Going to the Chapel
By Brynne
Part 3
“Earth to Haley,” Brooke snaps, smacking me hard on the arm, “Where the hell were you? Oh, never mind, so, which part of the wedding are you most looking forward to?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” Lucy jumps in, rolling her eyes, “The part where they get married.”
“That is so boring,” Brooke complains, “I mean, personally, I’m looking forward to the bouquet toss, because I know it is coming my way!”
“No!” Lucy protests, “I will ace you out for it, Brookie Davis! Four years of cheering at Duke aren’t going to be a total waste, you hear?”
Laughing, I roll my eyes. “Maybe I’ll throw it to Peyton. Will that shut you two up?”
“You can’t throw it to Peyt,” Brooke insists, “She just had a baby. Who knows if she’s even up to full catching strength, right?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Lucy agrees, “Throw it to one of your friends who did not just experience the joys of labor. Throw it to one of us!”
Not that I’m going to burst their bubbles, but I already know who I’m going to throw it to, and it isn’t either of them. But they can have their fun and argue over it for now, and just wait until the reception to see.
“You two are crazy,” I sigh, taking a sip of the Long Island iced tea they talked me into getting.
“That’s why you love us,” Brooke asserts calmly, “So, really, what are you most looking forward to?”
“All of it,” I smile, “Wearing the dress, hearing Nathan’s vows, walking under the magnolia trees at sunset, having you all there. The kiss the bride part.”
“Should’ve known,” Lucy laughs at that last part, “You and Nathan, always with the kissing. It’ll be like college all over again. Everyone else will be out dancing and having a good time, and they’ll be in some corner making out.”
“Or worse,” Brooke smirks.
“No, we’ll behave!” I protest, laughing with them, “And Luce! We were not that bad in college. We usually made it home before we let anything get too out of hand.”
“Oh, please,” she cracks up, “Remember that party junior year at Steve Jackson’s apartment to celebrate making the tourney? I know that deck was semi-private, but God, semi is the appropriate word. We all saw what you were doing!”
“Hey, that was one time!” I blush, laughing, “And we – we were celebrating something, so there was a reason!”
”You are such a liar, Haley James,” she teases, “As if that was anything other than the two of you not being able to keep your hands off each other. Celebration my ass.”
“Fine, one time,” I allow, glaring at her until she holds her hands up in the air in surrender. We both know there were way more than one time, but that is one bit of information that Brooke does not need to get her hands on. I’d never live it down!
“Whatever,” Brooke brushes it off, changing the subject, “So, tomorrow night, bachelorette party.”
“What? No, I don’t want some raunchy bachelorette party,” I shake my head, “I don’t need that.”
“Oh, this is not a question of need, darlin’,” Lucy grins, winking at Brooke, “This is a question of tradition. And we are going to do this for you, even if that means invading Mr. Scott’s fine house and filling it with male strippers and all of your friends.”
“And Taylor is in town,” Brooke mentions, nodding when I look at her sharply, “Yep, that’s right, she got here earlier today. She was supposed to show up here, but I suppose something else came up.”
“I hope she stays out of trouble,” I yawn, really tired all of a sudden, “Last time she came to visit me, I had to borrow $500.00 from Nathan to bail her out of jail. That was so embarrassing.”
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Brooke sighs, “This place is DOA tonight. Of course, it’s a Monday, so I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising.”
“Actually, it’s Tuesday,” Lucy corrects her, laughing a little.
“Thanks for coming out for awhile,” I smile at that them, linking arms, “I miss seeing you guys so often and being able to go out whenever we want.”
“Me too,” Luce sighs, “If I’d known college was going to be the best time of my life, I’d have stayed longer.”
“Quit moping!” Brooke orders, “We’re three gorgeous, unmarried, hot young women. There should be no moping allowed when you have a combination like that!”
“No one is moping,” I smile, clutching her arm tighter, “I for one have no reason to mope.”
“No, you definitely don’t!” they both exclaim simultaneously, cracking all three of us up.
”No, I know I don’t, I totally don’t. And I’m not. I just wish it was Saturday already!” They both roll their eyes knowingly. “No, I do. We’ve been planning this for a year now, and everything is ready, and I just want to do it.”
“You just want to be Mrs. Haley James-Scott?” Lucy asks, smiling wistfully.
“Just Scott,” I correct immediately, “Guess I’m old-fashioned like that.”
“When Jake and I marry,” Brooke says, as though it is a foregone conclusion, “I’m so keeping my last name. I mean, I’ve known him since I was five, and I’ve been dating him on and off for almost ten years now, and hello, I can still barely spell his last name. I don’t think so.”
“I’d wait for him to propose before I start declaring what name I’d be taking,” Lucy warns her teasingly.
“Oh, we’ve talked about it,” Brooke tells us, “What? We have. And we’ll get married someday. We just need to wait until we’re done doing the break up/make up thing. It’s not fair to Jenny as it is, and it’d be really unfair if we did that after getting married, right?”
“That is a surprisingly mature take on it,” I tease, kissing her cheek, “No, I think you’re right, and I have no doubt you’ll get there eventually. It’s Peyt and Luke I have doubts about.”
“Really?” Lucy asks blinking as Brooke nods in agreement, “I thought they were working things out?”
“They’ll try,” Brooke explains, “It’s just that, they’ve said and done some really hurtful things to each other lately. It goes both ways, and it’s been bad. I just don’t know if Peyton will ever really forgive him.”
“That’s so sad,” Lucy sighs.
“Yeah,” I agree, hoping they can make it together, “I don’t know, though. They’ve been together a long time, too. Seven years now, at least. Maybe they’ll figure out how to settle down together, especially now that they have the baby.”
“Life is crazy sad sometimes,” Brooke notes, “Well, look, I promised Jen I’d be back early enough to tuck her in, so I’d better scoot. I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Oh, and Hay?”
“Yeah?”
“We are so having a bachelorette party! We have to celebrate the impending doom of your singlehood!” Lucy rolls her eyes at that. “Fine, and the boys are having one for Nathan, so you need to get yours.”
“Nathan is having a bachelor party? Huh, first I’ve heard of that,” I laugh, “Okay, go home to Jenny, Brooke. I’m going to take Lucy back to the Scott manse and see if she can get into anymore creepy and uncomfortable conversations with Dan.”
“Isn’t that any conversation with him?” Brooke laughs.
”My point!”
“You have one polite conversation with someone, and suddenly you’re branded a freak because he doesn’t hate you on spot? Y’all are weird,” Lucy asserts, shaking her head.
Yeah, we probably are.
~*~
“Peyt, when can we schedule a baby shower for you?” Brooke asks, pouting at her.
Nathan groans, standing up. “I thought that this was going to be hanging out in a dual-gendered way,” he scowls, “And from where I’m standing, that doesn’t include talk of baby showers or pregnancy. Or your sex life, Brooke.”
She scowls back. “Well, then, I guess we’ll just have to talk about yours instead,” she smirks, standing up and glaring at him across the table, “I’ve always been curious why Haley would stay with an asshole like you. Duh, clearly it is the sex.”
“Brooke,” I groan, kicking her in the shin, “Sit down and shut up.”
They both glare at me, even Nathan, and he wasn’t even the one I kicked. “Haley, this is our house, I don’t want to put up with her shit.” And with that, he storms out of the room.
Jumping up, I chase him up the stairs, finding him in one of the spare bedrooms. I stand in the doorway, trying to figure out where I want to begin with this. He turns around, shaking his head.
“Don’t start, Hales.”
“You want me not to start? That’s nice, Nathan.”
“Oh, come on, like I don’t know exactly what you’re going to say?” he reasons, “Like I don’t know that you aren’t completely right?”
“Why are you acting like this then?”
“Because she gives me a headache?” he shrugs, “I don’t know. They’re all just driving me crazy. And they shouldn’t; Luke isn’t even here to make it worse.”
