Miss Match (2 page)

Sunday morning dawns sunshiny and bitterly cold. I am standing just
inside the front door of my church, shivering. The things I do for my sister's future happiness.

Nate comes through the door and I yell, "Nate! Hi, remember me?"

His face splits in a grin. "Um. Yeah, of course I remember you."

"Good. How was your week?"

"Fine."

He looks like he's going to go on into the service, so I need to distract
him. Lexi has no sense of punctuality at all.

"Tell me about the stock exchange. I've been thinking about
investing."

"Really? Well, that's good because right now. .

My brain stops there and I keep eye contact and nod occasionally
just so he thinks I'm still paying attention.

The door opens.

Remember those movie scenes where the hero and heroine finally
meet and there's this huge swell from an orchestra?

You're not going to believe this, but it does happen!

The door opens; Lexi pops her incredibly gorgeous head in and
doesn't even glance in my direction as she half-runs to the sanctuary,
pushing her earrings through her ears as she jogs.

"Lex!"

She turns, and right then is when the music director, David, starts
strumming a sweet song on his guitar.

Nate blinks at her, taken aback. Lexi is beautiful-long, long, long
honey blonde hair, huge gray eyes, a perfect smattering of freckles across
her adorable nose.

"Hey, Baby," she says to me. She smiles politely at the starched gent
next to me. "I'm Lexi Holbrook, Laurie's sister."

"I'm Nate." Swallow. "Nate Kennedy."

They shake hands.

I grin. Electricity is zipping through the air and it isn't just from my again static-clung hair.

"You're welcome to sit next to us," Lexi says, like I knew she would.

"Sure. I'd like that."

They don't even make sure I'm behind them as they disappear into
the sanctuary.

I try very hard not to burst into a happy song and dance. Well, moderately hard anyway.

"Laurie?"

I whirl, midtwist.

Brandon comes down the hall, frowning. "What are you doing?"

"Brandon, darlin'," I drawl, grinning exuberantly, "I have discovered
my life's work."

"It's not coffee drinking, is it? How many cups have you had today
anyway?"

"No, it's not coffee drinking." I wave my hands around. "Eight
months, Brandon. Maybe less."

"Eight months until what?"

I grin in the direction of the sanctuary doors and then smirk at
Brandon. "First Corinthians 7:36," I tell him, opening the door.

He whips his Bible from his coat pocket, flips to the passage. I'm
halfway in the sanctuary, the congregation is singing, and I can still hear
his yell.

"`They should get married'? Laurie!"

There comes a time in every woman's life when she desperately desires to
be married. At least, this is what I have always been told by my father. I
am beginning to doubt his word on the subject. I am officially, as of one
week, twenty-three years old and haven't the slightest inkling of matrimony or desperation.

I didn't feel desperate at my friends' weddings or even at my sister's wedding, which took place just a few hours ago. My father did,
however.

"I can't believe Lexi's getting married." This is all Dad said during
Lexi's six-month engagement. To be honest, I'm glad the day finally came
so Dad can maybe get over it and move on with life.

I shouldn't be so optimistic.

"I can't believe Lexi got married."

The only change in the conversation is the tense.

Dad is in his favorite chair, the red one with the plaid stripes, staring bleakly at the floor where Lexi's dog, Muffin, blissfully chews the
designer coffee table legs unhindered. Dad's gray hair is still combed
nicely from the wedding, but he's changed into a pair of khakis and a
polo shirt.

A fire is roaring in the massive fireplace, and all the lights in the
house are off except the one lamp by Dad's chair.

"Dad, come on. You've got to move on now. Lex is married, to a
wonderful guy I might add, and that's that." I lounge on the limited edition leather couch, still in my maid of honor gown. Lexi always dreamed
of a fancy, black-tie-only wedding. Fortunately Dad could afford it. Dad
told me he didn't sell his Internet company just to sit on the millions of
dollars, and Lexi told me to stand up straight every four minutes so I
wouldn't wrinkle the two-thousand-dollar dress.

I'm having fun mashing as many wrinkles as possible into the hateful fabric.

"Laurie-girl."

Dad turns woeful gray eyes at me, and I suddenly have the impression of staring at a humanized basset hound.

