Page 57 of Twice
Within minutes, we learned the man’s name was Dozie, that he’d emigrated from Nigeria in his twenties and had worked in this general store until the original owner, an elderly woman, passed away and, to his surprise, left him the business in her estate. That was twelve years ago, he said. In a town as small as this, he’d had to learn to wear many hats. Volunteer firefighter. Election official. Tree trimmer.
“Why did you leave Nigeria?” Gianna asked.
“Silly me. I fell for an American woman and married her. She used to work here beside me.” He paused. “She passed last year.”
“I’m sorry,” Gianna said.
“I am sorry, too. It’s a wonderful thing, to be married to an excellent person.”
Gianna glanced at me. I could tell she was happy we’d taken this trip.
“May I ask, are you two...?”
“Engaged,” Gianna said. She made an exaggerated frown. “Still waiting on a ring.”
“Ah, well, we can take care of that,” Dozie said.
He pointed to half a dozen toy rings in a foam rubber display. Gianna plucked one out and put it on her pinkie finger. She held it up, admiring the cheap sparkle.
“Now, if only you were a justice of the peace.”
Dozie grinned. “As a matter of fact...”
We looked at each other.
“You’re joking,” I said.
“I am not. I have officiated more than thirty weddings in our town.”
Gianna grabbed my hand. I felt a nervous flush.
“Alfie,” she said, “do you want to get married today?”
There were a million things I could have said at that moment. A witty retort. A mushy concurrence. A simple yes.
But what I said was: “Twice.”
?
Instantly, I was back in the car that morning, driving through the Holland Tunnel. Gianna was complaining about her magazine editor. I mumbled “Yeah” and “You’re right.” But inside, my heart was racing. I thought about not stopping at that forest. Never going for that walk.
Yet as we rolled through New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, I realized there was no good reason to wait. I loved Gianna. She loved me. Nobody came close to making me feel as happy, as understood, or as appreciated as she did. Perhaps living life recklessly the first time—knowing I could alwayserase things later—hadn’t prepared me for a moment of real commitment. I’d panicked. I felt ashamed.
Just then Gianna, for no reason, reached across, took my hand, and without a word, pulled it into her lap as she gazed out the window.
“Hi, honey,” I whispered.
She turned and smiled. “Hi, honey.”
With that, something inside me melted. And for the first time in all the years of my magical undoings, I left everything as it was, because another truth in The Truth About True Love is that when it’s good, you don’t want to alter it. The walk through the woods. The encounter with Dozie. I left every detail untouched, right up to the moment when Gianna asked, “Alfie, do you want to get married today?”
This time I smiled.
“I do,” I said.
Dozie threw his hands in the air. “Wonderful! We only need a few things...”
He moved quickly to the shelves, pulling off several items.
