When You Come to Me

by Jade Alyse

  “Oh, Natalie,” Maya breathed. “It looks wonderful…”

  Natalie nodded.

  “Nat, you’re really getting married…”

  “Don’t say it,” she told her friend, focusing on Brandon. “It may be a dream…”

  “No, it’s not,” Maya said, nudging her sister. “This is really, really happening…”

  Yes, it was. And Brandon looked amazing, didn’t he? And did it take much for him to be so? He just was. And he was about to be hers, right? Hers for as long as her heart would allow, right? Forever, yes? Forever…

  He spotted her, and motioned for her to come near. And she did, her brown companions in tow, and she hugged him tightly when she came to him, took him in and smiled, missed him, genuinely missed him, wanted to thank him for taking things over, for taking the initiative, for being so strong…

  “Natalie Savannah,” Pastor Joins said, taking her hands and pulling her toward him. “You get prettier each time I see you, Dear Child…”

  “Thank you, Pastor,” she told him in her sweetest tone, feeling her cheeks warm.

  “I’ve just been talking to Brandon here, and he tells me that you’ve both agreed to do the traditional Baptist vows?”

  Natalie looked up at Brandon.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  Her heart stammered, running the vows through her head, thinking of how they would sound coming out of her mouth.

  “And will anyone be walking with you down the aisle?”

  Natalie swallowed hard, and Brandon grabbed her hand instantly, knowing…

  Natalie shook her head slowly, deterred her eyes and whispered, “No…no…it’s just me…”

  “Very well then,” Pastor Joins said, clapping his hands together. “Shall we get started?”

  Natalie and Brandon both nodded compliantly, and as the pastor gathered everyone together, attempting to get some sort of order, Brandon pulled her aside and whispered, “You’re doing fine, baby…”

  “So are you,” she whispered back, kissing the bridge of his nose.

  “Thank you…”

  Natalie assembled her bridal party the way she wanted, placing Maya first in line, then Sidney, Asha next and Jo last. Then Brandon followed, placing Scotty first, then Mark, then Matthew, then John.

  They then practiced the procession, with Chloe sitting in a chair near the altar, pretending to play her guitar, with Aunt Miri mumbling the lyrics, with Brandon standing at the altar, hands clasped behind his back, with Scotty walking Maya, practicing the slow pace as Natalie had instructed, “Left, together, right, together…Maya, stop foolin’ around or I’ll hit you!” their arms clasped together with Mark walking Sidney, Matthew walking Asha, and John walking Jo, together, walking slower than Natalie would have wanted.

  “Ash, could you pick up the pace a little?” Natalie suggested.

  “What? It’s not me, it’s him,” Asha snorted, shoving Matthew a little.

  “Please, clearly it’s her,” Matt retorted. “Apparently she didn’t get the memo that you don’t wear heels in grass…”

  “Natalie, I refuse to walk with him,” Asha said. “Please, let me walk with Scotty…”

  “No way,” Scotty said. “I’m stickin’ with Maya…she doesn’t talk as much as you do…”

  “Asha, try remembering whose day it’s suppose to be,” Maya reminded her. “Brandon and Natalie’s…that goes for Matthew too…”

  Matt Greene snorted. Brandon Greene said, “Thank you, Maya…Ash, you’ll walk with Matt and you’ll like it…it’s only for a few minutes…I’m sure you can handle a few minutes…”

  Asha nodded slowly. “Sorry, Brandon…”

  “No problem,” Brandon said with a sigh. “Can we try this again? I’m starving…”

  Brandon took his place again at the altar, by the pastor, and the bridal party walked down the aisle together again, John bringing up the rear, and once each person had taken their place at the altar, Natalie was cued, and pretended that she was holding her bouquet of flowers ahead of her, staring at Brandon, only Brandon, her heart pounding, the moment, more surreal than anything she’d ever felt before. And Brandon smiled warmly, took a visible deep breath and winked at her.

  And she stopped before him, looking into his eyes, fighting the lump in her throat and the wetness that would soon flood her cheeks if she wasn’t careful. She would save the tears for tomorrow; which she was sure would be bountiful.

