My Never: a novella (8 page)

“Yep.”

“Hm.
Not sure I wanna be in the same car as you after that.”

I
nudged him with my elbow. “Ha ha.”

“We’d
better stock up on munchies, too - just in case.”

“I
see some muffins.” I nodded towards the display case.

“I’ll
get us a couple of those and some fruit. I bet you’re sick of those muesli
bars, huh?”

“A
little.” I never wanted to see another. “I just want to get home and sleep for
a week.” I slumped into him.

He
secured an arm around my waist. “Blueberry pancakes?”

“Yes.”

He
nodded across the room. “Grab that table. And try not to fall asleep.”

I
yawned. “No promises.”

A
minute later, he joined me. “They were out of blueberries.”

“That’s
not funny,” I said, “No jokes until I have my coffee.”

“Someone’s
grumpy this morning.”

“That
someone’s
fiancé
is hiding something.”

The
waitress delivered our breakfast. Troy checked his phone for the fifth time.

I
ripped into the pancakes. “Expecting a call?”

He
hesitated. “You know that surprise I talked about last night?”

I
nodded. “The one you wouldn’t tell me anything about - no matter how hard I
pressed?”

“I’m
kinda relying on some people to help me pull it off.”

“Sounds
big.”

“Monumental.”

Hm,
what could it be?
He had already proposed. “And you won’t tell me anything?”

“There’ll
be cake.”

“Ooh.”

“But
no-one’s getting back to me - could be an epic failure.”

I
reached for his hand. “As long as the cake’s good, right?”

He
returned my smile. “Right.”

An hour later, we were on
the road again.

“We
need some tunes.” I plucked a stack of CD’s from the glove box and flipped
through them.

“Whoa,
whoa! Was that a country album I saw?” His lips tugged into a smirk. “I thought
you hated country music?”

“Not
when I was nine.” I smiled as I examined the CD. “It was a gift from Dad.” I
always was Daddy’s little angel. He would bring me home trinkets and all kinds
of cool stuff from his trips. Sometimes he even let me tag along.

Troy
squeezed my hand. “You wanna stop for some post-breakfast breakfast before we
leave civilisation? Or coffee?”

“Sure.”
I swiped at my moist eyes. “A vat of coffee.”

“Comin’
up.” He swung into a petrol station then jogged inside. Moments later, Troy
returned. He passed me a take-away cup and a chocolate bar.

I
felt my lips pull into a smile. “Thanks.”

He
leaned through the window and pressed his lips to mine. “You’re welcome.” He
marched to the other side and slid in. “Let’s go home.”

“Ruby’s gonna go nuts
when she sees you,” said Troy.

“Are
we picking her up before we head home?”

His
eyes drifted to the clock on the dash. “Yeah. School’s nearly out.”

“Awesome.”
I couldn’t wait to see her either.

Troy
found a parking space and cut the engine. I drummed my fingers on my thigh.

A
hand covered them. “Any minute now.”

The
bell sounded. A stampede of kids escaped the buildings, filling the yard. Ruby
paused by the gate, her eyes searching. And then I realised, she wouldn’t know
my car. I stepped out and waved to her.

Ruby
sprinted across the pavement, a big smile on her lips, and slammed into me.
“Moni!”

“Hey
Sweetie,” I said.

“I
missed you so very much.”

I
kneeled and crushed her to me. “Ditto.”

“Even
though Mummy wouldn’t let me talk about you.” Her face dropped.

“Oh?”

“She
gets really mad.”

Troy
appeared beside me. “Hey, Kiddo.”

“Daddy!”
Ruby pounced at him.

He
picked her up and swung her around. “Let’s go, hey?” He winked at her.

She
giggled.

“You
are
both
keeping secrets now?” I said.

“A
really big awesome secret,” she said.

We
managed to squeeze Ruby in the back.

“You
okay there, Rubes?” I adjusted the rear vision mirror to see her.

She
nodded.

“There’s
a bag of toys next to you from when I was your age. I thought you could pick
out the ones you want.”

“Thank
you.” She reached in and pulled out a purple unicorn.

Troy
swivelled. “Wow, that’s pretty cool, hey Ruby?”

“Can
I keep this one?” She held it up.

“Sure.”
I swung out of the lot. A minute later, I turned onto our street.

Ruby
hopped out. “C’mon! You’ll love your office!” She led me up the driveway.

“Hold
up, Missy.” Troy jogged ahead to unlock the door.

“Daddy,
cover her eyes,” said Ruby.

Troy’s
gentle hand clamped over them.

“Geez,
must be something special,” I said.

“No
peeking,” she said.

I
heard the door swing open. They ushered me forward.

“Step,”
said Troy.

I
lifted a leg then the other.

“We
hope you like it.” He spun me around. “Plenty of shelves and storage.” His hand
peeled away to reveal lilac walls.

I
perched on the futon and prodded the mattress. “Perfect for mid-afternoon
naps.”

Troy
returned my grin. “Our exact thoughts.”

Ruby
sat next to me.

I
tucked her under my arm. “This is amazing. I love it.”

“But,
we have another surprise.” He held out a hand.

I
took it and he hauled me up, securing fingers over my eyes again.

“Is
it a puppy?” I heard Ruby giggle.

“No,
silly.” She tugged me forward.

“Where
are we going?”

“You’ll
see in a moment,” he said.

I
heaved a sigh. I hated not seeing where I was stepping. “Troy ...”

“Just
a sec,” he said, “There.” His hand slipped away.

