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I breathe out. “I keep going through it in my head. I mean, it’s not the worst idea.”
“And it’s not like one of us has sat on the idea for a while. I mean, we just thought of it.”
“But it means having to put on a show for everyone for an indeterminable amount of time,” I muse.
“And keeping your stories straight to make sure no one questions anything. It’s not like these are kids you’ll be lying to. These are yourparents,” Heidi calls out. “And constantly acting like you two are meant for one another, which honestly sounds like the hardest part.”
“Heidi.” I turn to my sister, who is still behind the bar restocking.
“What?” she exclaims. “It wasmyidea. I’m the one who brought up the fake couples who show up and get married without knowing one another.”
“Yes, but this isn’t your life we’re talking about changing. It’s mine.” I put my hands to my face and drag them down, feeling just as lost as when we started this night.
“You could always get married,” Heidi says nonchalantly.
“Heidi!” I yell this time.
“What? Look, I wasn’t saying it has to be your end game. It’s just a wedding. But think about it, Carter. Mom would be able to see you walk down the aisle. She could see you marry a woman, be part of the ceremony. That’s all she wants in the end.”
I hate to admit it, especially because the idea is so ridiculous, but she has a point.
I look back at Jada. “What do you think?”
“The sentiment is beautiful, and I sympathize with you guys, I hope you know that. But a wedding?”
“Yeah, a wedding! Oh, you could do it here, Jada!” Heidi claps her hands.
Jada rolls her eyes at my sister. “No, I mean a wedding? Already? We just met each other, Heidi.” She looks back at me. “I know this whole thing was just a crazy idea, and I think, maybe, we could make it work, but do you really want to have a fake wedding that your mom believes is true? Not just that, but to lie to your dying mother like that?”
She’s right. Mom can still dream about my getting married, and I am going to make sure she’ll see it. But an entire fake wedding, especially here at the resort? The questions we’d get from everyone. And Jada works here. She’d be stuck with answering a hell of a lot more questions than I ever will.
“Heidi’s intentions are good. I know that, at least,” Jada adds.
I agree with her. “I know they are. She just wants everyone to be happy. I want that, too.”
“And while it would be exciting, I think this is a lot to consider. I’m glad we got to know one another. It really was a great night, but this just isn’t something I think I can do.”
She’s right, and I can’t believe I consideredmarryingJada after just meeting her. Ridiculous to believe we could have decided to get married today, just to fool our families.
“No wedding today then,” I concur.
“So maybe tomorrow?” Heidi teases.
“Heidi!” we both shout, looking over at her.
“I’m an optimist!” she yells back, throwing her hands in the air with exasperation. “Excuse me for being alive!”
6
JADA
I’m in the middle of fixing my braids when my brain begins to replay last night again. It causes me to inwardly laugh. I really can’t believe that we seriously considered the idea of getting fake married for our parents. I mean, Carter is nice, and our ‘non-date’ really did go well, but marrying a man I just met would never work for me.
It was tempting, though, to think about how it would make all the parents happy. But as much as I want to please my parents, and I really do want to, marriage is… well, it’s marriage. That’s a little too much.
Ijustmet Carter. The idea that we team up to please our parents is ludicrous. I actually like that I’m single. I feel like I haven’t had any independence in so long, and I’m going to do what I want to. I’m going to continue enjoying being single.
I sit down on my bed, slowly shaking my head.
