The Truth About Air & Water (Truth in Lies #2) (2 page)

Our future and the two of us.

Pastor Dan’s words take me by surprise. I’ve been too focused on setting the wedding date and finding a place to get married to look beyond that.

Our future? The two of us?

Wow. I’m about to marry Lincoln Presley.

That is surreal in so many ways and anyone who knows me would agree.

“So how did you two meet?”

We don’t even get to start with an easy question.

I hesitate so Linc answers for us. “I saved Tally from a car accident. Then, we met up at a party months later. It went from there.”

Epic answer. Let’s leave the rest out.
I fidget with a thread showing on the edge of my blouse. I dressed up for the occasion forgoing my usual attire of black jeans and matching T-shirt in a concerted effort to impress the pastor and improve our chances at booking this place, but I already sense those odds slipping away.

“Is that how it went, Tally?” The pastor looks mildly curious.

“I was seventeen at the time. Linc was twenty-two. He’d just signed on with the Angels. Our age difference made it impossible to be together. You see I lied about my age. I was still in high school when we met so we broke it off. Linc went to LA to pitch for the Angels, and I moved to New York and attended the School of American Ballet.”

“That’s impressive. It’s hard to get in, let alone make it, which you obviously have.”

Linc’s looking a little irritated probably because Pastor Dan just glossed over his entire baseball career essentially ignoring all of his hard-won accomplishments.

“A career in ballet is mostly made in New York. That’s where you have to be,” I say quietly. Yet, the hairs on the back of my neck rise up at the way Linc is looking at me. He looks surprised and uneasy at the same time.

He knows this, doesn’t he?

“Tally?” Linc asks under his breath. I wave him off because the pastor is talking.

“But you’re with the San Francisco Ballet. Why the change?” The pastor asks.

I exhale slowly.
Here we go. Let confession begin.
“I moved from New York to San Fran to be near my family and try to work things out with Linc.”

“And I felt the same way,” Linc says impatiently. “Do we really need to go through all the whys and wherefores of our relationship,
father
?”

“
Dan
. Call me Dan; I’m not a priest.” He laughs and looks sympathetic for a moment, but then his features harden. “I always try to understand the dynamics of the couple’s relationship that I’m planning to marry. Relationships aren’t just ordered off the menu. There are
dynamics. Baggage.
Everybody has some. What are yours, Linc? You have this epic baseball career. You have a lucrative contract. But that’s just the public persona of you. What’s the real Lincoln Presley like? What does he want out of his life? How many children do you want? I understand you have a daughter. Cara? Tally told me she’s three. That’s wonderful but starting out with a family is its own unique challenge. And what about Tally? She gave up an illustrious dance career to come back home and be with you. What are
you
giving up,
exactly
?”

“I…I don’t know
exactly
what I’m giving up.” Linc runs his hands through his hair and sighs. “She probably can’t have any more kids, so I guess I’m giving up on the idea of ever having a son.” Linc won’t even look at me now after he’s dealt this surprising blow. “I mean…we have Cara so it’s all good, but I won’t ever have a son. That’s a bit of a sacrifice for me.”

I look down at the ground, instead of at Linc, feeling essentially lanced by what he’s just said. “We don’t know that for sure. I’m seeing a specialist,” I say to the pastor and then say in an aside to Linc. “I wasn’t even sure you wanted more kids or that a son was so important to you.”

“I’ve always wanted a big family,” Linc says sounding uncertain. “I thought you knew that, but Tally, I want you more,” he says, grabbing my left hand and putting it to his lips. I look at him intently, but still carry this wounded feeling. “I love you. You know that. That’s the most important thing.”

“Is it? You want a son, but I may not be able to give you one.
That
seems like a pretty important thing to discuss before we commit to each other and get married.”

“We
are
committed. Stop it. I see where you’re trying to take this. I love you. I’d give up anything for you, and maybe, I have. Yes, I want a son but I want to marry you more and be with you the rest of my life. We’re already a family. We have Cara. Maybe, Dr. Eldon will be able to help us out, but it doesn’t matter, not enough anyway.”

Pastor Dan is nodding and seems perfectly at ease with the intense discussion taking place between Linc and me. He smiles wide looking pleased with himself.

“See? This is what I’m trying to get at. Communication is so important. You won’t always agree. You won’t always want the same things. Marriage is a lifetime commitment, not these one-day affairs costing upwards to fifty grand where the world stops for a few hours, watches the two of you get photographed, and feed each other cake. Blissful, sure. Expensive, seems to be the norm these days. Epic. Maybe, on a grand proportion so out of scale, it becomes unseemly at times.” He gets this serious face. “But that’s not the true meaning of marriage. Not at all. It takes a half-hour to perform a wedding ceremony and actually only five people need to be in attendance to make a wedding work: me, the groom, the bride, and two witnesses. The rest is extraordinary but unnecessary. But after that? The marriage itself? That’s just made up of the two of you. Even your daughter is a separate entity from you. You two are going to be tested in all kinds of ways. And you really need to ask yourselves if you’re truly ready for all of that. A wedding takes place just one day in your life together, but it’s the three hundred and sixty-four other days afterward of that first year and the ones that follow that make a marriage. And it’s not easy.” He shakes his head. “May I be frank?”

“Well, I was hoping for that,” Linc says while I just sort of nod because I’m already reeling from the way this whole conversation has been going so far.

