I jerked my head to the side. “Beat it, Lex.”
She ignored me. “I guess you both heard about the fire?”
“A little bit,” Abby said, clearly uncomfortable.
“I heard students were having a party down there. That they’ve been sneaking into basements all year.”
“Is that so?” I asked. From the corner of my eye I could see Abby looking up at me, but I tried not to look too relieved. If that was true, maybe I’d be off the hook.
The rest of the day was spent either being stared at or congratulated. For the first time, I wasn’t stopped between classes by different girls wanting to know my plans for the weekend. They just watched as I walked by, hesitant to approach someone else’s husband. It was actually kinda nice.
My day was going pretty well, and I wondered if Abby could say the same. Even my psych professor offered me a small smile and nod when she overhead my answer to questions about whether the rumor was true.
After our last class, I met Abby at the Camry, and tossed our bags into the backseat. “Was it as bad as you thought?”
“Yes.” She breathed.
“I guess today wouldn’t be a good day to break it to my dad, then, huh?”
“No, but we’d better. You’re right, I don’t want him hearing the news somewhere else.”
Her answer surprised me, but I didn’t question it. Abby tried to get me to drive, but I refused, insisting she get comfortable behind the wheel.
The drive to Dad’s from campus didn’t take long—but longer than if I’d driven. Abby obeyed all traffic laws, mostly because she was nervous about getting pulled over and accidentally handing the cop the fake ID.
Our little town seemed different as it passed by, or maybe it was me that wasn’t the same. I wasn’t sure if it was being a married man that made me feel a little more relaxed—laid-back, even—or if I had finally settled into my own skin. I was now in a situation where I didn’t have to prove myself, because the one person that fully accepted me, my best friend, was now a permanent fixture in my life.
It seemed like I had completed a task, overcome an obstacle. I thought about my mother, and the words she said to me almost a lifetime ago. That’s when it clicked: she had asked me not to settle, to fight for the person I loved, and for the first time, I did what she expected of me. I had finally lived up to who she wanted me to be.
I took a deep, cleansing breath, and reached over to rest my hand on Abby’s knee.
“What is it?” she asked.
“What is what?”
“The look on your face.”
Her eyes shifted between me and the road, extremely curious. I imagined it was a new expression, but I couldn’t begin to explain what it might look like.
“I’m just happy, baby.”
Abby half hummed, half laughed. “Me, too.”
Admittedly I was a little nervous about telling my dad about our eventful getaway to Vegas, but not because he would be mad. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but the butterflies in my stomach swirled faster and harder with every block closer that we came to Dad’s house.
Abby pulled into the gravel driveway, soggy from the rain, and stopped beside the house.
“What do you think he’ll say?” she asked.
“I don’t know. He’ll be happy, I know that.”
“You think so?” Abby asked, reaching for my hand.
I squeezed her fingers between mine. “I know so.”
Before we could make it to the front door, Dad stepped out onto the porch.
“Well, hello there, kids” he said, smiling. His eyes scrunched as his cheeks pushed up the puffy bags under his eyes. “I wasn’t sure who was out here. Did you get a new car, Abby? It’s nice.”
“Hey, Jim.” Abby smiled. “Travis did.”
“It’s ours,” I said, pulling off my ball cap. “We thought we’d stop by.”
“I’m glad you did . . . glad you did. We’re getting some rain, I guess.”
“I guess,” I said, my nerves stifling any ability I had for small talk. What I thought were nerves was really just excitement to share the news with my father.
Dad knew something was amiss. “You had a good spring break?”
“It was . . . interesting,” Abby said, leaning into my side.
“Oh?”
“We took a trip, Dad. We skipped on over to Vegas for a couple of days. We decided to uh . . . we decided to get married.”
Dad paused for a few seconds, and then his eyes quickly searched for Abby’s left hand. When he found the validation he was looking for, he looked to Abby, and then to me.
“Dad?” I said, surprised by the blank expression on his face.
My father’s eyes glossed a bit, and then the corners of his mouth slowly turned up. He outstretched his arms, and enveloped me and Abby at the same time.
Smiling, Abby peeked over at me. I winked back at her.
“I wonder what Mom would say if she were here,” I said.