The Commitment Test (The Marin Test Series Book 2)

by Aksel, Amanda

  “Oh, yes, yes. Nice to meet you. You’re very pretty, aren’t you?”

  I shook her fragile hand. It was soft and wrinkly, like an aged piece of fruit. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

  Amanda tapped James on the shoulder. “You got a second?” she asked.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said and took off to another corner of the room.

  “So . . .” I said. Emily and Grandma smiled and stared, waiting for me to say something interesting. “I love your dress,” I told Emily.

  “Thanks.”

  “How long have you and Jacob been together?”

  “Two and a half years,” she said as if annoyed they weren’t married sooner. “It took him over a year and a half to propose. You’ve been with James for about two years now, right?”

  “Almost a year and a half,” I answered. Technically, we started dating almost two years ago, but we don’t really consider the first five months of our “relationship” dating since, at the time, I was using him to prove a point. James and I had dubbed that time the summer façade. I plead insanity.

  “When are you and James getting married?” Grandma asked.

  “Well, we’re not engaged yet, but hopefully soon.”

  “Hopefully soon is right. You’re no spring chicken.” She pointed her feebly finger at me.

  “Grandma!” Emily scolded.

  “Well, you’ll have to start having children soon. Otherwise it’ll be too late.” Grandma snapped her fingers while simultaneously zapping my fertility. “When I was your age, I already had four children.”

  I was at a loss for words. Ten minutes earlier, I didn’t know Emily or Grandma and now we were discussing my familial future. “Exactly how old do you think I am?” I asked.

  Grandma gave me a once over. “Thirty-four, thirty-five.” I was thirty-two. Okay, I’d be turning thirty-three in a week, but still. Thirty-five?

  “Hey, Grandma. I think there’s more bread pudding. Why don’t we get some?” Emily ushered her away, while giving me an apologetic look. Grandma was right. James and I were of a certain age, and we weren’t getting any younger. Her calling me thirty-five made it all the more real that I was running out of time.

  I found James across the room, talking and laughing with more of his family members. He had one of those big smiles you could see from afar and the sweetest wrinkles around his eyes when he laughed. I imagined that over time they would crease more and more until they became a permanent reminder of his happy life . . . with me.

  “You look tired. Do you want to head back to the room soon?” he asked.

  “I look tired?” I asked, touching my fingers to the skin under my eyes, feeling for bags and lines.

  “Yeah, you’ve been yawning all night.”

  I hadn’t noticed. How could I be yawning with all the excitement going on? But I agreed that it was time for bed, and we wished everyone a good night.

  “Did you have a good time?” he asked, taking my hand as we walked to our room.

  “Yeah, it was nice to finally meet everyone. You?”

  “Yeah. It feels good to be back.” He smiled and squeezed my hand.

  I remembered what Grandma asked him. “Do you miss it?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “But you don’t want to move back, do you?” I held my breath for a moment.

  He chuckled. “No, I love San Fran.”

  “Good,” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Hey, do I look thirty-five?”

  He looked down at me with a questionable expression and no answer.

  “Do I?” I asked.

  “You don’t look a day over twenty-five,” he said.

  Liar. I looked at least twenty-seven.

  The next morning, I awoke refreshed and excited, and I wasn’t the only one. James and I spent the morning fooling around in bed, working up an appetite for our forty-dollar room service breakfast. But the fun didn’t stop there. I fed him pieces of bacon and he licked syrup off my body, leaving my legs and chest sticky. We were having so much fun that I almost wanted to skip the wedding. And I love weddings, a ceremony of hope, romantic and full of beautiful intentions of love. Maybe a year from now, James and I could have our own ceremony of hope, if not sooner.

  James warmed the car while I bundled up. The brief walk outside was almost painful. The cold air seemed to pierce through all of my outerwear and snow stuck to the sides of my suede booties. Inside, the car was much warmer.

  “Why did they want to get married in February? It’s freezing,” I told James and rubbed my gloved hands briskly against my legs that were protected with only my thin tights.