“Okay, I don’t understand this because you aren’t giving me a reason, so all I can say is suck it up, Nathan. Just come back down there with me, err more on the nicer side of things, and maybe we can get through this weekend without any bloodshed between you and Brooke or you and Peyton,” I sigh.
“Hey, Peyton is actually not the one I want to maim for a change.”
“Big step up in the world, joining the rest of us in finding Brooke more annoying,” I laugh, “It’s just because she always has a comeback.”
“And they’re usually better than everyone else’s,” he sighs.
“Nah, hers are just unending,” I smile, “Come on, Nathan, will you come back downstairs and play nice with the other kids?”
“The only one I want to play anything with is you,” he winks, looking around the room, “You know what we should do with this room?”
Glancing around, I’m not sure what he’d think we should do in here. There’s a big bay window with a window seat, lots of light, and beautiful oak floors. “An exercise room?” I tease. He’s already taken over two rooms of the basement with his weights and other equipment.
“No, not another exercise room,” he grins, “This should be our baby’s room.”
“Um, Nathan, you do realize I’m not pregnant, right? And that I am in fact on the pill still?” I laugh, looking around again.
“Yes, I realize that. That doesn’t mean we can’t plan things out a little, right?”
“You’re crazy,” I laugh, “But I like that about you. So, you really want to consider having children, huh? And when should we start this grand endeavor?”
”Baby, I’d be ready now, but we can wait until things calm down some. Wait until after the wedding, of course. You paid a lot of money for that dress,” he grins, “And we don’t want you to get too fat for it!”
“Hey!”
“What? It’s true. No, look, we’ll wait until a better time, okay? Until we are both completely ready for it.”
“Now doesn’t sound so bad,” I admit, “But there is so much going on, and like you said, we still have the wedding coming up. Waiting isn’t such a bad thing, either.”
“No, it isn’t. Besides, if we want you to give birth in July or August, which would be preferable with my schedule, then we’re talking waiting at least until November or December of this year,” he rationalizes.
”You sound like your father,” I tell him, shuddering slightly, “Why don’t the two of you get together with your calendars and schedule in convenient times for me to give birth, okay?”
“What?”
“Oh, your father wants us to have them as soon as possible. He also needs to know when and how many,” I tell him, “He wants to set up trust funds, of all things.”
“Trust funds? Where’s my trust fund?” he pouts.
“Please, like you need a trust fund,” I laugh, “Seriously, what is with you guys, though? And does he know that Peyt is pregnant with Luke’s baby? Has anyone told him that? Because he needs to know, I almost spilled when he called to ask me about this.”
“He seriously asked you about when we’re having children?” he asks, his face contorting in a mask of horror, “What else did he say?”
“He didn’t say much, Nathan,” I sigh, “Just something along the lines of how I need to start taking vitamins to better prepare my body for pregnancy. That part was particularly freaky.”
“Oh, God,” he groans, wincing when Brooke and Peyton come in the room, Jake tagging along behind them.
“What’s ‘oh, God’?” Brooke asks, any sense of propriety out the window.
“My dad is concerned about how Haley is preparing her body for potential pregnancies,” he mutters, clearly disgusted, “What the hell is wrong with that man? There are some things that fall into the ‘not your father’s business’ category, and then there are things like these, that ought to be under ‘things you father should never, ever be thinking of’. What the hell?”
Brooke starts laughing, and Peyton just looks pissed. “What’s wrong with you?” Brooke asks, nudging her lightly on the arm.
“Dan loves Haley so much that he’s already pressuring her to have babies, and he hates me so much that he’s pretending like neither me or this baby exist.”
“So you have told him?” I gape.
“Yeah, well, no. Luke told him. Apparently it went over real well,” she mutters sarcastically, “I hate that man.”
“Whoa, hold the phone, when did you talk to Luke?” Jake asks, surprised. Brooke and Nathan are clearly surprised, too.
“I didn’t,” she snaps, “That little shit emails about six times a day telling me what he’s doing, how he’s thinking about me and the baby, and blah blah blah, he’s an asshole.”
“If he’s sending email, doesn’t that mean he cares at least a little?” Brooke reasons, grabbing Jake’s hand when Peyt snarls at her.
“Oh – okay, no. This is getting us nowhere. Let’s all go back downstairs, okay? And we’ll all play nice, won’t we?” I interrupt, smiling as sweetly as possible at all of them. “We won’t talk about anything that anyone doesn’t want to.”
Everyone mumbles their agreements, and we head back downstairs to pretend like nothing is wrong, nothing is weird, and things are the same as they’ve always been.
The damn sad part is, that in a way, this is how they’ve always been. If it wasn’t me and Nathan having trouble, then it was Brooke and Jake. And if it wasn’t them, then it is Peyton and Luke. Can’t we all just be happy at the same damn for a change? Is that so much to ask?
~*~
Yawning as I try to make a list of all the things I need to do over the next couple of days leading up to the wedding, I sigh, cursing myself for not having done this sooner. Or for not having hired a wedding planner. God, that was stupid.
“There is no way I’m going to get all this done,” I sigh, dropping my head down on the table in front of me.
“Talking to yourself? That can’t be a good sign.”
“Hey, you’re here!” I exclaim, jumping up to hug her, “I thought the hospital would want you there another day!”
“Nope,” she grins, “We got sprung!”
“I’m so happy to see that. How are you feeling, Peyt?”
She smiles, leaning back against the chair. “Tired, like I squeezed out a watermelon. And I’m stressed about this whole thing with Luke, but you know what? I’m good.”
“How’s that going?”
“Not bad,” she smiles, “He’s with the baby now.”
“Okay, speaking of ‘the baby’, are you two ever going to name him?” I laugh.
“We have,” she smiles, “Nathan James.”
“Peyton!” I exclaim, jumping up and doing a giddy little dance, “I bet I can guess which part was Luke’s contribution!”
“Yeah,” she laughs, “So, do you like it? You two are his uncle and aunt, and we really wanted him to have part of both of you in his name.”
“That’s so fucking sweet that I think I’m going to cry,” I whisper, bending over and throwing my arms around her.
“Hey!” Nathan whispers from the doorway, baby Nathan James in his arms, “No swearing in front of my nephew, crazy lady.”
“Someone has to teach him the fun stuff,” I tease back, reveling in the sight of Nathan with a baby in his arms. Most things about Nathan turn me on, but nothing has turned me on quite like this in awhile now. This, this is hot. Total hotness personified, right in front of me.
“Let Brooke do that,” Peyton advises, “And you know what this means. When you guys have your first kid, you’ll be working ‘Davis’ into the name.”
“Oh, thanks a lot, Peyton,” Nathan smirks, “That’s why you agreed to use my name, right? You knew it would come back to bite me in the ass?”
“Yes, Nathan, it was all an evil plan to put you in your place,” she agrees, rolling her eyes, “How ever did you find me out?”
“You’re as clear as crystal, Sawyer,” he bites back at her, cooing down at the baby. “So, we calling him Nate?”
“Nope, James,” Peyton beams at me, and I squeal, throwing my arms around her. Over my shoulder, I stick my tongue out at Nathan who glowers at me.
“Oh, you have the best taste in the world!”
Peyton laughs, hugging me back. “No, it would just be too confusing to have two Nathan’s running around. It’s better this way.”
“He’s so beautiful,” I tell her, moving over to peak at the baby in Nathan’s arms, “God, look at him. What an angel.”
“Easy for you to say, you don’t have to breast feed him,” she points out, laughing when Nathan blanches at the thought. “What? That too squicky for you, Nathan?”
“Just a little,” he mutters, “Besides, aren’t you too flat to be of any use to him?”
“Haley, take my baby from him so that I can hit him!” she orders, breathing fire.
“I swear, we’ll be ninety, and you two children will still be finding things to fight about. I don’t know how you do it!”
