by A. R. Braun
Fay hurried over and tugged at her man’s arms. “Please, Donny, make Pishuni appear so they’ll believe you!” A couple of tears leaked out of her eyes. “I need them.”
Jim lit his pipe, and Georgia snorted.
Don rubbed Fay’s soft arms. “I won’t call on that thing again.”
“Please?”
“Pishuni said he wouldn’t help me unless I invoked him over Albuquerque like I did Rio Rancho, and I’m not having it. We’re wasting time. Let’s go.”
“’Pishuni,’ ” Georgia mocked.
“But my family,” Fay said.
“Now that I think about it, it’ll take Pishuni time to get somebody on his side,” Don answered. “First, everything will go the chosen one’s way, and he won’t know why. Then the deity will come to him in his dreams. Finally, Pishuni will reveal himself. That takes a while. We should be back from Vegas by then.”
“Why wouldn’t he just put a bottle of liquor in the hands of a homeless wino?” Jim asked. “Then he’d do anything he wanted.”
“That’s a good point.” Don put a finger in his chin and thought it over, then met Jim’s eyes. “I think he’s giving me time to change my mind, holding a potential servant over my head to get my devotion back.’
“But why does he need you?”
“Maybe he’s already given me something — or someone — he can take away.” Don took Fay’s hand. “He’s earned my loyalty. Maybe a bum would get too scared when he saw the god’s true form.”
Jim chuckled. “That’s crap.”
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t get how he works. Who can understand a god’s motives?”
“I don’t beg bums. I’m a proud spirit. Tell that old palefaced bastard to shut up.”
Don ignored Pishuni and looked at his girl. “We can’t force your mother and uncle to go. What we can do is watch out for somebody who’s getting ahead way too easily and then warn him. That’s our duty, actually.”
“Do you really think so?” Fay asked.
“I hope so. I guess all we can do is get hitched and hope he can’t break us up then.”
Georgia hissed.
Don put his arm around Fay’s waist and moved her toward the door.
Fay craned her neck. “Mom, Uncle Jim, please think about what Donny said. At least promise me you’ll do that.”
Georgia said, “I can’t take any more of this nonsense. I’m going back to bed.” She hobbled to her bedroom on wobbly legs.
“Please, Uncle Jim?” Fay asked.
“For you, baby girl, yes, I’ll think about it. But I don’t think it’ll do any good.” With that Jim took off down the hallway.
My God, Fay’s family makes me feel like a delusional cult leader.
“Donny, I believe you,” Fay said. “I heard it screech. I saw the birds and the scorpions.”
Don made an attempt at a smile. “Thank goodness somebody does.” He smoothed Fay’s soft hair. “Let’s go.”
Though he’d opened the door, Fay still stood before the threshold.
“Well, come on.”
Fay put her hands on her hips. “What about your new job?”
Don leaned on the door jamb. “I’ll just have to call them and tell them… well, I don’t know what I’ll tell them.”
“Why don’t we get married at the courthouse. It’ll be faster, and you can keep your job. We can do it on your lunch break. Then you can knock me up.”
“The courthouse? That’s tacky.”
Fay slapped her hands down at her sides. “We don’t have time to go to Vegas! You said we’d find the guy he was using and warn him… or her.” She crossed her arms. “I’m not leaving my mom and Uncle Jim.” She gave him the puppy dog eyes and stuck her bottom lip out. “You said it was our duty.”
“Oh, all right.” Don mused over what Jim had said. “You know, I hate to say this, but maybe your uncle is right. We’re being selfish by staying tied together with Pishuni’s knot.”
“Then let’s untie it. I told you, if he tries to break us up again, I’ll know it’s him.” Fay looked at him with worried eyes. “Don’t you want to marry me?”
Don’s heart melted. “Of course I do.” He thought for a while. “I should probably propose.”
“Do it later.” Fay smiled. “I wanna go back to bed. That argument wiped me out.” She kissed him on the cheek, this time no lipstick smearing him. She wasn’t wearing any, and Don thought her full, ripe lips looked better that way. “I love you, Donny.”