  “I dunno. I guess they couldn’t wait until summer.”

  “That’s sweet. What about you? Would you want to get married in the winter like this?”

  He shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe. Guys don’t really think about that stuff.”

  “I guess that’s true. That’s why you need us girls.” I pinched his cheek, which grew pink. He rolled his eyes.

  At the chapel, the seats were almost full. We found Gloria and Frank and scooted next to them on the wooden bench. I turned to the large triangular window that framed the beautiful outdoor mountains. Timber, branch-like beams adorned the ceiling and white flowers hung on the edge of the pews.

  “Did you get enough sleep, Marin?” Gloria asked.

  “Yes, I feel very rested.” When really I was feeling a little sleepy after the morning’s events.

  “That’s good. You had a long day yesterday. And you have to go back tomorrow?”

  I nodded.

  “Well, that’s a shame. I was hoping we’d have more time together.” Gloria pouted her lip. I was touched by her effort to get close to me. She’d make the best mother-in-law. Poor James wouldn’t be so lucky. Then again, my mom was nicer to James than to any other guy I’d ever been with. At least he had that going for him.

  “It would be great if you could visit us in California,” I told her.

  “I’m sure we will one day. Maybe if there were a wedding or a baby we could visit sooner.”

  Maybe Gloria and my mother weren’t so different after all, though I liked the idea too. I looked up at James, hoping his response would shed a little light on his thoughts. He seemed to be rendered speechless.

  “That’s enough, Gloria,” Frank said, and I smirked. James cleared his throat and began glancing around the room, waving every second or so.

  “Who’s that?” I’d ask and he’d give the name and relation of each of them. There must have been at least a hundred and fifty people there and most were relatives. My family was so much smaller in comparison. My father’s parents had passed and my Uncle Al never had children. Not to mention that he lived on the opposite coast in D.C. My mother’s family, on the other hand, was still across the Pacific Ocean. I’d only met them a couple of times and staying in touch wasn’t much of an option since I didn’t speak Mandarin.

  The music began, an unfamiliar but beautiful song. Emily and her bridesmaids strolled down the aisle. It was a beautiful ceremony, tearful for me, as usual. Emily and Jacob gazed into each other’s eyes as if telling each other I love you over and over again. My perspective on relationships and romance had been restored over the last year and a half with James. His cousin’s wedding only fueled my sense of hope about my future with him. I knew our happily-ever-after would come soon.

  Later at the reception, we watched the bride and groom’s first dance and clinked our forks against our glasses to get them to kiss, the same as every other wedding I’d ever been to, but entertaining and sweet nonetheless. James’ family migrated to the dance floor, while we stayed behind to feed each other slices of vanilla wedding cake.

  “Well, aren’t you two just adorable,” Emily said as she approached with a grin. Her cheeks were flushed. No doubt it was all the happiness going to her head.

  “There’s the beautiful bride,” James said and stood to give her a congratulatory hug.

  “I’m so g
lad you and Marin are here. I hope you two are coming to brunch in the morning.”

  “I have to take Marin to the airport first thing. She has to head back,” James said.

  Emily frowned. “You’re gonna let this beautiful woman go home without you?”

  James shrugged. “I won’t be far behind her.”

  “Well, thanks for coming, Marin. I hope you have a safe trip home.”

  “Thank you and congratulations.” I gave her a big smile and she returned it, one girl in love to another.

  “She’s a keeper, James,” Emily sang with a wink and moved on to her next adoring guest.

  “You are a keeper. You know that, right?” James kissed me softly. I looked into his sweet blue eyes and had to catch my breath. “And you were worried my family wouldn’t like you,” he said.

  “Can you blame me? Remember how nervous you were to meet my family?”

  “Yes, but it turned out great. Just like this.”

  “I still can’t believe how well that went. They love you,” I said, remembering how my parents never seemed to like my serious boyfriends like Chad or even my med school boyfriend, Jack, who was from a good family and a future doctor. One thing we could all agree on was that James was wonderfully different.

