by Leanne Tyler
Sue picked up the frame. “Yeah.”
“O my, that ring, it’s new. Did Alex give it to you?” Kimberly said, reaching for her left hand.
“Yes he did. He bought it for me while we were in Vegas.”
“Is it an engagement ring?”
“No. Just a ring.”
“You’d tell me the truth if it was, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes. I’d tell you the truth.”
“Because we don’t keep secrets.”
Sue smiled, despite the pang of guilt she felt for her deception, but it was for Kimberly’s own good. “No secrets.”
“Okay. I better go then.”
“Wait. I still have your credit card. Take it back before I lose it.”
Kimberly laughed as she dug it out of her wallet and handed it to her. “I wasn’t worried.”
When her sister left, she went to the break room and found an empty box to put her personal items in to take downstairs to her new office. She packed up quickly before knocking on Keely’s door.
Alex threw a Frisbee and Duke let it fall at his feet, but Queenie scooped it up in her mouth and ran around the yard with it before bringing it to him. “See boy, that’s how you’re supposed to do. Good dog, Queenie.” He rubbed her head and the dog jumped up, placing her front paws on his leg for more attention. “Good girl.”
He heard a car pull in the drive and he turned. Queenie jumped down and ran over to the fence. Sue was home from work. She got out of the car and waved.
He jogged over to the gate and slipped through. “How was your day?”
“Good. Exhausting.” She petted Queenie and the dog licked her hand. “So much to do. So many new things to think about. How about you?”
“Same old stuff. Except I think I missed you more today than I did before Vegas.”
“I didn’t miss you at all.”
“Liar.” He reached and pulled her to him. She came willingly wrapping her arms around him and returned his kiss hungrily. When they broke apart, they were breathing heavily and he smiled. “Now tell me you didn’t miss me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
They walked into the house and she kicked her shoes off at the door, going over to the sink to wash her hands.
“You know, Keely was right last night. We need to take a honeymoon. Just because we got married like we did doesn’t mean we can’t have a proper honeymoon.” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She turned around, drying her hands with a paper towel. “I know we can’t really plan anything right now with Kimberly and Phil’s wedding so close. And with you getting the promotion at work I guess you’re in what they call a transition phase of training. But what if we did something a few days before Christmas? Maybe go to Charleston or Savannah? Stay in a bed and breakfast and take in the sights.”
“What about my folks? They’ll want to see me.”
“And they will. We can head down to visit them for Christmas before returning to Knoxville.”
“What about Keely? This would have been your first Christmas with her in three years.”
“We can have Christmas with her when we return. So what do you say?”
“I like that idea.” She sniffed. “Did you cook?”
“Nothing major. A casserole and a salad.”
“But you cook? I guess I never knew that.”
“I’m sure there are plenty of things you don’t know about me.”
“Yeah. Or that you don’t know about me. When you look at it that way, we really rushed getting married.”
“Every marriage has its ups and downs and its trials. I’m sure we’ll have our own.”
“But knowing we were drunk when we got married, don’t you think that is going to always be forefront in our mind? Stacking the odds against us?”
“Only if we let it, Sue.” He moved to the sink and washed his hands before going over to the stove. Picking up the pot holders he turned back to stare at her. “Where is this doubt coming from? I thought you said you didn’t have any regrets.”
“I don’t…I didn’t…I don’t know.” She shook her head and went to the table that he had already set for them before she arrived home.
He brought the casserole over to the table and found her playing with the necklace she wore, staring at the wall, deep in thought. “What’s on your mind?”
“Kimberly came to see me today. She noticed my ring and wanted to know if it was an engagement ring. I told her it wasn’t. Should I have said it was?”
“But it isn’t. I thought we’d go look at rings this weekend.”
“Okay.” She looked up at him. “I hated lying to her.”
He went to the refrigerator and got out the salad and the dressings. “What did you lie about?”
“She reminded me we didn’t keep secrets from each other and I agreed. No secrets. But I am keeping one for a good reason.”
“Maybe you need to tell her. If it is going to weigh so heavy on your mind it may be better for you to come clean otherwise she’ll sense something is going on. And you don’t want that happening do you?”
“She’ll be hurt either way now. I know her.”
“Well it’s up to you what you decide to do. Just tell me so I can be sure not to say the wrong thing.”
Chapter Seventeen
Sue left her apartment for work the next morning after spending the night alone. It had been a unanimous decision since she knew her nosy neighbor across the hall apparently was keeping tabs on her without her realizing it. Plus, Alex didn’t want to leave Queenie again for the night just yet. It also gave her time to think about their relationship and how she really felt. She’d taken the wedding DVD with her and watched it several more times trying to jog her memory, but finally had to face the fact she may never remember their wedding.
Maybe they did need to have a wedding with their friends and family present to put all these negative thoughts out of her mind. She knew she wanted to be with him. She even knew she loved him, but something about the whole affair seemed off. And until she figured out what that was she didn’t know if she’d be able to feel truly married to him.
