by Karen Baney
Subdued. That described Niki for the two weeks since Kyle left. She was subdued at work, at Bible study, and at home. She spoke to Kyle only three times, and got a message once when he called during a meeting she couldn’t break away from. All she learned in the short one minute conversations is that he wouldn’t be back until right before Marcy’s wedding the first week of December. Here it was only the middle of October.
Most of the conversations were the same. He still apologized for leaving without telling her. He missed her. She missed him. Everything was good.
Only it wasn’t. She couldn’t sleep at night from worry. When she told Marcy about the background noises she heard on one of the calls with Kyle, Marcy suggested he was maybe on an aircraft carrier.
Why would Kyle, now a civilian, be on an aircraft carrier? If he was, where were they? Was he in danger? He avoided the question when she tried to ask one time.
It wasn’t just her worry over Kyle that wore Niki down. It was also the increased attention from Justin at work. She’d tried to make it perfectly clear on more than one occasion that she had no interest whatsoever in him. But, he pursued her anyway. Twice now, he orchestrated a “business” dinner that only Niki showed up to. Then he asked her to come out to one of the area lakes for a boat ride and business meeting this weekend. He assured her his dad and mom would be there. Thankfully, she needed to help Marcy with wedding plans, so she had a legitimate excuse to get out of that one.
She stood there, arms held out parallel to the ground as the seamstress tucked and pinned fabric, thankful for the busy Saturday with Marcy and Tori. It was a good distraction from her worries.
“You look lovely, Niki,” Marcy said, obviously pleased with the bride’s maid dress she picked for her. “The maroon makes your skin glow and your hair shine. I think Kyle’s going to have a hard time walking down the aisle next to you with you in that.”
She allowed a half smile to flit across her lips.
“You must miss him,” Tori said, waiting her turn in a matching maroon gown.
“I do.” The gloom threatened to pull her down. “Can we talk about something else?”
“Bridal shower,” Tori suggested. “When are we doing that?”
“I don’t need a bridal shower,” Marcy stated.
“Of course you do,” Tori said.
Niki stayed out of the discussion, having heard this all before.
“I don’t want people to bring me… Um… Anything for the wedding night. That’s what all the girls at work are talking about.”
“Why not?” Tori countered.
“They have some racy ideas about what I might need. I’m just not comfortable with that.”
Tori rolled her eyes. “God made sex, Marcy. And once you’re married to Chad, the two of you can rock it.”
Marcy’s face went red.
“Careful, Marcella,” Niki teased. “That shade of red clashes terribly with my dress.”
They all three laughed. Tori dropped the subject and Marcy mouthed a “thank you” to Niki. She knew Marcy was nervous about her wedding night. Her innocence was sweet and Niki hoped Chad respected that. She would honor Marcy’s desire not to have a bridal shower, if that is what her friend wanted.
“You turn,” the short Korean woman pointed to Tori, waving her hand in a shooing motion to get Niki to step down from the raised stand where she stood for her fitting.
“What color is Alana’s dress?” Tori asked.
Niki stiffened. She should expect the subject to come up, since Alana’s mom confirmed she would be in the wedding. She still wished Kyle would have explained everything before he left.
“Maroon seemed too grown up for a six year old, so I picked a lavender. I sent her mom a picture of the style I was looking for. Kelly’s going to try to find something like it in Colorado Springs, that way they can just bring the dress when they come.”
“Do you have a picture of her?” Niki asked.
Marcy hesitated. “Has Kyle talked to you, yet?”
Niki shook her head.
“I swear, sometimes I just want to wring my brother’s neck,” Marcy said raising her hands up in the air then letting them fall to her side in frustration.
She turned her back to Marcy for help unzipping the very fitted dress. She had to admit, she looked good in it. She, too, wondered what Kyle would think. She tried to picture him in a tux. The image in her mind’s eye was nice.
An unbidden tear slid down her cheek. She missed him, no matter how insane it sounded. She’d only been dating him for a few months. Silly. She was being silly.
“Oh, honey,” Marcy said, noticing the tear before Niki ducked behind the curtain to change. “I’m sorry. I know you miss him.”
She sighed as she slipped on her denim capris. Through the curtain she said, “Let’s do something fun tonight. Let’s have everyone over for a BBQ.”
“Sure.”
She heard the faint beeps of Marcy typing a text message.
Niki finger combed her hair back into her ponytail and opened the curtain as Marcy looked up from her phone. “Chad says he’s on it. I told him six.”
She nodded. She needed to be around friends right now.
“You help bride,” the little Korean woman said wagging a finger at Niki.
“You heard the woman, Marcy. Time to get you in that dress.”
Marcy changed into her wedding undergarments behind the curtain before asking Niki to step in and help her with the dress. The changing room was small and it wasn’t until they stepped into the fitting room that Niki saw the full effect.
“It’s lovely,” she whispered. It didn’t look like the simple, but elegant, dress would need many adjustments, as it already clung to Marcy’s curves perfectly.
“Chad is going to faint when he sees you in that,” Tori said. “You’re gorgeous!”
Marcy flushed. “It’s not too simple, is it?”