"Yes, Dad?"

"Don't ever get married, Laurie-girl. I don't think I can take you
leaving me."

I laugh. "You have nothing to worry about, Dad. Even if I did want
to get married, which I don't, there aren't any good men around anymore
anyway.

"I feel the same way about women." The voice is not my dad's.

I roll my eyes. "Can't you ever knock?"

Brandon strolls into the room like he owns the place. He stops by
Dad's chair. "How are you doing, sir?"

"Not too good, Brandon."

"I was afraid of that." Up to this point, Brandon hasn't even turned in
my direction. Now he winks at me. He is still in his tux, the tie undone,
and his straight, short brown hair is no longer combed neatly. Brandon is
tall, and his lankiness just makes him look taller. The tux kind of rounds
him out a little bit.

He's still talking. "Lexi's absence will be keenly felt, I'm sure."

"Oh brother." I adjust my position so that I can attack the left side of
the dress. "Why are you here, Brandon?"

He hands Dad a box. "I found these after the wedding. I thought
you might like them, Mr. Holbrook."

Unopened tea bags fill the box. Dad smiles for the first time that day.
"Thanks."

"For Pete's sake." I groan. "Dad, Lexi hasn't lived here for four years!
It's not like you saw her every day. In fact, you'll probably see her more
now. Lexi and Nate's house is two blocks away."

Dad nods, his face easing back into a sad frown. "I guess,
Laurie-girl."

I close my eyes.

"So what big plans do you have for this evening?" Brandon sits at the
other end of the couch from me, kicking my bare foot.

"None." I twist away. "Dad wants to rest."

"The wedding wore me out. And there's a bad cold going around."
Dad puts a hand to his forehead. "I hope I didn't catch it."

When I was in fifth grade, my teacher asked my class to describe our
parents in one word. Mom passed away when I was eight, so I only had
to depict Dad. It was the easiest assignment I have ever had. One word:
Hypochondriac. The hardest part of the assignment was spelling it.

Brandon's mouth twists in a pitiful attempt to not smile. "Don't
worry, Mr. Holbrook. I'm sure you're safe."

"I don't know. I'm going to go make some tea. Would either of you
like some?"

I know what kind it will be. Lemongrass. Blegh.

"No thanks, Dad," I say cheerfully. "I feel fine."

"You got your mother's immune system. You should be thanking
God for that every day," Dad says solemnly.

I nod.

"None for me either." Brandon smiles. "I had a glass of orange juice
before coming over."

"Smart boy. See, Laurie-girl? You should take a few lessons from
Brandon."

"I'll try," I say, this time not as cheerfully.

Dad leaves the room. Brandon waits until Dad is out of earshot.
"He's not doing very well," he whispers.

I groan.

"I guess you knew that." He pauses. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Lex is happy, Nate is happy, and I'm happy because I'm the
one who introduced them." One week before Christmas. How romantic
is that?

He brushes it off. "Luck."

"Not luck. They're perfect for each other."

"Yes, but don't attribute that to yourself. God would have had them
meet eventually on their own."

Brandon takes great pride in minimizing the things in which I take
great pride.

"Say what you want. But I know I'm partly responsible for the wedding today, and I'm proud of it."

"Laurie, I wish you wouldn't do that," Dad says, coming back from
the kitchen.

"What's that, Dad?"

"Tear families apart."

I blink. Brandon starts laughing and tries to cover it with a cough.

"Dad, I didn't tear any families apart, I joined them together."

"A wedding is a very sad thing for every family. Did you see Nate's
mother today?" He shakes his head mournfully.

"She was bawling," Brandon says.

"Exactly." Dad points at me. "Tearing families apart." A faint whistle
floats from the kitchen, and Dad leaves again.

I can't get mad at Dad. But I definitely can at Brandon.

"What is the matter with you?"

"What?"

"Telling him Nate's mom was bawling." I whack his tux-shrouded
shoulder. "Good grief, Brandon."

He laughs.

Brandon Knox has been my best friend since second grade. We met
on the playground during an intense game of Fox and Hound. After we
both ended up with bloody noses and spent the next three hours together
in the nurse's office, it was fated-we would either be best friends or best
enemies for life. There are times when I wonder if we're really the latter
dressed up as the former.

