I Do, I Do . . . Again Page 6

  Sunny refused to back down. "Sometimes I wish Robby and I had eloped again and simply presented you with a fait accompli."

  Bingo.

  The word "elope" brought both mothers up short.

  "Sunny!" They said in unison. "You wouldn't."

  Robert, bless him, stepped into the fray. "She wouldn't," he said.

  "I always said he was a good boy," Millie remarked, gazing at her future son-in-law with devotion. "He understands."

  "He doesn't understand anything," said Olivia with a sniff. "He just knows when he's in more trouble than he can handle."

  "I think we'd better get that marriage license," Sunny said to Robert.

  "If we want to escape with our lives," he mumbled under his breath. He pulled some money out of his pocket and handed it to his daughter. "Lunch is on me."

  Jessi looked crestfallen. "You're not coming with us?"

  "We can't, Jess. By the time we get the license, the afternoon will be shot."

  Sunny gave Jessi an apologetic smile. "Just a few more days of this craziness and we'll be back to normal."

  "You'll sit with us at the rehearsal dinner tonight," Robert promised. "Place of honor."

  Millie rested a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you hungry, Jessi?"

  Jessi shrugged. "I guess."

  "We'll go to the florist first and then the caterer's," said Olivia, jotting an entry in her notebook, "and then the Happy Sprout."

  "We'll make it up to you, sweetheart," said Robert. "We promise."

  Sunny hoped Jessi would let them.

  ***

  From there the day slid from bad to worse. Two of the bridesmaids were late for the rehearsal; Millie lost her contact lenses; and Sunny's grandmother flatly stated she wouldn't drink champagne no matter who was getting married.

  And now Michael had decided to play hide-and-seek.

  "Michael!" Robert's voice rang out through the small church. "If you don't come out by the time I count three, I'll--"

  Sunny grabbed his forearm and squeezed hard. "You're in church," she reminded, her voice a frantic whisper.

  Robert glanced toward the minister standing at the foot of the altar. Sunny wasn't entirely sure her intended registered the man's presence.

  "Stay here," she urged. Stay quiet! "I'll look for Michael."

  And while she was at it, she'd look for the exit. So far, the entire wedding rehearsal had been an unmitigated disaster and they'd yet to get past their arrival at the church. One of the ushers had tripped in the vestibule and sprained his ankle, necessitating a trip to the emergency room. "I'll be back even if my foot's in a cast," he'd promised cheerfully, sending her sister Liz into tears.

  "I can't walk down the aisle alone," she'd wailed. "I'll look ridiculous."

  Sunny snorted in disgust. "No more ridiculous than I look right now," Sunny muttered as she crawled around the organ in the balcony, looking for Robert's errant son. "Michael, if you're anywhere in earshot, come out. You don't want your dad to find you."

  She heard the rustle of clothing somewhere near the choir loft. "This isn't funny, Michael," she warned. "We can't get married if we don't have a ring bearer." A stifled giggle sounded from nearby. "Michael! Where are you?"

  He popped up, face streaked with dirt, eyes dancing with pure mischief. He looked adorable but she wasn't about to tell him so. "Bet you thought I ran away!"

  "No, I didn't," she said, pulling a tissue from her pocket and trying to wipe away the worst of the grime. "I knew you were hiding."

  "Were you scared?"

  She shook her head. "We need you downstairs, Michael, not up here playing games."

  He didn't look terribly contrite. What was there about this wedding rehearsal that was bringing out the worst in people? She felt like throwing a tantrum herself.

  "Come on," she said, offering Michael her hand. "Let's go downstairs and practice."

  Michael stuck out his lower lip. "Don't want to."

  "Well, I don't much want to myself, Michael, but that doesn't matter. Reverend Davies expects us to."

  "I don't care."

  "I do. Now let's get moving."

  It was a little like leading a recalcitrant water buffalo to higher ground. Sunny wouldn't have believe that someone so small could be so stubborn. She'd have to remember never to underestimate the will power of a six year old boy.