Getting off the elevator on the fifth floor seemed strange, but she knew she’d get used to it eventually. As she passed the other account executives she received more congratulations for the promotion and was glad when she finally reached her office so she could hide behind the closed door.
She went to her desk, stowed her purse in the bottom drawer, and turned on her computer. There were several file folders on her desk for her to review and a note from Keely that the temp agency had sent these over as possible candidates for assistance.
Great. One more thing for her to juggle on top of everything else being thrown at her this week.
Her phone rang and she answered it. “Hello.”
“It’s Keely. Do you have the paperwork filled out yet? Judith needs to process the forms if you are going to get paid your new salary this month.”
“Yes. I’ll bring the folder up.”
“Actually, just take them to Judith’s office. Also, production has the boards for our presentation we designed yesterday. If you’ll pick those up, we can go over them.”
“Sure.”
“Did you see the files for assistants?”
“Yes. I was just beginning to look them over.”
“Excellent. We’d like to begin interviewing Friday morning. So let me know if you see anyone that looks promising.”
“I will.”
“See you in thirty?”
“I’ll be there.”
When she hung up the phone, she dug out the folder of forms from her briefcase that her parents had given her for graduation, but she’d never used since she took the job as an assistant instead of an account executive. It was nice to finally be able to put it to good use. Her parents had been thrilled when she called them with the news last night. Again she felt like a liar keeping her marriage to Alex a secret from them. But until she was
certain about things she really didn’t think it was a good idea to tell them. It was bad enough that Lucinda had told Keely and Darren and that Darren had told Jama. She was sure Kyle knew as well. Then there was Lillian. Lucinda would have shared the news with her too. Eight people knew the secret and in her opinion that was far too many.
Alex met up with Brandon and Phil for lunch at a stretch mall off of Pellissippi Parkway. He was looking forward to seeing Phil, but he wasn’t so sure about Brandon. They hadn’t spoken since the weekend.
“Hey, there he is. You did find it,” Brandon called from the booth they’d snagged at the deli.
“Yeah. GPS works great when you have an address.” Alex sat down across from him beside Phil.
“Too bad you didn’t have your GPS on you while in Vegas. Maybe you and Sue wouldn’t have gotten lost and missed our flight back.”
“No. We shouldn’t have done those jello shots you ordered for Phil and Kimberly. That was our mistake.”
“No fighting, guys,” Phil warned. “It’s a week until the wedding. Can’t the two of you call a truce?”
“Can he grow up?” Alex asked.
Brandon looked contrite. “I’m sorry. I’ve apologized to Kimberly and Phil. I’m apologizing to you and I’ll apologize to Sue when I see her again. It was a stupid and immature move and I take full responsibility for my actions.”
“Yes it was and you are just lucky no one was seriously injured by it. But I’ll accept your apology. And I’ll keep a truce because of the wedding, not because I particularly like you at the moment.”
“Good. Let’s go order. I’m starved.” Phil urged them from the booth. “I don’t recall the two of you butting heads so much before Alex went to Alaska.”
“No. It’s just since he met Sue,” Brandon said. “He’s become very touchy.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Actually, yes you are,” Phil said. “I think you’re in love with her.”
“Maybe I am. Would that be so bad?”
“No. I’d say she’s a very lucky girl if you are.” Phil stepped up to the counter and placed his order.
Brandon kept silent and waited for his turn to order.
Friday morning came and Sue sat through the interviews, but she found none of the applicants were right for the job. She shared her thoughts with Keely as they drove to Jama’s for lunch.
“Am I being too picky?” she asked, getting out of Keely’s car.
“No. You want to find someone like you to take your place, but none of these girls fit the bill. I agree we need to try another round of applicants.”
A gust of wind stirred fallen leaves along the walk as they headed toward the house, reminding Sue it was getting closer to the end of October and Halloween. Kimberly’s wedding was next week.
“I’ll have Pamela call the temp agency again and see what they can find for us,” Keely said, ringing the doorbell.
“Why not place an advertisement in the paper?”
“The temp agency vets the application pool for us, making the process easier.”
They didn’t have to wait long for Jama to open the door. She greeted them with a smile. “Adult contact. Oh I’m so glad you could come.”
“Is it that bad?” Keely asked as they walked into the spotless house.
“It feels that way. I love my babies, but I’m a workaholic. You know that. I thrive on business. Kyle does his best when he is here in the evenings, but the days seem to drag on for me when I’m alone with James and Klarissa.”
“I’m sure your mom would come over during the days to give you some company.”
Jama made a face. “I love her to death, but come on. She’d have me in bed resting while she took care of the babies. I couldn’t stand that. I’d rather be back at work than to have that.”
“Where are they?” Sue asked.
“In the nursery taking a nap. Come on and I’ll show you their room. It’s adorable. I hired a decorator to do it because I wanted something special, but I’m just not that crafty.”
When Jama opened the bedroom door it was like walking into fairytale land. The soft hues gave a serene feel about the room. The fairy tale murals on the walls were carried into the bedding. Even though the baby beds were cream colored, it was clear which belonged to each child. Klarissa’s bed had a pink sheer netting gathered like a canopy at one end with a fairy mobile, while James’ bed had a dragon mobile.
