Coveting Love (Jessica Crawford) (24 page)

“
I can hear the snickers behind my back,” she protested.

Jessica attempted to argue with her. “It’s your imagination,” she reasoned, but finally gave up.

The ringing of the telephone awakened Jessica early that morning, long before the sun rose. No one was on the other end. Her thoughts jumped immediately to Jeffrey and the way he had laughed at her. She had not had any more dreams about him, but his memory left her uneasy. She decided she was being foolish and laughed it off.

Too excited to go back to sleep, and thinking it might have been Amy calling, she picked up the phone and dialed her number.

“
Hi, Amy, did I wake you?”

“
Are you kidding?” Amy cried. “I hardly slept a wink all night. I am so excited. I can hardly believe this is finally happening. By the end of this day I will be Mrs. Randall Jackson, of the San Francisco Jackson’s,” she laughed.

“
It will be a wonder if you still speak to us plebeians,” Jessica said with amusement.

“
Aw, Jess. I could never forget you. Besides, I do believe you have set your own standards rather high lately.”

She smiled, even though Amy couldn’t see her. “Yeah, well, it’s time for both of us to shine, but for now, if you don’t get out of bed and get dressed, you’re going to miss your march to happiness.

“
I’m coming over to take you out for breakfast. This will probably be the last quiet meal we share together for a while. It will also be our last meal as single girls. This time tomorrow, you will have someone else in your life with whom to share your meals.”

Amy frowned into the phone. The playfulness had left the conversation, and the seriousness of what she was about to do crept in, with hardly a considerate thought. “Just remember, we will always be friends, and if one of us is hurting, we must promise to be there to support each other, agreed?”

Jessica sat silently thinking about her phone call a few minutes ago, wondering if she should confide in Amy about her suspicions. She decided against it. There was no sense worrying her on her wedding day.

“
Jessie, say you promise,” Amy prompted. “I couldn’t bear it if you weren’t there for me.”

“
I promise.” It was barely a whisper. Then a little louder, “We will be there for each other.” She shook off her melancholy. “Now get a move on. I’ll be there in an hour, and you had better be ready. You can’t start you wedding day without your Wheaties.”

“
Aye, Aye, Captain. I’ll be waiting on the foredeck, ready to sail for my new adventure.”

Jessica laughed and hung up. She was really going to miss her best friend.

She jumped out of bed and went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. She settled down on the sofa to drink it.

The phone rang. She was hesitant to pick it up. She glanced at the clock. It was only six-thirty. She couldn’t imagine who would be calling her at this time of the morning. She picked it up slowly, whispering into the receiver, “Hello.”

“
Jessie?” the voice said, questioning. “Jessie, is that you? It’s Mom.”

She heaved her shoulders in relief. “Hi, Mom, what’s up?”

“
Honey, I hope I didn’t wake you. I was just calling to let you know we’ll be leaving in a few minutes, and I wanted to know if you want us to meet you at the church, or at your apartment.”

“
Oh,” she said thoughtfully. “I’m not really sure. I was planning on helping Amy get ready, so I won’t be here.” She paused, thinking. “I’ll tell you what. Call me on my cell when you get in. I’ll let you know where to go, then.”

“
Okay then, I’ll see you in awhile.”

Later, at breakfast, she and Amy reminisced about old times. They would keep their friendship alive with the help of these stories. It seemed impossible that both women would be getting married so close together. Even though they had both agreed it would be best to wait, Jessica found herself wishing that today were her wedding, also.

Halfway through breakfast, Jessie saw a familiar figure walk past the restaurant window. She froze, jumped to her feet, and ran to the window.

Amy followed behind her. “What’s wrong?”

“
I guess it’s nothing. I just thought I saw someone I knew,” she replied, trying to sound as casual as possible, trying to make it appear as if nothing was wrong.

“
From the look on your face right now, I would say it was a very unpleasant someone.”