~*~
Somehow, we end up getting talked into spending a weekend in Tree Hill for Jenny’s birthday. Dan lets us crash with him, as promised, and he’s so oddly nice that neither Nathan nor I really know what to make of it.
I can’t sleep, worried about Peyton and how she’s dealing with the Luke thing, so I’m downstairs in the formal library, playing with Deb’s old piano. It surprised me that they still had it, in some ways. It’s nice, though.
“What song was that?” Nathan asks, sitting down on the bench beside me.
“Oh, just an oldie that my mom taught me way back in the old days,” I smile at him, stopping my play, “You know, I talked to her today, and I think she’s actually excited for the wedding.”
“You don’t play much these days,” he notes, avoiding the subject of my mom. He likes my parents, but he takes more issue with their absence in my life than I do.
”Hard to play without an instrument,” I shrug, “Besides, you know I only used to play when I’m unhappy. I’m not unhappy very often anymore.”
“Did something happen now to upset you?” he asks, tapping on one of the keys, “You’re okay with staying here, right?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. And I’m not upset so much as worried, I guess. About Peyton. She’s not herself right now, and I don’t know what to do about it,” I sigh.
“She seems fine to me. Just as bitchy as always,” he shrugs. “I don’t know why she decided to come back here. She’d have been better off staying in New York where Luke isn’t, right?”
“Well, she’s always bitchy to you,” I point out, ignoring the commentary on Peyton’s address, “But rarely bitchy to me or Brooke. Sarcastic, sure, but not outright bitchy. I guess that’s why I’m playing tonight.”
“You sounded good,” he smiles, letting me get away with brushing off half his statement, “Sometimes I forget how long you played as a kid. Why’d you give it up?”
“I figured that I’d have more fun hanging out with you and Lucas than spending two hours three times a week taking piano lessons from old Mrs. Anderson,” I grin, “And I was right. Besides, it was more of my mom’s thing for me. It was never my thing.”
“Mrs. Anderson smelled like moth balls and Icy Hot,” he laughs, “You were good, though. Remember when my mom would make me and Luke go to your recitals? God, we hated sitting through those things, but she’d make us go, and give us the death look if we even wiggled in our seats. She’d always tell us about the talent you had.”
“I used to cry because you guys were there and I was embarrassed!” I exclaim, laughing as I tap out a nameless melody, “I hated that you had to witness my ultimate humiliation of being trussed up in a dress with bows on it and paraded out there like a pageant girl.”
“I don’t suppose you’d play something for me now, would you?” he asks quietly, running his fingers over the keys.
“I would do anything for you, so yes, I will. Any requests?”
“What was that song that my mom used to make you play when you came over here sometimes? That she and my dad would dance to?”
“Oh, gosh, there were a couple of them, weren’t they?” I smile, remembering that was one of the times that Dan always seemed the least scary. The most human.
“No, the one he liked the most, the one she said she felt the song was calling to her.”
“Oh, yeah,” I remember, tapping out the first strains of the song, “’Someone Saved My Life Tonight’. I think she liked the line about butterflies being free to fly away. It’s kind of a sad song.”
“Well, a lot of things about her life was pretty sad.” He looks over at me, smiling as I continue playing. “Not this, though. Even if the song was sad, hearing you play it while she and Dad danced made her happy.”
“Yes, it did,” I agree, continuing to play as best I can from memory. It seems like lifetimes ago that I was that young, that Deb was still alive, and that I’d sit in their living room playing the piano for them.
“I miss her,” he admits quietly, “Especially now, thinking that she won’t be here for the wedding. That she won’t be around to save our kids from Dad.”
When he lays his head on my shoulder, I tilt my face toward him, kissing the top of his head. “She would’ve had so much fun doing that. Would’ve driven him crazy, too.”
“I’m not mad at her; maybe I never was.”
“I know.”
“I just – “ he breaks off, breaking down into tears. Stopping my playing, I turn, wrapping my arms tight around him.
“Shh, baby, it’s okay. I have you.”
“I never told her,” he whispers, “Not once. I don’t think I ever once told her that I loved her, Hay. God, what kind of son does that make me?”
“She knew, Nathan. I’m positive of that. And she loved you, so damn much.”
“She deserved better than me,” he states, burying his face in my hair, “She did. At least she had Luke, right? He’d already lost one mom, he knew how to make the best of it with a second one.”
“And now he’s lost two,” I sigh, “But that doesn’t make it any better or worse, for either of you. It was a stupid, senseless tragedy that took her. She wouldn’t have left any of you, even Dan, for anything.”
He laughs at that, a low rumbling. “Can you believe that after it all, after all the screaming, the nasty, snide remarks, that they did love each other?”
“I thought they were so weird when I was kid,” I admit, “And she was gone so often, that it just confused me when she came home and they’d fight.”
“You? Imagine how Luke and I felt,” he smiles, kissing the corner of my mouth.
“But you were usually glad she was home. At least when you were little.”
“You remember back that far? I’m a big man, have been for awhile now. And you’ve known that for awhile now, too,” he winks.
“Okay, leave the perv talk for a conversation that does not involve your parents, okay?” I laugh, wrapping my arms tighter around him.
He nods, sobering. “I just wish I’d told her, just once.” He pulls back, brushing some hair behind my ear. “You know, it has always been so easy for me to say it to you. Why is that? Why can I say it to you, but not anyone else?”
“I don’t know, baby.”
“I – I used to think you were the only one I truly loved, because of that. Maybe it’s just because I love you most of all.”
Brushing his tears away, I smile at him through some of my own. “And I love you back most of all,” I promise him.
Smiling at him, I start playing the song again, this time singing along, knowing he wants to hear it all. Knowing it helps him feel close to her, if only for the few minutes it takes to play the song.
~*~
“Ooh, ooh, we’re having a party!” Brooke screams, running through the house.
“What? We are so not having a party,” I counter, shaking my head, wondering if she took some ‘happy’ pills or something.
“Yes, we are!” she insists, “Dan and James are staying at a hotel tonight, so the house is ours to do with as we please!”
”No, that is crazy talk,” I laugh, rolling my eyes at her, “Where do you get these ideas? Hey, does Jake know you’re here?”
“Jake is here, too! He and Luke are getting Nathan. Oh, guess who is coming!”
Oh, God. “I have no clue, Brookie.”
“Tim Smith! Luce and I ran into him today at the liquor store – “
“Classy,” I interrupt.
“Shut it! Anyway, we ran into him, and invited him to the shindig. And then he said he knew a bunch of other people who are in town, so they’re all coming over, too. Should be a real throw down, just like high school.”
“You are batshit crazy, Brooke Davis!” I exclaim, “You – you invited Tim Smith? Here, to this house? And his merry band of goons? You’re insane, there is no other explanation for it! If there really is a party here tonight – which I see no reason for, and why would Dan agree to it, he knows what parties do to a house?”
“When did you grow up and become the anti-party Nazi?” she pouts, looking – actually having the gall to look disappointed in me. “Besides, Dan gave permission, and he has a cleaning crew coming tomorrow. This is for you guys, you could at least pretend to be grateful.”
“What do you mean, for us?” I sigh.
“Bachelor slash bachelorette parties,” she duhs me, “Does any of that ring a bell? You know, it’s this little tradition before people marry. Saying goodbye to being single.”
“I thought I told you I didn’t need or want a party. And I can’t speak for Nathan, but I’m pretty sure he feels the same way.”
“You know,” she grins, “You say an awful lot. Is it really my fault that sometimes some of it goes in one ear and right out the other?” She rolls her eyes when I glare at her. “I mean really, you could stand to cut back on the babbling.”
“Brooke, a party?” I whine, having been looking forward to a nice, calm evening either alone, or with Nathan, and just Nathan. Clearly that’s been shot to hell and back, though.
“Yes, a party,” she smiles back, grabbing me by the hand and dragging me up to me and Nathan’s room. “Knock, knock superstar. Whoa, put some shorts on or something. I mean, nice ass, but it shouldn’t be out there for all to see.”