  "I found him," Sunny said as Robert stormed up the aisle to where she and Michael waited in the vestibule. "He was in the choir loft."

  "We'll talk about this later, young man," Robert barked. "Now let's get this show on the road."

  Hardly the stuff of romance.

  But then there wasn't much about the wedding rehearsal that had anything to do with romance.

  Two of the ushers got into an argument about who was taller. There was something almost comical about a pair of thirtysomething six-footers asking a minister to referee their heated debate. The bridesmaids, however, weren't about to be outdone. Sunny's sisters battled over which one of them would adjust the bridal train before Sunny walked down the aisle. Even her easygoing uncles had teetered on the verge of mayhem.

  Sunny's father escorted her down the aisle, beaming with pride although this was only a rehearsal. He handed her over to Robert who looked as if he'd been catnapping on his feet.

  Sunny stifled a yawn as they turned to face the waiting minister. "Two days from today," said Reverend Davies with a big smile, "and you'll be husband and wife."

  "If we live that long," said the happy couple in unison.

  ***

  They survived the rehearsal and the dinner afterwards--but not by much. Robert's habit of questioning friends as if they were courtroom witnesses got on her nerves and she had reason to suspect he'd be a lot happier if she hadn't chosen to spike her hair for the event. This is normal, she told herself as they drove back to Robert's house. He'd insisted they stop there before he took her home. All couples fight. The miracle was they hadn't squabbled long before this. Certainly the first time around their relationship had been as fiery as it had been romantic.

  Sunny flipped on Robert's answering machine. "Broken!" Sunny shrieked. "Ed's ankle can't be broken! What on earth are we going to do?"

  "I don't suppose Liz would be willing to walk down the aisle alone."

  "You heard her before. She'd need a sedative." At the best of times her sister was prone to melodramatic outbursts. She could only imagine what histrionics this development would produce.

  "Ed said he still wants to be in the wedding. He could always use a cane."

  "Not with a broken ankle.." She thought for a second. "But he could use a chair."

  "Sounds good to me," said Robert. "We could drape it with flowers and Liz could hitch a ride on his lap."

  Sunny had to laugh at the idea. "Wouldn't she just love that."

  Jessi and Michael popped up in the doorway to the kitchen. "I'm going upstairs," she announced. "Want me to put him to bed?"

  "Not yet."

  "There you go again," said Sunny, glancing at Robert. "You look like the cat that ate the canary. What gives?" She'd seen that same expression on his face the night of her bridal shower.

  "As soon as I get the whole group of you in the den, I'll tell you."

  "Fair warning," she said darkly. "I'm not up for any more surprises." She turned to Jessi. "Do you have any idea what your dad is up to?"

  Jessi shrugged her narrow shoulders. "Maybe we're going to get a dog."

  That was all Michael had to hear. He forgot all about the chocolate milk he was drinking and started running around the kitchen pretending he was a golden retriever. Even Jessi looked excited.

  "Those kids are expecting nothing less than Lassie," she said sotto voce as they entered the den.

  "Better than Lassie," he stage-whispered back.

  "Bigger?"

  "That, too."

  "A horse!" Sunny brought her hands together in glee. "You remembered how much I'd always wanted a horse."

&
nbsp; Apparently a horse was even better than a dog to Michael because he stopped barking and started whinnying at the top of his six-year-old lungs.

  "What's the surprise, Dad?" Jessi sat on the edge of the sofa, her blue eyes expectant. "Is it a horse?"

  Robert no longer had the cat-and-canary look about him. "It's not a horse."

  "Then it has to be a dog," said Sunny, wondering how she'd like living with a canine who weighed more than she did.

  "It's not a dog," said Robert.

  Michael's lower lip trembled. "I want a dog."

  Sunny reached out and gave him a hug. "When your dad and I come back from our honeymoon we can talk about getting a dog."

  "This isn't going exactly the way I had it planned." Robert was looking more befuddled by the minute. It was nice to know that family matters could undo even the best of men. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a key on a red satin ribbon, then handed it to Sunny.

  "A car?" she asked, puzzled.

