“Slight change of plans!” I announced when we walked back inside, marched past everyone in the kitchen, and into the dining room where the open boxes of pizza were.
I let go of her hand to pick up two paper plates and handed her one before selecting three pieces of pepperoni pizza. She grabbed one slice of cheese, and I asked, “That’s all you’re eating?” Before she could answer, I shook my head and plopped another slice onto her plate. “You’re a nursing mother trying to plan a wedding in two weeksandwork at the bakery. You’ve got to keep your strength up.”
“And an extra slice of pizza’s going to do that?” she quipped.
“Well… it’s a start. Maybe we can go get milkshakes afterward.”
That made her giggle again and I realized how much I liked the sound.
I lowered my voice and told her, “You grab the napkins, I’ll grab the sodas, and let’s sneak out the sliding glass door.”
“Where are we going?”
“On a picnic.”
****
Jessica
Sitting next to Alan under the stars in Brian’s backyard was probably the most romantic thing I’d ever done.
We laughed and talked about our childhoods—which were vastly different. In addition to him being the oldest and I was the baby, he’d had a lot more freedom as a teenager than I’d had. Heck, more than I had as an adult woman with a child.
“So, it’s just you and Adam?”
“Just us two boys. I think growing up, we were both hellions in our own ways, but fortunately for my mother we weren’t hellions together. There was too big an age difference between us. What about you? How many siblings?”
“Well, I told you about my sister, Mary. She’s four years older than me. And my three older brothers: Andruw is five years older, Dale—seven, and Aaron is nine years older. I think I was an ‘oops’ baby.”
Alan chuckled. “I think Adam might have been one, too. Either that, or I was. I know your sister’s in Savannah, are your brothers in Haven Springs?”
“No. They all went to college, got married, and never came back. I don’t see them very often—just the major holidays where they conveniently don’t have to go to church.”
He smirked. “So not Christmas and Easter.”
“No, they come on Christmas Day, but we usually attend Christmas Eve service. And if they come on Easter, it’s in the afternoons, after we’ve gotten home from church.”
He chewed thoughtfully before swallowing and asking, “I’m just curious… why was your sister excommunicated?”
“I think a couple of reasons. One, she made a point of saying she was leaving the church, whereas my brothers just quietly stepped away. But the gender inequality in the religion really bothered her, so she wanted to take a stand. And, probably proving her point—there seems to be a different standard for what the church will tolerate from women versus men.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine they’d sign off on a woman over fifty marrying a twenty-two-year-old man.”
I huffed out a laugh, thinking about how they would have no problem if Kevin had married me. “No, they definitely would not.”
“So, what about you?” he asked. “Are you going to keep going to church once we’re married?”
“You probably don’t want to go with me, huh?”
My question seemed to surprise him, because he pulled his neck back and furrowed his brows before replying, “Hell, I don’t even attend mass now. But, I mean, if it’s important to you, I’d go with you, as long as you realize I’m not interested in converting.”
“I’d like it if we went at least once together. So, people know you’re real, and I didn’t slink off in shame with a made-up husband. Plus, it’d be important to my parents so they can save face that their sinner daughter was redeemed through marriage.”
“Can I just say, I hate that you’ve been made to feel like you’re bad for having Ruthie. I mean, look at her—she’s a freaking angel. How can anyone say you’re a sinner for bringing her into this world?”
I shrugged. “Because I fornicated without being married.”
“Of course you did. You’re a vibrant twenty-two-year-old woman who has needs.”