“Brooke, don’t you look at his ass!” I yell, shoving her out the door, “You get out and you stay out until I say it is alright to come in! Which might be never!”
Once the door slams shut, Nathan turns around, his face beet red. Embarrassment or anger? Oh, just anger; he did lay there with just a pillow covering him last time she burst into a room he was in naked. Damn it.
“What is she doing now?” he asks quietly, his jaw clenched tightly.
“Combined bachelor and bachelorette party. Why that involved her dragging me up here, I don’t know,” I sigh.
“Because you need to get sexy, Hales!” she yells through the door, laughter in her voice. Nathan takes a step towards it, so I jump in front of him, blocking the way.
“Commit a homicide now, and we wouldn’t get to have our wedding,” I remind him, shoving him back towards the bed. It’s really hard to ignore the fact that he’s naked right now, but this is so not the time. Especially with Brooke sitting outside the door, obviously not going anywhere until she gets what she wants.
“Damn it,” he mutters, sitting down. “Hand me my shorts?”
Crossing to the dresser, I hand him my favorite pair of his boxer-briefs. He smirks when he sees what I’ve chosen for him. “Yes, someone will be getting lucky tonight,” I grin.
“Well, that cheers me up a bit,” he concedes, “So, we’re really having a party, huh? Think the stripper will be a tranny or something?”
“No, we have both males and females coming!” Brooke promises through the door, “We thought of everyone!”
Looking at each other, Nathan and I burst into laughter. “We have crazies in our life,” he mutters, shaking his head.
“You’re telling me,” I laugh, biting my lip as he pulls the drawers on.
“There you are, biting that lip. You know that lip is mine now, right?” he winks, gesturing to the ring on the chain around his neck.
“I didn’t know that meant you owned me,” I whisper, careful that Brooke doesn’t overhear, “At least not bodily.”
“You own me, all of me,” he says back just as quietly, “I figured it went both ways.”
“Mm, I guess it certainly could,” I smile, so in love with him.
He gets dressed quickly, throwing on jeans and a t-shirt that just makes my mouth water over how it clings to his muscles, and then, after a quick kiss, leaves the room, letting Brooke in. She cheerfully waves at him as he walks past her, and I just have to shake my head at her.
“Okay, so what’s the plan?” I ask, giving in. If nothing else, this will be memorable.
“Oh, it’s good. Come on, let’s get you dressed. I’d call your husband to come back here and make him redress, but he seems a little cranky tonight,” she chides me, “You might need to think about giving him more sex or something.”
“God, if we had anymore sex, you’d never see us!”
“Well, he needs something,” she shrugs, “Anyway, put these on. And then I’ll fix your hair. I’m glad you left it curly today, that gives me more to work with.”
“So glad I could oblige you,” I sigh.
“Yeah, you’re here to please alright,” she laughs, “Just not me, Nathan.”
“Well, he is going to be my husband, right?”
“True, but you should never forget us little people,” she grins, “I mean, who else would do your hair for you? Certainly not Nathan.”
“Ah, but he’d get in a hot shower and wash it for me,” I wink, “And that’s nothing to scoff at either.”
“I suppose not,” she concedes, smirking, “Okay, come on, you’re done here. Let’s go see what the guys are doing. Oh, and how Luce is doing with Peyton.”
“You sicced Lucy on Peyt?” I groan, shaking my head, “I don’t know if Peyton can stand the bubbly, bounciness of Lucy right now!”
“She’ll be fine,” Brooke dismisses, “Peyton’s a big girl. Seriously, you need to stop worrying about all of us, Hay. Your big day is less than a week away, and you’re so worried about what all the rest of us are doing. Come on, focus on you and having fun this week. That’s what Luce and I are for, to worry about the details. Please?”
“Okay, I’ll try,” I agree, sort of relieved to give up some aspects of control to them. There’s no way either would let me down in this or do something they knew I wouldn’t like, and it is nice to have some of that burden off of me.
“Good!” she chirps.
We walk downstairs together, both stopping short at the sight of people pouring in through the front doors. The cops are so going to end up here tonight. Damn. Tim Smith walks by, pausing to give both of us kisses on the cheek – perhaps he isn’t quite the dim-witted and perverted jackass that he was in high school.
“This is insane!” I whisper to Brooke, jumping when the stereo comes blasting on, loud rap music blaring.
“This is great!” she yells back.
Nathan spots me, waving me over even as he grabs a beer from Tim. Well, if he’s going to get into this, I might as well, nodding when Brooke offers to run to the kitchen for drinks. Peyton and Lucy get to Nathan at the same time I do, both throwing their arms around me.
“How do you like it?” Lucy asks, waving her hand around the room.
“Holy shit, when did you guys do that?” I laugh, looking around in awe. I hadn’t even noticed, but the entire is room is decorated to the nines. It’s gorgeous in here, party favors, balloons, streamers, confetti, everything everywhere. “This is so crazy!”
“And you love it, right?” Peyton grins, pointing to the ‘Congratulations, Nathan and Haley’ banner, “It’s a little premature, but it’s not like there is a force on earth that could stop the two of you, right?”
“Right,” Nathan agrees, taking my hand.
Brooke shows back up with the drinks, passing me two. “Oh, honey, we’re getting you trashed enough that you get into putting dollars in the stripper’s g-string.”
Peyton cracks up laughing as Nathan just shakes his head. “Remember the last time that happened? Mr. Possessive here about had a stroke.”
Lucy wants to know what happened, so Peyt and Brooke fill her in as I pull Nathan out onto the makeshift living room dance floor.
“I can’t believe they did this,” he laughs, leaning down and kissing me.
“Yeah, well, I can’t believe your father agreed to this!” I marvel, wrapping my arms around his neck, “This is so bizarre. Who ever heard of joint parties like this?”
“Ha, well, I’m glad,” he muses, “I think I’d rather see you with these strippers than imagine what was happening if I wasn’t there.”
“Yeah, well, ditto, buster. And at least there isn’t anyone here that I’ve slept with,” I grumble, pretending to pout. Well, maybe pouting a little for real. “In the five minutes I’ve been down here, I’ve seen at least three girls you slept with in high school. That’s a little disturbing.”
“Ah, but they’ve got nothing on you, baby,” he is very quick to assure me, “Besides, I wouldn’t be able to point them out even if they walked up and kissed me. What might be disturbing is that you can.”
“Oh, hello, I spent high school pining for you!” I exclaim, “Of course I knew who you were sleeping with! That was my sad, pathetic existence: want you but can’t have you, suffer while you won’t let me have anyone else, and watch you hook up with those whores.”
“Yeah, but you get to be my – “ I clap my hand over his mouth to stop him.
“You better not say it!” I warn, trying to contain my laughter, “You better not even be thinking it, Mr. Scott!”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Scott,” he whispers in my ear, “I was only teasing.”
The party is actually a complete blast, and it is surprisingly fun to catch up with some of the people we went to school with. There are just as many here that I have no earthly idea of who they are, but it doesn’t really matter. Everyone just has fun, dances, and gets drunk. By 1, there are still no strippers, and I’m pretty positive that Brooke was just trying to freak me out.
Of course, I’m totally wrong. The fire department shows up at the door, saying that there are too many people in the house, and that it is against code. There are four males and four females, and it is weird and bizarre and everyone is laughing and when they ask where the bride and groom to be are, Nathan and I are shoved to the front of the room where they’re standing.
They sit us down on the couch, and the bridal party joins us, all of them more excited about this than either Nathan or I are. The strippers are raunchy and outgoing, and it is actually both fun and funny. Not as bad as I’d expected, at least. Well, I’m sure the alcohol has helped in that area, not that I’m complaining. Even if I have a nasty headache in the morning, it was worth it. Brooke was right; we needed to have a party like this, and I need to loosen up and have more fun with this wedding.