  "A truck!" said Michael, ecstatic.

  "A minivan," said Jessi, wrinkling her nose.

  "A house," said Robert.

  "What?!" Three voices in unison. Then Sunny's rose over the pack. "You bought a house?"

  "Five bedrooms, three and a half baths. The kitchen is as big as your entire cottage."

  She stared at him, unable to comprehend his words. A house! People didn't just go out and buy houses for other people, no matter how much money they had. Houses were something you worked for, struggled over, dreamed about with the one you loved.

  "I haven't exactly bought it yet," Robert went on, feeling like he had during his worst days in law school. Where were the jubilant cheers and the looks of adoration? "I put down a deposit last week."

  "But I want a dog!" Michael cried, bursting into tears.

  "Where is this house?" Sunny asked. "I thought we'd decided this location was perfect."

  "Two towns west of here. This place is better than perfect, Sunny. You can have your own studio complete with north light."

  The artist in Sunny was tempted. The woman, however, was not. Jessi remained ominously silent. Robert produced pictures of an exceptionally handsome ranch house. They all stared at him. "The studio is over there," he said, pointing, "and the kids' rooms are on the opposite side."

  "I don't want a new room," said Michael. "I want my old room."

  "Jessi?" He turned toward his daughter. "What do you think?"

  Her face was streaked with tears. "What do you care?" she threw back at him. "You just do whatever you want anyway. You don't care what I think about anything."

  "Jessi." Sunny stepped forward. "I don't think your dad wanted to upset you. He meant well."

  "What the hell do you mean, 'he meant well'?" Robert exploded. "A man buys a great house for his family and instead of thanking me, you're all looking at me like I'm a mass murderer. What in hell is going on around here?"

  Sunny wheeled toward him. "You don't spring houses on people, Robert. You spring dogs on people or horses, but houses usually require a bit more communication."

  "So do weddings," he shot back. "For the past two months you've been calling all the shots there."

  "Me? If you remember, I didn't want anything to do with a big wedding. It was your mother's idea."

  "Like your mother wasn't calling caterers before we finished announcing our engagement. They don't call her the Terminator for nothing."

  "Oh yeah? Your mom makes mine seem like Mary Sunshine by comparison."

  They glared at each other across the floor plans.

  "You're awful!" Jessi cried, breaking the silence. "I hate you both." Turning she ran from the room and seconds later they heard the sound of her bedroom door slamming shut.

  "I'm going up to talk to her." Robert started for the stairs.

  "Leave her alone," Sunny snapped. "We've made big enough fools of ourselves already."

  Michael's head swiveled from one to the other as if he were a spectator at Wimbledon. Sunny didn't dare imagine how ridiculous grownups must seem from his vantage point.

  "I would like to go back to my parents' house," Sunny said quietly. She was spending the week before her wedding with the Talbots.

  "Fine."

  He didn't have to sound so eager.

  She helped Michael on with his sweater. "What about Jessi?"

  Robert stood at the foot of the stairway. "I'm taking Sunny home," he bellowed. "Do you hear me, Jess?"

  Amazing how much emotion could be conveyed in the simple word, "Yes."

  They drove back to the Talbots' house in silence. Michael was dozing in the back seat and Sunny kept her gaze on the road. What a disaster this whole terrible day had been. Ed's broken ankle, Liz's tears, her uncles practically coming to blows over a Cuban cigar, and the ushers fighting about who was the taller. She tried to console herself with the fact that not even royal weddings went off without a hitch.

  It gave her hope.

  ***

  Michael had somehow managed to sleep during the ride to the Talbots' house and back, blissfully oblivious to the icy undercurrents. There was something to be said for being six years old, Robert thought as he lifted his sleeping son out of the car and carried him into the house. He wouldn't have minded sleeping through that ride-from-hell himself.

  "Wait," he'd said as he stopped the car in her parents' driveway. "I'll walk you to the door."

  "Don't bother," she'd snapped. "I'll see you at the church on Saturday."

