Torrid Exposure Page 5

  “What?” I blurt out, “Why?”

  “You totally have to come down here. Can you come here? I really hope you can,” Emily says – her voice is high-pitched and loud.

  I can hear a lot of background noise where she is. It sounds as if she is on a busy street.

  “What?” I repeat. “Why?”

  “Because Adam and I are going to get married today!” She trills so loudly in my ear that I have to hold the phone away from my head.

  “Are you serious?” I ask once she calms down.

  “Yes! We went away yesterday just to get out of town and he asked me in the afternoon. We got the marriage license right before the courts closed. And then he was like ‘why wait’? And you know what – he’s totally right. Why wait?”

  If it is physically possible to reach through the phone and throttle her, I would do just that. I can’t believe what I am hearing. I close my eyes and count to five before I snap or yell at her.

  “So,” she presses, “can you come? We got the marriage license but I want you there as my witness.”

  I feel as if my head is spinning, “Emily. Wait. I’m just… playing catch up. You’re going to marry Adam? Didn’t you guys just get back together? I’m only asking because I care. I’m not telling you what to do.”

  “I know. I totally know where you’re coming from,” she replies, “but this is for the best. I mean, Adam just had to make that mistake to realize how good we are for each other. He’s changed, April. Totally.”

  I realize I’m not going to be able to talk her out of the wedding on the phone. I’m going to have to go to town to try to reason with her.

  “I’ll be there,” I tell her. “Just don’t do anything, okay?”

  She cheers, “I can’t wait!”

  When the phone call ends, I find myself staring at my cell. Emily has always been aimless and unsure what to do in her life. Why is it that the first time she sounds sure about something, it has to be what is clearly going to be a mistake?

  I wander back into the dining room. Bennett has finished his sandwich and frowns when he sees me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Emily is going to marry Adam in Tusona. I have to go. I have to try to stop her.”

  “Marrying him? Are you serious?”

  “Apparently he asked. I don’t know why. He was just cheating on her. Now they’re getting married. Am I a bad friend for thinking it’s a big mistake?”

  “No,” Bennett replies, “but is she going to listen to you? She always seemed head over heels for Adam.”

  “I just don’t understand what she’s thinking. And why does Adam want to marry her?”

  “Maybe you should bypass Emily and ask him yourself. See what he says.”

  I am stuffing things in my purse now and pausing to wonder if I need to pack an overnight bag. I have a job to go to tomorrow afternoon which gives me enough time to get back. I am in the middle of debating this when Bennett stands up.

  “Want to take my car? Or call for a limo?”

  “What?” I look up. “You’re not coming.”

  “Why not?” he asks. “We’re dating, right? This is the sort of thing people do together, April.”

  “I know what people do when they date, Bennett,” I say, trying to sound patient. “But stopping my best friend from marrying isn’t one of those things.”

  “Fine, no limo. Too slow. We’re stopping a wedding, right? Let’s take my car.”

  “Bennett!” I snap. “This is serious. Not some adventure we can go off on.”

  Bennett stands up and comes up behind me as I rummage through my purse. He wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder.

  “Come on, April. It’s an adventure of sorts, right? We’ll make sure Emily doesn’t do anything too stupid. I’m just trying to lighten the mood.” He kisses my neck gently and I shiver.

  “I know,” I say. “Sorry I snapped. I just don’t understand what she’s thinking.”

  “She isn’t. We’ll head down there together and see if we can talk her out of it. I wouldn’t want your friend to make a mistake either.”

  I tilt my face so I am looking at him. Our eyes lock and I realize Bennett means it. He is being kind and understanding. I lean forward and kiss him softly on the lips. Dating. He is right. Dating means going on adventures together – even if this doesn’t feel like an adventure so much to me.

  We grab some things and head off in his car. The town Emily is in is about an hour away from ours. It is a popular town to party in because it is so close to a couple of colleges and has beach access. It is the last place I imagine Emily wanting to get married in. The few times she spoke about marriage, she always spoke of a big wedding. Hurrying to get married in a courthouse just doesn’t seem like her style.