Mum,
Jay and Troy’s mother stood before us.

“What’s
going on?” My eyes flicked between them. “Mum? What are you doing here?”

Troy
dropped to one knee and reached for my hand. “Will you marry me today?”

I
froze. “Are you serious?”

He
nodded. “Very.”

Ruby
peeked around Troy. “Say yes! Say yes!”

I
breathed deep. “Yes.”

“How did you want your
hair?” said Mum, “Up or down?”

“Uh.
I haven’t really thought about it,” I said.

“Not
to worry.” Mrs DeGaris sorted through eye shadows. “Makeup?”

“He
hasn’t seen me in any yet,” I said, “Why start now?”

Mum
smiled and shook her head. “I’ve known about this for over a week, but I still
can’t believe my little girl’s getting married.” She swiped at her eyes.

Julie
handed her a tissue. “Well, I’m glad my son’s marrying you and not that tramp -
ooh you won’t tell Troy I said that will you?”

“I
will take it to my grave.” I drew a cross over my heart.

Mum
brushed strands of my hair. “You don’t seem one bit nervous.”

I
shrugged a shoulder and smiled. “I have been waiting twelve years to marry
him.”

“You
really are meant for each other,” said Julie.

“How
do you feel about curls?” said Mum.

“I
like ‘em.”

Ruby
wandered in. “Nanny, can you do my hair, too?”

“Sure
thing, Beautiful.” Julie slid a chair closer to mine.

“How
long have we got?” I said.

Mum
plugged in the curling iron. “Plenty of time.”

Ruby
bounced in her chair. “It’s not even dark yet!”

“You
excited Rubes?” I clutched her hand.

“Yep!
You make Daddy very happy.”

My
smile widened. “Thank you.” My thoughts trailed to the ceremony. “Oh my God. I
haven’t got anything written for my vows.” My heart beat accelerated. “What am
I going to do?”

“Speak
from the heart, Dear,” said Mum.

Jay’s
voice floated into the bedroom. “Everyone decent?”

“Yes,”
I said.

He
slipped through the door. “I need a moment alone with the bride.”

“Why?”
said Mum.

“Secret
best man business,” he said.

They
held their place.

His
eyes flicked between Mum and Julie. “I got orders from the groom.”

“Come
on, Rubes.” Julie towed her out of the room.

“You,
too, Mrs Cullen.” He thrust a thumb over his shoulder with a smirk.

“
Fine
, I’m going.” She squeezed my shoulder as she
passed. The door clicked shut behind her.

“What’s
up?” I said.

“First
off, I wanna apologise for lying earlier.” He sat in the other chair, brow
furrowed. “Troy called when he bumped into you.”

I
waved a hand. “
That’s in the past.
”

“Awesome.”
He was silent for a minute.

“Secret
best man business?”

“Oh,
yeah.” He beamed and plunged a hand into his pocket.

“I
thought Patrick would have been best man?”

“He
is. However, Pat didn’t do an online celebrancy course.”

“Hold
up,” I said, “
You
are marrying us?”

“Yup.”
He waved a necklace in front of me. “You like?” He placed the string of tiny
diamond flowers in my palm.

“He
spoils me too much.” My finger traced a flower, smaller than the tip of my
pinkie. “All I care about is spending the rest of my life with him and Ruby.”

“You
really are a good one, Mon.” He stood then bent to press his lips to my head.

Troy’s
brother slipped into the room.

“More
secret best man business?” I said.

“Not
exactly,” said Patrick, “I need to borrow Jay for a sec.”

“No
more secrets!” I stood, hands on hips. “Someone better tell me what’s going
on.”

“C’mon,”
said Jay, “Let’s get outta here before she goes all scorned bride on us.”

I
shot them an icy glare. “Hey.”

“Too
late, Man,” said Pat, “Let’s go.”

Perfection, something
everyone covets. And I have it - a gorgeous husband and daughter, the people
closest to us standing witness to our everlasting love, and a golden sunset.
Right now, there is nothing more I wanted than to say
I do
.

Mum
fastened the last button on my dress. “You’re ready, Kiddo.” She moved to stand
in front of me.

I
sighed. “Mum don’t cry. You are not losing me. You are gaining so much more.”

“I
know.” She pressed her lips to my cheek. “And that Ruby’s a gem, isn’t she?”

I
giggled.

“No
pun intended.” She fixed an unruly strand.

There
was a tap on the door. “It’s showtime,” said Patrick.

I
took a deep breath.

“Are
you ready?” said Mum.

“Yep.”
This morning I was worried about not having enough snacks for our trip home,
and now I was getting married. Things were moving fast, but I didn’t mind.

Music
floated in as the door opened. I turned to her. “Mum, will you walk me down the
aisle?” Dad would have wanted her to.

Her
lips curled into a smile. “I’d be honoured.”

I
hooked my arm around hers. “Don’t let me mumble incoherently or screw up my
vows.”

“I
won’t.” She petted my hand.

The
music shifted into a softer melody.

I
sucked in another deep breath. “I’m ready.”

Her
eyes flitted over me. “You’re so beautiful.”

“It
is a pretty dress.” My fingers smoothed out the lace. “Thanks for helping Troy
with it.”

“Oh
I had nothing to do with it – any of this. It’s all Troy.”

We
stepped into the hallway.

“He
knows you so well,” said Mum, “And I can see how much he loves you.”

We
passed the living room.

I
swivelled to face her again. “Thanks for everything.”

“You’re
welcome, Dear.”