“You two are on the fame track. Tally is already a recognizable figure in the dance world.” The pastor turns to me. “I’ve read about you, Tally. You did well for yourself in New York already.” Then he focuses in on Linc. “Let’s face it; the Giants are looking good to make a real run this year and your stats are amazing.” He smiles but then it fades. “But fame can be a destructive monster. You two lead very complicated lives on the world’s stage already. Both of you will be tested in ways that a normal couple—sorry; I'm not sure how else to make my point—may never experience. I just feel it’s important to get this all out in the open. Marriage is not an easy road for anybody. I find it even harder for the most famous ones. I don’t want to discourage you, but I think you have some issues that need to be discussed. I’m not singling the two of you out by any means; I insist all the couples I marry be fully prepared, air things out before jumping into a lifetime commitment they aren’t ready for.”

He sweeps his arm around the room. “Yes, I spend an extraordinary amount of time upfront asking about a couple’s relationship, and their wants and desires and expectations. If it makes you uncomfortable, I might not be the right one to marry you. That’s why I insist on meeting couples together. I’ve got this fantastic venue. Every couple, famous or not, wants to commit to each other in this little church that looks out over the Pacific and say their vows to one another and start their lives together. Fulfilling those wishes are never the problem, but finding couples who are really ready for all that follows remains a challenge. I like to ensure the ones I take on are fully prepared for the marriage part, the day after the guests go home.”

Pastor Dan laughs a little, but neither one of us do.

Then he looks intently at Linc, who looks seriously pissed off while I am the complete opposite—barely holding myself together. The last thing I want to do is break down in front of these two.

“I’m not easy to love,” I say in an attempt to bridge the awkward silence and appeal to Linc’s happy side, but now he looks even more unhappy with me. “Tally,” he says.

“Why would you say that? Even think it?” Pastor Dan asks, incredulous at my simple confession.

“Because it’s true.” I turn to Linc. “I don’t know why you love me. I’m not sure that you should. I’ve always wondered that. Why do you love me? Why? It runs through my head all the time. And you want a son and I may not be able to give you one.”

“That’s crazy talk, Tal. I love you because you’re the most incredible person I’ve ever met.”

“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere,” the pastor says. “Linc, why is she so extraordinary? Incredible as you’ve said.”

Linc turns to Dan and audibly sighs. “We’ve shared the same exact fears—falling, failing, losing. We’ve had our fair share of bad luck in our relationship, with others. And still we persevere. Tally does. She has this amazing strength to overcome the biggest challenges and come out on top, flying high like she does in her performances. And I love that about her. And she’s an extraordinary mom. The way she handles Cara is amazing. She gives infinite amounts of love and kindness to everyone she cares about and I want to be a part of that—Tally’s brand of love. I can’t imagine my life without her. I really can’t, so I asked her to marry me and she said yes.”

Linc looks at me for a long moment, grabs my hands, and kisses them. Tears fill my eyes. His assurance takes away some of the heartbreak from his revelation minutes earlier. He breaks our gaze and he looks over at Dan.

“I agree with you about probably needing to vet couples to ensure their eyes are wide open as to what marriage is all about, but Tally and I already know that and you should know that we’ve been tested more than most on that front. On fame and otherwise. We’re ready to take the next step. So whether that’s here in your church or someplace else I don’t care, I just want to marry this girl. Make her my wife and ensure she’s a part of my life because she is without a doubt the best part of me.”

“I think you’ve just said your vows.” Pastor Dan looks elated while Linc looks pretty much spent and I am still somewhat shaken by the enormity of Linc’s words.

I withdraw my hand from Linc’s and wipe at my eyes with the back of my hand. Linc affectionately tucks a stray hair strand back behind my ear and tiredly smiles at me.

And the world seems right again for about fifteen seconds.

“I have a cancellation in the middle of July next year. Let me see, yes, Saturday, July 19th, is open. Other than that we’re booked solid through November of next year. Not as many requests in the winter months here after that other than at Christmastime. What works for you?” Dan asks easily. “I’d love to marry the two of you.”

“Next July? That won’t work for us,” Linc says without hesitation shaking his head. “I’m going to marry Tally a lot sooner than that.”

“It’s less than a year away,” Dan says. “Tally? You don’t want to wait until next July?” The pastor asks, looking surprised.

“Noooooooo,” I say. The disappointment at hearing Linc’s automatic
no
and essentially answering for both of us without even asking me first stings. How far out the date itself is manages to whoosh through all of me too.
Damn.

“I think we’re done here,
Dan
. Thanks for the tour and the clarity.” Linc gets up and shakes the guy’s hand and starts for the door.

I slowly follow him in a daze.

What just happened?

July of next year.

That’s what just happened.

It’s the middle of baseball season. July doesn’t work, and Linc doesn’t want to wait.
So why would I?

I wistfully glance back at the church. Pastor Dan waves at us from the top of the stairs like before, but looks a little bewildered as to why we are leaving him so soon.

“Too small. Too long of a wait. Next July? Come on, Tally.
Please.
It’ll be the middle of baseball season. That’s not going to work at all. Let’s go.” Linc shakes his head side-to-side as he retrieves the car keys from his pocket. “It’s a beautiful place, Tal. I’m glad we came, but it’s not going to work for us.”