Just a Little Sequel

by Tracie Puckett

  “Julie,” he ripped off the mask that I’d worked so hard to secure beneath his collar. “Things didn’t work out, okay? I went to school. I gave it a year. I didn’t like it. End of story.”

  I had trouble believing that. Matt hadn’t been able to shut up about his college experience over the summer. We heard all about the classes, the experience, the parties… the girls. He barely made it through his summer break without exploding. Once fall came around and it was time to go back to school, Charlie and I could hardly get him to stick around long enough to hug us goodbye.

  “If you didn’t like it, then why did you even go back this semester? Why not come clean over the summer and save yourself some time, money, and energy?”

  “I didn’t know I wanted to drop out then,” he said. “It just… I don’t know, it just dawned on me, hit me like a ton of bricks. I woke up one day and suddenly realized that I didn’t belong there.”

  “And what’s your plan now that you’re here? You’re just going to Skype him every night and pretend that you’re hundreds of miles away in your dorm? You’re going to sneak food from the kitchen when he’s not home so that you don’t starve? What? What’s the plan, Mattie?”

  “I don’t know,” he closed his eyes. “Julie, I didn’t really think it through—”

  “Really? Because it sounded like you had a solid plan.”

  “Stop,” he said. “Just stop. Can you just let me enjoy tonight? I’ll tell Dad tomorrow. In the meantime, I want to enjoy what’s left of my freedom.”

  I understood that much. When Charlie found out that Matt had left school and returned home for good, he was going to lose it.

  Looking at my cousin, despite his grumpy attitude and the fact that I’d just given him a really hard time, I couldn’t help but feel terrible for him. I couldn’t imagine the pain or misdirection he must’ve felt. How could he just abandon the one dream he’d always worked so hard for? What had happened? Matt never gave up on anything. Never. So why this? Why now?

  Matt had just started his second year studying culinary arts (not that he even needed the formal education; he was a pro without it). And though he video chatted twice a week, texted on a daily basis, and flew in during every break, he’d sworn that there was nothing in the world he loved more than being away on his own. Sometimes I believed him, and other times I’d swear he was lying right to my face. I knew he missed me. He missed Charlie, and not that I could blame him for even a second, he missed being home in Oakland. But he’d had a dream, and his dream had never included giving up.

  For whatever reason, missing home or hating college, Matt snuck in the house and surprised me about an hour earlier. Even after a full sixty minutes of being in his presence, I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. Deciding to give my cousin the break he’d asked for and drop the subject (for now), I twirled in a circle and let my dress whip around my knees.

  “We’ve already concluded that your costume is whack, but what do you think of mine? Pretty great, eh?”

  Matt leaned a little further back and shook his head. “Very subtle, Julie.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he rolled his eyes big time, ‘it’s just that… dude, a wedding dress, really? Don’t you think that screams desperate?”

  “No,” I stood next to him and assessed myself in the mirror, “I think it says hey Luke, I have a sense of humor about the fact that you refuse to marry me!”

  Matt groaned and rolled his eyes for the fifteenth time since I’d shown him what I planned to wear to the party. There was nothing—let me repeat myself, nothing—wrong with my outfit. It was a simple, summery, beautiful wedding dress, complete with a veil and white heels. I splurged on a pair of short gloves to really tie it all together, and I looked pretty freakin’ fantastic.

  Remember that whole ‘have to pick my battles’ thing? Well, I was holding onto all of my energy in case Luke decided to back out of settling down. I didn’t want to apply the pressure too hard, but I didn’t see a darn thing wrong with dropping hints whenever I could. So what? I wanted to marry the man I loved; I had no shame in admitting that.

  “I thought about wearing Mom’s dress,” I looked over at the garment bag hanging on a hook outside my closet. “I had it cleaned and pressed. But… I just couldn’t bring myself to put it on. Not for something as trivial as a costume party, you know?” I glanced back down at my second-hand gown. “I found this one at the thrift shop.”

