Page 206 of The Night Shift
We stand like that for a while. A breeze moves through, lifting goosebumps on my arms. The sun’s out. Weak, but there. Theo’s hand stays warm and steady against my skin.
I don’t know what this is. I don’t know what I’m doing with him or why…but it feels…really,reallynice. I can hear his heartbeat like this. Quiet and even. It’s a nice sound.
The thought of living in a world where it doesn’t exist makes my shoulders stiffen.
“Love?”
“Hmm?”
“You smell nice.”
“Stop being creepy.”
“Well, you did imply I’m the inferior creep. I’m just defending my honor.”
More silence.
He goes on petting my hair like I’m an anxious cat. My nose brushes his shirt. He presses his mouth to the top of my head.
“Holly?” he asks.
“Yeah?”
There’s a pause. One of those almost-electric silences, where you can feel the weight of something about to be said. But then he exhales like he’s decided to keep it in for a little while more. “Want to go have sex in my car before the ceremony?”
Eyes closed, I laugh. “You’re sick.” Then I grab his hand and lead the way.
* * *
You can usually tell whether a marriage is going to last by watching the groom’s face when the bride walks down the aisle.
And judging by the way Parker’s looking at April, like he might die if he blinks — it’s enough to make even a cynic believe that they’ve done this a hundred times before, in every lifetime.
April doesn’t take her eyes off him either. Not even as Dad loops her arm through Parker’s and shoots him one of those “I got my eye on you if you ever hurt my precious baby”looks.
A single tear falls down Parker’s face, chased by another. He doesn’t bother wiping them away. April’s crying too, which is fair. I’d be crying too if I was marrying a real-life troll doll.
Theo and I are standing off to the sides. I glance over at him only to find he’s already watching me. He gives me a wink. I scratch my nose with my middle finger.
The officiant — some youngish, bearded man, someone April found online — clears his throat and flips open a leather-bound notebook. “Dearly beloved,” he begins. “We are gathered here today to celebrate a lifelong commitment of love. Finding your life partner is a true joy, and the commitment to share in life’s ups and downs as one is no small feat.”
I zone out a little as he continues on with the heartfelt, sappy part.
“Hayden,” the officiant says eventually — and I swear to god, until this exact moment I’d forgotten that is what Parker’s first name is — “do you take April to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and support her, to be her partner in crime, and to uh…accompany her to every single Comic Con, even the shitty ones, for the rest of your life?”
“I do,” Parker says.
“And April, do you take Hayden to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love and support him, to watch” — he glances at his notes — “uh, every single Marvel movie, even the corny Phase 4 ones, and to never go to bed without giving him a hug no matter how badly he gets on your nerves?”
April's fingers tighten around Parker’s. “I do.”
The officiant turns to us. “The rings?”
My stomach does an Olympic-level flip as Fake Dog trots down the aisle with the rings attached to his collar. We crouchto unclip the rings. Parker bends to scratch behind the cat’s ear. Fake Dog doesn’t purr. Just a blank, vaguely accusatory stare at the people he doesn’t recognize. I feel a brief pang of guilt, then shove it aside like every other inconvenient emotion.
I hand April her ring. Theo passes Parker his, and murmurs something under his breath. Parker huffs out a short laugh.
April slides the ring onto Parker’s finger. His hands tremble as he slips hers on.