Jessica smiled reassuringly, shaking her head. “I don’t really think it was who I thought it was, just my mind playing tricks on me. Let’s just forget it, okay?”

Amy eyed her suspiciously. “Let me guess, and…oh by the way, don’t mention this to Brandon.” Jessica rolled her eyes. Amy sighed. “All right, but I don’t like it. And for the record, I think you need a few days off again. You’re overworking yourself again. I thought that after we came back from California you would slow down a bit, but you’ve done just the opposite,” she said.

“
I know I have,” she admitted. “It’s just that I miss Brandon so much. I have to keep busy so I can keep my mind off him.”

“
And speaking of Brandon—how is he? I haven’t seen him since we left California. I never really got a chance to properly thank him for his hospitality.”

“
Oh, that reminds me. He sends his apologies for not being able to attend the wedding. Apparently, there’s some big problem out at the ranch he has to deal with. He hopes you won’t hold it against him, and that his absence at your wedding won’t stop you from attending our wedding. He also said to tell you he’s sending a substitute. He says you’ll hardly know he isn’t there.”

She frowned, a puzzled look on her face. Jessica shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t ask me; he didn’t enlighten me. I’m just the messenger.”

Amy giggled. “I can hardly wait to see what he has up his sleeve. And, as if there’s anything in this world that would keep me from your wedding.”

“
Of course, you wouldn’t miss it, because you love me that much.” She glanced at her watch, jumping quickly to her feet.

“
Good Lord, Amy, look at the time.” Amy glanced at her watch and jumped to her feet, as well. “We still have so much to do. We’d better get moving.”

Amy grabbed the check, running for the register as she shrugged into her jacket. Rosie waved her away. “Not on your wedding day, sweetie—go, and have a good wedding.” She winked. “And an even better honeymoon.”

Amy kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks, Rosie. I love ya. I’ll write from California, I promise.”

Rosie waved her on. “Yeah, sure you will. You’ll be Mrs. High and Mighty and forget all about us poor working stiffs here on 5th Avenue.”

She laughed as Amy and Jessica ran out the door, their hearts pounding as they made it to Jessica’s car, just in time to stop a patrol officer from ticketing her for elapsed time on the meter. He was just taking his pad out when Jessica caught him.

“
Hi ya, Joe, how are you this morning?” Jessica flirted, panting breathlessly.

“
It won’t work this time, Jessica. How many times do I have to tell you about feeding the meter?”

She stuck her lower lip out in a pout. “I know, Joe. I’m sorry, but today’s Amy’s wedding day, and we just were caught up in a little reminiscing. You know last morning out together, and all that.”

She wiped a pretend tear from the corner of her eye. Joe looked at Amy, who was nodding in agreement, a look of eagerness in her eyes.

“
Wedding day, huh? Is that right? You gettin’ married today?”

“
That’s right. My last day of freedom, and then I’m off to California. The golden state, land of sun, sea, and movie stars.”

Joe chuckled, putting his pad away. “Well, all right then. I can’t write you a ticket on your wedding day. But don’t you forget about us when you get all caught up in your glitz and glamour. And if you see any movie stars, you tell ‘em Joe says hi.”

She laughed. “You got it, Joe, and thanks.” She hugged him, opened the car door, and jumped in.

“
And don’t forget to feed the meter,” he called after them as they sped away.

“
We have plenty of time. You can slow down,” Amy chided.

“
Are you kidding? The hairstylist is due in a half hour and we have to be at the church at two.”

Amazingly, they were able to finish on time. They were just preparing to leave for the church when Jessica’s cell phone rang, startling her. She snatched it up, checked caller ID, and called breathlessly into the phone.

“
Mom, I was getting worried about you. I thought for sure you would have been here much sooner. Is everything okay?”