  ***

  I text her as we pull into town, asking where in the world I am meeting her. She texts back with the name of a hotel and we pull up to it in the middle of town. It looks a little run-down and is called the Mermaid Resort.

  “Funny name since it isn’t actually near the sea,” Bennett says as he looks at it through the front window of his car.

  I point to a sign near it. “Says it’s only a twenty-minute walk to the beach.”

  “Wow, sign me up.”

  Two people come out of the lobby and I see it is Emily and Adam. She is wearing a cheap beach dress she probably bought from one of the tourist traps and her hair is in a ponytail. She is holding Adam’s hand. Adam is dressed in khakis and a t-shirt with his employer’s record company logo on it.

  I get out of the car before Bennett can say anything and head toward them. I catch myself marching toward them, like a mother who is going to lecture her children, and stop myself before Emily notices. I know that if I approach this the wrong way it will only push her toward Adam. Better to see how she is doing before I send her running into his arms.

  “You’re here!” Emily squeals and jogs toward me.

  She crushes me in a hug. I return the hug and glance over at Adam. He is avoiding my eyes. No wonder - I don’t trust him one bit.

  “Oh my God, is that Bennett?” Emily exclaims.

  I turn around and see Bennett give her a small wave. Emily looks surprised and is clearly trying to hide it.

  “Yeah. We’re uh… trying things out between us,” I say lamely, not wanting to answer a bunch of questions in front of Bennett and Adam.

  “Wow. We need to catch up. I feel totally out of the loop,” Emily remarks.

  “Me too,” I say, trying to turn it into a joke. “You need to fill me in on what’s going on.”

  “Well, we have an appointment for 4:00pm this afternoon. I wanted to give you as much time as I could so you could get here.” Emily is bouncing on the balls of her feet, “I’m so glad you could make it. Bennett, too, obviously.”

  “Hey, Emily. Been a while,” Bennett says as he finally reaches us.

  Adam is still hanging back. He is now on his phone, talking to someone, although a part of me wonders if he really is speaking to anyone.

  “Happy to have you here. I’d never thought you would be here at my wedding though!” Emily exclaims.

  “Listen, can we grab lunch? My treat. Just you and me. Bennett can treat Adam to something,” I say quickly, shooting a glance at Bennett telling him not to protest.

  “Yeah, actually, I want to buy something super cute to wear. Can we head downtown?”

  “Great, great,” I say, anxious to get her alone. “Come on.”

  Emily turns away from us and heads toward the sidewalk to walk downtown. Bennett looks at me and I shrug.

  “Wing it,” I tell him as I walk past to catch up with Emily.

  That’s what I am planning on doing too.

  Chapter Seven

  Emily is eager to head downtown. First, however, we stop for coffee. I get a water, already amped up on caffeine and the fact I have to try to talk my best friend out of getting married. Emily orders an extra strong coffee a
nd while we wait, I glance at her.

  She looks happy. Of course she does. She wants to marry Adam. I want to be happy for her as well. But the nagging feeling that she is making a mistake hounds me. Emily hasn’t been able to settle on anything that she wants to do with her life. Why, out of everything to settle on she has decided to settle on Adam, confounds me. I feel as if she is slipping through my fingers. Part of me is blaming myself.

  With everything going on in my life, maybe I haven’t been as good a friend to her as I should have. I know she loves being with Adam. When they broke up, I resolved to be there for her. But when she pulled away due to her new job, I didn’t pay attention as much as I should have. I should have noticed that she was pulling away. Maybe I could have stopped her from seeing Adam again…

  “What sort of outfit are you thinking about?” I ask her.

  “Something simple. Just a plain white dress. It doesn’t need to go overboard or anything,” Emily replies.

  “Great. I’m sure we’ll find something easily,” I tell her.

  “Did you bring anything?”