  “I don’t care where you found it. It makes you look desperate.”

  “Just stop,” I playfully shoved him aside. “Luke can take a joke. He’ll think it’s cute and endearing, just like his adorable girlfriend.”

  “Key word: girlfriend, Julie. Not fiancée, not bride, not wife. Girlfriend. If he’s not proposing, take the hint.”

  “You are such a party pooper.”

  Matt raised his brow as if he enjoyed the emotional torment. While I thought it was just mind-boggling that Luke still hadn’t popped the question, my cousin thought it was downright hilarious. He never missed an opportunity to remind me that I was no closer to getting married than I was this time last year. I should’ve known that my costume would spark an endless line of rude and unnecessary commentary from him. So, yes, by asking for his opinion, I’d brought the ridicule upon myself. I should’ve known better.

  “Alright,” Matt put his mask back over his head and worked to hide the bottom beneath his shirt. He managed to nail it without my help this time, and he turned back to me. “I’m out of here. Enjoy losing, loser.”

  I watched as my cousin turned out of my bedroom and down the hall, determined to steal the title of Best Dressed from me yet again.

  Letting Matt’s comment roll off my shoulders, I turned and faced the full-length mirror one last time. I smoothed my hands down the front of the gown and adjusted the veil in my upswept hair. I brought it down in front of my face, smiling at myself through the fine netting.

  “Perfect,” I nodded once, and that was about all the time I had left to admire my reflection. I could hear the guests already roaring on the floor below, and Bruno had just started up the karaoke machine out front.

  I glanced out my window and smiled as I watched Luke pull up (he’d gone home an hour ago to shower the pumpkin guts out of his hair). I dashed out of my bedroom door. Flying down the steps as fast as I could, I didn’t even bother to return the ‘hellos’ I’d gotten from Rebecca and Molly as I passed them.

  I ran out the front door and greeted Luke on the sidewalk, but we both stopped about two feet short of one another. He tilted his head slightly upward and eyed my dress with an open mouth, and I planted both of my hands on my hips to indicate my frustration that he hadn’t bothered dressing up at all.

  “Subtle, Jules.”

  “Where’s your costume?” I finally dropped my hands. I eyed his dark, tightly fitted blue jeans, black tee-shirt, and his low profile Chuck Taylors. “You promised you would dress up this year.”

  “I did,” he looked down at his outfit.

  “You did?”

  “Yeah,” he said, looking down at himself again. “I’m off-duty-Luke.”

  “Oh, nice,” I imitated the same exaggerated eye roll I’d gotten from Matt earlier.

  Luke smiled, all too pleased with himself for getting away with not dressing up three years in a row. I couldn’t really blame him for the first year; after all, he had just gotten out of the hospital. Last year he had no excuse, and he came in his uniform as on-duty- Luke. This year, well…you can see he found humor in carrying on his tradition.

  Luke stepped forward and lifted my veil. He pressed a gentle kiss on my lips before dropping it back in place.

  “What was that for?”

  “Do you need a reason?”

  “No.”

  “Okay then,” he winked.

  As I turned into him for a hug, he took a step back and surveyed the yard. His eyes scanned the faces going in and out of the house, those gathering around the bonf
ire, and even a few approaching from the street. He waved at his sister and niece up on the porch, nodded once to his dad out back, and then studied the growing group of Oakland policeman as they gathered to watch Bruno perform.

  There was a lot going on, and the party was filling up quickly. Luke had suddenly taken a serious interest in watching every man, woman, and child that crossed his path.

  “Looking for anyone in particular?”

  “Charlie,” he kept surveying the crowd. “Have you seen him tonight?”

  “Of course,” I nodded up at the house, “he was just in the kitchen right before I came out. Why?”

  He shook his head as if to say no reason. He turned back and squeezed my hand, “I’m going to run in and grab a drink. You want anything?”

  “Nope,” I said, but he hadn’t really stuck around long enough to hear my answer. He was already taking brisk steps up to the porch.