  “I’ll go through the vows with you,” Pastor Joins explained. “Then I’ll go through the rings section, and shortly following, I’ll announce you man and wife…it’s a very simple process if you follow my instructions…and you’ll be married in less than thirty minutes. How does that sound?”

  Brandon and Natalie looked at each other and smiled.

  “Sounds great,” Brandon said.

  They ate dinner at the Bee’s Knees on 10th street, sometime following a glowing red sunset, shared drinks and tapas over a long white-clothed table and warm candlelight, with a sprinkling of Brandon’s close relatives, sitting side by side with Natalie’s.

  And then Scotty, who sat in between Asha and Maya, got a hold of his wine glass, raising it in the air, using his fork to clink against the surface.

  He then cleared his throat lowly and said; “If I can get your attention for just one moment while you eat…”

  The crowd at the table grew silent shortly following and all looked up at him, dressed comfortably and in a rather preppy manner, which pleased Natalie, who couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken off that silly blue trucker hat.

  “Good,” Scotty said, once he realized that he’d become the center of attention. “I’ve known Brandon since we were freshmen in college, and we were roommates in Creswell on the seventh floor, and he’d hate the music that I listened to and I’d hate the way he talked. But somewhere in between our walks to the convenience store or playing foosball with the hot girls in the next wing till five in the morning when we knew that we had a test the next day…we grew close…to something like being brothers. And, with this brotherly title, came the special duty of telling him when he was being an ass and telling him which girl would be perfect for him and which one wouldn’t…and whichever girl he didn’t chose…I got to keep [the dinner guests chuckled softly]. And when Brandon came to me one day our senior year and told me that he’d fallen in love, I thought he’d lost his mind. He told me that he’d met this girl at his twenty-first birthday party, and he’d admitted that she had the softest voice and she had to have been the prettiest girl he’d seen in awhile [Natalie looked at Brandon]. When he said that she was his best friend, I knew he had to have been talking about Natalie. Because no other girl I’ve seen would put up with him the way that she does [the guests chuckled again]. And I told him to go for it…because she was the perfect girl…because I knew no one else would love him the way that she would…no one else could be better suited for him…so [Scotty raised his glass higher]…here’s to my brother and his best friend…thank you for the wonderful example you’ve set for the rest of us…cheers…”

  A series of clinking glasses followed, and Brandon and Natalie both stood up and hugged Scotty.

  “I never knew you had all that in you,” Natalie whispered to him.

  Scotty smiled. “I clean up nicely, don’t I?”

  Natalie nodded.

  Once dessert had been served, Natalie stood up once more and thanked everyone for coming, making sure that she looked at the sprinkling of white faces occupying the table, showing an appreciative smile, as she held onto Brandon’s hand.

  And once the rehearsal dinner was done, and the two families had dispersed, what was left was the bridal party, standing on the curb outside of the restaurant, that breezy starlit evening.

  And Joanna Greene, who’d disappeared into the parking lot with Mark moments before, reappeared with her husband, and a pink paper bag with white handles. Natalie felt her stomach flip, recalling that the last time she’d seen that same ba
g was at her bridal shower, when all hell broke loose between her mother and Brandon’s over a pair of scary open-crotched g-strings.

  Jo shoved the bag in her face, and said, “Reach inside for a surprise…”

  Natalie shook her head and attempted to push the bag away. “Jo, no, no, not again…”

  “Please…it’s not as bad as you think it is…”

  “Can I honestly take your word on that one after…you know…?”

  “Natalie, don’t be such a baby,” Jo insisted, shrugging off her inhibitions.

  “You do realize that Brandon is standing right here, don’t you?”

  “And I’m waiting to see what’s in that bag,” he said, attempting to reach for it.

  Natalie smacked his hand away, and said, “Down boy…you walk over there while I investigate…”

  “Nonsense,” Brandon said. “If there are crotch-less anything in there, I would like to be the first to take a look…”

  “You’re not looking at anything,” Natalie said, reaching up to touch his face. “Now, run along…”

  She waited till Brandon headed toward the area where the rest of the bridal party was standing. Then she reached out for the bag.

  “Good girl,” Jo smiled. “I knew you were curious…”

  “Joanna, I swear,” Natalie sighed as she reached into the bag.