Sometimes your friends can see what you need, even when you can’t.
~*~
“Mom, Dad!” I sputter, surprised and more than a little freaked that they are here, on mine and Nathan’s doorstep. Seriously, what are they doing here?
“Haley, hi,” Mom greets me, moving to pull me into a hug, “It’s so nice to see you, honey. It’s been awhile now.”
“Uh, yeah, it has,” I agree, smiling over her shoulder to Dad, still freaked out by the surprise appearance.
“Surprised to see us?” Dad grins.
“Just a little,” I nod, “What – I mean, um, well, yeah, what are you doing here?”
“We were driving through, and we had an extra day, so we thought we’d stop by and see how you were doing, what your house was like,” Mom explains.
“Didn’t you get my emails?” I ask, trying to force a smile, “I sent all those pictures of the house, not to mention the condo we had before we found the house. Oh, and of the apartment in Durham.”
“Haley,” Dad sighs, “If this is where you chew us out for not visiting sooner, you can save your breath. We feel bad enough about that as it is.”
“No, don’t worry, you’ll get nothing like that from me.”
“Hay? Where are you?” Nathan calls from the living room, “You’ve got to see Dad’s newest commercial. How is it possible that I’m related to him? I paused it. Come in here, babe!”
Sighing, I brace myself for him seeing who is here. It won’t be pretty, unless he can completely turn off his resentment at their absent role in my life. Not to mention the projecting he does with how Deb was always gone. It’s too easy of a comparison for him to make. He’s way more sensitive about it than I am, always has been.
“Nathan, we have guests,” I call back to him, smiling tightly at my parents as I invite them into the house.
He comes wandering out to the foyer, blinking in surprise at who it is. “Mr. and Mrs. James, uh, hi. This is a surprise. Er, it is a surprise, right?” he asks me.
“Yeah, it’s a surprise,” I smile, genuinely for him.
“It’s good to see you, Nathan. How’ve you been?” Dad starts, as they both look around the house, “This is a nice place the two of you have here.”
“Thank you,” Nathan nods, stiffly stuffing his hands in his pockets after shaking hands with the both of them.
“Aren’t you going to invite us in?” Mom prompts me, causing me to jump.
“Gosh, yes, I’m so sorry,” I apologize, calming down a little when Nathan puts his hands on my shoulders, “Please, do come in. If you’d make yourselves at home in the living room, I’ll just go get some iced lemonade for us all. Nathan? Do you mind?”
“Of course not,” he smiles at me, giving my shoulders a reassuring squeeze before releasing me, “Just call if you need help with the tray.”
“Thank you,” I murmur to him, turning back to my parents, “I’ll be right back.”
When I get into the kitchen, instead of getting out the pitcher of lemonade and glasses like I should be doing, I sit at the table. Putting my head down, I can’t seem to help but let all the frustration I’m feeling at this visit wash over me. I should let this all go, but it isn’t as easy as it seems it should be.
I – I don’t hate my parents for never being around; it’s hard to fault them when they have as many children as they do, and several of whom seem to need them more than I ever did. But at the same time, it is so hard to absolve them when I know for a fact they’ve seen each of these siblings at least two or three times a year since I went away to college, and I have only seen them on the occasional holiday. Sometimes bitterness sets in whether you want it or not.
Finally shaking myself out of the melancholy, I get up and put together the tray. As I’m approaching the living room, I can hear the raised voices of Nathan and my parents.
“No, you have no right to do this to her!” Nathan states firmly and loudly, “You can’t just show up on her doorstep after five years and pretend like nothing’s happened.”
“Nothing has happened!” my dad growls back at him, “At least nothing that we’re aware of. She never mentioned being angry with us, and Lyd, correct me if I’m wrong, but we haven’t fought with her.”
“No, not at all,” Mom confirms.
“Of course you haven’t,” Nathan laughs bitterly, “Because she has more class than that. Besides, isn’t it hard to fight with someone that you can never seem to bother to see?”
“We’ve seen her!” Mom corrects him, “Maybe not as often as we could’ve or even should’ve, but we have seen her.”
“Oh, right, and when were those times? It wasn’t Christmas her freshman year of college. I know that because she stayed with me. Of course, her life had changed a lot then, and she’d have loved to share that with you, but you weren’t there, were you? It wasn’t for the grand opening of the children’s center that she worked her ass off to open! Again, that was me there,” he scoffs, probably glaring at them now, “Huh, and it sure wasn’t for her graduation from college, either. Or when I invited you to the basketball game to watch me propose to her!”
“This is none of your business, young man!” Dad bellows, this time not even trying to keep his voice down, “I told you, Lydia. I’ve told you all along, this is not a man we want our daughter with. Why she couldn’t be like her sisters and choose sensible men with real jobs, I’ll never understand.”
“You know, I’ll let that slide because I don’t give a shit what you say or think about me,” Nathan mutters, quiet enough that I have to strain to hear, “But don’t you dare come in here and pretend like you know what’s best for Haley. She’s happy, she’s damn happy, and I refuse to let you make her otherwise.”
“We aren’t here to cause trouble for anyone, now are we, Jimmy?” Mom cuts in, attempting to placate Nathan.
”I don’t care why you’re here,” Nathan states flatly, “But while you are here? You better make Haley feel like she’s the most priceless damn thing you have ever seen. Not that I think either of you know how to do that, but you better at least try.”
“She is our daughter, and you have no right to try and dictate how we interact with her!” Mom protests this time, any hints of politeness out the window.
“Yeah? Well, she’s my wife. You might find it acceptable to ignore her for basically five years, visiting all of her siblings, but never bothering to come see her or the places she’s lived, not once, but I don’t. I will not have you treat her like that, not in my house,” Nathan informs them icily.
Dad scoffs at that. “She isn’t your wife yet, son. And if she has any sense at all, she never will be. Although her sense is seriously in question considering how long she’s been with you,” he sneers at Nathan.
“Stop,” I order, stepping into the room. I’ve heard enough. Nathan rushes over, taking the tray from me. He tries to lead me out of the room, but I resist, having my own piece to say to my parents. “I don’t know why you’re here; I suppose it doesn’t even really matter. But you don’t get to come in here and treat Nathan like that. This is his house, and he is my husband. And he’s been there for me in ways that neither of you would ever understand.”
“Haley!” my mom exclaims, taking a step towards me. When I unintentionally flinch away, she stops, falling back beside my father.
“I’m sorry, maybe it would be for the best if you didn’t stay here,” Nathan tells them, putting a protective arm around me, “This won’t work.”
“No, they can stay,” I tell him, “If they treat you with respect. You’re both way out of line here, Mom, Dad. And frankly, you don’t know anything about Nathan, our relationship, or me.”
“Of course we know you!” Mom protests, “We raised you!”
“You stopped raising her the second she and Taylor were the only kids you had left at home. She was what then, ten at the most?” Nathan counters, causing me to groan. It would be so much easier to let this drop. “You don’t know what she likes, you don’t know how we’ve spent the last years, and you don’t know anything!”
“Let’s just drop this,” I order, “There’s lemonade there on the table. Feel free to help yourself. The best spare bedroom is the third door down the hall to the right at the top of the stairs. And if you’ll all excuse me, I need to take a walk and get some air.”
Without waiting for any answers, I turn and leave the house, walking briskly down the drive. I know that the footsteps behind me are Nathan – neither of my parents would think to follow me, and I know he’s worried right now.
“I’m okay,” I say quietly, stopping and turning to him.
“Yeah? That was a heavy scene, you sure you’re okay?”
Nodding, I step into his embrace, burying my face against his chest. “Why do you think they’re here?”
“I don’t know, Hay.”
“I shouldn’t care, right? I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” I sigh, “I just don’t get it. They never come, and yet, here they are now.”
