Page 133 of It Couldn't Be You
Me
you’ve become such a recent purveyor of covered patios
Gabriel
you know you’re going to be meet me out there
Me
fine
Ifound Gabe sitting on the steps, just missing the rainfall, looking out at the inky night sky. I sat down beside him. The steps were damp under me, but there was nowhere else I wanted to be. He pulled me in closer to him, tucking me under his arm.
“Finally,” he said, release a breath.
I felt like my whole body sighed. Maybe I could fall asleep here for the night, in his arms, to the sound of rain.
“I missed you so bad,” he whispered against the top of my head.
I wasn’t sure if he meant for the past few years or for the past few weeks, or the past twenty-four hours, but either way, I said, “I missed you, too.”
I reached up and pulled his chin until he was looking at me. “But we’re here now.”
He leaned his lips down to my hand and kissed my fingers.
“This changes everything, huh?” I said, because since when did Gabe and I have sneaky rainy meet-ups to kiss?
“But does it?” he asked, cupping his hand around my face, running his thumb against my jawline and then down my neck, almost leaving a trail of smoke at how hot it was.
Until the sliding glass doors opened, and there stood Mama Linda. “Oh, it’s you two. I thought I heard voices out here and was a little spooked.”
Gabriel said, “No intruders, Mom. We were just talking.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Shenanigans?”
I stood up abruptly. “No shenanigans.”
Gabe moaned. “We cannot even have five minutes together?”
I grabbed his hand and pulled him up. “We have a big day tomorrow, bud.”
“After everything the past twenty-four hours, and I’m gettingbud?” He continued his moaning.
“Go to bed, bud,” Linda said, as we trailed back inside the house.
Fifty
The next morning, we woke up and the rain was completely gone. The earth was soft, but the air felt crisp and cool. As if God had decided to spend all night cleaning for the wedding today, everything was a bright, shining green.
“It’ll be perfect. Everyone will just need to wear a pair of boots. I’ll send out a mass message,” Tanya said that morning as we stood drinking coffee standing on the back porch, dripping in relief like dew.
Terrence’s crew hopped on an early morning flight. Katie and Terrence woke up to celebratory messages telling them they were boarding along with their arrival details. Katie had run out in her pajamas to announce the news, dancing around the kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez were enlisted to pick them up in a few hours at the airport.
Katie was having a semi-spa-like morning in her room with a massage therapist first thing in the morning. She’d booked herself a long bath before her stylist and makeup artist arrived. I felt like some sort of floater being whisked from job to job without making much of an impact and with no real direction.
I started out helping set up in the backyard with Victor, Ricky, and Luis. Then I was back and forth, prepping and chatting with Katie. Then I helped the florist. Then I was answering catering questions I wasn’t even sure about. Then I was answering calls asking where the actual people in charge were.
I was standing in the kitchen when I realized we had a couple hours left until the wedding began, and I didn’t have my hair or makeup done. I tiptoed into Katie’s room, and the makeup artist offered to help me a little. Music was playing, and Katie already looked like a wedding goddess from your dreams.
