The Wedding's On, page 11
Nine
Trevor couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He leaned back in the chair and folded his arms over his chest. “Aw, that’s so fake. You can tell it’s a backdrop. The same tree keeps reappearing as she’s running in a supposedly straight line. See that leaf pattern over there? You’ll see it again in a few seconds.”
“Never mind that. I bet a log magically appears, and she’s going to fall. Oh! Told you so!”
Suddenly Janice jumped in her chair. Trevor quickly glanced to the side to see Laura poking Janice in the ribs. “Will you two shut up?” Laura whispered roughly between her teeth. “You’re ruining it!”
“Sorry,” Trevor and Janice mumbled in unison.
Trevor leaned closer to Janice’s ear. “I’m not really sorry. Are you?”
She giggled, and it was a lovely sound. “Nope. This movie isn’t so bad after all. If you know what to watch for.”
He leaned closer until his lips brushed her hair as he spoke. He could smell some kind of herbal shampoo. It suited her. “Bet she has a sprained ankle, and he has to help her run now.”
She tilted her head more in his direction and turned so she now whispered in his ear. “Of course. Next he’s going to fight the rabid wolf with his bare hands and win. Just wait and see.”
Trevor shook his head. “No. She can’t appear too weak. She’ll stand and scream for a bit, but that would be too stereotyped if he just fought off the wolf that way. Besides, they need to fill in more time. There’s still twenty minutes left in the movie. They’ll fight for awhile, then at the last minute the wolf will overcome him. I’ll bet just as the wolf is going for his throat, she’s going to whack the wolf with a stick and save the day. See the stick? It’s just sitting there, too convenient. I can almost see the sign on it that says ‘grab me.’ And you’ll notice her ankle won’t be so sprained anymore.”
They continued to watch as the scene continued to unfold. Janice gasped and brought both hands to her mouth as the movie heroine, a terrible actress whose name Trevor couldn’t remember and didn’t care to remember, eventually did exactly as he predicted.
“You’re right! How did you know? Did you read a review or something with some animal activist group complaining about this cruel mistreatment?” Janice turned and glared at him, but he could tell she was only pretending to be angry.
Trevor grinned and pointed as discreetly as he could to the corner of the screen so as not to disturb others around them. “Naw. The wolf is as fake as the boulder that nearly hit them. Look at the tail.”
They put their heads together, ear to ear, and Trevor described the many flaws of the fake animal, as well as the mathematically perfect tear that suddenly appeared in the hero’s shirt, exposing his manly hairy chest for the female viewing audience.
Janice giggled again.
“Will you two knock it off?” Laura hissed. “I’m trying to watch this!”
Trevor slipped his arm over the back of the chair behind Janice, just so he could lean over more easily to whisper in her ear again. “I think we’d better behave, or we’re going to be in trouble.”
Janice raised her index finger, pressed it to her lips, and nodded.
Since she didn’t flinch away from him, Trevor neglected to remove his arm. When she didn’t complain after a minute, he moved just a little and rested his palm on her shoulder. To his surprise and delight, she still didn’t protest, so he decided to keep it there and just be quiet and watch the rest of the movie.
As the scene progressed, once the hero and heroine were assured the big bad wolf was dead, they hugged and kissed to end the traumatic life-threatening episode. Both Trevor and Janice had to muffle their laughter as the evil forest ranger villain, rifle in hand, appeared conveniently and predictably too late, only to find out he didn’t get the girl in the end.
Beside Janice, Laura sniffled at what was probably supposed to be a very touching scene. Beside Laura, Frank appeared to be on the verge of falling asleep.
And then the credits started to roll.
Despite the pathetic special effects, the questionable acting, and the nonexistent plot, Trevor couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed a movie so much.
Janice leaned toward him, so he leaned toward her to meet in the middle.
“That was really funny. You know, if we rent that someday to watch it again, we’ll probably wonder why we thought it was good the first time around.”
“Probably.” He smiled, thinking about her use of the word “we” and wondering if she realized what she’d just said.
“The arm around me was a nice touch. However, the movie’s over. Now move it off before I smack it off.”
Trevor hesitated. Part of him wanted to keep his hand there, just to see if she really would smack it off. But then again, she had some kind of higher belt in martial arts. Instead of hitting like a pansy, she could probably deliver a punch that broke bones as well as boards. Then again, if she said she wouldn’t flatten him in the privacy of her living room, she likely wouldn’t flatten him in a public movie theater.
Thinking of the incident in the living room, he remembered how he’d unwittingly reminded her of something that had frightened or hurt her very badly in the past.
In the blink of an eye, Trevor removed his hand.
Frank became more alert once people started exiting the theater, then fully awake by the time they walked outside and into the fresh evening air. Fully invigorated and refreshed after his nap, Frank suggested that instead of taking the women home, they detour to the local donut shop. They all piled into Frank’s car, Frank and Laura in the front, and Trevor in the backseat with Janice.