Pulling away, I walk over and take a seat on an old swing hanging from a massive tree in the yard, waiting until he sits next to me to push off. “Maybe they just wanted to see you,” he offers, “They seemed sorta sincere.”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
“It doesn’t matter,” I sigh, shrugging, “It’s not like they’ll stay long, right? And it isn’t like we’re going to see them again any time soon.”
“You don’t have to pretend like this doesn’t bother you, baby,” he assures me, bumping his shoulder into mine, “It’s okay. I’m here.”
“I know,” I nod, turning to smile at him, “And I could go sit here and pour out my heart, but I don’t know. It doesn’t matter as much as you think it does, really. Maybe that’s because even if they play nice with me while they’re here, I still know that they aren’t the ones who have been there for every single important moment in my life.”
“Ah. Is that anyone I know?” he grins.
“Maybe,” I smile coyly, “But really, Nathan. You – and you alone – have been there for all the big stuff. God, you were the big stuff most of the time.”
“It does still matter, though,” he insists, not wrong, “But if you don’t want to talk about it, I can understand that.”
“We can talk about it,” I sigh, leaning into him, “I just don’t know what to say about them anymore.”
“Then we don’t need to say anything,” he promises, “But if you want to, you can. You know, maybe for once I’ll get to listen and help you out.”
“Oh, Nathan, you do that all the time!”
“Well, this time I could do it for something important,” he shrugs, “I just want to help you, babe. Like you do for me all the time.”
“Just being here helps. Knowing that you would stick up for me like you did in there helps a lot, too, Nathan.”
“So, you heard all of that, huh?”
“I don’t know. I heard a lot, though,” I smile. “Thank you, by the way.”
”No thanks necessary. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in things that I’ll do for you if you need me to,” he says, kissing me on the temple.
What would I do without him?
~*~
Everything is almost entirely decorated now. The crew that Nathan had insisted we hired, and that I’m now really grateful for, has already got all the lights in the trees and taken care of everything else that can be done the night before. For the event of the rehearsal, Brooke rolled out a wrapping paper aisle for everyone to walk down.
“Jen, stop bouncing,” Brooke commands, trying to fix the hyper child’s hair, “Now, do you remember where to go, kiddo?”
“Yes! I just follow the balloons through the trees and around the corner,” she sighs, Brooke having made her repeat it about sixty times by now, “I know where to go!”
“Fine, fine,” Brooke agrees, fluffing her hair up wildly.
“Daddy doesn’t like it when you do that,” Jenny smiles at her.
”That’s why we do it, Jen,” Brooke winks at her, causing the little girl to giggle. “What?” she asks when she catches me watching.
“Nothing, you two are just so cute together. You have a really good thing with her.”
“Sometimes I’m afraid Jake thinks that she’s the reason I’m still with them,” she sighs, watching as Jenny tells Peyton some story, “That he doesn’t know how much I love him for him.”
“So, tell him, you big softy,” I smile at her, “Come on, Brooke, he’s not a mind reader. Sometimes you have to lay it on the line out there.”
“Like you know anything about laying it on the line,” she mutters, glaring at me, “Everything with Nathan was handed to you on a silver platter by, well, by Nathan.”
“It wasn’t quite that easy,” I smile, “He was ready to walk away from me forever. I admit, I did make him say it first, but we both said it. I had to get him to stay so he could say it.”
“You two had it easy, though,” she sighs, “I mean, once you got together, it just fit. There were never doubts, never questions, it just worked. Even Nathan said he knew right away that he’d end up proposing to you.”
“So what? It’s not like we still didn’t have to work for it,” I snap, a little annoyed that she thinks we have this grand romance where we can take things like communication and trust and commitment for granted.
She nods, chagrined. “I didn’t mean to imply that, Hales.”
“I know,” I smile at her, “Maybe I’m a smidge defensive, huh?”
“Yeah, maybe just a little,” she agrees, giving me a small smile, “And it’s fine, I understand.”
“Aw, aren’t you just sugar and sweetness,” I tease, linking arms with her. “Thank you, by the way. I probably haven’t even come close to saying that enough.”
“For what?”
“Everything. Seriously, Brookie, you – you’ve been really wonderful to me. Always, but this last week especially. Without you, I’d have probably fallen apart.”
“Nah,” she laughs, “You and Nathan would’ve just ended up running off to Vegas and eloped.”
I can feel my cheeks heat up, and I drop her arm taking a step back. She looks at me strangely, but shrugs it off. Just when I think I’m in the clear, her mouth drops open and her arm flies up as she starts pointing at me.
Clapping my hand over her mouth, I start to drag her off away from everyone else. Now is not the time I need this coming out. “She’s getting graphic,” I explain to everyone watching, “And um, you know, kids in the area.”
“What the hell is that for?” she yells once I get her out near the road, away from everyone.
“Brooke, damn it! Don’t say it, don’t say a damn word to anyone about this,” I plead, about a second away from getting down on my knees and begging her, “It is really important you keep your big, fat, gossipy mouth shut!”
“God, you’re a freak!” she huffs, glaring at me, “God, I can’t believe Jake didn’t come after us. I’m so kicking his ass tonight, and not in the good way, either. Jesus, Hales, even Nathan was looking at you like he was going to come after us!”
“Well, he’s the only one I wouldn’t mind having here now!”
“If you want a threesome, you just had to ask,” she winks.
”Brooke!” I yell, frustrated, “Are you going to say anything or not?”
“Oh, my God, you really did! You really got married in Las Vegas already?” She stares at me until I give in and nod. “Well, fuck me sideways, I cannot believe it!”
“Why is it so hard to believe?”
“Because you didn’t tell me!” she pouts, “All this time we’ve been planning this wedding, you’re already married! When did you do it? Did you two fly out the night he proposed? Oh, that would just be so like you. And to think, you kept it a secret. This is ridiculous.”
“You’re mad because I didn’t tell you?” I repeat, puzzled.
“Well, duh! This is like, the best secret ever! Of course I would want to be in on this action, are you kidding?” She sits down on a fallen log. “Why’d you do it? You aren’t knocked up, are you?”
“No, I’m not,” I laugh, “God, if I was, I wouldn’t have let you feed me all those shooters the other night! We just – we didn’t want to wait. It felt like we couldn’t wait, so we went and did it.”
“Was it nice?” she smiles.
“It was the best,” I blush, “It was so romantic, so traditional, it was just perfect. Except we forgot rings. We used gum wrappers.”
“Gum wrappers?” she laughs, tears in her eyes, “That’s the nicest story I’ve ever heard.”
“The gum wrapper part is nice? Funny, maybe, but I’m not really seeing ‘nice’,” I shrug, looking at her carefully, “Are you okay?”
She nods, wiping her eyes. “Just that the two of you couldn’t wait, that’s nice. Really nice, Hales. Are there pictures? I’d love to see them.”
“Yeah, here, I have one in my purse,” I nod, pulling it out, “Does the dress meet with your stamp of approval?”
“It’s beautiful. Why aren’t you using that one today? You look like a Bohemian princess slash wood nymph,” she breathes, “You look perfect. Why are you doing all of this if you two are already married?”
“Because we want to share this with all of you, too. That was just for us, but this – this is for everyone that we love. How could we not have a wedding that included you and Luke and Peyton and Jake and Lucy and Jenny and even Dan and my parents? Come on, we couldn’t miss that,” I insist, “Before we even decided to do the Vegas thing, we still knew that we wanted this, too.”
“Okay,” she nods, “Well, I’m glad, because my bridesmaid dress is really, really awesome, and it makes my ass look great. And when else would I get to wear a bridesmaid dress, right?”
“Yeah, right,” I laugh, throwing my arms around her, “So, um…”
“No, I won’t say anything. Not even to Jake,” she sighs, looking over at me. “Gum wrapper rings? Really?”
“Yes, really!” I assure her, flipping to another picture that proves it.
“Oh, my God, you two were really desperate to be married, weren’t you?” she laughs.