“
We’re fine, honey, but we need to freshen up a bit. We got about a half hour down the road when Randy realized he forgot his tuxedo. We had to turn around and go back for it. Then we had a flat tire. We called the auto club, but they couldn’t get anyone there for an hour, so Grant had to change it. We finally got back on the road, but were in such a hurry that Grant wasn’t paying attention to his speed and got stopped for a ticket.” She heaved a heavy sigh. “So, now we’re finally here, but looking rather wilted. It was so late that we dropped Randy off at the church. Now we’re in dreadful need of freshening up.”

“
Good grief. I hope this isn’t some kind of portent of how this day will end.”

“
I’m sure it will be fine,” Sarah assured her.

Jessica breathed deeply. “Well, we were just getting ready to leave for the church ourselves. My apartment is closer to the church, and you have a key. Why don’t you go over and clean up. We’ll meet you at the church.”

Amy was waving at her from the door. She terminated her conversation and ran to catch up.

“
Come on. We have to hurry. I can’t be late for my own wedding.”

“
Why? They can’t very well start without you, can they?”

For some reason, Jessica found this comment hysterical and roared with laughter. She couldn’t stop laughing. Amy kept looking at her, amazed at how long she was laughing.

“
Wow! It’s not that funny.”

Jessica gulped for air. “I know. I can’t stop, though,” she managed to say between bouts of laughter.

“
It must be nerves,” Amy said. “Only I’m the one who’s supposed to be nervous. Think of something sad.”

Jessica shook her head. “Not on your wedding day.”

“
Well then, think of something romantic and sweet, but not funny.”

She finally managed to bring her laughter under control, just as they were pulling into the church parking lot. The fits of laughter, however, had left her with a bad case of hiccups.

Jessica was just securing Amy’s veil, when Sara walked in. She walked over to Amy and took both her hands in hers.

“
You look beautiful.” She placed a tender kiss on her cheek. “I’m sure your mother is smiling down on you right now.”

Amy smiled, a little sadness turning her lips just slightly down. “I know she is; I can feel her here with me.”

Jessica hiccupped from the corner.

Sarah turned to her. “What’s up with the hiccups?” she asked.

“
She got caught in a laughing fit, and now she’s left with the hiccups.”

“
Well, good lord child, get rid of them.”

She turned back to Amy. “Okay, young lady, your moment to shine is finally here. Let’s get you married,” Sarah said as she placed her arm in Amy’s and led her to the door. Jessica trailed behind them, hiccupping.

Amy’s father waited for them in the narthex. Tears came to his eyes when he saw his beautiful little girl all grown up. Jessica preceded Amy down the aisle. Her hiccups seemed to be under control. John was her escort, and followed by Kristen, escorted by Justin. Paula was next, with Ryan on her arm. They had only invited close friends and family, but the chapel was nearly full to capacity. Jessica marveled at the sight of the altar, sparkling with candlelight, adorned with white roses.

At last, the bridal march began. All the guests stood and turned, as Amy, escorted by her father, swept gracefully down the aisle. Jessica looked at Randy, who beamed in all his happiness. She mouthed to him that he had better be good to her; he said she could count on it.

They exchanged vows, and as the minister announced the newly united couple, Jessica and Amy turned, and at the same time burst out laughing. Sometime during the ceremony, someone had slipped a life-sized cardboard cutout of Brandon into the back of the chapel. He stood there grinning, a large artificial smile fixed to his cardboard face. He had kept his promise and had sent a substitute to the ceremony.

The bride and groom began their descent back down the aisle, arms linked together. Jessica led the wedding party as they followed behind the happy couple. She was hiccupping.

The reception, held at the social hall adjacent to the church, was elaborately catered. The party went on until well into the night. The newlyweds weren’t leaving for Hawaii until the following day, so they stayed until the end of the reception. Jessica cried many times that day, and spent the whole day hugging her best friend—wishing her the best life she could possibly have.

It was nearly two a.m. when Jessica, all cried out, and quite tired of holding a one-sided conversation with her rather stiff escort, bid everyone a good night, and headed for home.