Note: Okay, first of all, I changed my mind, this is NOT the last chapter lol, but the next one will be I promise. Also sorry for not uploading for so long, school and the general terrible state of the world made it hard to work on this! I hope you enjoy! (also sorry if this sucks, I think I forgot how to write lmao)
Chapter 16: Cutting it So Close They're Starting to Overthink it, Folks
He didn't know how he managed to sleep in late. Not that it was actually late, it was only eight in the morning, but he had wanted to get to the Bistro relatively early to finish up on the food and oversee its getting hauled over to the country club in time for the wedding, without having to rush. But here he was, running around the apartment, making sure he had everything he needed since he wouldn't have time to return home before the ceremony started. Tux slung over his shoulder, Jack gulped down some freshly brewed coffee as quickly as he could, making pained faces as the still too hot liquid burned his mouth and throat.
Finally, he located the last thing he was looking for. His trusty food checklist was under a pile of Terri's clothes he accidentally used as a pillow when he fell asleep on the couch. The clothes were even more wrinkled than they were last night, and his notepad was crumpled and falling apart, both looking like how he felt.
After finishing the last scalding drink from his coffee, he set the mug down on the coffee table and hurried out the door.
The apartment was still for a good 30 seconds before Jack burst back in.
"Shoes, shoes." He muttered to himself as he dashed into his bedroom to retrieve his dress shoes for the wedding.
Once he got them, he stopped in his doorway and allowed himself a moment to secure everything on his person. He rolled up his notepad and forced it to fit into the pocket of the hoodie he was wearing so he could carry the shoes properly. Certain that he had everything this time, he opened the front door once again.
But then the phone rang.
And Jack just stared at it as it rang like he'd never heard such a noise in all his life.
By the fourth shrill ring, he got a hold of himself long enough to actually answer it. He set the dress shoes down and shakily picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
All that could be heard on the other end, however, was a bunch of static and some broken voices. His nerves quickly soured into irritation.
"How long until you kids realize the crank calling isn't funny anymore?" He lectured before putting the phone down with considerable force.
The whole night he had been waiting for a phone call. It was why he had drifted off on the couch. He'd been holding out the hope that he'd get a call from her and she'd tell him… something, anything. That they needed to talk, that she wasn't going to go through with the wedding.
But when he woke with a start and saw daylight had broken, he finally had to convince himself that he would just have to go about the day as though the previous night's events didn't happen because… well, he had a lot of work to do before 5pm.
However, he must not have done a very good job of convincing himself to be cool because he lingered by the phone longer than he'd like to admit, willing it to ring right there on the spot and that it would be Janet's voice he heard when he picked up.
When he wasn't able to bear the dead silence any longer and the phone refused to ring on command though, he trudged out of the apartment to get to work.
Okay, he hurried back inside one last time because he forgot his shoes again, but then he was on his way.
…
Janet retrieved the phone, which had fallen from Katie's grasp and was now dangling from its cord. She clumsily held it up to her ear, but the line was dead.
She had been awake most of the night, spending a lot of it listening to her mother and Aunt Marie reminisce about life and family while they perused old wedding albums. Then afterwards, once everyone had finally decided it was time to sleep, she laid in her bed listening to Marie snore from the other bed in the room until god only knows when. But nerves and newfound confusion were much more responsible for her inability to sleep than Marie's thunderous snore.
She kept asking herself over and over: why didn't she do anything? Why did she let her parents usher her away from Jack last night? And maybe more importantly, what would have happened if she didn't leave the apartment? If her parents never knocked on the door and stopped that kiss from happening?
One thing she was sure of was that Jack had absolutely no sense of forethought whatsoever. For laying all of that on her the very night before her wedding. Look at the predicament he had gotten them in. She could kill him.
But what was eating away at her even more was how this was just as much her doing as it was Jack's. Wasn't she the one to write that note? Wasn't she the one who had to go and cry? And wasn't she the one who was too stubbornly coward to venture those feelings with him much sooner?
The guilt and anxiety became so overwhelming that she got out of bed and marched right down to the hotel lobby just before 8 o'clock to use the phone. She had to set the record straight with Jack before it was too late.
Unfortunately, as she finished dialing their home number, Katie came running as if out of nowhere with Jenny a few paces behind her. The phone got lost in the jumble when Katie requested her aunt pick her up and she started rambling about what she was going to eat for breakfast. So then, Janet had no choice but to join the two for food.
"Who are you calling this early?" Jenny yawned as she led the way to the dining area.
"Oh, uh. No one." Janet lied. "It's not important." Though she looked back anxiously as they distanced themselves from the phone in the lobby.
…
Terri walked through the front door of the apartment just before 9am, totally wiped out from working a long overnight shift at the hospital. In fact, she was so tired that she walked right into one of the many boxes, full of Janet's belongings, scattered about the living room. God, she'd be glad when they'd be out of the way.
She stepped around the box and headed towards her bedroom, thinking about how much sleep she'd be able to get in before having to get ready for the wedding. She had just made it to the doorway when Larry's characteristic knock sounded out.
Exhaling an exhausted breath, she called out, "It's open."
