Page 32 of Up In Smoke
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be, my dear. Now, I’m assuming this must be your young man.” She looks me up and down with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Oh, he’s a cutie. And you both look so handsome.”
“You do clean up well, Rico,” Valentine says, clapping him on the back before extending his hand my way. “You must be Jesse Silverman. I’m Julian Valentine and this is Mrs. Silvya Bloom and Miss Margot Fontayn.”
I would have probably been able to guess he meant the dog through context, but on cue, the cloud raises up one of her front paws to me.
My eyebrows climb my forehead, and I let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, um, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Fontayn.” I bend down and give her foot a gentle shake.
“It’s rare to see good looksandgood manners, Mr. Silverman,” Mrs. Bloom says approvingly as I stand back up. “I can see why Mr. Flores has snapped you up.”
I blush, furiously, completely at a loss for what to say. If only she knew the truth. That I’m a filthy junkie who Rico is only pretending to marry in a last-ditch effort to keep my ass out of jail or worse. “Um, thank you,” I manage to mumble. “He’s the real catch, though.”
She hums and looks between us, and for a second I worry that she can see right through me and is going to tell Rico how I’ve actually had a massive crush on him since forever. But instead, she slips her arm from Valentine’s and takes mine. “I think I need to sit, dear. We’re not starting just yet, are we?”
“No, Mrs. Bloom,” Rico assures her. “We’re waiting on Captain Padilla.” She’s the cop who’s going to be the one toofficially marry us. Apparently, this won’t be her first One-Thirteen wedding, and again, that makes me nervous. Surely she’s going to take one look at me and Rico, compare us to that other couple, then point and yell about how we’re total frauds.
Before I can spiral into a world of doubt, I realize Mrs. Bloom is actually the one steering me. We’re going to the few chairs set up in front of the wooden platform with the fairy lights overhead where Rico and I are going to be saying our vows. There are a few members of staff around as well from the company who operates and maintains the forest, but they’re keeping mostly out of sight. I wonder if they’re puzzled by the lack of guests. We wanted to keep the circle small of those who are aware of what we’re doing. It’s bad enough lying to the three people who’ll be present and wondering how much of our rouse they’ve guessed anyway. More folks than that, I think I’d have some kind of breakdown.
I’m not convinced I’m not already in the middle of one regardless.
“Relax, dear,” Mrs. Bloom says, patting my hand as we lower ourselves into the seats. “There’s nothing to worry about. You just say a few words, then sign some papers. Easy-peasy.”
“Easy-peasy,” I repeat, letting out a breath. “Have you done this before, then?”
She shrugs as Miss Margot Fontayn settles at her feet. “Once or twice, yes. Once or twice.”
I feel like there’s a story there, but I’m too preoccupied to ask anything further and I’m not sure I’m supposed to pry anyway. So I concentrate on my breathing. If only it wasn’t for the fact that we’re committing fraud and that I’m secretly in love with this guy I’d probably be fine getting through the ceremony.
I don’t realize we’ve lapsed into silence until Mrs. Bloom leans over and whispers in my ear. “Why don’t you think you’re good enough for him?” she asks.
I blink in surprise and snap my head to look at her. I don’t know what I’m expecting to see. Maybe smug triumph that she’s worked out this is all fake. But I’m met with a curious sort of patience. Like she’s genuinely confused by my jitters.
“I don’t…” I try and start to defend myself, but the words die in my throat. “I mean…why would you…how…?”
She pats my hand that’s resting on my knee. “You get to my age and you pick up a thing or two, sweetheart. You look at him like you’re terrified he’s going to come to his senses and bolt any second now. Which is funny, because he looks at you like you hung the moon.”
I stare at her for a second. “No. T-that’s not…” I stammer before scowling at her. “You got here about three minutes ago,” I hiss. “How could you possibly…?”
She tilts her chin up and there’s the smug look I was expecting before. “Like I said. At my age, you see things, dear.”
I open my mouth to tell her she’s full of shit or maybe just laugh. But instead, I simply continue to stare incredulously. That can’t be true. What she said, I mean. About Rico looking at me…like that.
Can it?
“Sorry, sorry!” a firm voice rings out, capturing everyone’s attention. A tall, slim woman in a gray pantsuit is striding down the aisle, her brown ponytail swinging behind her. “I apologize profusely for being late. There was a thing with frogs. So…so many frogs.” A shudder runs through her entire body as she comes to a halt in between me and Rico, and she extends her whole tongue out while gagging. “Anyway—hi! I heard someone’s getting married today.” She turns and fixes Mrs. Bloom with an arched eyebrow and a smirk. “It’s you, isn’t it, ma’am? I can see it in your eyes.”
“I can see that you still fancy yourself a comedian, Ms. Padilla,” Mrs. Bloom replies with a challenge in her voice.
Padilla snorts then presses her fingers against her eyes, inhaling deeply for several seconds. “No more frogs, Padilla. Only love and devotion and an actual real legal ceremony that you need to concentrate on,” she mutters to herself. She drops her hands and blinks several times before beaming at me. “You look like a groom! Hi, there.” She thrusts a palm toward me. “Lucy Padilla.”
“Jesse Silverman,” I reply automatically, shaking her slightly trembling hand. “Are you okay?”
Her laugh is shrill but then she clears her throat and nods. “Yeah, man. It’s just small towns, you know? Sometimes they’re crazier than big cities.”
My admiration for her suddenly increases a whole bunch. “Right?” I agree in relief. The trouble with hiding myself away and concentrating on my sobriety is that I feel like I haven’t connected with another human being in weeks. I squeeze her hand firmer and grin lopsidedly. “It’s really nice to meet you.”
“And you, kiddo,” she tells me with a wink. Then she turns to Rico and slaps his arm. “Congratulations, Lieutenant. I thought the rest of the rabble would be here, though? From what I’ve seen this year, I assumed there would be at minimum two of your guys up in the trees by the time I arrived, someone would be passing around a bottle of Fireball, and there would be at least five dogs, a cat and an iguana underfoot.”
She almost sounds disappointed, and I flinch, again worrying that I’m taking something special away from Rico today with this sham. But he simply shrugs and grins at the police captain.