  Some surprise.

  As Natalie had suspected, Joanna had given her a tiara with fake jewels glued on, that spelled out, “Last Night of Freedom”, a black sipper cup in the shape of a penis, and, of course, another pair of open-crotched g-strings.

  “Joanna Greene,” Natalie said slowly, feeling her cheeks warm.

  “I see that you like my contribution,” she said, smiling.

  “You’re crazy, you know that?”

  “So I’ve been told,” she replied. “Happy Wedding…”

  “I suppose I should say ‘Thank You’,” Natalie grinned, extending one arm to hug her.

  “Of course you should,” she sighed. “Those g-strings will be a hit tomorrow night…”

  Asha and her two sisters approached them; Maya, throwing her arms around her.

  “How’d she like the penis sipper?” Asha asked, laughing teasingly.

  “I picked out the black,” Maya bragged.

  “Yes, that makes sense, because Brandon’s black,” Sidney snorted sarcastically. “Nattie, baby, I picked out the rather tasteful tiara…”

  “That you spent all of two dollars on…” Maya said.

  “Oh, but who’s providing all of the singles?”

  “Did you say…singles?” Natalie asked.

  “Yes,” Brandon interrupted, startling them. “What’s this I hear about…singles?”

  “Singles, idiot,” Asha scoffed. “Single men and single women…like us…”

  Brandon narrowed his eyes in Asha’s direction, made a strange, noise, and said, “What are you girls trying to do, corrupt my baby?”

  “Not necessarily,” Maya said. “We’re trying to open her eyes to a…a…new world…”

  Brandon wrapped his arms around Natalie slowly.

  “I see,” he said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

  “Can I tell you lovely ladies, something?”

  “Yes,” Asha said, folding her arms. “I’d love to hear it…”

  “If I find out that you’ve done anything to her…I will personally kill each and every one of you…especially you, Asha…”

  “Me? Why me? I’m not the one who gave her crotch-less panties…”

  “You’ve been warned…”

  “Oh, Brandon, don’t try to act all innocent,” Maya said. “Scotty told me all of your plans…”

  His plans. He hadn’t even known much about his own plans, until Scotty conveniently decided to tell him on the way to Augusta the day before.

  “They’re eighteen,” he’d said. “Real cheap…there’s lots of liquor and a penthouse suite…”

  Sure the rest of his buddies were riled up at the thought of it all; Mark and John had a chance to not think about being responsible husbands for one night. It gave them the sweet opportunity to be young again, to feel things that, perhaps, they often didn’t feel for their wives anymore. Young, naked girls were always a good plan.

  The feeling was only bittersweet for him. No doubt he hadn’t looked at a breast in quite some time, but he couldn’t help but be far more concerned about the slight tinge of sadness that he saw in Tallie’s eyes after the rehearsal. They stood outside of the Bee’s Knees, about to say goodbye, and when he leaned down to kiss her, he felt her hesitate. He hoped that it was his imagination, and he hoped that she saw his valiant effort to put on a strong face. No part of him ever wanted her to be sad this weekend; no part of him ever wanted her to think that this whole thing was a mistake. He couldn’t reassure her enough that since her twentieth birthday, all he could ever think of was marrying her one day…

  They were at the Marriot, on the top floor, and Scotty encouraged him to drink, in the same intensity that he’d encouraged him to drink the night of his twenty-first birthday, six years prior. He ordered him to take this shot, and that one, chug this bottle and the next one, all before Scotty’s g-stringed guests had even gotten there.

  He attempted to sneak away into the bathroom one moment. He’d reached into his back pocket, retrieved his cell phone, and attempted to scroll through his contacts…but he couldn’t remember if the letter “N” came before the letter “M” or after the letter “B”…and it would have helped if he could see the names and numbers.

  He just wanted to call her, as Scotty and his buddies banged on the bathroom door, as he slumped down against the bathtub’s edge. He just wanted to make sure that she still loved him, and still wanted to marry him.

  He just had to find the letter “N”…

  He couldn’t remember how Scotty broke into the bathroom, but shortly following, he felt his best man’s hands, and Matthew’s grasping at his arms, attempting to pull him up.