Their neighbor came sauntering into the apartment with a camera. He had definitely just gotten his eight hours of sleep.
"Happy wedding day!" He announced, sounding very chipper.
Terri took off her hat and ran her hand through her hair. "Hey, Larry."
He noticed the lack of energy. "What? Are you not excited?"
"No, I'm thrilled." She answered before yawning. "What do you want?"
"I'm looking for Jack."
She held out a hand towards the other bedroom, gesturing for him to look himself. "What's with the video camera?"
"I'm filming the wedding, remember?" He reminded her as he stuck his head into Jack's doorway. "Where is he?"
Terri shrugged. "No idea. I just got here a minute before you did. What do you need from him?"
"Ah, well. I was just going to see if he made any progress with Janet."
"Oh." She chuckled and leaned against the doorframe. "Well, I can tell you it's not looking good."
"So, he's going to wait until the ceremony then, huh?" He grinned.
"No. I mean it's not looking good because it's not going to happen."
He raised the camera to eye level. "What do you mean by that?"
She crossed her arms. "You're not really going to tape the wedding, are you?"
"Of course I am. I asked Janet and everything."
Terri raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "And she said yes?"
"She said she doesn't care." Larry replied. "Which doesn't mean no."
She shook her head. "Why do you want to film the wedding so badly?"
"Someone has to." Larry insisted. "How else are we going to relieve the drama unfolding?"
"There isn't going to be any drama to unfold. But don't worry, Jack will be whining to us about this day for the rest of our lives. Believe me."
"How come you keep talking like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like Janet's going to marry that guy and Jack's just not going to tell her?"
She sighed. He was so behind the current status of the situation. "Because she is going to marry Phillip. And Jack already told her."
"Really?"
"Yes, really." She replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to sleep for a few hours so I can function at the wedding later." She signaled for Larry to get lost.
"Well, wait. Hold on." Larry stood his ground. "What do you mean, he already told her?"
"I don't know. Jack said he told her at the hospital the other day and she got all mad at him. Apparently she's not interested."
"Huh. That's weird."
"You're telling me. Now-"
"So, what are you gonna do then?" Larry interrupted, assuming there was more to it.
"What?"
"You got a plan?"
She closed her eyes out of fatigue and annoyance. "The plan is Janet marries Phillip, and then we continue going about our lives."
"That is the dullest plan I've ever heard." He looked and sounded disappointed.
She shrugged. "There's not much you can do when Janet's not speaking to you. And maybe I don't want to be involved anymore."
"Now, why isn't she speaking to you? Is it because of this pigsty you call a home?" He asked, referencing the messy apartment, which really didn't look much better than it did before Jack and Janet "cleaned" it.
"No. She's not speaking to me because," She struggled to give him an answer, because she herself was still very confused about their argument over lunch the other day. "I guess because I knew Jack was going to tell her he loves her before she knew. But who knows? I certainly don't."
"Sounds like a pretty stupid thing to get mad for." Larry noted.
"Yeah, I know." She said. "Which is why I am done getting involved in this business. It's caused nothing but a bunch of hurt feelings."
…
Jack looked up anxiously at the clock in his kitchen. Just as it had every day since Janet got engaged, time was moving way too quickly.
All morning he had replayed his talk with Janet over and over again in his head. And for the first time, he felt like he could soundly say that there was nothing else he could do to convince her not to marry Phillip.
He hadn't known what to do with himself once she walked out the door last night. Everything happened so fast. From the second he leaned over to kiss Janet, to her parents walking through the front door, and Terri's shirt nearly setting the off the smoke detector, it all went too fast.
And now as he and three of his employees loaded trays of food into the back of a delivery truck, all he could think about were the things he should have done last night rather than sit his ass on the couch in shock.
If only he had just told her to wait. If only he had gotten to finish talking to her. If only he asked her what they were supposed to do with this now. If only!
Once he made sure everything was secure and ready to hit the road, Jack hopped out of the back of the truck and assured his concerned employees that he'd be alright finishing up at the bistro by himself (he didn't realize they were actually more concerned about his somber mood). So they drove off with the driver leaving him with the promise that he'd be back in a few hours to pick up Jack and the wedding cake.
The first thing he had worked on after he trudged into the quiet little restaurant early that morning was the cake batter. He prepped it, baked it, and let it cool while he got everything else ready for the truck. But now it was time to put it together into the shape of a wedding cake. And if he wanted enough time to make it look nice, it would be best to start working on it as soon as possible.
Except he didn't move. He just looked at the slabs of cooled layers of cake waiting to be dressed up, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.
There was always a big chance that Janet would still marry Phillip, even after the air was cleared between her and Jack. He knew that. But still, this was such a letdown. Actually, it was devastating. All of that working up the courage to tell her and it hadn't even paid off. At least he didn't think it did. Well, he wasn't sure by the way the two had parted last night. But this not knowing was the worst part.
He brushed his fingers over the stitches in his forehead, the physical reminder that he had made not one but two attempts to tell her and he still didn't accomplish a damn thing.