“They are so precious,” Sue whispered as they slipped back out of the room.
“Thank you. Are you and Alex in a hurry to have children?”
“No. No. We’re still trying to get used to the fact we’re married.” Sue hurried down the hall, back toward the living room.
“How did that happen anyway?” Jama asked.
Keely shook her head at Jama. “What’s for lunch? I’m starved.”
“Chicken salad sandwiches on croissants with marinated pasta and a fruit salad. Kyle picked it up at the deli for me yesterday and I got the croissants from the bakery down the street this morning before he left for work.”
“Sounds yummy.”
Sue helped herself to a plate of food and a glass of tea and sat down at the dining room table with them, but she felt odd not answering Jama’s earlier question. “We were drunk. That’s how it happened.”
Keely dropped her fork and it clattered against the side of her plate. “Lucinda didn’t tell me that.”
“She didn’t?” Sue asked. “But you said she told you how and when.”
“Well that must have been a shocker to wake up married,” Jama said.
“It was. I can’t remember it. I’ve watched the wedding DVD over and over again, but I can’t remember the ceremony.” She began to cry. “I love him. I want to be with him, but I can’t get past the fact that we were drunk when we did it.”
“Oh honey,” Keely finally said, rubbing her on the back. “It’s okay.”
“Sure it is. You can just get married again.” Jama got up and brought a box of tissue from the living room. She removed several from the box and handed them to Sue.
“But I made such a big deal the morning after about not needing a church wedding. What will he think if I suddenly tell him I want to redo our vows?”
“I think my brother will understand. He loves you and he will want whatever will make you happy.”
“Yeah. I haven’t met Alex yet, but I’m sure he’d agree with you.”
Sue dried her eyes and excused herself to the bathroom. When she returned she told them about their honeymoon plans over Christmas.
“I think that sounds wonderful,” Keely said.
“You aren’t upset that Alex won’t be here for Christmas?”
“No. I won’t be upset. And you shouldn’t worry about me either. It’s your first Christmas together. You should spend it however the two of you want.”
“I don’t want to take your brother away from you.”
“Honey you aren’t. He’s your husband first. My brother second now. You are making a family together and that is what matters.”
Later that afternoon Sue carried a few bags of groceries into her apartment to prepare dinner for her and Alex. He was coming over for the night and she wanted everything to be perfect. Once she had the food on to cook she spread her best tablecloth on the table and arranged the plates, silver ware and glasses. She even added two candlesticks to make the setting more intimate.
She glanced at her watch and hurried back into the kitchen to check on the food, knowing he should be arriving soon. When she heard the knock at the door, she stuck the bread in the oven before going to answer the door.
Finding her sister standing there was not what she expected. “Hey. What’s wrong? You don’t look happy.”
“I’m not. I went to use my credit card and it was declined.” She came into the apartment and Sue closed the door behind her. “So I thought about what we’d charged on it for Vegas. Three tickets, the hotel room, the spa trips, but I should have had more
line of credit than that.” Kimberly opened her purse and pulled out a folded sheet of paper as she sat down on the bar stool. “I went online at home and checked the statement of charges to be sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. And I hadn’t. Except there were two charges that I didn’t know about.”
Sue listened to her and went over to the stove to turn the eyes down to low so the food wouldn’t burn until Alex got there. “What were they for?”
Kimberly laughed and shook her head. “Well that’s the funny thing. One is to a wedding chapel and the other is for a very expensive hotel room with room service. Since Phil and I aren’t getting married until next weekend and you had my credit card until after you returned from Vegas that leaves me with only one explanation. Is there something you forgot to tell me?”
Sue swallowed and stared at her almost forgetting to breath.
“You are wearing that ring on your left hand that wasn’t there before the trip.”
Unable to find her voice she ran from the room to her bedroom and opened up her drawer searching for where she’d put the DVD. Kimberly followed her.
“Sue. Did you and Alex get married?”
Still unable to form words she handed the case to her sister and nodded.
Kimberly looked down at what was in her hands. “Oh, my lord. You did.”
“We did those shooters and…and…and I woke up in a Doris Day movie.”
“Yeah, but Alex is no Rock Hudson. He’s better. He’s straight.”
Sue laughed. “Whatever the charges are on your credit card I’ll pay for. I didn’t know I used it. I don’t remember anything about that night.”
“You don’t?”
She shook her head. “I’ve watched that DVD so many times and I still can’t remember saying ‘I do’. But I did and I so do.”
“Oh, Sue,” Kimberly hugged her. “This is all Brandon’s fault. You just wait until I tell Phil what happened.”
“No. Don’t. Alex and I need to figure out some things first. I’d rather limit the people that know about Vegas, especially if we decide to have a wedding with family and friends. I don’t want to upstage you either with people talking about my scandalous wedding. And we definitely can’t mention this to Mom and Dad.”