  “Uh, no,” I reply, leaving out the fact that I hadn’t brought a change of clothes for the courthouse due to the fact that I am hoping she wouldn’t get married today.

  “It’s okay. We’ll find something. It’s going to be great. I can’t believe I’m getting married!”

  Emily’s coffee is ready. She takes it and we head back out into the street. Since it is the middle of the week in the morning, there aren’t a lot of people walking around. The sun is already heading high in the sky and is starting to beat down on us. I don’t know how Emily could be drinking a hot coffee right now.

  “So, wow. Wedding. That’s something.”

  Emily nods, “I’m just thrilled. I never thought in a million years that Adam would ever propose to me.”

  “Seems so whirlwind. Are you okay with it being so fast?”

  Emily nods. “Yeah, I mean… why wait? Listen,” she stops and looks at me, “I know you aren’t sure how to feel about everything going on with me and Adam getting married. I know that he cheated on me. I haven’t forgotten. But we’ve discussed it and Adam is a different guy. And don’t worry – I’m still going to pay for my rent every month even though I’m not living there.”

  I hadn’t even thought about what was going to happen to the living situation. Realizing I am going to be living alone suddenly makes me feel very small and lonely. Emily and I had barely gotten any time living together.

  Emily goes on, “Like, I’m not going to mess up the lease or anything. I’m still going to pay. Adam makes enough to pay for his own place without anything from me. So, I’m not going to bail on what I owe you.”

  “I just want you happy,” I tell her, “that’s it. With everything going on, I just – I don’t want you to be unhappy.”

  “I’m not, April. Really. This is what I want. I want to marry Adam. And I’m so happy that you’ll be here for that. Bennett was a surprise but…” she shrugs, still smiling.

  I realize that I am on a hopeless mission. It is clear that Emily has made up her mind about what she is going to do. Coming here to change her mind is hopeless. She isn’t going to change it. Even though I don’t agree with the marriage, Emily’s life is her own.

  “If it’s what you want, then I’m happy for you. Really. You know I just care about you. He’s hurt you once before. I don’t want him to do it again to you,” I say to her plainly.

  “I know. And I love that you look out for me like that even if sometimes I seem like I don’t.”

  She embraces me for a hug. I hug her back tightly. Maybe I am being overprotective. People can change – Spencer did for the worse and Bennett changed for the best. Maybe Adam has changed too even if I don’t feel it. The sad truth is that if this marriage crumbles like I worry it will, I will be here picking up the pieces for Emily.

  “Come on,” she says. “Let’s pick up something simple to wear.”

  ***

  Adam and Emily’s lips meet in a kiss. They are now married. I stand by Emily, watching as she seals her fate with the kiss. Adam has cleaned up well. They both look happy. Surely, that is what is important, isn’t it?

  Next to me, Bennett stirs slightly. I can tell he wants to ask me something but we are still in the court room. After they kiss, we are ushered out to sign the paperwork as witnesses and before I know it, we are stepping out into the afternoon light.

  Emily is talking to Adam excitedly. She is wearing a simple white dress we found at a shop nearby. Her hair is pulled up in a loose bun and she is clutching the flowers Adam brought for her. The two of them are gushing about being married. As I watch them, Bennett’s hand brushes against mine.

  “Guess talking to her didn’t work,” he says in a low voice.

  “I realize it didn’t matter,” I reply. “She wants to do this. I can’t order her around or tell her what to do. She says he’s changed. Coming down here and yelling at her would only convince her to see the marriage through.”

  “Good point. Emily seems like the type to be stubborn enough to do what she wants when people tell her it’s a bad idea.”

  “Yeah,” I say, watching the two of them kiss. “I still have a bad feeling about this but… too late now. She wanted to marry him. I can’t let our friendship crumble because I don’t trust the guy.”

  “You don’t think he’s changed?”

  “I don’t know. He’s been keen to avoid me.”

  Our conversation ends because Emily comes over to us. “Want to join us for an early dinner? To celebrate?”

  “Yeah, of course,” I tell her.