…Or maybe he did! But then if that was so, wouldn't he have heard from her by now? Surely, she wouldn't wait until the actual wedding to tell him his fate.
…
Sat on the foot of the bed in her hotel room, Janet was blow drying her hair, feeling pretty frustrated by the fact that Jack had sold their answering machine last year. If they still had one, then maybe someone would realize that she was trying to get in touch with them to have a very important conversation, and she wouldn't be getting ready to leave for the country club and her wedding.
How Jack could be so unreachable at a time like this, she just couldn't understand. If he had really meant those things he said last night (and she was pretty sure he did mean them), how could he just disappear on her like this?
And she felt like it was all on her to be the one to reach out and make the phone call, since Jack didn't have the number to call her here at the hotel and she would never be able to convince her family that she should make a quick visit back home by herself.
That was something else she was discovering to be incredibly annoying. They weren't even at the wedding venue yet, but Janet couldn't get a minute by without someone in her family finding a reason to keep her company. The worst was probably when Aunt Marie forced her and Katie to sit still while she painted their nails, and she had joked that Janet was just as antsy as the four year old. Thus, her opportunities for sneaking away to make those unanswered phone calls were limited.
…
Terri awoke around one in the afternoon, feeling a little less tired than she had when she got off work. Though she thought she could possibly get away with another hour of sleep, hunger drove her to get out of bed.
She didn't think that she would be the only one home at this time, however, she also didn't expect her company to be Larry, who was sat on the table by the kitchen door, discussing something about cars on their phone.
Arms folded, she walked past him to get a pot of coffee going in the kitchen and made sure to give him a disapproving look, to which he just waved, more focused on his phone conversation.
In the kitchen she ignored Larry's phone conversation and pondered over the fact that the wedding was in less than four hours and she seen or heard from Janet yet. Her only assumption was that she was really just going to continue to hold out from talking to her even on her wedding day. God, what a long day this would be.
Once she got the coffee brewing, she switched the pot out for the last clean mug in the cabinet so that the liquid streamed directly into her cup from the machine. She then grabbed a few cookies from the table and went to have her breakfast in the living room.
Looking at the place with some sleep in her, she understood what Larry meant about the place being such a mess. She kicked a pillow out of the way on the couch cushion that was the least cluttered so she could have a seat and properly eavesdrop.
Larry said his goodbyes to the person on the other end of the line and hung up.
"Well, look who's up."
"Yeah. And look who's using our phone."
"Mine's broken." Larry replied. "You were asleep. Didn't think you'd mind."
Terri dunked a cookie into her coffee. "Jenny was right. We really should be locking our door."
"Hey, I had a sale to make!"
"You sold a car over the phone?"
He puffed out his chest impressively. "I sure did."
"So now you're harassing people into buying junk cars in the comfort of their homes?"
"It's hard work, but someone's gotta do it."
She rolled her eyes.
"Well." He stood up. "I should start getting ready."
She shrugged. "Okay." But then she realized how quiet the place was now that Larry wasn't on the phone. "Hey, have you seen Janet or Jack today?"
"Nope. And I've been on the phone here for a couple hours."
"Huh." She frowned. That was a little odd. But then again, they still had a few hours. "Okay. Well, see you in a little while then."
…
It was 2pm.
While he was letting his hands take a break from piping icing onto the cake, Jack considered calling the apartment again. Though he felt like doing so would be futile, like his other attempts to call home in the last couple of hours, he didn't have anything else to do besides work on the cake, sulk about the wedding, and try to get in contact with Terri so she could get him in touch with Janet.
He dialed the number and held the phone between his ear and a shoulder as he wiped icing off his hands onto his jeans, nervously hoping someone would pick up the damn phone. But the longer he listened to it ring, the more he was certain no one would answer him, and no one did.
"Damn it, Terri." He muttered.
…
By 3pm, the Wood family was piling into two rental cars, finally on their way to the wedding destination.
Janet was in the passenger's seat of one of the cars, picking at her nails, not paying attention to a word her family was saying. She'd caused a hold up just before leaving the hotel because she had to try calling again, but still she couldn't get through to anyone.
She racked her brain, trying to remember whether or not Terri had a shift at the hospital before the wedding, but for the life of her, she couldn't recall. Surely, she wouldn't. Right? She was at work last night. But then why wasn't she picking up Janet's calls?
And where was Jack? Logically, he could only be in three places today: home, the bistro, or the country club. He was always around, making this whole marrying Phillip thing a huge pain in the ass for her. And suddenly, now, when it counted most, she couldn't find him even if her life depended on it.
She could have kicked herself for getting into such a spat with her roommates earlier that week. Maybe if she hadn't spent the last few days ignoring them, she would have a better idea of their current whereabouts. She prayed that they'd both simply gotten to the country club (whose number she did not have on hand) much sooner than she had.
"Janet?" Her mother's voice brought her back to the scene in the car.
"Hmm?"
"I said, aren't you glad you were still able to have the outdoor wedding at such a nice place? It really is so lovely today."
"Oh." She said vaguely, without looking out the window. "Yeah, it's nice."