  He started up the staircase with his sleeping son draped over his shoulder. Sure it had been a lousy night. That wedding rehearsal had only served to remind him that you get older, but you don't necessarily get smarter. He and Sunny had been right the first time. Too bad the wedding was only two days away, otherwise he'd throw her over his shoulder and drag her off to a justice of the peace.

  Jessi's door was closed but the light filtered out through the bottom crack. How in hell the house of a family's dreams could throw them all into chaos was beyond him. Maybe Jessi would be able to explain it to him. He rapped on the door with his elbow.

  "Jess? Open up. We need to talk." He waited, but no response. He rapped on the door again. "Jessi, give your old man a break. Something's bothering you. I want to know what it is."

  Still nothing. Beads of sweat broke out on the back of his neck. He shifted Michael's position, then reached for the doorknob.

  The bed lamp was lighted. The radio was on to one of those stations that made him understand how his parents had felt twenty years ago. Everything looked normal. The only problem was Jessi was nowhere in sight. He laid Michael down on the bed and knocked on the bathroom door. She wasn't in there either. He slid open the doors to her walk-in closet. If she'd packed, she hadn't taken much. Her favorite denim knapsack was gone and her wallet and the locket Grandma Holland had given her for her twelfth birthday and the picture of her mother.

  Apprehension turned to fear.

  His daughter was gone.

  Chapter Six

  Sunny was sitting on her parents' front porch feeling sorry for herself when she saw Robert's car turn into the driveway and all of her fears vanished in a burst of elation. He'd come to make up with her! She leaped up from the glider and hurried down the steps to meet him.

  "Oh, Robby!" She ran to fling herself into his arms. "I'm so glad you--"

  "Jessi's gone."

  She stopped. "What?"

  "She's gone. Her light was on, the radio was blaring--" He stopped and she saw him swallow hard.

  She felt as if someone had literally knocked the breath from her body.

  "I'd been hoping she was here but...." His words died away as he turned his head to hide the glitter of tears.

  "Her best friend," Sunny said, struggling for the girl's name. "The one next door."

  Robert shook his head. "I tried there."

  "Bestie number two, the one around the corner?"

  "Not there either."

  He'd called movie theatres, the skating
rink, even Reverend Davies at church.

  "Where's Michael?" Sunny asked, glancing around.

  "Asleep in the back seat."

  "Does Olivia know Jessi's missing?"

  "Not yet. I figured there was a good chance Jess would be here, so why worry her." He'd called his mother with some lame question, hoping against hope his daughter would be sitting at the kitchen table complaining about him.

  "Have you called the police?"

  "No accidents."

  Sunny's knees went weak with momentary relief. "Thank God."

  "I'm going to check the parks," he said, racing toward the car.

  "I'm coming with you." Sunny was close behind.

  They got to the school yard in record time. A splash of moonlight silvered the grassy soccer field. No sign of Jessi anywhere. They drove to the town park where Sunny, a sleepy Michael in tow, checked the playground while Robert searched the bushes and other hiding places. Jessi was nowhere to be found.

  "The bus station," Sunny said, heart thudding with fear. "Maybe she...." Her words faded away in the darkness. She couldn't finish the sentence, not when Robert seemed to be aging right in front of her eyes.

  The bus station was at the far end of town. Poorly lighted and in need of repairs, the sight of it sent shivers up Sunny's spine. Beer cans littered the front steps while the stink of whiskey tilted her stomach on end.

  The ticket clerk was dozing over his newspaper. He yawned and stretched as Sunny and Robert, with a sleepy Michael in his arms, approached.

  "No buses 'til morning," he said. "Schedules are on the far wall, coffee's on the counter behind me."

  "I'm looking for my daughter." Robert pushed a photo of Jessi toward the clerk. "Have you seen her?"

  The clerk seemed only mildly interested. "No kids here today." He gave Sunny a look. "Would she hitch?"

  Sunny looked toward Robert who shook his head. "No way. That's the one thing I'm sure of."

  Back at the car, Sunny settled Michael in the back then buckled herself into her own seat. Robert's fingers drummed against the steering wheel. His jaw was locked tight.