“Are you kidding? On you it looks like the most elegant dress in the world,” Tori replied.
“It is perfectly you, Marcy,” Niki said when her friend looked to her for confirmation.
“Okay. Mom said that too, but you know how Mom can be.”
“In this case she’s right,” Tori said.
In a few minutes, with only a few pins in place, Marcy’s dress was ready to be handed over to the skilled seamstress.
“You come back. Two week before wedding,” the Korean woman instructed. “Make sure no gain weight.”
Niki smiled. She was pretty sure any woman about to get married would stop eating for a month if she thought she might gain weight before her wedding day. Marcy was no exception.
After another hour of wedding errands, the three ladies arrived back at Niki’s house. Twenty minutes later, Chad arrived with a ton of food.
He dropped some on the counter then swept Marcy into his arms. “I’ve been thinking how gorgeous you must have looked this morning in your wedding dress, I can hardly wait to see it,” he said before kissing her soundly.
Niki backed away quietly, walking out the front door to see if Chad left anything else in the car.
Is that what she looked like with Kyle? Dreamy eyed? Forgetting other people were around?
“I’m sure that didn’t help with your loneliness,” Tori said, reaching for a bag on the back seat of Chad’s car.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if I could just pick up the phone and call him,” she lamented. “I don’t know where he is. I don’t even know exactly when he’ll be back. The rare times we get to talk are not much longer than—”
“Niki!” Marcy shouted, running out of the house with Niki’s phone. “It’s Kyle.”
She swiped the phone from Marcy’s hand and shoved the grocery bags towards her friend.
“Hey, beautiful.” Just the sound of his voice brought moisture to her eyes.
“Kyle,” she managed around the lump in her throat.
“Don’t sound so glum, Nickels.”
She hurried down the
hallway to her room, wanting complete privacy. “Sorry. Just miss you. A lot. Sound crazy?”
A heavy sigh translated across the phone lines. “Not crazy at all. I’m feeling it too.”
“Seems odd that you’d miss yourself, seeing as you’re right there.”
The blessed sound of Kyle’s chuckle reached her ear, lifting some of the heaviness from her heart.
“You make me smile, Niki. And I needed that today.”
Niki picked up a muffled voice in the background. “Time’s up…”
“I gotta go. Love you.”
“Love—”
The line went dead.
“You.”
It was nothing. Just a teaser. Like having half a bite of an appetizer just before the server swoops in and steals the tray from your table. Which was worse? Not hearing anything at all for days on end, or a quick snippet of a conversation?
She tossed her phone on the bed as a soft knock sounded on her door.
“Niki?” Marcy said, cracking the door open. “Everyone’s here.”
She glanced over her shoulder, tears streaming down her face.
“Is everything okay?”
“He’s fine, if that’s what you mean.” Her hoarse voice croaked.
“I mean with you, sweetie.”
Niki shook her head.
“Oh.” Marcy pouted for her friend. “Only six more weeks. Then you’ll get to see him all decked out for my wedding.”
She snorted. “Six weeks. We’ll have been dating for what, almost five months by then? But I’ve only actually seen him for less than half of it.”
Marcy sat down next to her on the bed. “You have a longer foundation than that and you know it. All those months before you officially dated, you were building a friendship. Even the time from high school is part of that foundation. Maybe this time apart is a good thing.”
“How?”
“Well, as an outside observer,” Marcy cautioned, “it seems like there’s a lot of sparks between the two of you. Maybe this is a good thing. Helping the two of you keep your hands off each other.”
“You mean, like not being tempted to have sex?” she asked bluntly.
Marcy’s face went red. “Um… Yes, that’s what I mean. You know God wants you to save that for your husband, right?”
“I know you believe that. I’m just not sure I understand it.”
“If you want, I’ll show you some verses about it later. It will explain why I believe that.”
“Sure… Kyle and I have never really talked about… Any of that.”
“But, you will. Maybe this time apart will give you a chance to think about what other things you and he should talk about when he gets back. I think it’s important to know what you believe and why you believe it before you’re in a situation where you’re tested. Not knowing—well, that can lead to regrets.”
Niki sighed. As if she didn’t have enough on her mind already.
“Can I pray for you?” Marcy asked.
Prayer. She’d completely forgotten about that again. She hadn’t prayed in awhile.
Niki nodded.
Marcy said the most beautiful prayer for her, asking God to give her peace and to help her trust Kyle to Him. She asked that He would guide Niki in understanding His design for her relationship with Kyle and that He would use this time apart for both Niki and Kyle’s good. By the time Marcy finished the prayer, she didn’t feel quite so bad.
Five weeks later, Niki joined Marcy at her family’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. She hadn’t been to the Jacobses since right after she and Kyle started dating.
Brenda and Rick both greeted her warmly as she entered their home.
“When’s the last time you’ve heard from Kyle?” Brenda asked.
“Two weeks, now,” Niki answered trying to keep the disappointment from her voice.
“Oh, that’s good. We haven’t heard from him in over a month.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling bad that she was upset he didn’t call her more.