  He pushed my hair behind my ear, then put another piece of cake in front of my mouth. I shook my hand to dismiss the sweet sponge, and he stuffed it in his own mouth. A tiny vanilla crumb sat on his bottom lip. His look turned serious as if he wanted to tell me something, something that had been on his mind. My heart raced as he took my hands in his. I held my breath.

  “Do you wanna dance?” he asked.

  I exhaled and wiped the crumb off his perfect mouth. “I’d love to.”

  James spun me around the dance floor until I was dizzy with his touch, his smell, and his warmth. He pulled me in close and my hand rested softly on his chest as he led. Emily and Jacob swayed slowly to the song, staring into each other’s eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair. A picture perfect newlywed couple. James noticed them too.

  “Do you think that’ll be us someday?” I asked. He looked at me again with that same serious look, like he wanted to say something. He opened his mouth to speak.

  “Okay, all you single gents!” The DJ announced, deterring his attention. “It’s time for the garter toss.”

  “I guess I better go,” James said and began walking with the crowd. I pulled him back.

  “Wait, were you going to say something?” I asked, searching for something in his eyes. Maybe it was the wedding, the champagne, or the closeness I felt toward him since going to Montana, but I had a strong feeling our relationship was about to rise to a new level.

  He smiled and brushed his hand along my cheek. “I was going to say that I love you.” He took my hand and kissed it, then ran off to catch the garter that Jacob was seductively slipping off of Emily’s leg. Jacob twirled the garter around his finger and I watched about twenty unmarried men huddle near him, laughing and shoving each other a bit. Why were men so competitive?

  The groom flung the satin garter in the air. All the guys reached out for it like a football, but James was the one to catch it.

  Was it a sign? Was my proposal finally coming?

  He swaggered back to the table with his prize like some kind of hotshot.

  “What happened?” Andrea called from the iPad.

  “James caught the garter,” Amanda told her.

  “That’s hilarious,” she said. “Why did you go out there anyway?”

  James sat down and took the iPad from its propped position at the table. “Because, I like to make a fool of myself sometimes.”

  “Are you going out there too, Marin?” Amanda asked.

  “Of course!” I said, and thought that catching the bouquet would be a sure sign that James and I would be married next.

  “You better go. They’re calling for the toss.”

  Beyoncé’s single girl anthem rang throughout the reception hall as I made my way to the dance floor, where a smaller, but livelier group of ladies, all with hands held up, had gathered.

  Emily threw the flower bunch into the air.

  I propelled my whole body forward.

  As my fingers grazed the soft petals, I could almost feel the weight of gold and diamonds on my left ring finger. But I had thrown myself too hard, because I lost my balance and fell flat on the floor. Ouch!

  James rushed over, concern covering his face, and helped me up. When I had finished wiping the dust off of my black tights, I saw that James’ nineteen-year-old cousin, Grace, had the bouquet along with my hopes of a perfect ending and a sure sign of my soon-to-be engagement. She cried with glee, almost smug in her smile.

  Fine, she could have it. It was a stupid superstition anyway.

  “Are you okay?” James asked.

  My face felt hot and I swallowed a lump in my throat before speaking. “Yeah, I banged my knee of course.”

  He examined my leg. “Well, it’s not bleeding, but you’ve got a tear in your stockings.” I looked down and saw the wide snag. Another pair of tights ruined. “Oh wait,” he said. “You’ve got something right here.” James tickled the back of my leg and I flinched, giggling like a little girl. He laughed.

  “See, all better.” He smiled, and I blushed back at him. “You ready to call it a night?”

  I looked down at my torn tights and the emptying chairs. “Do you think everyone saw what happened?” I asked.

  “Everyone who’s here.” He gave me a sympathetic look.

  “Yeah, let’s go.”