  We agree to meet up in an hour at a place down the street. Bennett and I head over there first as Adam and Emily return to their hotel room. We walk down the street and Bennett grabs my hand. It is strange to be walking down the street holding his hand.

  “Have you ever been here?” I ask him.

  “I think when I was little. Dad wasn’t a fan of the place. Too much of a college tourist trap, he would say. The beaches in our city are a bit nicer. Although most of the time Dad would just take us to the tropics.”

  I nod, lost in thought of how strange it must be to have so much money that someone could take off to the tropics whenever they wanted. We walk in silence, past different stores, mostly tacky tourist shops selling things like college t-shirts and beer pong kits. The shops here are all small and quaint. Their front doors look like the front doors of houses. Some even have normal windows as display windows. It would be cute if it wasn’t so primed for tourists.

  “Spencer?” a voice says, jarring me out of my thoughts.

  Startled, I turn to see who’s calling me by my sister’s name. A woman is peering out of a shop that looks like it sells children’s toys. The woman is very old. She is hunched over and her face is lined with dozens of wrinkles. She is squinting at me.

  “Spencer, is that you?” she repeats. “I saw you from the register and just had to see you.”

  “No, ma’am, sorry. Maybe… you’re thinking of my sister?” I say slowly, thinking it is such a long-shot that there is no way that it could be the case.

  But the woman looks at me again and rubs her eyes, “Ah. My dear, I’m sorry. Are you April? Spencer said she had a sister.”

  Bennett is looking at me questioningly but I don’t know any more than he does.

  “Well, in any case,” the old woman goes on, oblivious to my confusion, “I haven’t seen her in a while. Please tell her to stop by sometime!”

  The woman then turns around and slowly toddles back into the shop. I take a step forward when the clock in the center of downtown chimes five o’ clock. The woman promptly turns over a sign saying Closed on the door.

  “Hey, wait!” I tell her, knocking on the small glass door.

  Either the old woman is hard of hearing or is just ignoring me because she walks away, not bothering to even glance at me. I look back at Bennett, who seems just as confused as me.
<
br />   “What the hell?” I wonder aloud.

  “I have no idea. How did that woman know your sister?”

  “I don’t know,” I admit.

  I stop to look at one of the display windows for the store. It is filled with children’s toys. They aren’t the run of the mill children’s toys that someone could buy at any of the chain stores. These look high-end. My face scrunches up in thought.

  “I’m so confused,” I mumble.

  Bennett is peering through the glass door. “I don’t see the woman anymore. Did your sister hang out here a lot or something?”

  “At a children’s store? No.”

  “She’s gone. The place is closed. We aren’t going to find anything out now.”

  “Maybe I’ll come back tomorrow morning,” I say. “Before we leave. Are the hours over there?”

  Bennett takes a step back and looks at the corner of the door. “Says they open at noon tomorrow. Noon to 5:00pm most days. Weird hours.”

  “Damn it,” I mumble. “I won’t be able to wait around then. I have a job tomorrow.”

  “Well, don’t worry about it. You can always call them, right?” Bennett offers.

  “Yeah, true.”

  But even as we walk away, I am still bothered by what happened. How did that old lady know Spencer? Yet another piece of the puzzle has fallen in my lap but I feel too slow to put it all together.

  Chapter Eight

  “They seemed happy,” Bennett says as we make our way to the hotel we are staying at for the night.

  “Yeah. I have to admit that they do,” I reply.

  Dinner had gone smoothly. Adam, still quiet, had at least spoken more than two words to me. Conversation flowed easily although part of me credits Bennett for that. He knows how to talk to people. He knows how to keep them talking. There were no awkward silences. At one point even Emily admitted she was surprised at how well dinner was going, especially with the sudden arrival of Bennett.

  We ended up at a hotel across the street from the one Emily and Adam were staying at. Bennett had booked it on his phone at dinner. It was nicer than the one they were staying at. Even so, Bennett was looking at it as if it was a hole in the wall.