  “Dang, what’s his hurry?” a friendly voice asked behind me, and I turned to shrug as Derek stepped up and placed his arm around my shoulder.

  I reached my hand around his waist and held onto him, watching as the rest of the partygoers gathered and socialized in their own little groups. Charlie’s annual bash seemed to grow larger every year, and just like Matt had pointed out earlier, we barely recognized most of the strange faces; it used to be limited to close friends and family, and now it seemed like every person we’d ever met (no matter how briefly) showed up to get in on the action. Charlie, of course, enjoyed the popularity, so he didn’t mind the large turnout.

  I turned and looked back at Derek. He, like Luke, had chosen not to dress up this year.

  Two years ago, he’d come dressed as my Prince Charming and helped me win the Best Dressed Couple title. Last year he just showed up—arriving in Oakland for the first time in months. He swung by the party to let us know he’d returned home from his ‘soul searching’ expedition, and when I caved into his arms, crying like the hysterical, hormonal child that I am, he was shocked to learn that I’d really believed he was gone forever.

  Have some faith. I told you I’d never leave again, Julie, he’d said over and over. I just needed some time.

  While he continuously promised me that he’d only needed some time alone, time to reflect, and time to recuperate, I still couldn’t believe he was home for good. Not only was he dealing with the loss of his father, he was trying to live with the fact that he was the reason his dad was six feet under and rotting. And if that wasn’t enough, he was nursing a broken heart. Some jerk—let’s not point fingers here—had fallen in love with another man and left him feeling a little too stung by rejection.

  But he took the time he needed, and he came back. He hadn’t left since.

  I looked at him again and shook my head. It made me a little sad that he hadn’t dressed up this year. He was just goofy enough to come up with a really great costume if he’d wanted to. I took a moment to consider that maybe Derek thought he’d outgrown the fun of Halloween. Maybe he thought that dressing up was just too juvenile for a man in his position. Things change the older you get, and with age comes maturity. With all of his newfound responsibilities, was he suddenly making that dreaded transition into adulthood?

  No.

  I seriously doubted that much.

  Not Derek.

  He probably just hadn’t had the time to put something together.

  “No costume this year?”

  “Nah,” he said, and we both watched as Rebecca and Molly retreated back into the house. Derek shook his head and held me tighter, but then he let his eyes fall on my costume as if he’d just realized what I had on. “Wow. I see you were going for subtle.”

  “What’s with everyone? It’s like that’s the word of the night or something.”

  “And for a good reason,” he said, almost laughing. He rubbed the back of his neck with his one free hand and then looked back at the house. “Did Charlie approve this costume?”

  “No,” we started walking for the bonfire, “but he didn’t have to. There’s nothing wrong with it—”

  “I’m not sure he’ll feel the same when he sees it,” he dropped his head. Derek would know; he and Charlie had practically become best friends. There was even an ongoing joke around town that Derek was my newly adopted cousin. To him, and to Charlie, Derek was family now. “Your uncle’s going to lose his mind when he sees this.”

  “Oh, hush. It’s just a joke.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “A joke that probably has poor Luke inside sweating bullets. Now it makes sense why he was in such a hurry to get away from you.”

  “Shut up!” I rolled my eyes.

  We joined a few others down at the fire pit. When Bruno finally took a breather and stepped away from the karaoke machine, Derek peeled off and started talking to Lonnie and Grace, who’d come dressed as bottles of salt and pepper. They gabbed for what seemed like twenty minutes about remodeling, paint schemes, and all things home improvement. Derek was in the process of singlehandedly renovating the interior of his house next door. I had to admit, last I’d seen it, it looked pretty great.

  I surveyed the growing crowd of partygoers and caught Matt hovering near a few of the girls I’d invited from school. I could only imagine he was doing his best to flirt with them, but I couldn’t see that he’d be very successful. No girl wants to be hit on by, well, whatever that hideous creature was he was dressed as.

