My Big Fat Fake Wedding(111)

*



I step into the hallway, pulling my phone from my bag, and dial Ross. It rings three times and then goes to voicemail. I consider leaving a message but hang up, wanting to talk to him in person.

I call Abi next, thinking maybe she’ll know where Ross is.

She answers right away but sounds breathless and her voice is a little too high. “Hey, Vi! Is Papa okay?”

“Yes,” I say, nodding even though she can’t see me. “Abi? I’m ready. I need to talk to Ross. Do you know where he is?”

She hums. “Uhm, maybe I do. He’s had a really rough week at work. I’m sure you understand. Dad’s coming down on him pretty hard.”

There’s a scuffle in the background, and I swear she makes some noise that translates to ‘no’ in dog language. “You okay, Abi?”

“What? Oh, yeah, fine. Just some ornery flowers not wanting to wait to bloom. I tell you what, give me until tomorrow. I’ll get Ross and you together. It’s what I do, after all!” She sounds breezy and weird, but I’ll take it if she can get Ross to talk to me.

“Deal. What time and where?”

“Hmm, how about if I pick you up? That way, if it goes well, you can just go home with my brother.”

“Shouldn’t my going home to have make-up sex with your brother ick you out?” I say, remembering our earlier conversations about this very subject and finding a bit of my usual sass now that Papa’s okay.

“Ew, you’re right. I have to go bleach my eyes out. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at eight!” And with a click, she’s gone.

That was so weird, but that’s Abi. And I’m sure her family is going nuclear with the fallout. I’ve tried to stay away from everything, the news, the papers, social media, because I wanted to focus on Papa. But now I wonder just how bad it’s been for Ross.





*



Pulling into the familiar parking lot, my nerves start jangling all the more. “Abi, where are you taking me?”

“Zip it,” she says from the driver’s seat, her eyes gleaming. “Let me do what I do best. Put this on,” she orders, handing me a swatch of black fabric.

I spread it out and realize, “Uhm, why are you giving me a blindfold? Is this going to be one of those high school nightmare things where everyone makes fun of me?” I smile as I say it, mostly trusting that Abi wouldn’t do that to me but not one hundred percent.

“Do it. You know you wanna. Do it, do it, do it . . .” she chants like an after-school special about peer pressure.

I grin and slip the blindfold—okay, it’s more a black sleeping mask—over my eyes. “If you’re fucking me over, Abigail Andrews, I will never forgive you. And I’m going to tell your parents about every bad thing you ever did—sneaking out, parties, making out with guys.” She laughs, knowing there’s not much to tell. We were pretty good kids.

The car stops and her door opens. A minute later, mine does too, and I feel Abi’s hand as she helps me climb from the car.

“Are you ready for this, Violet? No going back, no take-backsies. Once he’s yours, you’re stuck with him—smells, messiness, faults and all.”

I laugh but grab at her hand. “You make it sound like he’s a stinky teenager still. Trust me, I’ve seen Ross. He’s all man.”

Her retching gag noise is exactly the response I was going for. “Come on, before you start telling me all the dirty details. Oh, I’m supposed to remind you that you owe Archie those. Something about dip-dying silk and that you never make good on your promises. He said you’d know.”

I grin beneath the mask, remembering how he’d complained about Bitch-ella’s silk draperies but ultimately became besties with Mrs. Montgomery.

Abi is slowly stepping me closer and closer. I try to remember where the curbs are, where the steps are, and even where the old cracks in the concrete are. I don’t want anything to take me down when I’m so close.

I feel the squishiness of the track under my heeled feet and Abi stops me. “You’ll want to take your shoes off. They’ll sink in the grass.”

She helps hold me steady as I kick off my shoes. I can feel my sundress swishing around my ankles without the added height. She moves me forward a few more steps and then says, “Okay, we’re here.”

“Breathe for me, Vi. And then take the blindfold off,” Abi chirps brightly. I can hear the excitement in her voice and can’t wait. I don’t bother with the breath and just reach up and take the mask off, my heart in my throat, to find . . .

Nothing.

I mean, I’m in our old high school football stadium. I knew that from the parking lot and the walk in, but it’s dark and I can’t see anything, even without the mask.

“What?” I ask, looking around, but it’s too dark to see anything. “What are we doing here?”

“Close your eyes,” Abi says, but it’s not fast enough because suddenly, the whole stadium lights up and I’m blinded by the bright white lights. I throw my hands up to cover my face as I cry out, but slowly, I adjust.

I inch my hands away from my eyes, blinking, and that’s when I see him. Or at least I think I do.

Ross is standing in the other endzone, literally one hundred yards away from me. I only know that from watching him play in high school and college and have literally never watched a game when Ross wasn’t on the field. But he’s not wearing a football jersey now. No, he’s got on dark jeans and a button-down shirt and is holding a beautiful bouquet that I already know Abi made for him to give to me.