  We congratulated the bride and groom, and his family wished me a safe trip back in the morning, but not after asking me if I was all right. James kept a hold on my waist to keep me from any more accidents as we headed back to our room.

  The next day I returned alone to warmer weather. It would have been nice if James could have come back with me, but his family was important to him and he rarely saw them.

  None of that stopped me from calling him as soon as I got back to my apartment.

  “How was the flight?” he asked.

  “Not too bad. It’s good to be home, but I miss you.”

  “I miss you too. I’ll be back on your birthday.” I remembered when birthdays were a great excuse to get gifts and have too many cocktails. Now that I was turning thirty-three, it was only a reminder that time was running out and I still hadn’t accomplished what I’d set out to. “I’m taking you to Masa’s for dinner,” he said.

  “Really?” Okay, so it was still a good excuse to let my boyfriend take me to a nice place.

  “Of course. My special girl deserves a special dinner.”

  “Don’t forget, it’s Valentine’s Day too.”

  “I didn’t forget. Actually, I’ve been thinking and there’s something important I want to talk to you about.”

  I paused and felt my cheeks warm. “Talk about good? Or talk about bad?”

  “It’s good. I promise.” Whew!

  “Can’t you tell me now?”

  “How ‘bout we wait for your special day, okay?”

  Hmm, good news that he wanted to save for my “special day.” I knew it! It seemed as if my waiting would soon end.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Happy Birthday

  “I’m getting engaged!” I yelled out, leaving Holly and Telly struggling to swallow their sandwiches without choking. The news bubbled up inside me until I couldn’t contain it any longer.

  Telly sat across from me, lightly covering her full mouth. “What do you mean you’re getting engaged?”

  “James is going to propose tomorrow night.”

  Telly and Holly looked at me awkwardly, but I remained steadfast in my brilliant smile.

  “How do you know?” Holly asked with a half smile as if it took all she had to produce that much. It wasn’t the reaction I was expecting from them.

  I brushed the crumbs from my hands and leaned forward, looking intently at my friends. “Well,” I be
gan like I had a juicy piece of gossip, “James is coming back tomorrow from Montana and he said he wants to talk to me about something important. He made reservations tomorrow night at Masa’s. Plus you know what tomorrow is?” I dragged out the “is” for emphasis.

  “Your birthday.” Holly said, adjusting her newsboy cap.

  I beamed. “And?”

  “Valentine’s Day.” Telly grimaced suggesting the holiday left a bad taste in her mouth.

  “Exactly, it’s the perfect day for a proposal,” I told them in that giddy girl sort of way.

  “That sounds really nice and all, but what if he just wants to take you somewhere nice for your birthday and Valentine’s Day. That doesn’t exactly mean a proposal is coming.” Telly pursed her lips.

  How could I blame Telly for trying to talk me down? Especially since I had a habit of getting a little zealous from these types of notions. Sometimes they were real and sometimes they were not. When I added the wedding, meeting the family, his words, our relationship, and the significance of the day, it all summed up to one conclusion. A proposal.

  “I know it sounds like I’m getting my hopes up, but I can feel it. Something big is going to happen soon. It’s just one of those gut feelings.” My words must’ve fallen flat on the persuasion scale, because by the look on Telly’s gorgeously tanned face, she wasn’t buying it. Surprisingly, neither was Holly.

  “That’s great, Marin,” Holly said, almost with a sympathetic smile. At least she was pretending to be happy for me. We looked at Telly, waiting for her to join us. Instead, she gazed off and chewed her sandwich slowly. I would never understand how she made chewing look sexy, but that was Telly for you.

  “So what are you going to wear for the occasion?” Telly finally asked.

  I paused for a moment and did a mental run through of my entire closet. And of course it was water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. I shrugged and told her I didn’t have anything that I deemed appropriate for the evening. This news sparked a light in her dark eyes. “I know just the dress,” she said.

  Later that day, Telly took me to a boutique on Haight Street and introduced me to a dress she’d been ogling in the window for the past week.