“Why?” She paused her twirl and shrugged. “Daddy said I can stay here as long as I like, and Dave isn’t working right now. This whole house is going to be our honeymoon suite.”
“I’ll make sure I’m long gone before then.” I rolled my eyes and looked towards the kitchen. “Did your Mom take all the wine when she left?”
“No.” Melanie grinned and shook her head. “Want to get drunk?”
“Maybe just a glass…” I watched as she scurried towards the kitchen.
Something to take the edge off this feeling of dread that hasn’t gone away since I drove into town.
“So tell me all about Dave.” I sat down in the living room once we both had a glass of wine in our hands.
“He’s—freaking amazing.” She leaned forward, and the excitement was practically radiating from her face. “You remember him from high school, right?”
“Vaguely.” I shrugged and sipped my wine. “He was on the football team, right?”I’ve tried to forget everything about high school, including the night I graduated.
“Yep!” She nodded enthusiastically.
I really couldn’t remember much about Dave outside of what Melanie had posted on her social media and what she had told when we talked on the phone. I knew they ended up going to the same college, which is when they first started dating. She gave me the quick version of everything else, piling every bit of praise on her husband-to-be that she could possibly muster. He sounded like a nice guy, and he was fairly attractive. If
he made her smile and nearly shake with enthusiasm, then he was okay in my book.
It wasn’t like I had anything to compare it to. I had been perpetually single my whole life, outside of a few relationships that never went anywhere. It was hard for me to trust anyone, much less give my heart away. I always lived with the fear that they could be taken from me at any moment because of what happened with my parents. I thought I was in love once—but they crushed my spirit the moment I let them see my vulnerabilities. The foster system certainly didn’t do anything to change my perception, especially when I found a family that I was happy with and then got shuffled to another one.
“I’m so happy you’re back.” Melanie scooted closer to me and grabbed my hand. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.” I nodded and smiled.
That is the truth. She’s the only thing in Andalusia I’ve missed at all.
“Tomorrow we need to get on the road early. It’ll take us nearly three hours to get to Birmingham, and I want as much time as possible to pick out a wedding dress.” She grinned and sipped her wine.
“You’re driving all the way to Birmingham to pick out a dress?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Why not just get something local? Gary’s Bridal Shop will order anything you want.”
Of course, I would remember some random tidbit from an advertisement years ago—I could even hear their jingle in my head.
“Gary’s Bridal Shop closed down last year.” She shrugged and leaned back against the couch. “You know how this town is. The population goes down every year—just like it did when you left.”
“Yeah, I guess there aren’t that many people getting married around here.” I nodded in understanding. “Okay, Birmingham it is.”
“This time neither of us will get grounded.” She giggled and lifted her wine to her lips. “My parents were so freaking pissed when we took that road trip—we were certain we would be back before anyone noticed.”
“Ah, that road trip.” I grimaced as I remembered.
“You got grounded. The foster family I was with just decided that I should live with someone else.”
The two of us caught up over the course of the afternoon and well into the evening. I was drunk enough to want another cigarette, despite hating the first one in years, so I excused myself to go outside. Melanie scolded me but then decided that she would go outside too. Smoking on her back porch was a pleasant memory and one we shared a few times when I spent the night at her house—except we no longer had to constantly look at the window upstairs to make sure her parents weren’t going to catch us. The wine dulled the taste, but the nicotine wasn’t as pleasant as I remembered. I ended up throwing away the entire pack once we got back inside the house, but after another glass, Melanie retrieved it. We made one more trip outside, but I just let mine burn out because I wasn’t feeling it. Melanie tucked the pack in her purse once we were inside, rather than tossing it back in the trash.
Great, I show up and now I’m spreading my bad habits, just like when we were teenagers.
* * *
The next day
“Okay, let’s get this show on the road.” Melanie tapped the top of her car and motioned for me to hurry up.
“The sun isn’t even up.” I rubbed my eyes as I walked towards her car. “How are you this freaking cheerful?”
“I’m buying my wedding dress today!” She tapped the top of her car again. “This is the most exciting day of my life!”