Wedding Bell Blues - Pt. 02

The disclaimers: Every character who matters is at least 18. A work of fiction (more or less). Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is coincidental (for the most part).

Part 2 picks up on Sunday morning, the day after the MC stumbles upon his bride-to-be getting banged by his fiancé's sister's ex-boyfriend minutes before the wedding ceremony. The enraged MC sets off a wedding-destroying nuke, and then goes back home and drinks himself into comfortable oblivion. The next day a phone call from his ex-fiancé's sister, Hayleigh, gives the MC's world an unexpected turn.

~~~@~~~@~~~

~~~ SATURDAY EVENING ~~~

They had a lot more questions, but I convinced them that I was too worn out to continue. Danni gave me another hug, and whispered in my ear. "Just so you know, tonight I am going to burn my bridesmaid's dress and shoes and stuff in the firepit, and I am going to send the ashes to her house."

Finally something to laugh about. "I love you too, sis."

With the interrogations over, I headed upstairs. I kept my word to Uncle Jim. I was completely checked out by 10 o'clock. I didn't even need to open the second bottle. Just as well. It would come in handy the next day.

~~~ SUNDAY ~~~

My father's knock on my bedroom door brought me out of my hangover slumber. I awoke on my stomach, so my father must have played fire watch and turned me over. The hangover wasn't as bad as I expected, but what I expected set a high bar. Dad poked his head through the door. "Hey, Champ, still alive?" He was understandably tentative.

"G'morning. Yeah, I think I'm still alive. But I won't mind if you'd kindly shoot me and put me out of my misery." I put enough snark in it that he would know for sure I was joking.

"If you can make jokes there's hope for you." Dad slipped fully into my room and quietly closed the door behind him. "Got a few minutes to talk?"

There was no avoiding this, so I gestured to the desk chair near the window. I roused myself and leaned back against the bed's headboard. That lessened the residual spinning. My tongue felt like it had five coats of enamel paint on it.

My father was remarkably calm, all things considered. "I got most of the story last night from your mother and sister, and more details from my brother that I do not intend to share with either of the women. Ever. You should get tested for STDs, by the way. Now, you have every right to be hurt and angry. Just don't let the hurt and anger get the upper hand."

"It won't. I think I'll wallow in self-pity and righteous anger for a week or so, and then get on with getting on with my life. That's the plan, anyhow." There, I had a plan! Yay me.

My father didn't say anything right away, and his response was not what I expected. "For what it's worth, I think you're being foolishly unrealistic. Things like this don't go away in a few weeks, or even months. Some men carry around the scars from a betrayal like this for a lifetime. Listen to me. Take the time to recover, or you'll regret it."

That made sense. "I will. Well, I will try. You know what I mean."

My father wasn't finished. "Taking some time, that's on the one hand. On the other hand, you can't wallow in this for too long. You still intend on enrolling in law school, is that right?"

Good old Dad. Right to the point. "It is. I need to rethink some things, like housing and budgets, but it should be fine. No worries there."

"I'm honestly relieved to hear that. Keep your eye on the prize. And as odd as this may sound, be glad that you dodged a bullet. So then, any plans for the day?"

I decided some more gallows humor was in order. I didn't want my family pussy-footing around me, and the more I moped around the more they would walk on eggshells around me. "Well, I thought I might head back to the church for Sunday services. Get me some of that old-time religion. Good for the soul. Or so I hear."

That got an unrestrained laugh from my father, which was rare. "Smart ass. Any others?"

"Yes, actually. I'm going to see if I can get any refund on the airfare and the beach house rental. But I have an idea I'd like to float first. What about you and Mom going? You two haven't had a real nice vacation in years. Better you two go than letting it all go to waste, right?"

"That's very thoughtful of you, Tom. Any other time I would take you up on it. But I have a top-priority project that absolutely must be completed this week. Big bonus riding on it, too. I really can't get loose." Then my father's eyes lit up; he had an idea of his own. "What about going with Danni? You two get on well, and I know she would enjoy the beaches and tourist attractions."

I mulled it over. Danni could be a lot of fun. But what's that old sports saying about a tie-game being like kissing your sister? If I was going to a couples resort, I wanted to go with a girl to couple with. "I don't think so. The rental only has a one bedroom and one bed. The whole setup is designed for couples. Under these circumstances it would just be too awkward, at least for me. Is that weird or selfish?"