Don kissed her on the lips. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
Fay smiled, showing her pearly whites. “Let’s call it a day.”
But while they went back to sleep, Pishuni forged his evil plan.
CHAPTER 20
The next evening, Don reflected on the seemingly endless day, finally over. He gave one last pull on his last cigarette before bed, and the glow of the ember resembled a small comet. Fay wiggled her peach of an ass as she turned the key to the front door. Don followed. Butterflies erupted in his stomach as he marveled at her beauty. He’d decided to ask her tonight. Fay flicked on the weak light and flopped down on the couch.
Don knelt before her. He opened the box, and a glint of gold and sparkle followed.
Her eyes grew wide with surprise. A hand on each cheek, Fay asked quickly, “Real gold, real jewels, swear?”
“Let’s just say I spent a good chunk of change at the local jewelry store,” he answered.
Bought it on credit’s more like it.
Fay squealed and became misty-eyed. “Oh, Donny, it’s beautiful!” She put a hand over her mouth to hide a sob. “You’re so romantic.”
He took her hand. “Fay, my lovely flower of a girlfriend, we’ve got the string. Wanna, uh, tie the knot?”
She furrowed her brow and frowned. “And the mood’s ruined. What the hell was that?”
“Keep your voice down. You’ll wake Jim and Georgia.”
Fay held her hands out. “But what the hell was that? You call that a proposal?”
“We don’t have a lot of time, remember?”
She sighed. “Ask me right.”
Don focused on becoming serious. “Fay, you are without a doubt the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met in my life. I don’t know why you’d be interested in a rummy like me…” He stopped before the next part, lifting his left eyebrow. “… Well, actually I do.” He chuckled.
She hit him on the arm.
“You’re the sweetest girl in the world,” Don continued. “Will you marry me?”
Fay beamed, with a look of love in her eyes that said I’ll follow you anywhere, even if you’re a loser, because you’re my loser. “Yes, I will, you adorable man!”
Don kissed her soft lips, noticing she hadn’t worn any lipstick today. Again, he preferred it that way. Tasting her, his heart melted. Don rose and lifted her up. “Let’s go to bed.”
Fay stared at her ring, unable to take her eyes from it.
Don said, “I spent a good amount of the money I had left on that rock.”
She bear hugged him. “I love you so much!”
Breathless, they couldn’t turn off the passion, and they fell on the couch. Don and Fay made out, her perfume and sumptuous skin a rapture of flesh. Their hands wandered under each other’s clothes. It went further than anticipated, stinging Don’s crotch and making him hungry with lust. Soon, the clothes and the underwear fell like streamers as a fire burned in the living room as well as on the old town tonight.
***
The wedding day arrived, along with the stress that came with it.
Don missed his job at Rio Rancho, but selling computers paid the bills. He drove straight to Fay’s uncle’s house on his late lunch break after grabbing a fast-food meal from a drive-thru. The cool day made him shiver, and the whole way over, he’d noticed the clouds about to erupt as if an angry god disapproved.
Guess who?
On the porch, the glider slid back and forth. Fay sat between Jim and Georgi
a. When Don pulled in, Fay got up and minced toward the car, struggling to run because she wore a wedding dress. She held a bouquet of white roses, what looked like a corsage, and a folder under her arm. The latter would be the information they’d need, probably downloaded from online computer documents since Rio Rancho had been destroyed.
“Wedding dress and everything, huh?” Don asked as she worked her way by him, holding up the hem so she could move.
Fay smoothed the dress underneath her as she hopped in, looking flushed. “I had to beg Uncle Jim to let me use his late wife’s dress. Do you like it?”
“It’s gorgeous, darlin.”
“Not too old-fashioned?”
He shook his head.
Tears leaked out of her eyes. “This is the most important day of my life,” she choked out.
Don kissed her tears away. “Don’t cry, you’ll ruin your makeup.” He shut the door and headed around to the driver’s side, then stopped before getting into the car. Smiling, Georgia and Jim continued to rock complacently on the glider. Don mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.”