“It’s okay. We understand he’s saving those few calls for you, as he should,” Brenda said, smiling.
“Well, you haven’t missed much. We don’t get to talk for more than a minute.”
“When is he due back?” Rick asked.
“He said right before the wedding. He promised more than once he’d be back for it,” Marcy answered.
“Did you get your dresses last week?” Brenda asked as she started setting out the Thanksgiving dinner.
“Yes. Though looking at all this food, Mom, I’m worried about still being able to fit into it next week.”
Brenda set out a stack of plates, having already warned them they would be sitting outside to enjoy the perfect Arizona weather. Marcy started loading hers up with goodies, followed by her dad. As Niki picked up a plate, her phone rang.
She quickly set down the plate and ran to dig her ringing phone out of her purse. “Hello?”
“Hey, beautiful.” The sound of Kyle’s voice brought softness to hers.
“Hey.”
“Are you having a good turkey day?”
“It would be better if you were here. I think your mom would agree with that.”
“You’re at my parents?”
“Of course. Even if I wasn’t dating you, they’ve practically adopted me as their daughter.”
Kyle chuckled. “Listen, I don’t have much time left. Please let everyone know I’ll be in on Friday, sometime before the rehearsal. I may even be a little late.”
“Oh, you’re coming in that day? Not earlier in the week?” Niki didn’t try to hide her disappointment.
“It’s the best I could do. Reserve some time for me after the rehearsal?”
“I can’t. Marcy and I already have something special planned—it being her last night as free woman, you know.” She was looking forward to the girls’ only time, especially after eight years of rooming together.
Kyle sighed. “Look, one last thing before I go. I know I should have told you this sooner and not over the phone like this. But, I don’t want you to be surprised next week when you meet Alana and her mother. Alana is my—”
The line went dead.
“Kyle?” Niki didn’t want to believe the call had just ended. “Kyle?”
Dejectedly, she put the phone in her back pocket, just in case he got a chance to call back. She picked up an empty plate and quickly filled it before joining everyone else already seated outside.
“Everything, okay?” Marcy asked.
Niki nodded, not trusting her voice.
Rick led them in prayer, thanking God for his expanding family and asking his protection over them all. When he finished, Brenda wasted no time inquiring about the call.
“Was that Kyle?”
Niki swallowed a bite of mashed potatoes. “Yes. He said he’ll be home on Friday, a week from tomorrow.”
“That’s the rehearsal day,” Marcy said.
“He said he should be here for that, but may be late. That’s about all we had time to talk about,” she said, ending the conversation by filling her mouth with a large bite of turkey. She would keep the interrupted conversation about Alana to herself.
Chapter 38
Niki followed Marcy into the small chapel building at church for the wedding rehearsal. The week between Thanksgiving and the rehearsal flew by, barely registering on her radar. Between work and last minute wedding preparations, she hadn’t missed Kyle as much. She was too busy.
Looking around the room, she admired the quaint chapel, reserved mostly for weddings or other small services. The interior of the chapel resembled an old church she visited once when her family lived in the Midwest, though without the ornate stained glass windows. The floors and pews were dark wood. The front wall of the chapel housed a lovely mural imitating the feel of stained glass. There was a raised stage, only three steps from the main level, high enough to provide a nice view of the happily wedded couple. Marcy was especially pleased that this beautiful litt
le building was part of their church.
The next to arrive was Chad. While he and Marcy chatted nervously for a minute with the pastor, Tori arrived followed by Matt and Joe. While Joe was not officially a part of the wedding, Marcy asked him to come anyway. It just didn’t seem right if he missed all the fun.
Niki walked into the foyer, noting the layout for the next day’s festivities.
“Miss me?”
She jumped at the sound of Kyle’s voice next to her ear. She turned around, huge grin on her face, as she flung herself into his arms. He wrapped his long strong arms around her, holding tight. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he breathed deeply. She latched her arms around his neck, savoring his nearness.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Niki leaned back only far enough so she could look at those gorgeous blue eyes. “Please don’t leave like that again,” she whispered. “I’m not sure I could handle it.”
“You look amazing. Are you sure you don’t want to ditch my sister and just go somewhere to talk for hours?” Laughter and deep love lit his eyes. How she missed him.
“Mmm. Very tempting. But, the way you’re looking at me right now, I’m not so sure I would trust you to stick to talking.”
“If we weren’t standing in a church, I’m not sure I’d be talking to you right now.” He smiled that devilish smile that caused the hairs on her arms to stand on end in a pleasant way.
Niki ran her fingers along his smooth jaw line. He captured her fingers with his hand and placed a kiss on the palm of her hand.
“I missed you so much,” he said huskily. “So, if you have to hang out with my sister tonight, can I at least steal some of your time on Sunday? And I want as many dances as possible with you at the reception.”
“As you wish. I’m half tempted to take Monday off, too.”
“If you’re offering… I’ll take it. We could go fishing or something.”
She scrunched up her nose in disdain. “Fishing?”
“Well, maybe not. I’ll think of something better.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement at the back of the chapel behind Kyle. Marcy walked towards the back as a little girl entered, holding on tightly to her mother’s hand.