Dad pondered only briefly. "Not at all. Well, I have chores to do. Your mother has a late breakfast waiting. I made her promise not to pester you too much. You're on your own with Danni. Come down and join us when you're ready."

So began my first day of renewed bachelorhood.

Breakfast conversation for the most part mercifully avoided the bull elephant charging around the room. That is until my father innocently asked Danni if she had used the firepit last night. His question caught me in the middle of swallowing some orange juice. Half went up my nose and the other half sprayed out my mouth and across the table. That set off Danni, and by the time we were able to stop laughing we both had tears rolling down our faces. My mother waited until we had composed ourselves before asking the obvious question: "WHAT is so funny?"

Danni was in high form. "Oh, nothing. I just properly disposed of a dress and a pair of shoes."

My father rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself. My mother was slow on the uptake, and then it clicked for her. "Dannielle, I suppose I should be upset that you destroyed a perfectly good and VERY expensive dress. But I suppose in this case." She nodded and gave Danni's arm an approving pat.

I was about to chime in when my cell phone rang. The caller ID said it was Hayleigh. I thought that Jennifer might call, either to apologize or to bitch at me, but then I remembered that about halfway through last night's bottle of bourbon I had blocked her number. Perhaps Jennifer was using Hayleigh's phone. Whatever. I excused myself from the table and went outside so I could talk away from prying ears. Turned out it was Hayleigh after all.

"Hi," she said quietly. "Thanks for answering. I didn't know if you would. How are you doing?"

She sounded subdued. Her voice usually had a cheerful buoyancy to it, but the voice on the phone was tired and lifeless.

I saw no reason to be rude to Hayleigh; she didn't do anything to me. Like her mother and father, she just got hit by shrapnel.

"I'm OK. I have a well-earned hangover, but I survived. How about you? I bet you had a challenging evening."

"Let's just say that my family had a lively night, and no one got much sleep."

I believed her. Fatigue smothered her voice like a blanket.

I felt bad about hurting Hayleigh yesterday. She was a sweet girl really, and I always got along great with her. She and I had countless wee-hours chats at her family's lake house after everyone else had conked out, and in many ways Hayleigh and I saw eye-to-eye on far more things than I did with Jennifer. We certainly shared the same sense of humor. In fact, Hayleigh was a ton of fun just to hang around with. Truth be told, if I had met Hayleigh before Jennifer, who knows what might have happened. Not that it mattered now.

"I am very sorry that things... that what I did yesterday hurt you. Really, I truly regret that. And it is kind of you to check on me." I meant it. "I hope you won't end up hating me too."

There was an uncomfortable pause and then the conversation took an unexpected turn. "I have a question for you," Hayleigh said with a newfound firmness, "and I want a zero-bullshit answer. Will you give me that?"

Yikes. Where is this shit-storm headed now? I should have just hung up. Nothing on Earth obligated me to have that conversation, but I was too emotionally drained to refuse. "I won't necessarily agree to answer your question, but if I do answer I will be completely honest."

There was another long, uncomfortable silence. "Do you remember yesterday at the church when you offered to take me in Jennifer's place for the trip to Hawaii?"

"Yes, I remember. Do you remember that you turned me down?"

Hayleigh didn't falter. "I didn't turn you down. I said that it wouldn't be appropriate. Is the invitation still open? Don't mess with me. Did you mean it or were you just pissing off my father and seeing how much of a jackass you could be?"

Fork in the road time. I suddenly found myself really wanting to go to Nassau with Hayleigh. Not just to rub Jennifer's nose in it, though that alone would have been reason enough. Hayleigh and I has always gotten on really well, and I really did like her in her own right. But given the circumstances, all in all it was a horridly bad idea, and such a trip could not possibly come to a good end. Plus, the potential fallout could be ruinous. So naturally I dove in, head first. I choose to blame that decision on still being drunk. My defense would be diminished capacity, or perhaps temporary insanity, or surrender to an irresistible impulse.