He's been there for all the major events in my life. When my mom
died. When I had braces. Graduation. Both of my sisters' weddings.

It can make me sappy if I think about it too long.

"Where are you coming from, Brandon?" Dad comes into the room
with a steaming mug filled with thick, pale sludge.

"Adam and Laney's. Actually, they told me you weren't taking
this well."

Laney is my sister and older than me by three years. Lexi is one
year older.

"Laney." Dad jumps on her name. "How is my girl?"

"Dad, you just saw her three hours ago."

Dad ignores me. "Is she taking the wedding well?"

"She's doing great. She was a little busy when I saw her. Jess was
crying hysterically, Dorie was throwing her dinner, and Jack was spitting
up." He points to a red spot on his wrist. "Spaghetti."

I start laughing. "Ah, the joys of motherhood."

Brandon grins.

Dad doesn't see the humor in it. "Does she need help?" Worry creeps
into his tone.

"Not anymore. Between me and Adam there was an adult for each
kid. So Adam cleaned up Dorie, Laney took care of Jack, and I tried to
distract Jess."

"I bet your mother feels the loss of Adam as much as I feel the loss of
Laney and Lexi," Dad says.

Brandon shrugs. "Mm. I think Mom was just glad he'd found a nice
girl to marry."

"She's a strong woman, then." Dad takes a sip of his tea. "Well, kids,
I'm going to bed. Laurie-girl, you should as well. You don't want to catch
the cold."

"I'll be up soon."

Dad nods at Brandon. "Good night, son."

"Night, Mr. Holbrook."

He disappears up the stairs.

I start working on the front of the dress.

"What in the world are you doing, Laurie?" Brandon is staring at
me, his eyebrows bunched together.

"Wrinkling this."

He starts laughing. "You are a stubborn, pig-headed, know-it-all
woman.

I crunch more of the silky material against the sofa. "Yeah, well, we all have our little faults. You're opinionated, meddling, and devious, and
I still let you stick around." I pause. "Don't ask me why."

"That's why I like you, Lauren Emma Holbrook. You're not afraid to
tell me what you really think of me."

"Anytime, Knox."

He gets quiet and I look over at him. "What are you thinking
about?"

Brandon blinks. "Oh. Nothing."

"Yeah, right. Give it up." He has his classic off-in-Never-Never-Land
look. His eyes are usually a light brown color, but when he's deep in
thought, they darken considerably. It makes it easy to know when he's
stopped listening to me.

He stretches. "Adam and Laney."

"Translation: Chaos."

He smiles. "No, just about the two of them. They're happy. Really
happy. Even in the chaos."

I stop messing up the dress for a minute. "So?"

"So don't you ever envy what they've got?"

This is what our friendship is like: No pretenses.

"Sometimes," I admit. "Not the whole husband thing, you understand. Just the contentment."

He nods. "I mean, we both know they aren't perfect." He snorts as
he laughs.

"Yeah. But they accept it. Is that what you're talking about?"

"Yeah." He plays with his class ring. "I think Nate and Lexi have
it too."

"Any good marriage should." I go back to wrinkling.

"Sometimes I wonder-"

"Uh-oh."

"What marriage would be like," he finishes.

I immediately start shaking my head. "I don't. I am perfectly happy
here. I'm not missing out on anything. I have everything I could ever
want or need. Dad dotes on me, I have a good job, and then there's you,
of course."

"Yeah, but, Laur, things change. One day you might wake up and
I'll be married with a couple of kids, you'll have to take care of your dad
instead of the other way around, and whatever." He shakes his hands
around as he talks, trying to pull the words from the air, I guess.

For a moment, just the tiniest millisecond, I worry.

Then I get over it. Nothing is going to change. Life is comfortable
right now. Brandon is kidding.

He looks serious.

I shrug him off. "Well, I'll stress about that when it happens."

"Laurie's lifelong motto." He yawns. "I should go back to my place."

"You mean you've had your own place this whole time? Heck, I
thought you lived here." I smile at him. He's relaxed back into the sofa,
head lolled, completely at ease.