“Are you sure?” Dean said into the phone, then looked at Nick and shrugged.
“What?” Nick mouthed the word. Dean shook his head and closed his eyes. His head dropped and then laid his forehead against his palm.
With the phone still at his ear, Dean cleared his throat and said, “Thank you.” He brought both hands down to his sides, opened his eyes and looked up at Nick. “She canceled the limo this morning.”
Canceled? “What?” Nick stood there dumbfounded for a minute. He’d heard the words but he couldn’t quite reconcile them in his head. If Ginny canceled the limo, that could mean only one thing.
Nick had to find her. Make her explain why she’d canceled the limo—and not only that, why was he starting to get the feeling that he’d been stood up at the altar?
Nick’s heart sank to the floor.
This couldn’t be real. Could it? Surely not. It had to be a joke. That’s what it was. A joke. And Dean was in on it.
Nick tried to move, to put one foot in front of the other, but it was like his fallen heart had wrapped itself around his feet, cementing him in place. He looked at Dean. “Maybe she changed limo companies.” he said, grabbing at the last fleeting straw his mind could come up with.
“Maybe she did.” Dean shrugged. “Still doesn’t explain why she’s not here.” He looked at his watch. “The ceremony was scheduled to start half an hour ago.” He glanced back at Nick with a look that said, accept it, man.
Nick managed to get as far as the chair near the door. He sat, then surveyed his hands. Front then back. “I suppose I should go out there and say something.”
“You want me to do it?” Dean offered.
“It’s my responsibility.” Nick pushed himself up from the chair. “Besides, I don’t ever want to forget this moment…in case I ever think about doing something this stupid again.”
Nick opened the door and moved into the hallway. He wasn’t sure where he’d find the sanctuary—the place where he’d have to face hundreds of people, people who’d come to see a wedding, and tell them there wasn’t going to be one. Not today, anyway.
After a few turns that got Nick nowhere, a kind lady, probably a volunteer of the church, offered to lead him and Dean to the sanctuary.
She paused at the only door on the left side of a long corridor. “It’s right on the other side of this door.” She smiled. “Hurry now. You don’t want to be late.” She nodded, and was off.
You don’t want to be late. That almost made Nick laugh out loud. Why should he worry about being late? Ginny hadn’t had the decency to show up at all.
Nick grabbed onto the cool metal doorknob and turned. Panic swarmed through him as he peered into the sanctuary, seeing hundreds of people, all their guests, waiting to witness his and Ginny’s wedding.
Dean gave him a gentle nudge. Nick sucked in a breath of courage and stepped through the door.
Gazing out over the crowd, Nick stalled, trying to find the words. He paused a little longer on the faces of the people he knew by name. Like Angela Davies. They’d worked together years ago, over at Martini’s, back when he was a cook and she was the hostess. They’d dated once or twice. She was married now, with two kids. Gary Larsen, an old college buddy, looked bored beyond words. Julia Mason, his mother’s longtime friend—when their eyes met, her hopeful expression turned to one of sadness. He hadn’t seen that look on her face since the day his mother died, nearly ten years ago.
The crowd started to stir. They were getting restless, antsy, wanting to know what was going on. Well, he’d better say something before they all turned on him.
Nick cleared his throat. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” was the only thing he could come up with. Too bad his mother wasn’t here. She’d know what to say. His older brother Kevin would dazzle them with his charm—if he were here. Let’s face it, everybody’s gone off and left you, boy. Even Ginny. “I thank you for your time in coming out today. I’m not entirely clear about what’s going on right now, but I can tell you there’s not going to be a wedding. At least not today.”
Hushed whispers turned into louder grumbles as people began to rise from their seats and make their way toward the front door. Some paused in the aisle, looking briefly at Nick. It was as if they were thinking about coming to offer him condolences, but then deciding against it. Some shook their heads before turning away, but most simply headed for the door.
Dean nudged Nick’s elbow, leading him back toward the rear hallway that they’d come in through.
“You think she’s at the house?” Nick asked Dean once they were in the corridor.
“It’s beyond me,” Dean said in a kind, soothing tone. “If she didn’t want to get married, why didn’t she just tell you?” He squeezed Nick’s shoulder lightly. “Instead of this.”
“I’m gonna go see if she’s at the house,” Nick said. “Shit!” He tossed his hands in the air. “My truck’s at the Hang Ten. Will you drop me by there?”
“Of course,” Dean said, with an understanding nod. “Let’s go.”
The drive passed by mostly in silence. It wasn’t until Dean rolled into the parking lot at Hang Ten, where there were several cars in addition to Nick’s truck, that the conversation picked up again.
“Jesus!” Nick swore. “I forgot about the stupid reception.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Dean said. “I’ll go in and tell the staff that there won’t be any reception here today, and they can all go home.”
“Thanks, man.” Nick sighed. That was one weight lifted off his shoulders.
“What about all the food?”
Nick let the possibilities rolled through his mind until a good one stuck. “Call St. Dom’s,” he said of the local homeless shelter. “Tell them you’ve got a boatload of food for them.”
“Good idea.” Finally, the hint of a smile from Dean. “They’ll be eating well tonight.”
Nick climbed out and stood beside the car long enough to fish his keys from his pocket. Dean was already halfway to the restaurant’s front door when he glanced over his shoulder. “You sure you don’t want me to go to the house with you?”
Nick shook his head. “No. It won’t be a scene that you, or anyone else I call a friend, should witness.”