"I won't lie to you, your father carping about the money he spent on the wedding ticked me off, and I retaliated. I'm not proud of that, not this morning anyway. But I also had the crazy flash of an idea that you might enjoy my company and accept the invitation. I've always enjoyed hanging out with you, and I know I would enjoy spending the time with you again. Even under the circumstances."

"We might enjoy each other's company," she offered. "Horrid circumstances though, wouldn't you say?"

"Any sane person would say." It was time to push a little bit. "Hayleigh, can I ask you a no-bullshit question or two?"

"I might not answer either, but go ahead."

"Are you seriously thinking about accepting my offer?"

"Yes. I am seriously considering it."

"Do you remember that I said that I would have... certain expectations about how we would spend our time? I ask because I want no misunderstandings. I'm going to lay my cards on the table, Hayleigh. If I wanted to spend a platonic week with a great girl, I could take Danni with me, and we'd probably have a lot of fun between my bouts of self-pity and rage. But if we're going to be honest, I've always had a mostly harmless crush on you, and you're pretty hot. Make that very hot. So, to be blunt, I have no interest in sharing a room and a bed with you for the week, and have to sneak off to the bathroom to jerk off." Did I actually say "jerk off" to her? I really was still drunk.

I was sure that would be the deal-breaker, but better skip the whole thing than endure a week of blue balls. All the more so because Jennifer had cut me off about a month before the wedding to "make our wedding night better" or some bullshit like that. Ha! As if Hayleigh would agree to go in the first place.

"Interesting," she said. "Why do you think I'd be willing to sleep with you, especially under 'the circumstances,' as we're calling it?"

"I don't think you would, particularly. I'm trying something out that was sorely lacking in my last relationship: honesty. Right now my pendulum has swung over to the brutal honesty with no internal filter side of things, and I'm not even close to completely sober, so apologies for my being blunt."

"I see. But you still pitched this to me, which means you must think I'd be willing. Why do you think that, Tom?"

"I don't, particularly. But, remember when I made the offer at the church, and I specifically said that there would be a lot of sex? And now here you are, calling me. So the idea must not be completely repulsive to you. Or maybe you're asking merely out of curiosity. Or maybe you thought that I wasn't serious about that part. Or you're just messing with me. Or it's a setup to get revenge on behalf of Jennifer. I don't know. You tell me with a no bullshit answer."

Hayleigh surprised me again. "Yes, I remember. My father ranted about that part of your invitation all night long. God, he was so pissed! He still is. Anyway, I understand the deal. And so you know, I've always thought that you're pretty hot as well, and we girls have needs, too. And, like you, I have no interest in sneaking off to the bathroom to, ummm, to take care of female frustrations. So no problem."

Hayleigh might have been stringing me along, but I already knew that I would go through with this if given the chance. Still, there were big unanswered questions.

"We understand each other then. Now I have another no bullshit question. Why are you doing this? It's obvious why I'm doing it, but we both know you will be in the world's biggest vat of shit with your family if you go. And I'm going to assume that you don't casually sleep around. So Hayleigh, tell me why."

Her answer was cryptic.

"I have many reasons. I don't want to go into them on the phone. There are some things that you do not know, and I will tell you all of it on the flight. Please trust me that my reasons are good ones, and that you will not be upset with me. I know trusting a girl is hard for you right now, but I really, really need you to trust me on this. Can you? Will you?"

As I said, I already knew that I was going to go through with this exercise in unrestrained stupidity. "That's a huge ask, but yes, I will trust you."

Hayleigh's usual glittery demeanor came back like a someone turned on a light in a pitch-black room. "Thank you! You won't regret it. I'll ask a friend to take me to the airport. What's the flight info?"

Jesus, was this happening? I must have been out of my freaking mind. Stupid stupid stupid! I knew my family would have less charitable opinions about my scheme. My father was going to birth a litter of badgers.

"America Air flight 8327. It leaves at 10:40 tomorrow morning. We depart from our local airport by shuttle to Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and from there direct to Miami and then by a shuttle flight to Lynden Pindling International. Do you have a passport? Because we're going to Nassau, not Hawaii, so the flight is international. That was supposed to be a surprise for Jennifer, but she surprised me first. I need to get the ticket changed from Jennifer's name to yours, so text me your full name and birth date right away, so I don't get anything wrong when I change it. And pack some formal wear along with the usual beach and vacation stuff, OK?"