Trevor scanned the distance on the seat between them, and for a second he experienced a fleeting sense of jealousy. When the four of them had gone together in Janice’s small economy import car, Frank and Laura were forced to sit close together in the backseat. In the back of Frank’s large car, Janice positioned herself almost squashed against the door, and there seemed to be miles between them. He started daydreaming about taking Janice’s car the next time they went somewhere, only asking Laura to drive so he and Janice could get the backseat.
As Trevor realized where his thoughts were leading, Frank pulled into a parking spot. They all piled out and went into the donut shop. Back on track, Trevor tried to point the conversation to Friday night’s couples’ counseling sessions and the upcoming wedding. Instead they talked about everything else, most notably nothing that could in any way be important.
Not that he didn’t have a nice time, but he wasn’t there to have a nice time. Even though the wedding was still a little over three months away, he was starting to see that Janice might have been right to be so worried so soon. Nothing they had done was making any headway between Frank and Laura. Neither one of them had changed, nor did they appear likely to in the near—or distant—future. The worst part was that they both acted so out of character with each other. As the pastor had said, thinking you were going to change your partner after the wedding was a dangerous notion because it wasn’t likely to happen.
Worse for Frank and Laura, neither of them knew there was anything to change. Both of them were acting totally out of character, yet they were the only ones who couldn’t see it. When the day came that they stopped being so accommodating to each other and more like themselves, they were both in for the shock of a lifetime. More than ever, Trevor became determined to be sure that happened before the wedding.
The next time the four of them went together to a show, he would pick something he knew Frank liked, then watch how Laura dealt with it. He would bet that with all the action, Laura wouldn’t fall asleep like Frank had. He also doubted she would enjoy such a movie, although he thought Janice might.
Trevor watched Janice and Frank play-arguing about the chocolate sprinkles on the donuts while Laura stirred her coffee and stared out the window at an animated billboard. While the movie was understatedly bad, Trevor couldn’t imagine himself falling asleep with Janice beside him like Frank had with Laura. Janice may not have been the most charming date, but she was fun to be with, and there was never a dull moment.
Laura stood, and Frank and Janice fell silent. “I hate to be a party pooper, but we all have to get up for church in the morning.”
Trevor nodded as he also checked his watch. “That’s right, and we’re going to our church this time.” He turned, making direct eye contact with Janice as he spoke. “And remember, my church is a little more conservative than yours.” He didn’t elaborate further. The slacks she wore to the office would have been fine, but what he really wanted was for Janice to wear that dress again.
Janice didn’t comment. Trevor knew he’d fall asleep dreaming of Janice in that blue dress.
The trip back to Janice and Laura’s house seemed too short. Before he knew it, Frank and Laura were sharing a short good-bye kiss in the front seat, and Janice was standing outside the car with the door wide open.
Before closing the door, she rested her hands on the roof of the car and leaned down, speaking to him from across the length of the backseat. “Conservative, huh? I hope I don’t have to wear a tie.”
His mouth tightened. “Not funny,” he grumbled. “You’ll have to wear something nice, though.”
Suddenly, her frown turned into a smile that was a little too bright. “Don’t worry. I’ll try to find some good jeans that don’t have a hole in the knee,” she said and hopped backward a step.
He leaned over and opened his mouth to tell her not to wear jeans at all, but the car door closed in his face. Janice ran into the house, with Laura walking slowly behind.
Suddenly, the donut he’d previously thought so delicious went to war with his stomach.
Trevor climbed into the front seat with Frank, and they drove home.
He knew it was going to be a long night.
❧
Trevor stood beside Frank on Janice and Laura’s doorstep and raised his fist to knock. At the exact same moment as he started the downward motion, the door opened. He stepped back quickly, barely missing whacking Laura on the head as she ran past him.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, only slowing slightly. “I just got a call to do an emergency fill-in at Sunday school.”
Frank turned in an instant. “I’ll go with you. Do you need some help in the class?”
“That would be great. Let’s go. I have to set up, and people will already be arriving.”
Trevor turned and watched Frank and Laura jog down the sidewalk. “But we were supposed to go to my church today. I’m helping with the offering, so I can’t go to your church today.”
Laura hopped into the passenger’s seat of Frank’s car, calling out to him as she closed the door. “Sorry. You and Janice can still go, though. See you sometime during the week. Bye.”
Both doors closed with a muffled thud, and Frank drove off.
“Trevor? Is that you?” Janice called from within the house.
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “Yeah. I guess it’s just you and me. Apparently, I’m at your mercy for transportation. Frank just left with Laura.”
He could hear Janice’s footsteps in the hall. For an instant, a vision of Janice wearing jeans and her ratty sneakers flashed through his mind. He steeled his nerves and waited.
Trevor’s breath caught as Janice stepped into his sight. Instead of the jeans he’d half expected, she wore a casual skirt and blouse. After he got over the shock, he noticed it was a denim skirt. A jean skirt.
He couldn’t help but grin. “You are a brat. I should have expected something like that out of you.”
She grinned back. “I hate wearing skirts, but it was worth it just to see the look on your face. I’m ready. Let’s go.”