Georgia yelled, “You take care of my girl.”
“I will,” Don yelled back. He shivered as he opened his door. Don got in and shut it, looking Fay over as he fired up the engine. “Normally, it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.”
She waved him off. “Anything’s better luck than being tied to Pishuni.”
“True, that.”
Fay placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Uncle Jim said we could use the guestroom for our honeymoon.”
“That’s kind of him.”
Fay picked up the bag in the holder between the seats. “You got fast food? Where’s mine?”
Don pulled onto the street and headed toward the courthouse. “I’ll get you some on the way back.”
“I’m just teasing.” She touched her chest where her heart was. “I’m so nervous.”
Don glanced at her for a second, then concentrated on the road. “I’m sorry we don’t have time for an old-fashioned church wedding. I’ll remarry you when this nonsense is over, I promise.”
Fay trembled. The bouquet quivered. “Maybe… maybe we should wait for that Lutheran pastor to perform the wedding.”
“Remember what I said about Pishuni taking away your affection tonight?”
“I guess you’re right.” Fay stared straight ahead. “I bought the corsage and the bouquet when I went shopping with Mom. Do you like ‘em?”
“They’re the perfect complement to the dress, honey.”
She pinned the corsage on him. “Well, don’t you look handsome. You’d better get me preggers tonight.”
Don snorted. “What do you think I’ve been looking forward to all day?”
He pulled into the parking lot at the courthouse, and they got out. The small crowd that passed didn’t look at them as if they were from Mars, but smiled. Two scantily-clad teenage girls’ faces lit up.
“Nice dress,” the redhead said.
“Thanks,” Fay answered.
The brunette stared at Don. “Stud!”
Fay regarded him intently. “You’re blushing.”
Don didn’t think he could answer that without sounding ridiculous, so he kept his mouth shut.
He took her into the building, where they had to put their belongings through an x-ray machine, then they headed to the County Clerk’s office to show their IDs, their birth certificates and their social security cards. No medical exams were required in New Mexico, but Don had to provide information about his ex-wife. He paid twenty-five dollars for the marriage license, and thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long before being directed to the Justice of the Peace. They met with him, a kindly old gent that made small talk, then they stepped into a small chapel, simply a room with a pulpit and empty pews.
The Justice of the Peace glanced at Fay. She wiped away more tears and looked as if she was trying not to bawl. Don’s heart ached for her with no one to give her away.
“Don’t be nervous,” the rent-a-pastor said. “You’re a beautiful bride.”
“Thank you,” she answered, her voice as shaky as her hands.
The Justice of the Peace turned to Don. “Now, if you’ll face each other.”
They did so, taking each other’s hands.
“This is the holiest of unions and the most binding of all contracts,” the Justice of the Peace continued as he looked over his document. “May God bless you both.”
I’ll plead the fifth on that last one.
“Do you, Don Rack, take this woman, Fay Merrimount, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love, honor and cherish till death do you part?”
Fay looked at Don with saucer eyes which she wiped after sniffling.
“I do,” he answered, smiling. Don slipped the ring on her finger. He recalled the Roman myth that the vein from that finger — the vena amoris — led straight to the heart. How romantic that notion was now.
Fay beamed and grinned.
“And, Fay Merrimount, do you take this man, Don Rack, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and cherish till death do you part?”
“I do.” Fay placed the gold wedding band on his finger. She trembled so vehemently Don thought she’d pass out.
The Justice of the Peace beamed, smiling and showing his dentures. “Then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Don lifted her chin and kissed her tenderly. She grabbed the back of his head and kissed back, hard enough to make his teeth ache.
Just like that, the wedding was over.
***
As they headed out of the courthouse, Fay said, “I can’t believe I’m married.”
“You’ve never looked more beautiful,” Don answered.
She caressed his back as she gave him the bedroom eyes.