  “Come on, brother,” Matthew slurred. “We have someone we’d like you to meet…”

  If it were Natalie, then he’d be overjoyed. He’d kiss those brown lips till he turned blue in the face…

  But no…he was pushed into one of the armchairs and was quickly introduced to Candy’s breasts, and Lola’s butt in his lap. He pretended to enjoy it for his groomsmen’s sake, pretended that he didn’t think about his bride every second, pretended that he wasn’t inebriated.

  When the stripper twins left, Scotty passed out on the loveseat in the living room, after saying, “I love you, man,” countless times, and his brother’s followed suit after a failed attempt at slurring their way through marriage advice.

  His immediate thought, in the quiet hotel room, was to search for his phone, which got misplaced sometime in between the bathroom hideaway and the stripper attack.

  He searched for several minutes, it seemed, tumbling through the suite aimlessly, quitting after he tripped over his own two feet and landed on the floor somewhere near the bedroom.

  #

  Her fear followed her to bed that night…or early morning…both seemed completely obsolete at the moment…

  She felt guilty that she didn’t give Brandon a warmer goodbye earlier that night, and wanted to call him to make sure that everything was okay…

  To make sure that they were still okay…

  She’d wanted to assure him that they were still making the right decision, though, at the moment that they stood outside the restaurant, her thoughts had become cloudy, and she wasn’t sure what she wanted from him. She’d never tell him that though. Nor would she tell her bridesmaids, who’d stayed up with her, mere minutes before the crack of dawn, confessing secrets, laughing, sipping on wine coolers, and listening to music that reminded them of easier times. Like the music her mother used to listen to in the kitchen on Saturdays; old school rhythm and blues that was just as laid back as the rhythm of the wind, sweeping through the trees ou
tside of their window. Yes, back when her mother wasn’t so worn, so shattered, so beaten, when she wore her dark hair carelessly and loose, when she gathered her daughters up into her arms and danced with them around the kitchen, when she used to smile, when she encouraged her daughters to pursue any path that life had to offer them…

  Why couldn’t she understand that Brandon was her path?

  Her fear was that life would beat her down as it had done her mother, leaving her with nothing but a bitter taste in her mouth.

  She did not want that for her, and she didn’t want that for Brandon either…

  Yes, she climbed in her bed with her heart beating wildly, and tears rolling softly down her cheek in stark darkness. She closed her eyes with a mind flurried with confusion, with doubt of the day that lay before her, motherless, and feeling without the guidance that she so desired…

  When her girls came to wake her in a sunbathed room of a Double Tree, no less than four miles from Bingham park, she sat up slowly, wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. Her girls sat with her on the bed, wrapped their arms around her, and asked, “Are you ready? This is the best day of your life!”

  Surely. She couldn’t think of anything more that she wanted than to spend her life with Brandon.

  Brandon…who teased her constantly about her accent, who squeezed her and tickled her, who made her laugh, who had the most amazing eyes, the most amazing personality, who was a part of her in every way possible.

  Maya, a Nikon 35mm between her small hands, stayed by her side, at the salon that early morning, when they got their hair done, when they ate a small lunch at a café in the hotel, when Sidney helped her with her makeup, and when Granny stood before her, handing her a small family heirloom: her great-great-grandmother’s diamond bracelet.

  “Here you are, my darling grandbaby,” Granny Marie said, adjusting the crown of tiny roses in her hair. Granny kissed her cheek thereafter, smiling gently into her face, then disappeared out of the room, to head toward the ceremony site.

  Maya captured the moment.

  It was two-fifteen that afternoon, the limousine waited patiently for them outside of the lobby, and with the bridesmaids securely dressed in their tea-length, strapless black organdy dresses, that meant that they had just enough time to get Natalie in her wedding dress, and firmly fitted with only moments to spare before the wedding commenced at three. It was a tight schedule, and even when they caught wind that the majority of the wedding guests had arrived and were seated, her girls never lost focus, never lost their heads. Joanna helped pull the dress up about her curves, Sidney affixed the veil on her crown of roses, and Asha quickly assigned jeweled, white strappy numbers to each foot.