Laughing, I sit down beside her, launching into the full story.
~*~
“Have you talked to your dad yet?” he asks quietly, coming out onto the porch beside me.
Shaking my head, I sigh. “Nope, too cowardly. I’ve had the phone out here with me for about two hours now, and I just can’t make myself dial those numbers. How pathetic is that?”
“It isn’t pathetic, Hay!” he insists immediately, loyal to the end.
“They’re my parents,” I point out, “And for all their faults, I do know they love me. So really, being afraid to call them is stupid.”
“Well, I guess that depends then,” he says thoughtfully, handing me the beer bottle he brought out with him so I can take a sip.
“And what does it depend on?” I ask after taking a long pull.
“What you’re scared of.”
Looking over at him, I shrug. I’m not sure if I’m ready to articulate this in words yet; I’m not even sure if I’m ready to allow myself to think it, for that matter.
“Come on, Hay, what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”
“What if he says no?” I ask quietly, giving in and just saying it. Admitting my fears aloud and to him. Scary, but not so much with Nathan.
“Then it’s his loss, baby,” he assures me just as quietly, passing the beer back to me, as if to say I need it more than him.
“I – I don’t think he would, you know? But after they were here last time, I guess there is that part of me that isn’t so sure,” I sigh.
“If you want, I’ll talk to them both, apologize for what I said when they were here,” he offers, gritting his teeth.
“Oh, Nathan,” I laugh, passing him his beer back, “That’s a sweet offer, but there is no way I’m letting you do that. Nothing you said was wrong, and if they can’t handle hearing the truth, then that’s fine. They don’t need to be here.”
“No, they do need to be here,” he counters, “They’re your parents, and they aren’t going to miss your wedding because I’ve made them uncomfortable. One way or another, I’ll get them there for it. And your father will walk you down the aisle.”
Reaching over, I grab his hand, pulling it onto my lap. “I didn’t need him to give me away the first time, and I don’t need it this time, either.” Looking up, I smile at him. “The thing is, if they can’t support this, support us, then I don’t want them there. A wedding is a celebration, not a time to grudgingly show up because you’re related to someone.”
“They should still be here,” he insists, “Even if I have to lie and apologize. You know I’ll do it for you, Hay.”
“Yeah, I know you would,” I smile at him, “But I don’t want you to, okay? If they come, I want it to be because they want to, because they care. If not, then hey, I guess I know.”
Shaking his head, he looks disgusted, and I’m not sure if it is at me for being so blasé about it, or if it is because we both know that the possibility that they’ll pass is real and looming. Maybe both, I suppose.
“Call,” he orders softly, “Just do it now and get it over with. It’s going to drive you crazy until you do, and we both know that. And then you’ll drive me crazy, and we can’t have both of us being crazy, right?”
Rolling my eyes at him, I take the phone from him when he presses it into my hand. Dialing the numbers with shaking fingers, I put the phone to my ear, half-hoping to get no answer.
“Hello?”
“Mom, hi, um, it’s Haley.”
”Haley! Well, this is certainly a surprise,” she notes, “We weren’t figuring on you speaking to us again after last time.”
“Come on, I don’t want things to be weird, with any of us. Nathan doesn’t either,” I assure her, trying to get her to be nice about this, cut me some slack, “I was just calling to – to make sure that you and Daddy were going to be at the wedding. And to, um, make sure that Dad was willing to walk me down the aisle.”
“You mean to give you away,” she corrects.
“Well, yes, I guess that is what I mean.”
“Haley, I think you understand by now that he is not a fan of Nathan. I’m not sure what exactly you expect from him.”
“So what you’re saying is that he hates him so much that he can’t even give me away at my wedding?” I bite out, “Well, that’s just great, Mom. I suppose you won’t be coming either, then?”
“No, of – of course we’ll be there,” she sighs, “We haven’t missed a wedding yet.”
“Please, don’t come to keep your record perfect,” I mutter, the tears coming when Nathan sighs, putting an arm around my shoulder, “If you want to be there, if you want to share this day with us, then please, by all means, I would love for you to be there. But if this is just obligation or guilt, then you should save the gas money and stay wherever it is you are now.”
“It isn’t about that, Haley! I know that our last visit was anything but pleasant,” she sighs, the understatement of the century there, “But you’re our daughter. And seeing you get married, even if we don’t fully understand or agree with your choice, is important to both your father and I. He’ll want to give you away, I’m sure of it.”
“Is he there now?” I ask, a little more timidly than I’d care for normally, but knowing the extent of Dad’s dislike of Nathan, it’s hard not to dread this conversation.
“Yes, he is. Perhaps you’ll let me talk with him first?” she suggests, “It’ll be better that way, Haley. For both of you.”
“Great, so he doesn’t even want to talk to me,” I deduce, sighing, “That’s really great. If he doesn’t want to do this, I understand.”
“I just want to ease him into it,” she promises, “He’ll do it, Haley.”
“If he won’t, will you?” I ask quietly.
”Oh, baby, of course I will,” she whispers, tears in her voice, “I promise, you will not walk down that aisle alone, okay?”
“Even if he will, I think I’d really like it if you walked me down as well,” I tell her, smiling at Nathan, “Especially now, since no matter what, I know he won’t be happy about it.”
“It’d be an honor, Haley.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
~*~
"Okay, people, listen up!” the minister who will be performing the ceremony calls, “If we want to get out of here before dark and in time for all of you to make your dinner reservations, I’d suggest you listen to me!”
“We’re listening!” Brooke promises, wrestling around with Jenny. At everyone’s look, she stops, shrugging sheepishly. “Well, now we are!”
“So, now everyone knows where to stand, correct?” he asks, pinning a look on Brooke, apparently having pegged her as the one who may not pay attention.
“Hey! I was the one who suggested it be this way, of course I know where to stand,” she mutters, indignant, as the rest of us snicker at her expense.
“Anyway,” he continues, ignoring her, “Do not forget your places tomorrow, and all of this will run smoothly. Nathan, Haley? I assume you have your vows for this written?”
“Yes, sir,” Nathan grins, looping an arm over my shoulder.
Mine aren’t finished, which I don’t want Nathan to know, but I kind of don’t want to lie to a minister, either. I just smile, pretending that Nathan’s answer was for me as well, which thankfully does not get questioned.
“Good, so that’s ready to go. Okay, well, I think we’re finished here. Uh, Haley, your father wasn’t here, but he will be here tomorrow, right?” he asks.
“Yeah, they’re supposed to get in tonight,” I nod, sighing inwardly. Nathan pulls me closer against him. “And remember, my mom is walking with us,” I remind him for the eight hundredth time.
“Good, and he’s done this before, so I’m sure we can trust him to do his part right. He can probably guide your mother along,” he smiles, “Okay, well, then, I think we’re done here! I’ll see you all tomorrow afternoon!”
Everyone else heads out, but Nathan and I hold back. “I still don’t think he likes us very much,” Nathan sighs, shaking his head, “He keeps giving me these disproving looks, like I’ve done something wrong.”
“Just ignore him,” I shrug, “It’s not like we did anything wrong, Nathan.”
“No, but he makes me feel like we did,” he mutters, “And that’s just stupid, right? So we did things our own way, I don’t get what his problem is.”
“Why are you letting it bother you?” I ask, smiling widely at him, “It really shouldn’t mean anything, baby.”
“I know,” he groans, “I hate it when you’re right. The thing is, though, he could be a little nicer. We are having a wedding here, after all. For us. And we’re paying him.”
“Maybe he doesn’t like it when people write their own vows,” I laugh, “Steals his thunder or something.”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Nathan agrees sarcastically.
“Oh, come on, Nathan, we only have to deal with him for a few hours tomorrow, and then we’ll probably never see him again. No biggie.”
“I still don’t like him,” he growls, “Just because he’s all priestly and doesn’t have sex or whatever doesn’t make him better than us.”