…
Without much thought or urgency to be near a phone like her roommates, because she had no idea what was going on between them, Terri was walking back up the steps to her apartment with Larry from Mr. Furley's place.
The landlord had called her and Larry down to take photos of his outfit for the wedding, with the outside of the building as his backdrop. Now that in itself wouldn't have taken so long, except for the fact that Larry then wanted to model his new threads for the camera, and he pulled Terri into the mix because he had actually done a good job of color coordinating with her dress, then that of course led to he and Furley arguing about their fashion choices for the event.
Little did they know that Jack and Janet had called upstairs multiple times while Terri had to play referee with the contrasting tastes in clothing styles. Nor did they realize that they'd been calling earlier while Terri slept like a rock, and they'd tried calling while Larry was using their phone, and they'd been calling while Terri was in the shower. Janet even had the sense to call Mr. Furley, but she ended up doing so while they were outside having their photoshoot.
"You know, I just thought of something." Larry said when they stepped back into Apartment 201. "You're the maid of honor."
"Wow. You're bright." Terri replied on her way to grab her purse from the bedroom.
"I mean, don't you people have duties or something?"
"Sure they do." She called from the bedroom.
Larry took care to wipe the lens of his camera. "Then how come you aren't with Janet?"
Terri reentered the living room, purse swung over her shoulder. "Yeah, how come I've been stuck here with you all day?"
"That's one way to put it."
She shrugged. "No one's told me anything about today." And she was genuinely unbothered about this because she was tired of getting caught up in Jack and Janet's drama. "I have no idea where Janet's been. And has she even bothered to let me know?"
"No?" The neighbor ventured.
"Exactly. No note, no call, no nothing."
As if on cue, the phone rang, and they exchanged looks of mild amusement.
"Speak of the devil." Larry said as she went to answer it.
"Hello?"
She turned to look at Larry. "Jack! What've you been up to?" She paused to let him talk. "Well, you better get a move on. It's almost time." … "No. I haven't heard from Janet either." … "Yeah. Sorry. Well, we're about to head on out. I guess we'll see you there, okay?" … "Alright, bye."
She set the phone back down. "He's just about finished with the wedding cake."
"Sounded like he was asking about Janet."
"Yeah… Poor guy. I can't imagine the day he's having."
…
"Janet, are you sure you're alright?" Jenny asked once they were finally alone together in one of the rooms at the country club.
"Hmm?" Janet asked faintly.
"I asked if you're alright." She repeated.
Janet just kept looking deep in thought. She was sat in front of a large vanity, now in her wedding dress and feeling very strange about it. Her mind was a sickening mixture of panic and disgust, mostly aimed at herself.
"Did you even hear what I said?" Jenny asked as she pinned a flower forcefully into her sister's hair.
"Ow!" That took her out of her trance. "What?"
"What is the matter with you?" Jenny flicked the side of Janet's head.
"Stop it!"
"Tell me what your issue is then." Jenny ordered.
"I don't have an issue." Janet whipped around to flick her back. "You do."
The situation quickly dissolved into a full-fledged flicking match.
There was a knock on the door and Jenny called for the visitor to come into the room while she was trying to give Janet another good flick to the head.
Josh came in, closing the door behind him quietly. "Seriously?"
"She started it." Janet snitched immediately before ducking away from an incoming flick.
"Only because you're acting so weird." Jenny replied with a sneer. "It's really annoying."
"That's funny, because everyone knows you're the annoying one."
Their brother crossed his arms. "How old are you two?" He asked, sounding a lot like their mother.
Jenny rolled her eyes and continued trying to flick her sister, which only egged Janet on.
Josh sighed before stepping between them to break up the little fight. "Okay, okay. Cut it out guys."
Jenny flicked his arm, though not nearly as hard as she'd been inflicting upon Janet. "Come on. You were saying earlier you thought something was off with her."
"Okay, hold on now." Josh said defensively. "I've been saying that since our first night in Santa Monica."
"What!?" Janet squeaked.
"But," Josh continued. "If we're just talking about today… You've been making a lot of suspicious phone calls."
"It wasn't a lot." She crossed her arms. "Not with everyone hovering around me."
"She admits it." Jenny said.
Josh mimicked Janet's crossed arms. "And Aunt Marie said you didn't sleep a wink last night."
That second comment was incredible considering Marie seemed dead to the world when she slept.
"The strangest part is how quiet and nice she's been." Jenny added, knowing exactly how to push her buttons. "Not at all like herself."
"Excuse you."
Josh put both of his hands up in the air, sensing they might start fighting again. "Stop."
"This is about Jack, isn't it?" Jenny boldly asked from the other side of the wall that Josh had made himself into.
Janet took half a step back in hesitation. "What makes you think that?"
"Because it's always about him." Jenny retorted like it was so obvious (it was).
Unable to conceal her reaction, she let her mouth fall open.
"See? I was right." Jenny smiled. "I knew there was something wrong about this whole Phillip thing."
Josh looked at the ceiling. "You're not the only one who knew, Jenny."
Janet was still frozen with her mouth hanging open, looking quite stupid.