While he waited for her to lock up, Trevor couldn’t help but think back to what he’d said the night before. He should have realized Janice would have taken his request that she wear something nice as a challenge. Part of him told himself never to make that mistake again, and part of him thought it was hilarious.
He also wondered what he could do to make the most of it.
During the drive to his church, he did his best to answer her questions. Many of them served as a reminder that Janice had only been a Christian a few years, whereas he’d been in a Christian family all his life, as had Frank. They had both made their decisions to follow Jesus in their teens.
He heard Janice inhale deeply the second he turned into the church’s parking lot.
“This is where you go?”
He’d attended this same church with his family all his life. He gazed up at the grand old stone building and tried to think of how a newcomer would see it. Without a doubt, the building was impressive. The stained glass windows alone were breathtaking. As a child, when he was bored with the service, he often let his attention wander to the craftsmanship of the colorful antique windows. From an adult’s perspective, now that he knew the time and workmanship involved, especially in the day they were made, they impressed him even more.
“Yeah. Pretty nice, isn’t it? Wait ’til you see the inside. It’s a heritage building, and it’s very well cared for. Up until about a year ago, an elderly lady even played the big old pipe organ on Sundays. But she retired, and now we have a piano and a guitar. No drums or anything like at your church, though. It’s just a big, black, grand piano and an amplified acoustic guitar. I also want you to take notice that every male over the age of thirteen is wearing a tie.”
When they made their way inside, Trevor had to bite his lip and not laugh. Janice didn’t say a word. She just looked around the building, in complete and total awe of her surroundings.
He didn’t know why he did it. Maybe because she was so pretty wearing nice clothes for a change. Maybe out of respect for his surroundings. Admittedly, most of the members of his congregation were older, and with their age, old-fashioned. It just felt right. Trevor picked up Janice’s hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow, resting his hand on top of hers as he gave her a tour of the building.
From a distance, as they walked around, Janice saw her old boss and his wife. They waved at each other pleasantly, and Trevor led Janice into the sanctuary, where they took their seats in the polished wooden pews.
Pastor Gregory soon welcomed everyone present, highlighting a few items from the bulletin, and the worship leader stepped forward. Janice participated eagerly in the worship time, during which the congregation sang mostly hymns and a couple of contemporary choruses. Trevor felt bad about leaving her while he helped accept the morning’s offering. In their original plan, she wouldn’t have been left alone because Frank and Laura were supposed to be there too. However, her graciousness impressed him. He didn’t think he’d ever forget her cute little smile and wink when he passed the basket by her, and she tucked something inside.
She remained quiet beside him for the rest of the service, paying rapt attention as the pastor spoke. At the close of the service, he led Janice into the lobby.
Perhaps because he’d had her holding onto him before the service, she automatically did the same as they walked around afterward. The contact of her warm hand on his arm made him in no rush to leave.
As they continued to walk around, they alternated between making small talk with people he knew to privately discussing more of the points of interest in the heritage building and features of the church as a body of believers. He’d always enjoyed the majesty of the old place and felt the surroundings greatly added to the mood of worship to his Lord and Savior.
The more they continued to walk around, the more Trevor noticed people’s heads turning.
He tipped his head to talk softly to Janice as she checked out a table of featured books from the church’s library. “You know, I think people are looking at us funny.”
“They are? Why? I’m properly dressed.”
Trevor shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’ve never brought a woman to church before. That’s kind of an indication of a serious relationship, which no one knew I was having. Of course, I didn’t know I was having a serious relationship either.”
Janice stopped flipping pages and turned to smile up at him as she spoke. He hadn’t noticed before that moment that the room had been getting a little warm.
“That’s okay,” she said. “I suppose this is the kind of thing we should expect if we’re going to pull this off with Frank and Laura. Just be sure to act suitably heartbroken when we break up, and everything will be fine.”
He’d already thought about officially splitting up with Janice after Frank and Laura finally saw the light. Suddenly, a queasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. He raised his wrist to check his watch to see if it was close to lunchtime.
While he stared blankly at his watch, he heard someone calling his name.
Suddenly, his stomach felt even worse. “Oh, no,” he mumbled. “This is something I hadn’t thought about.”
“Huh?” Janice mumbled as she continued to page through the book in her hand.
“It would have been different if we were here with Frank and Laura, but we’re alone.”
“So?” She closed the book and returned it to its place on the table.
“It’s totally obvious we’re together.”
“I thought that was the point.” She picked up another book and started reading the back cover.
“It’s my parents. They see that we’re together, and they’re coming to talk to us. I have a bad feeling they’re going to invite us over for lunch. When they do that on Sunday, I always go.”
She smiled so sweetly, his poor stomach didn’t know how to feel. “What’s wrong with that? They’re your parents.”
“You don’t understand. By now, they will have talked to my sister, who can never keep her mouth shut. I can tell by the way my mom’s walking toward us that she’s got something on her mind. That means Melissa told them I’m going to a premarital course. Since I haven’t told my parents I was even seeing someone on a regular basis, they’re going to want to know what’s going on. I’m twenty-five years old, and Mom’s been hinting for awhile that it’s about time I got married.”
