CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE | BRADY
“Can you pass me that spanner wrench?” I called out. My voice echoed under the body of the fire engine. I was positioned on the concrete garage floor underneath the massive metal truck frame. My work clothes were stained with oil, and my neck ached from the strain of holding my head off of the concrete floor.
I heard the shuffle of footsteps in the vehicle bay, then I saw a hand reach underneath the engine. I stretched my arm out, expecting to feel a wrench land in my hand. Instead, I felt the smooth surface of my cell phone.
“What the--”
“Your phone was ringing,” Bryce explained. “Three missed calls in a row.”
Sure enough, I felt the phone vibrate in my palm. I groaned, then I used my legs to crawl forward and pull myself out from underneath the truck.
The bright light of the vehicle bay stung my eyes, and it took several blinks for my pupils to adjust. I blinked down at the phone. I didn’t recognize the number, but it was an 860 area code; that meant it was a local call.
I quickly rubbed the engine grease off of my hands and onto a spare rag, then I used the edge of my thumb to unlock the phone and answer the call.
“Hello?” I said, pinching the phone between my shoulder and my ear.
“Hi, is Cassidy Laurent available?” the voice on the other end of the call asked.
“I’m sorry, you must have the wrong--” I started to say, then I stopped myself. “May I ask what this is about?”
“I’m calling from Elizabeth Park, sir,” the man said. “This is regarding an upcoming reservation that Miss Laurent made. We haven’t been able to reach her at the primary number she provided, but she did give us this number as an emergency contact--”
“Is there something wrong with the reservation?” I asked.
“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that information. I need to speak with Miss Laurent directly…”
“I’m the groom,” I huffed in annoyance. I pushed myself off of the floor and stifled a groan as I stretched out my stiff neck.
“My apologies!” the man on the phone gushed. “I didn’t realize…”
“It’s fine,” I said. “So what’s the problem?”
“Well, Mr.--”
“Hudson,” I said. “Brady Hudson.”
“Mr. Hudson,” the man said. “We still haven’t received the final payment for your upcoming reservation. Miss Laurent did pay the first two installments, but unless we receive this final payment, I’m afraid that we’ll be forced to cancel your reservation…”
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath.
What does that mean? I wondered. Does that mean that Cass is calling off the wedding?
“I’m sorry, sir?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “That missed payment must have just been an oversight.”
I hope that’s all it was…. I thought, but I knew that I didn’t believe my own excuse.
“Can I pay you now? Over the phone?” I asked quickly.
“Of course,” the man said. “We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express…”
“Great,” I said, patting my pants pocket for my wallet. My pocket was empty, and I pinched my eyes shut, trying to remember where I had left my wallet…
Truck, I reminded myself.
“One second,” I said into the phone. “I just have to find my wallet.”
“Of course, sir…”
I jogged across the vehicle bay, then through the back door that opened out into the staff parking lot. My truck glimmered in the midday sun. I popped open the door and felt a wave of heat that had flooded the cab; the consequence of being sandwiched between the steaming hot asphalt parking lot and the scorching summer sun all afternoon.
My wallet was right where I had left it in the cupholder. I reached for it, and in the process my hand grazed something that had been left behind: a pink hair scrunchie.
Cass… my heart throbbed in my chest.
“Are you ready for my card details?” I said quickly into the phone.
I recited the numbers, then listened as the man on the other line typed them into a computer and ran the transaction.
“Excellent,” he said finally, once everything had been processed. “Your balance is now paid in full.”
“So the wedding is still on?” I asked.
“We will proceed with the event as scheduled,” he confirmed.
“Great, thanks.” I was about to hang up the phone, but then I got an idea:
“Would it be possible to make another reservation?” I asked.
“That would depend, sir…” the man said slowly. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well…”
***
As soon as I pulled my truck into the parking lot of Elizabeth Park, I could appreciate why Cassidy had chosen it for our wedding venue.
I had been to the park before, as a kid; we had gone on school field trips here, and I even had one distant memory of our mom taking us here before she died....
But I guess as an adult, I had forgotten about the park, and it’s impressive sprawling rose garden. Now, seeing it for myself, I immediately remembered how massive the place had seemed to me when I was a kid. And I also understood why Cass had picked it.
A lawn of manicured grass sprawled out in all directions, and there were several aisles lined with rose-covered awnings that lead to a single ivy-laced gazebo in the center of the garden.
Staring at the gazebo in the soft pink light of the setting sun, I could almost imagine what Cassidy would look like, walking down the aisle towards the altar as rose petals fluttered around her…
“What do you think, sir?” a stubby attendant asked me, jerking me back to reality.
My eyes settled on a small round table that had been set up at the end of the aisle, right in front of the gazebo, where the altar should be…
The table was draped with a pale pink tablecloth. Tall stick candles burned. Condensation bubbled over an ice bucket that contained a bottle of champagne. Two place settings had been arranged, waiting…
“It’s perfect,” I said.
It better be perfect, I added silently. I had paid an arm and a leg for the park staff to arrange this private, ‘romantic dinner for two’ in the center of the rose garden. And I had to admit: they had done a pretty good job of pulling everything together on such short notice.
I had made the arrangements with the park staff yesterday over the phone, after paying the remainder of our wedding deposit.
Planning a candlelit dinner at sunset was the easy part; figuring out how I was going to convince Cassidy to meet me there was the challenge. She wasn’t returning my phone calls, and I didn’t want to turn up at her house unannounced.
That only left me with one option: flowers.
I ordered two dozen roses and paid for them to be delivered to her doorstep, along with a card inviting her to dinner. That was my final plea.
I ran through what I wanted to say to Cass; what I would tell her, to convince her to give me a second chance…
Every time I tried to write the script in my head, I ended up at the same place; there was only one thing I could tell Cassidy, and that was the truth: “I love you…”
“Do you know when Miss Laurent might arrive?” the attendant asked me. “I expected that you would arrive together…”
“She should be here shortly,” I assured him, even though the racing flutter in my chest indicated that I didn’t quite trust whether or not she’d turn up at all…
“Very well,” the attendant bowed. “I’ll escort her to your table when she arrives.”
“Thank you,” I nodded. Then I took a seat at the table.
The attendant left me alone, and I stared out at the sprawling rose garden around me.
White chairs were set up on either side of the aisle, and I imagined the seats full of people… familiar faces. I imagined how my mother would feel, if she was alive… if she was here, to be part of the audience. For the first time, I imagined her watching with a smile. And at that moment, I decided that she would have given us her blessing.
I felt a peace fill my heart. But then I glanced at the empty place setting across the table from me, and the peace melted away.
There was still one thing left to fix… and it was the most important part of this entire equation. Was Cassidy going to show up?
My eyes flicked down the aisle, and I waited… I waited to see if my bride would show up, or if I would be left at the altar, waiting forever...