More Hayleigh sparkle returned. "That's a deal! How formal do I need to be ready for?"

I had a brief mind-movie as I pictured Hayleigh in a formal evening gown, or a classy LBD. "You should bring a formal dress, like for a ball. I will have my tux, if that helps. If you have a cocktail dress, bring that too. There are a few clubs nearby with very strict dress codes. I thought we might spend an evening in one of them. If you want to, that is. I'll try not to step on your feet too many times on the dance floor."

"I expect to be swept off my feet, good sir." She giggled. "I have a lot to do. My parents are going to see me packing for a trip, and that will definitely lead to another nasty, vicious argument. That's one of the reasons that I need to get away. We're all at each other's throats over here, constantly, and I can't stand any more of it. I'm going to try my best to keep out of sight, but I don't think I can keep them in the dark until tomorrow morning."

That wasn't encouraging. "I don't mean to sound like a wimp, but I don't know if I can deal with another huge emotional buildup ending in soul-crushing disappointment and betrayal. I try to limit those to one a week. Do I have to worry whether you're really going to be at the airport?"

Hayleigh sounded a little hurt by that question. "Tom, no! The only way I'm not there is if my father ties me up and holds me hostage or I get struck by lightening. I promise. You will understand better when we talk, but for now you just have to trust me. OK, my mother's coming. Gotta go!" She ended the call before I could say good-bye.

Whew! What had I gotten myself into? Viewed objectively, I had been making questionable decisions from the moment I saw Jennifer screwing that Dave character. Nothing had bitten me in the arse yet, but a tryst with Jennifer's sister in a foreign country was begging for trouble, wasn't it? Of course it was. Begging on my hands and knees for it. Prostrate, praying to ancient gods for it. My father certainly thought so when I told him what I had in the works.

"I know this whole thing has thrown you for a loop, Thomas, and your mother and I have given you a wide berth. But you're an adult and you have to act like one," he sternly advised me. "This is a massively stupid idea, and I'm disappointed that you'd even contemplate something like this."

My mother's disappointment was harder to take. "It's not as if you really care for this girl, Tommy, not like that. Both of you are going to end up getting hurt."

I tried to explain that all I was doing was spending some time with a girl whose company I thought I would enjoy, and it was better than sitting here at home in Wisconsin stewing in my anger and wallowing in self-pity. That explanation was too clever by half, and my father would have none of it.

"We all know that's bullshit, Thomas." When he called me Thomas like that, in that tone, he was getting steamed. "And what if she ends up pregnant? Are you willing to risk your whole future just to have more revenge on a girl who hurt you?" His eyes bore into mine.

"Mom, Dad, all I can say is that right now I need to do this. I know it's what I need. If it blows up you can tell me 'I told you so' and I'll have to deal with the consequences. That's all I can say."

Danni suddenly appeared in the breakfast nook and took a seat with us at the table. She must have been eavesdropping from the family room.

"Can I say something?" No one stopped her.

"Tom, you're an idiot. You may have graduated with like a 3.9-something GPA, but you are the dumbest smart person ever." Danni's eyes were misty, and she blinked several times to try to hold off outright tears. She walked over to me and lightly kissed me on the cheek. Before leaving the room she turned and spoke to me directly. "Hayleigh is still a good friend of mine, I hope. She's a really, really sweet girl, and you may not know this, but she really likes you. If you hurt her I will dispose of YOU in the fire pit."

My father was deep in thought. He was trying to put together what he wanted to say, which just never happened. He always knew what to say. He was completely calm when he finally did speak, and that was more worrisome for me than if he had been raising his voice.

"Thomas, I still think you're making a huge mistake, but it's clear that you're going to go ahead with this idiotic adventure. It's your life. If you need to do this to purge Jennifer from your system, then do what you have to do. But for Pete's sake, be smart, and be careful. You know what I mean. And if you hurt that girl, I will help your sister settle accounts in the fire pit. You hear me, mister?"

"Yes, sir. Five by five."

My mother finally put in her two cents. "Tommy, we have tried to raise you to respect girls, and I think you do. I choose to believe that you're not just using Hayleigh for your own pleasure, or to get back at Jennifer, and that there is more to this than you just having a young man's fun or for revenge. It will break my heart if you are. And you will have to live with the consequences of what you do for the rest of your life. Be the man I hope I raised."