She wanted to tell them they had it all wrong about her and Jack, because that had been her go-t0 statement whenever anyone tried to insinuate there was something more going on there. But really, what use was that now?
"It's alright, Jan. You can tell us." Josh assured her.
Jenny nodded from behind him. "Yeah, we're not gonna tell Mom and Dad."
She still didn't say anything.
"Unless you're still planning on marrying Phillip." Josh added as a condition.
There was a pause and Jenny's eyes widened with serious concern. "You're not gonna marry him. Right?"
They all realized how loud this conversation was getting and took a moment to whisper accusingly that the others needed to lower their voices.
"You're not though? Right?" Josh repeated.
"I swear to god, Janet. I'll get Mom and Dad right now." Jenny threatened.
"No, stop. I-" Janet hesitated. "I'm not going to marry him, okay?" Sure, she was standing there in a wedding gown and the ceremony was due to start in less than an hour, but it wasn't going to happen. She knew that much.
She watched her siblings let out these giant sighs of relief, and everything felt very absurd to her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know this was weighing so heavily on you two."
"Geez, sorry for wanting you to be happy and not in a loveless marriage." Jenny sniped.
But Janet could see the genuine care in her sister's eyes, so she bit back another sarcastic reply.
After a brief awkward silence that happens when siblings show their sincere love for one another, Josh chuckled. "You're really cutting it close though."
Janet bit her lip. "Yeah, well… a lot has happened in the last week." And in her defense that was true.
"So when are you breaking the news to everyone else?" Jenny's eyes gleamed at the possible drama that would unfold. "And can I be there when you tell Mom?"
"After I talk to Jack." Janet said. "And I don't know why you'd want to be around Mom when she finds out."
A knock came at the door.
…
"Jack, you're cutting it a little close here." Terri said into a phone in the hallway just outside the kitchen at the country club, where she could hear Jack's employees running about trying to get everything together without the guidance of their boss.
"Listen, I think I need someone to come get me." She heard the stress in his voice. "I don't know where the delivery driver is. He said he'd be back hours ago."
"You're kidding."
"This cake needs to get to that wedding. Help me!" He pleaded.
She groaned and looked around her, hoping no one noticed anything was wrong. "Ugh. Okay. I'll see what I can do."
And in a rush, she hung up the phone before Jack could ask her if she happened to see Janet yet and could she maybe get her on the phone.
Terri hurried around the busy building looking for Larry, passing by Janet's parents a couple of times, greeting them with a bright smile but dashing away before they could ask her to do something.
Finally, she spotted him through a window out in the seating area walking around with that stupid video camera.
She rushed outside. "Larry." She spoke in an urgent whisper. "I need you to go and pick up Jack from the bistro."
"Can't. I'm busy." He replied, not picking up on her tone.
"Larry!"
"Phillip's parents think I'm an official camera guy. Said they'd take care of my check. You know, since Phillip and Janet were so careless and forgot."
Though she would have loved to reprimand him for this, there simply wasn't time. "Fine. I'll go get him. Give me your keys."
"Okay." But he made no movement.
"Larry."
"They're in my pocket. Right side." He jutted his hip out towards her.
She rolled her eyes but went to retrieve the keys anyway.
"You always been this frisky?"
Terri chuckled. "You ever been stabbed in the groin with your own keys?"
She smiled and watched his demeanor change instantly. "No. And I don't plan to."
"Then watch it." She snatched up the keys.
He let out a nervous laugh now that Terri and her new weapon were off his person. "How come all the women here have husbands?" He changed the subject. "The reception is going to be such a bore."
She scoffed. "Aren't you here as my date?"
"Oh, so now I'm your date?" He smirked. "What happened to just being your pity plus one?"'
"Same thing." She replied. "I'll be back. And uh, Larry?"
"Yeah?"
"I'd take the cover off the lens if I were you."
…
Jack walked back into the kitchen, now donning his nice wedding clothes. He'd done his best to smooth his hair out with water in the bathroom mirror, but he was so flustered he looked like he'd got caught in the rain. God, it sure would have been nice if that damn delivery driver had actually come back and didn't put him so behind schedule that he had to get ready at his restaurant.
He really hoped Terri could get over to the bistro and back to the country club before the ceremony. It was already too close for his liking.
That was the last thing he needed, being late and causing a scene at Janet's wedding after what happened last night. With all that had gone on between them lately, he didn't want her to think any of this was on purpose.
But as time crept closer and closer to the wedding, and he had nothing to do but wait, his overthinking was starting to convince him that the radio silence on Janet's end was pretty purposeful in itself. Oh, how he envied the Jack from even 20 minutes ago when Terri had hung up on him before he could ask her about Janet.
He would have heard from her by now if she wanted to be heard from. If she wanted to be with him and not Phillip, she would have told him by now. He had to face the fact that at this point it was just too late for him.
…
The next caller at Janet's door turned out to be her mother.
"Hey, Mom." Josh greeted her. But her eyes went directly to Janet.
"Oh!" She put a hand on her chest. "Oh, Janet. Look at you."
