked next door to Richard’s, he decided to set the whole idea of Katie aside. He would deal with that situation later. Right now, he needed to just focus on his brother and being there for him. He was the best man, and he took that role seriously.
The fitting went quickly and all of the guys were in and out in less than 20 minutes. Jason smiled. Those ladies had still been there an hour after their fitting had started. It was good to be a guy.
Taking a look at his schedule, Jason was pleased to note that he had some free time to kill until his next obligation. It was a good chance, he decided, to stop by the Slater St. building site and finish up some paperwork that he needed buttoned down before he took off for the weekend.
Just as he shut the door of his truck with a satisfying slam, he saw Aunt Wendy waving him down from across the parking lot, in front of Mona’s. He pulled his truck out of the space it was parked in and swung over to her, pulling up beside her and rolling down the driver's side window.
“Hey, Wendy. What’s up?” he asked affably.
“Well, Romeo, I have a huge favor to ask. Everyone else has already left to go get ready for the luncheon. I just got a call from the florist and it seems like someone has changed all the numbers on the corsages and boutonnieres! I really need to get over there and straighten this out, but my Buttercup has just started getting her dress altered. Can you give her a ride when she is finished?”
Jason began nodding before Wendy had even finished talking. “Of course, of course, Wendy. Get over to the florist, I’ll take care of Katie.”
“Thanks Romeo,” Aunt Wendy swooned, giving him a little chuck on the chin, “You’re a life saver.”
“No worries, it’s my pleasure.” Jason couldn't help adding a silent 'literally' to himself, but managed to keep even the hint of a twitch of a smile from showing on his lips.
Chapter Five
Katie walked back to the waiting area of Mona’s wearing her street clothes and looked around the empty space. Everyone was gone, it seemed. She stood alone in the room with Mona, who was reading a magazine, seemingly unconcerned.
“Hey Mona, did you see where Aunt Wendy went?” Katie asked, puzzled, as she continued to glance around the shop and then to strain her neck to look into Richard’s side of the space. Maybe, Katie figured, Aunt Wendy had stopped by to help the men out.
Nope, it was empty. Hmmm....
“I don’t know where your aunt is, sweetie pie, but it looks like you DO have a driver waiting on you,” Mona said, and the playful tone in her voice set off red flags of warning in Katie's mind.
She turned slowly and saw Jason leaning against his black Chevy truck, looking like he was a living breathing movie poster.
She was so stunned by the sight of Jason that it took her a moment to register anything about his truck. It wasn’t the truck that he had in high school.
Again, she felt a rush of emotion. That was becoming the theme of the day.
Of course, it made sense that he wouldn't be driving the exact same vehicle ten years later. She certainly wasn't. But, somehow, it had never even entered her mind that Jason would drive anything but his black Chevy truck, the one which had formed a matching set with Nick's. The idea of Jason had become inextricably linked in her mind with the thought of that shining, beautiful black truck.
He and Nick had bought their matching set of trucks on the same day, even. They had nicknamed the identical pick-ups “the twins.” They thought that double entendre was pretty clever. It had always annoyed Katie to no end, but looking back on it now, she could certainly see why sixteen year old boys would find that particular nickname pretty amusing.
Katie steeled herself for another conversation with Jason and determined that she was going to keep it light, NO MATTER HOW INFURIATING (or sexy) HE WAS! She breathed in deeply and put on a bright smile, then stepped confidently out the door.
“Hey Jas, have you seen Aunt Wendy?” Katie asked, cheerful tone firmly in place.
“I did, actually. She asked if I could give you a ride. She had a floral emergency that she needed to attend to,” Jason said as he gallantly opened the passenger side door of his truck.
“Oh, okay,” Katie said, resolutely refusing to abandon her cheerful tone even though she now felt virtually bathed in regret for not insisting that she drive her own car here. As she walked past Jason to get into the truck she felt goosebumps rising all up and down her arms, and she realized that riding in this truck with Jason – even if it wasn't technically one of “the twins” - might be too much for her.