I didn't know what to say my mother, so I simply nodded.

"Well then," said my father, "if you need a lift to the airport tomorrow, I can take you."

I accepted his offer and headed upstairs to begin packing. I didn't take long, because most of my stuff was already still packed and ready to go. Jennifer and I had planned to go directly from the reception to a hotel in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and then on to the airport Monday morning, which was the next day. Most of my clothes would be horribly wrinkled from being folded in a suitcase for three days, but the resort would have laundry services and there would be an iron and board in the beach house, so why worry.

My phone dinged that I had a text message. "Hayleigh Michelle Fredrickson. March 15, 2003. Wisc DL # F636-3330-2595-01. 5 feet 4 inches 112 # blonde & green in case you hadn't noticed before."

I was relieved to get her info, because I needed to get that ticket changed quickly. I was looking up the phone number for America Air customer service when my phone dinged again.

"The rest of my stats you get to find out for yourself!"

That girl could be the death of me, if I was lucky. I was relieved that changing the ticket was relatively quick and painless. One more hurdle behind me.

I texted Hayleigh. "Got ticket changed. You're good to fly. Looking forward to finding out the rest of your stats."

Ding! Hayleigh immediately volleyed. "promises promises".

Hmm, she wanted to flirt. I was game. Jennifer had pretty much stopped being flirty shortly after we became formally engaged, and I had really missed that playfulness. Another clue to trouble that I had pushed to the back of my mind and dismissed, to my great misfortune. Alright then, how to respond to Hayleigh's text?

"That's a promise I will keep. Don't let your mouth write a check your body can't cash!"

Hayleigh didn't text anything back for about five minutes, so I assumed she got bored with the game, or perhaps I had crossed a line. Damn. Then she called me.

"Hey, it's me." Her tone was anything but playful. Damn damn damn.

I tried to bluff my way past it, as if I could avert a change in her decision by being nonchalant. "Hey there. What's up?"

"I wasn't going to bring this up until later, but that would be stupid and irresponsible."

"More stupid and irresponsible than what we're doing?"

"Amazingly, yes. Can I ask you some very personal questions?"

"Yeah, go ahead." I had no idea where this was going, but when someone wants permission to ask a personal question, it's never good.

"Well, I know that you and my sister were having sex, because she told me, and because of course you were. But were you, I mean had you, you know, been doing anything with anyone else?"

Yikes, this conversation was like tap-dancing through a mine field.

"I'll answer, but why do you want to know?"

"Because before I do anything with you, I think I have a right to know if you've been sleeping around. I don't want to catch something. I'm a nursing student, remember? In addition to not being stupid, I tend to think about infections and communicable diseases. And also, that would make you as much of a scumbag as my sister."

She had a point. At least one of us was thinking.

"That's fair. I haven't been with anyone other than your sister since she and I starting dating. What has it been, three years ago?"

Hayleigh didn't take my word for it.

"Well last night my sister accused you of cheating on her first. She said that's why she screwed the guy at the church. In addition to the health concerns, I want nothing at all to do with you if you're a scumbag cheater."

That revelation stunned me. Jennifer said I was messing around on her? That lying bitch! I had to nip that in the bud.

"That's complete total absolute bullshit. I have never cheated on her. I have never done anything that would give her, or anyone else, reason to even think that I was cheating on her. Wait, hold on. Unless you count my being your emergency escort to that sorority ball thing, which Jennifer asked me to do. That's the absolute truth, hear me God. Jennifer wasn't my first, but that was years ago. And Hayleigh, I'm not going to name names or go into details about anyone I've been with before your sister, because I have a rule that I don't talk about the things I do with girls. But there have only been three girls other than Jennifer, one in high school, and two in my freshman year. Nothing but your sister after that."

Hayleigh was skeptical of my claim to virtue, to put it mildly.

"Yeah, right! Guys talk and they brag. Don't tell me you haven't given your pal Steve all the dirty details of what you and my sister have done."

The conversation was spinning out of control.

"You're right, Hayleigh. Guys in general are jerks about that and they run their mouths about things that are private and shouldn't be shared. I don't. I have many faults, but that isn't one of them."