Janet's smile looked more like a grimace. All three kids felt very uncomfortable as their mother teared up and pulled the (not really) bride into a tight hug. Just seconds ago, they were talking how there definitely was not going to be a wedding, so there were varying levels of guilt they each felt about how disappointed their mother would be.
"Oh! And look at the two of you!" Ruth exclaimed when she released Janet.
"Yeah. We do look pretty great, huh?" Jenny replied smoothing out her reworked dress.
"Hold on just a second." Ruth said excitedly. She went to stick her head out into the hallway. "Edward, could you come in here a moment?"
In stepped Phillip's annoying photographer friend from the rehearsal.
"I know you wanted shots of the bridesmaids and groomsmen, but I just wanted a picture of Janet with her brother and sister before that, since they're right here together and all." Ruth ushered him over and directed her children to huddle together for the camera.
Edward snapped a couple of photos, but Ruth wasn't satisfied. "Could you at least pretend to like each other?" There was no denying how weak their smiles were. "This is supposed to be a happy day!"
They tried harder to make their smiles more genuine while Edward's camera flashes blinded them.
Ruth shook her head, clearly not pleased. "That'll have to do."
"Now, you two." She put a hand on each of Josh and Jenny's shoulders. "Go along with Edward to take your pictures. I believe Todd and Ginger are with Phillip, and I just saw Terri downstairs a moment ago."
They left the room reluctantly, looking to Janet for some kind of signal as to what to do next. But all she could manage was a wide-eyed stare and the hope that their mother would follow them out of the room. However, that hope was quickly crushed when Mrs. Wood closed the door behind them and turned around to give her one of those awful discerning motherly looks that made her want to disappear into the floor.
"Janet."
"Yes, Mother?"
"What's the matter?"
She chuckled and turned to the vanity to look in the mirror to fix the flower Jenny had so haphazardly stuck into her hair. "Why do you think something's wrong?"
Mrs. Wood walked over to stand behind her. "You've been awfully quiet since your father and I picked you up last night."
"I'm just nervous, that's all." And that wasn't a complete lie.
"Well, that makes sense." Her mother said gently. "But your mind does seem to be somewhere else."
Ruth had taken over the task of making the pinned flower sit pretty.
Janet just shrugged. She didn't know what to tell her. She just knew that within the hour, her mother was not going to be happy. But she would deal with her parents' feelings later. They would be okay. Janet, on the other hand, couldn't let things be left the way they were with Jack last night.
And she needed to get her mom out of the room to do that.
"Do you mind if I finished getting ready alone, Mom?" She hoped she sounded casual. "I'm just going to be around so many people at the reception. I think I just need a breather before everything gets started."
Ruth watched her daughter's reflection in the mirror. She wanted to say something, but she just wasn't sure what. She didn't know what good it would do to bring up Jack so close to the wedding. And after all, this was Janet's decision. She would do what she wanted to do first and foremost. Why that meant she would marry Phillip when there was clearly something deeper going on with Jack, she couldn't understand.
It didn't matter how many times the both of them insisted they were just good friends; it was written all over their faces. It was in the way they acted with one another. It was in the way Janet didn't act that way with her soon to be husband, Phillip. And it was in the way Jack's interactions with their other roommate were not charged like they were with Janet.
But then, this wasn't her decision to make. She couldn't tell Janet what to do. And even though the idea of Phillip and the security a marriage to him would bring was something she desired for her child, it was plain as day where Janet's heart was happiest.
Holding back an audible sigh, she smoothed Janet's hair and gave her a soft smile via the mirror. "Of course. Call me or your father if you need anything."
"Will do." Janet said through a thin-lipped smile.
Once her mother closed the door and finally left her alone, Janet jumped up from her seat at the vanity. She ran over to the window that looked out onto the front grounds where guests were mingling and getting their pictures taken. Quickly scanning the crowd a few times over, she didn't see Jack.
She wouldn't let herself get worked up just yet though. Guests were drifting back and forth between the lobby of the building and outside onto the lawn. And Jack was overseeing catering, so there was a good chance he was just inside somewhere. Plus, he was supposed to be taking pictures with everyone else right about now.
…
Terri walked through the back entrance of the bistro and found Jack sitting on a stool staring at a beautiful 3-tiered cake of his own creation.
The poor guy. She really did feel bad for him. It was a sad way to go out.
She rapped lightly on the already open door and he jumped.
"Oh. Hey, Terri." He said quietly.
"Hey." She greeted gently. "You ready to go?"
He hoisted himself off the stool. "I was starting to think I was going to be abandoned here."
"I came as fast as I could. I had to take Larry's car." She explained, holding up a set of keys connected to a slightly obscene keychain charm of a woman. "The cake looks really nice." She added.
And it was true. It was really something, and it was surprising Jack managed to pull it off, considering his circumstances.
He shrugged as he looked it over once more.
"So." The blonde clasped her hands together. "How are we getting this thing in the car?"
Jack exhaled. This was something he'd been trying to figure out (in the midst of his panic about Janet's ghosting him) once he realized the delivery guy wasn't coming back.
"Well, it's already on a cake stand and we can slide a big tray under it."
Terri waited expectantly for him to continue.
"That's all I got."