“He’s not a priest, and for all we know, he does have sex. He’s married,” I point out, laughing.
”Come on, can’t I just not like him and make up stupid and invalid reasons why?”
“I’d say dislike him because he’s kind of rude and judgmental, but hey, whatever gets you through the night,” I tease.
”You know what gets me through the night,” he smirks, reaching for me. Shaking my head, I back away. “Where are you going?”
“Nathan, we have a dinner to go to, and we are not stopping for roadside car sex on the way there,” I smirk back at him, “Yes, I can read your mind.”
“I hate it when you do that,” he pouts.
Winking, I pull him towards the cars where everyone else is getting ready to head to the dinner.
~*~
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” the minister says, his eyes wide as he looks at us, “Why would you need a second wedding if you’ve already married? Are you sure that you’re really married?”
I can practically feel Nathan clenching his teeth beside me in frustration. We’ve been going round and round about this for the last fifteen minutes.
“Sir, if it is too much trouble, we’ll just find someone else,” I tell him, laying my hand on top of Nathan’s, “You just came highly recommended.”
“It’s not that I’m averse to performing a ceremony to reaffirm vows,” he says slowly, “But I’m not understanding why you insist on pretending as though this is your actual marriage ceremony.”
“Our friends and family don’t know that we’ve eloped,” I try and explain again, “That’s something that we want to keep between the two of us.”
“This inability to be honest with them is something I find most disconcerting,” he tells us, directing it mostly toward Nathan, “You said they do not disapprove, so the reason you cannot tell them is beyond me. You’ll have two anniversaries, which will you celebrate? How long do you honestly think you can keep your secret wedding under wraps? What will you tell your children?”
“Look,” Nathan bites out, “That was a special ceremony for the two of us. We’d already been planning for this wedding when that came about. Neither of us wanted to wait to get married, but instead of disappointing our family and friends who have been looking forward to this, we kept that wedding as something special, something for just the two of us. Come on, Haley, let’s go, I’ll find us someone else to do it.”
“Nathan,” I interrupt, standing up, “Okay, I personally do not want to find someone else to do this. We’ve been working long and hard on this wedding, and you come highly recommended. I understand that our situation is unique, unconventional, but please, just consider performing the ceremony for us. For all intents and purposes, it truly will be a genuine ceremony.”
“Perhaps your fiancé – oh, I’m sorry, husband – is correct; you might be better off in finding someone else,” he says tartly, glaring at Nathan.
“We’ll double your fee,” Nathan states flatly, glaring at him.
“Really?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. Nathan nods tersely. “Then I’m sure I could be delighted to perform your fake ceremony.”
“And you’ll keep quiet about it,” Nathan orders him, “No one will know. You won’t say a word to anyone about it.”
“Of course not,” the pastor smirks, looking awfully pleased with himself. I want to tell Nathan that I’ve changed my mind, that this isn’t the jerk I want, but if this is one detail we’ve got taken care of and out of the way, then I can’t complain.
“Thank you so much for your time,” Nathan mutters sarcastically as he stands up beside me, “Come on, Haley, let’s get out of here.”
“Thank you,” I murmur to the pastor, just feeling the need for some semblance of kindness towards him, even if he doesn’t have it for us.
“It probably would’ve been easier to find someone else,” I tell Nathan once we’re heading back to the car, “Or at least, less painful in the end.”
“Yeah, but at least this way we get to torture Pastor Joe,” Nathan smirks, “He can look down his nose at us all he wants, and he’s getting well paid to do just that.”
“Overpaid,” I whine, shaking my head, “You know, you should stop doing that. We should both stop doing that.”
”Paying too much for crap we’ll only use once?” he grins, “Now where’s the fun in that?”
“See, I always knew you were evil, but I could just never prove it until now,” I tease, “Hmm, now that I have the proof, maybe I should call the wedding off.”
“Yeah, I’m the evil one, but who is making the nasty threats?”
“When I do it, it’s just cute,” I wink at him, twirling in a circle, “And when you do it, it’s sort of a turn on.”
“Does this mean I get road head on the way home?”
“You wish!” I exclaim, smacking him on the back, “You do realize we’re still in the church, right? I’m pretty sure we aren’t supposed to talk about things like that here!”
“Maybe I’m confessing.”
“That wasn’t a confession, it was a hopeful statement of something you know isn’t happening,” I whisper, “Besides, maybe I’ll drive home anyway.”
“I was confessing to wanting it,” he smirks, “But if you want to drive, maybe I’ll have to be on the giving end.”
“You, my evil husband, are incorrigible!”
“Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?” he grins, cocking an eyebrow at me, “This was a very mutually beneficial plan I just laid on the table.”
“Still in the church!” I whisper, even though we’re almost to the doors, “We shouldn’t be talking about these things!”
As we walk out the doors and down the steps, he looks over at me. “You’re a wimp. If a married couple can’t talk about oral sex that just happens to take place in moving vehicles in a church, dear God, where can we talk about it?” he asks, feigning being aghast.
“Nathan!” I exclaim.
“Stop playing the prude,” he orders, laughing at me, “We both know that’s a role that you have no claim on!”
“Please, you say it like I’m a slut or something,” I pout this time, smiling in spite of myself when he opens my door for me.
“Well, you kind of are a slut, for me,” he beams proudly. I roll my eyes at him, causing him to laugh again. “Hey, that’s a good thing, nothing I’m scoffing at.”
“I’m sure,” I agree, shaking my head. “Does this mean that you’re my slut, too?”
“Oh, I’ll be anything you need or want me to be,” he nods fervently, reaching over me to buckle my seatbelt for me. “See what I did there? Now I get the driver’s seat, so I’ll be the one on the receiving end today.”
“You dirty dog!”
“Woof,” he winks. He shuts my door, walking around to climb into the driver’s seat. “So, you going to wait until we hit the highway, or should we get started on it here?”
“I can’t take you anywhere,” I groan, trying not to laugh at his antics.
~*~
“Pull over,” I quietly order Nathan as we’re driving into town to the restaurant where the dinner is being held.
“What? God, you aren’t sick, are you?” he asks, looking warily at me.
“No, I’m not sick,” I laugh, unbuckling as the car comes to a stop. Once he’s got it in neutral, I reach over and turn the engine off, grinning at him until he gets the message.
“No shit,” he grins, shaking his head, “You had me pull over so we could make out!”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing!” I laugh, turning in my seat as best I can to face him, “I just couldn’t help myself.”
“I am hot,” he agrees, winking at me as he leans forward, “We are going to be officially married tomorrow.”
“We already are,” I counter. “In every way that counts, we have been for so long now. And we’re even legal. This is just a formality.”
He nods, brushing his lips against mine. “Everyone is going to be waiting for us at the restaurant,” he points out before deepening the kiss.
“Are you trying to avoid making out with me?” I gasp, pulling back.
Shaking his head, he looks at me knowingly. “Have I ever done that?”
Laughing, I shrug. “Probably not.”
”There you go then.”
”Why don’t you have me on your lap already then?” I ask, peering at him.
“We really do need to get to the restaurant,” he smiles, pulling me to him for a kiss, “Come on, Haley, let’s wait until we get back to the house tonight. I don’t want to do this in a car right now. I’d much rather have a bed or at least a shower and as much time as we want.”
Glaring at him, I flop back against my seat. “Why’d you have to go and be all romantic about it?” I laugh, shaking my head at our momentary role reversal, “Damn it, Nathan, you just passed up the opportunity for car sex on the side of the road at a time sure to piss off all our friends and relatives.”
Sighing, he shakes his head. “Believe me, Hales, I’m aware. I am so aware.”
“Well, let’s get going,” I laugh wryly, “Sooner we get dinner over with, sooner we can be back in our bed for the night.”
“Sounds like a plan, Mrs. Scott,” he grins at me.
And a good one indeed.