“On second thought Jas...it’s a beautiful day. I think I'll just walk,” Katie chirped, scampering away from the truck and down the sidewalk as quickly as her feet would carry her.
“Really?” Jason's laconic tone made Katie stiffen as called after her, “You think that you have enough time to walk all the way back to Harper Lane, change your clothes, and then make it back downtown again by the time the luncheon starts at Salvatore's?”
She knew Jason was just pointing out the obvious, but that irritated her even more, because he was right. Still, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction, and she kept up her fast-paced strides.
“Fine, then,” Jason said, his voice oozing with ‘disappointment’, “I guess you'll just disappoint Sophie. I mean, it's not big a deal. You're just the maid of honor. I guess I'll just drive over to the restaurant and tell her you turned down a ride, so you'll be a little late. I mean, she probably won't care. And you probably won't be more than, what? 45 minutes? An hour late? You never minded being late, right Kit Kat?”
Katie stopped walking, her shoulders slumped. She knew when she was beaten. She heard the truck start up behind her, and then pull up to her side. She looked over and saw Jason grinning behind the wheel, and – grin still plastered firmly to his face – he leaned over and popped the passenger door's handle. Katie sighed. It was going to be a long afternoon.
“Fine, I guess you’re right,” Katie mumbled begrudgingly as she pulled the door the rest of the way open and slid into her seat. She leaned back and closed her eyes, resigning herself to the fact that she was going to be in a small, confined area with Jason for a fairly protracted period of time.
“You’re welcome, Kit Kat.” Jason said cheerfully as he pulled away. Katie did not answer, or even give an indication that she had heard his little dig.
As the truck moved along the familiar streets, carrying them closer and closer to Katie's home, she began to feel a little guilty. After all, it wasn't Jason's fault that she didn’t trust herself around him. It was hers. She needed to “drink a can of suck it up” as Grandpa J always said to anyone that dared to whine or complain.
She only had to spend this one weekend with Jason, so she might as well try to get through it with dignity and class. No matter what Jason might think of her now, she was still holding out hope that all the years that they had known each other prior to that fatefu
l night would somehow trump that incident in his memory. Maybe then they could go on being friends.
In just the few short hours that she had been back in town she had realized (if she were being completely honest with herself) just how much she had actually missed Jason.
And she didn't think this was just her hormones talking, either. In fact, she wished they would just SHUT UP already!
Nope, what she missed was his smile, his voice, his eyes...heck, she even missed arguing with him! And then, of course, there was the fact that he always seemed to be around right when she needed something. She had forgotten what that felt like.
Although Katie could see him sneaking little glances over at her, Jason was also silent on the ride back to the house. Katie was not used to that. Jason always had something to say.
Was he upset that he had to play the role of chauffeur? No. That's not something that would bother him. Jason was, by far, the most ‘go with the flow’ person Katie knew.
As Katie stealthily watched him, silently driving down 10th Street, she was momentarily distracted by how ruggedly handsome he had become. As he looked into the rearview mirror with intense concentration, the sunlight beaming through the windshield hit his eyes, and Katie could see gold flecks surrounding his pupils. She was mesmerized.
“Katie, I said do you know him?” Jason snapped.
“What? Who?” Katie asked, returning to her senses.
“The guy on the motorcycle about two car length backs,” Jason said, tension tightening his voice in a way Katie had rarely heard.
Katie looked back and saw a young guy on a motorcycle a few yards behind them. He was probably early twenties, well built, with blond hair and sunglasses. There WAS an air of familiarity about him, when Katie stopped to think...but she couldn't quite nail down what that might be from, or where she may have crossed paths with him before.
“He looks familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it. Why? Who is he?” Katie asked, shrugging. She assumed it was someone that they had known as teenagers, a friend's younger brother or cousin or something like that.
My First (Jason & Katie) Page 7