She frowned. "Are you sure it'll be safe in the car just like that?"
"We don't really have much choice. The delivery guy's truck had a bunch of special protective containers and shelves for catering. But he's not here."
"Alright, then. I guess we'd better get a move on."
It took them a few minutes to safely slide the cake onto a tray and get the right balance of its weight between the two of them, but they managed to make it outside without any problems.
"Where'd you park?" Jack asked, scanning the nearly deserted parking lot.
Terri knitted her brows. "Right here by the curb."
"What?"
"I parked right he-" A beeping sound in the distance caught their attention. "Oh, no."
Jack looked up and saw in the near distance, Larry's car was being pulled away by a tow-truck.
"Terri."
"Shit." She whispered.
"Why did you park here? This is a fire zone!"
"I-" She sputtered. "I don't know! I didn't know!"
"You don't see the fire hydrant or the markings telling you this is a fire zone?"
"That had to have been five minutes! Ten, tops!"
"Yeah. Well, they're real hardasses about rules around here. Especially that couple that owns the coffee shop over there." He said testily, glaring at a little building on the other side of the parking lot. "It's like they sit and watch this place, waiting for someone to do something wrong. All because they think the bistro brings bad business here. I wonder if Jeff and Karen have ever considered that maybe their coffee is just terrible."
"Oh my god." Terri groaned. "Larry's gonna kill me."
Jack adjusted his grip on the tray and tried not to think about the coffee couple. "No, he won't."
"Really?"
"Really!" He confirmed. "Janet'll kill us way before Larry gets the chance if she doesn't have a wedding cake."
Terri groaned again.
"Seriously. What are we supposed to do now?"
"Well..." Terri considered. "We could call a taxi or… I don't know, take the bus?"
"The bus?" Jack incredulously. "The bus?"
…
Janet opened the door of her quasi-dressing room and stuck her head out to look down the hall both left and right. To her surprise, there didn't seem to be a soul here on the second floor (or at least out in the hallway), though she could hear the pleasant chatter of the guests on the floor below. Closing the door carefully behind her so it wouldn't make a sound, Janet tiptoed over to the balcony that looked out over the ground floor of the club and did her best to conceal herself from view while still getting a good enough peek below.
She didn't see Jack within the indoor crowd either, just a bunch of stuffy looking people sipping at their drinks. And the sight of Edward, the photographer, walking around with the bridesmaids and groomsmen, all seemingly looking for her roommates, definitely meant she wasn't the only one who couldn't find Jack.
Although her breathing was starting to shallow, she told herself there was nothing to worry about. Maybe… maybe he was in one of these rooms getting dressed. Maybe they weren't looking for Jack, but merely waiting for him. Yes! That could make sense. It was perfectly reasonable place for him to be, in one of the dressing rooms getting dressed.
She turned back around and faced the long hall of identical doors, the only identifiers being the little plaques displaying each room's number. Oh, how she wished she paid attention earlier when Phillip's mother had led her to her room, because she knew she had listed off everyone else's dressing rooms as well, but she was much too in her head to have known that would be important.
She would have to check every door (and there were so many of them), before letting herself freak out about his lingering absence and what it meant.
…
Now, yes, Jack had thought this particular solution was ridiculous, but here he and Terri were, currently sitting on the city bus with Janet and Phillip's wedding cake resting on their laps.
Yes, a taxi was the more desirable option Terri had offered, but they soon realized that neither of them had enough money on them for that. Terri had let out a few expletives when she remembered she left her purse in Larry's now towed car. So, Jack had to dig deep into his wallet and pockets to scrounge up enough change for the bus.
Jack sighed loudly when the bus pulled up to its next stop to let people off and on. It was an agonizingly slow-going trip.
"Look, I'm sorry about the car. Really." Terri said, feeling extremely guilty.
"This is just great." Jack stated, not really paying attention to her apology. "Not only is Janet getting married, but now we're gonna be late."
Terri looked out the window. "Is it really that bad if we're late? I mean, she's already mad at us. Maybe she doesn't want us there." And she thought about how maybe her feelings were at least a little hurt that Janet had been so icy towards her.
"What do you mean, would it be bad if we're late? Have you ever met Janet?" Then he frowned, taking in the rest of what Terri said. "She's mad at us?"
Terri turned to give him a confused look, which he returned.
"Yes? Are you sure you're doing alright?"
"I'm okay, I guess. …Have you talked to Janet today?"
"No, the last time I even saw her was at the wedding rehearsal."
"Then how come you think she's mad at us?"
"Because…? I've been conscious this week?" Terri stared at him. "Seriously, what's up with you?"
"Nothing. What's up with you?"
Her eyes flickered up to his stitches. "How's your head feeling?"
"Fine. What about your head?"
Terri looked harder at him, like that would help her understand. He either desperately needed to go to sleep, or Janet's rejecting him was making him lose it, because he was looking at her like he thought she was the crazy one.
"Do you need to talk about what happened with you and Janet?" She asked carefully. "I know today has to be hard." Jack turned away from her and focused his eyes on the cake in front of them. "Maybe talking about it will help you process what you're feeling."