On the way home, Don offered to get the same for the lady at the drive-thru, but no way was she going to chance ruining the dress. Finally, they arrived at the homestead.
Don hopped out, opening her door for her.
Fay started to climb out.
“Wait,” Don said. “I’m supposed to carry you over the threshold.”
Fay blushed and giggled, holding out her wan arms. “Go ahead, He-Man. If you can.”
Don picked her up and put his back into it. It started to sprinkle, so he jogged up to the porch. He tried not to show he was straining to carry her.
Fay flashed him a wicked smile. “You can carry me, muscle man!”
Jim and Georgia weren’t in sight, but Don realized the former had spent his lunch break seeing Fay off.
“Uncle Jim knocked off work to take Mom and me to Uncle Bob’s wake,” Fay said, her female intuition apparently kicking in. “It was so sad. I wonder why people think it’s appropriate to eat like pigs after someone dies.” She shook her head. “It didn’t do much for my appetite, I’ll tell you that.” She reached out and unlocked the door. Don didn’t have a key yet.
Jim was nowhere in sight.
Georgia looked up from the couch, then stubbed out a cigarette.
I’ve never seen her smoke. She’s probably stressed because she feels her daughter got married too soon.
Georgia didn’t even look up from the half-eaten sandwich in her hand. “I guess I’m your mother-in-law now,” she monotoned.
Eating Don up with her eyes, Fay wasn’t paying attention to her mother. “Carry me to the guestroom. It’s at the end of the hall on the right.”
Don complied, of course hearing no congrats from Georgia. He turned the knob and gasped at the dazzling space with white walls and a white four-poster bed. Everything was white, the dressers, the hamper, the mirror frame and the door heading into their private bathroom. Don thought this was as close as anyone came to a heaven, the non-mythical one. He set her on the bed.
Fay giggled
and squealed. She pulled up her dress to reveal the white garter belt contrasting with her tanned legs. “Take me right now!”
Don looked at his watch. “I can’t. I’ve got to get back to work. Tonight, I promise.”
Fay sighed, but then conceded and smiled. “I can’t wait.”
Don shook his head. “I can’t believe we practically stole away.”
This isn’t right. She deserves better. Then again, my first wife had a church wedding, and look how that turned out.
Fay waved him off. “Go to work. You have to support me.”
Don leaned forward and gave her a quick smooch. “Love you, my blushing bride. I can’t wait for tonight either.”
“Love you too.” She squealed again.
With that he left.
She’s trying to make the most out of it, but this is one torrid quick fix.
Understandably, Don had to fight for concentration for the rest of the workday.
CHAPTER 21
Don’s boss let him knock off early since it was his first day and he’d just gotten married. He hadn’t asked if he’d need a week or two off for the honeymoon though. Don couldn’t take the time off anyway because he needed the money, but it would’ve been a considerate thing for him to have asked.
When Don drove home at four p.m., loud pops rang out, and he stopped the car. He found the two rear tires had blown. Having only one donut spare, he called a tow truck. Unfortunately, they were overworked and couldn’t make it for an hour. Too, their competitors had the same problem.
I wonder if Pishuni’s behind this.
Looking at his watch, he got out and walked around with his hands in his pockets. He ignored the stares from teenagers, probably wondering why someone would come to the park wearing a dress shirt and a tie.
It’s a wonder Pishuni isn’t babbling his mwa-ha-ha shit.
A baseball game with high-school-aged players caught Don’s eye, and he decided to sit among the family members and watch until the tow truck came. He took a seat in the highest part of the bleachers, next to a lady with brown hair with grey streaks as she cheered on Ben, whom she told Don was her son. Loosening his tie, Don decided against a trip to the snack bar because he didn’t want to ruin his dinner. Georgia had probably gone out of her way to make another delectable home-cooked meal, which beat the hell out of fast food any day of the week. He didn’t know how she did it, but nothing compared to her savory meats. Of course there’d also be mashed potatoes and dinner rolls, along with non-alcoholic wine. Don didn’t see the point in the latter, but was hardly in a position to argue.