Hayleigh didn't say anything, leaving another very uncomfortable silence. After what seemed to me like forever she finally spoke.

"OK, I will take your word for that, which means that my sister was lying to try to cover her sorry slut ass."

"Probably. All I can tell you is what I already said. I have not messed around behind your sister's back, period, end of story." I let it rest there. What more could I say?

Hayleigh audibly sighed.

"I guess it's my turn then. There was a one-time thing with a guy my freshman year, which I am not proud of. And then there is this guy I had been seeing off and on this past year. But we haven't done anything for a good three months or so. And I was tested recently because of a course on virology last semester, and I'm negative. So that's me."

"Sounds like you're in the clear," I said. "You know, the wild card is that guy Jennifer was screwing. I mean, if that was their first time then I couldn't have caught anything from her that she got from him that could be passed on to you. But you saw the video. It sure didn't look or sound like their first time. And who knows who else she's been with. Do you want to risk it?" My heart sank as I asked the question. I could see the whole thing being called off.

"No, Tom, I believe you about being loyal to my sister, and that guy she was screwing isn't going to be a deal-breaker. We're still on. If you want."

Yes! Another bullet dodged.

"I'm really glad, Hayleigh. You probably won't believe this, but I'm really looking forward to this trip. Not because I want to sleep with you. I mean, I DO want to sleep with you, but I can't wait to spend time with you doing vacationy-stuff. I think we can have a lot of fun."

The Hayleigh sparkle came back.

"That's sweet, Tom. I believe you. And Tom --"

"Yes?"

"I'm on birth control."

The call disconnected.

I was undeservedly elated. It was as if the whole nightmare of Jennifer's treachery never happened, and I was going on a fantasy holiday with a long-time girlfriend. I had constructed a world of make-believe, and willfully looked away from anything that hinted at reality. It was an epic act of calculated stupidity and self-imposed ignorance. It was just what I needed.

My biggest enemy now was the clock, which stubbornly refused to speed along to the next morning. I was like a little kid on Christmas Eve, wishing that I could snap my fingers and have it become Christmas morning. The best medicine was to find a project to focus on and that would eat up time until I could hit the sack. Thus, my father was pleasantly surprised to find me cleaning out the garage after having washed his car and my mother's, too.

"What's with the flurry of activity?"

"Hey, Dad. You know what they say about the Devil and idle hands."

My father shot me the squint-eye, for about the hundredth time in two days.

"I think you're trying to burn off nervous energy, but I'm not going to stop you!"

Count on my father to see right through me.

"Got me there, Dad. It's working though, and you get a clean garage out of the deal. So be happy."

"I'd be happier," he said gently, "if you'd reconsider this trip. But that's not going to happen, is it?"

"Not a chance," I said just as gently, but firmly. "If it makes you feel any better, Hayleigh's on birth control."

My father walked away chuckling to himself. "Yeah, a tiny bit better. Good luck, Buck-o. Don't forget about the fire pit."

I stopped laboring at odd jobs as dusk closed in, around 9 p. m. or so. In Wisconsin the sun sets late in the summer. After grabbing a shower I packed the rest of my stuff. I was just about to put on some headphones and listen to some of my favorite old blues recordings when my phone dinged. It was Hayleigh texting again. My paranoia level was pretty high. I was almost afraid to read her message.

"Family unaware of plans! Friend taking me to airport. Will be there at least hour before boarding time. Went shopping to pick up a few things needed for trip. Hope you will like."

I read Hayleigh's message several times before it occurred to me to respond.

"Can't tell you how much am looking forward to tomorrow. Endlessly sorry if I upset you earlier. Do not want to ever hurt you."

Hayleigh texted back a row of smiley-face emojis that had tiny red hearts for eyes. I set three separate wake-up alarms on three different devices, and drifted off to sleep.

~~~@~~~@~~~

That's it for Part 2. Adding Monday's story made Part 2 a bit too long, so I'm submitting Part 3 at the same time as a standalone. If there's continued reader interest, I'll submit Part 4, which picks up on Tuesday morning. Thank you all kindly for your comments and insightful suggestions. And to those who have followed me after my first submission, V is for Victory - Not!, thank you all for your generous words and support, and for your thoughtful critiques.