He didn't know what this would do so close to the wedding besides make him feel worse. "I don't know…"
"Go on." Terri encouraged him. "It's okay."
His eyes drifted down to look at his own leg hanging out in the aisle, and for a flash of a second, he was proud of himself for managing to not get cake on these dressy clothes. He almost wanted to tell Terri to mind her business and that this was between him and Janet, but he was the one who dragged her into this mess in the first place.
"I just…" He began quietly. "I just don't understand how Janet could still get married after what happened last night."
Terri blinked. This was the furthest from what she was expecting to hear him say. "Huh?"
"I mean, it was a long time coming. And I mean a long time." He managed to chuckle.
"A long time?"
"Yeah, we really had a lot to get out of our systems."
Her mouth dropped open. She couldn't believe it! And she couldn't believe she almost went the entire day without finding out about this. And for Janet to be so on her case because she kissed Larry! "Oh my god! Nobody tells me anything!"
"Sorry, the last 24 hours have been so busy." Jack replied wearily.
"Clearly." She was so surprised. "So you mean to tell me that-"
"We made up?" He finished the sentence for her. "And actually talked? Yeah."
Maybe she was the one who desperately needed sleep. "…Oh."
Jack nodded along, not catching on to what she thought he and Janet did last night. "Turns out there was this whole misunderstanding over what we were talking about at the hospital."
Terri didn't say anything and considered what he was telling her.
"She thought I was asking her to have an affair before she got married to Phillip." He laughed. "Isn't that crazy?"
"…And you set the record straight?"
"Yeah, we did."
"So… You also talked about your feelings?"
Jack nodded.
"And how did that go?"
He chuckled again, this time a little nervously. "Good, I think? We almost kissed actually."
The bus drove over a pothole and they both lurched automatically to keep the cake secure.
"Jack, I'm going to ask you another question."
"Okay."
"What the hell are we doing right now? What are you doing?"
"Huh?"
"The wedding is in 30 minutes! Why?!"
He suddenly looked very scared. "Because-"
Terri raised her eyebrows so high they disappeared under her curly bangs.
"Because she left!"
"She left?"
"Yeah! We were about to kiss and then her parents came by and she left with them."
Once again, she found herself waiting for the actual problem. "And?"
"And?" Jack repeated. "Terri, there's no and." He explained. "She left and then that was it."
"Okay. You two made up, you almost kissed. What's the problem here? Because I'm not seeing one. Why are you giving up?"
"The problem is that she left!" Jack said loudly. "And then she didn't call! And I've been waiting all day long to hear from her, and I haven't. And the wedding is in 30 minutes." He repeated her time check back to her. "So obviously that means she's decided she would rather be with Phillip than me. And that means it's time to give up."
Terri wasn't having it. "No."
"No?"
"You are not doing this." She said flat out. "I'm sick of listening to you whine about this."
Jack was taken aback.
"You're not going to just sit there and let this thing happen because you didn't get a phone call. What are you, 13? You have to try harder."
"But-"
"No." Her voice was firm and dismissive. "This has gone on long enough."
He grimaced, noticing people around the bus were staring at them.
"Maybe this is the last thing you need to do to prove to Janet that you're serious about how you feel about her."
He took in her words, and they actually made some sense. When he and Janet had cleared things up about their misunderstanding, he didn't really realize that while he was worried about whether or not she could feel the same way about him as he did about her, that she had the same exact worries. Maybe that was why she was so upset about the misunderstood proposition to have an affair. Maybe that's why she had called him the most confusing person she'd ever met.
"Stopping the wedding." Jack voiced more as a statement than a question.
"Yes." Terri said blandly. "Almost sounds like what we've been trying to do for the last month."
…
Knowing no one was going to answer, Janet gave the very last door in the hall a dejected knock. Her forced nonchalance had completely faded about halfway down the hall when Ginger had caught her with an ear pressed to a door, listening for signs of life within one of the rooms. Janet had to laugh it off and confessed that she was looking for Jack (or Terri at this point), and asked if she had seen her roommates recently. Ginger replied that she hoped Janet would've known because the photographer was still hounding them for group shots.
That was when she started to let herself admit she was worried. Maybe Jack just wasn't going to show up.
She heaved a sigh and leaned forward to look out the window there at the end of the hall. Her mom was right. It really was such a lovely day, all sunshine and no clouds, the perfect day for a wedding. And all of those people outside were just having a good time, not a care in the world, unaware of the suffering she was experiencing.
She knew her reaction last night was messy and unclear. In fact, she was painfully aware of that, which was why she needed to talk to Jack, to make sure he understood how she really felt. But how was she supposed to do that when he wouldn't be found?
Was her response last night so awful that he would think the worst and just not show up today? Did he genuinely think she would still want to marry Phillip?
God, how she wished she was any one of those people outside, and yet she couldn't bear to look at them.
She scowled and turned away from the scene down below and found herself staring at a door that lead to a back stairwell.
Janet looked down the hall once again to make sure no one would see her. And then she pulled the heavy door open and slipped into the stairwell, her only plan being to get away from this place and finding Jack, wherever he was.