  Bruno and I sat on the ground playing a friendly game of ‘say one more word about my wedding dress and I’ll slap you square in the face.’ Unfortunately for him, he was one sassy comment away from being on the receiving end of that aforementioned slap. He didn’t bother using the word subtle. He just came right out and said, ‘hey Julie, why don’t you just drag Luke down the aisle?’

  I kept watching for Luke. It’d been nearly an hour since he’d disappeared, and all of the sudden talk about my wedding dress had me worried that maybe I really had scared him away. I thought Luke would understand that it was just a joke, but the longer he stayed away, the less convinced I was that he saw things the same as I did.

  I turned back to ask Bruno if he really thought I’d crossed a line, but a burst of loud yelling up at the house caught everyone’s attention. Every head snapped back to watch as Luke let himself out, slammed the back door behind him, and charged angrily toward his car without any thought of finding me to say goodbye.

  “Great,” Bruno and I muttered at the same time. He offered me a hand off the ground and pulled me to my feet. I chased after Luke as Bruno turned off to find Charlie.

  “Yo, drama queen,” I yelled after my boyfriend, and he stopped just as his hand reached the door handle. He dropped his head against the top of the car and let go of a slow breath. “What’s going on? Where are you going?”

  He stood immobile for a few long minutes. Despite the buzz from the yard, the hum from the karaoke machine, and the growing sound of laughter back at the bonfire, I could make out each of his jagged breaths as he kept his back to me.

  “Luke?”

  “Come with me,” he said, turning around.

  I expected to find a scowl buried deep in his expression, but an unexpected grin caught me off guard. His smile was too far out of character for the moment; he’d just left the house acting as though he could murder someone, and now he was standing here acting so nonchalant. What had just happened?

  “Come with you where?”

  “The other side of town,” he nodded down the street. “Five minute car ride.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “No.”

  “Okay then,” he jogged around to the other side of the car. He opened the passenger’s side door and nodded, “Come on.”

  Three

  I had zero reservations about leaving the party. But the farther Luke drove away from the house, the more I started to worry about him. His smile still hadn’t faded. He’d reached over and taken my hand, and with each block he put behind u
s, he only squeezed my fingers tighter. Why was he being so kind and compassionate when I’d just overheard him screaming at Charlie?

  The streets of Oakland were freakishly dark by the time he pulled off onto a small lane just on the edge of town. It was about a block from the station, and there were very few street lamps lighting the way.

  Not knowing which way to look, at Luke or out the window, I chose the less creepy of the two. My gaze fell outside and I watched as we crept by a few small houses at a measly fifteen miles per hour.

  Luke pulled off into a paved driveway just at the end of the lane, and I turned my gaze from the side window to the windshield.

  Before I had time to really study our destination, Luke killed the engine and turned off the headlights. He got out of the car, came to my side, and helped me out.

  “Should I even ask?” I held onto his hand so I wouldn’t lose my way. I couldn’t see a single thing no matter how hard I strained my eyes. “Luke?”

  “One second,” he led me along in the dark. Though I couldn’t tell one way or the other, it seemed as though we were walking in the direction of the house we’d just stopped at.

  He stopped after a couple of yards, and I ran straight into his back.

  “Sorry—”

  “You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I let go of him to rub my nose. As soon as I stretched my hand forward to grab him again, he was gone, “Luke?”

  “Don’t move,” he said, and his voice was further away than I’d prepared myself for.

  “What are you doing?”

  No sooner than I’d asked, a tiny little light on the corner of Luke’s cell phone lit up, illuminating an area of a few feet in front of him.

  “Okay, come here,” he said, and I reached for his outstretched hand.

  I lunged forward a few steps and grabbed him, and then he turned his phone in the opposite direction.

  The light shone on a dark, brick-faced house, about half the size of Charlie’s. I couldn’t really see it well. Luke’s cell phone didn’t really shed a lot of light on the place, but I could see enough to conclude that it was an older, single-story home.