--
Well most of you did figure it out. Adam and Grace did have an affair, I'll give more details about that in future parts.
Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad that you're enjoying :)
More feedback is always appreciated!
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Luke stared at the phone in shock. He'd been home for half an hour before calling Grace, he expected her to be home. But he had walked into their small apartment, with dinner on his mind, whether they could go out, or stay home. But her car had been gone. Grace was always home when Luke got home.
She left him? He couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around it. She left him. She wasn't coming back. They were supposed to get married, and she just suddenly decided that she couldn't marry him. Why the hell had she done that? And why did she feel the need to run away too?
Luke sat on the edge of their bed; her wedding dress was on the bed. He hadn't seen it before. She'd had it for two months, and she wouldn't let him see it. He touched the silky white material. He didn't understand why Grace didn't want to marry him anymore. Then he thought that maybe Joan or Adam might know. He grabbed the phone and quickly dialed his sister, and her husband's phone number.
Two and a half rings later an out of breath Joan picked up the phone. "He- hello?"
"You okay Joan?"
"Yeah, hey Luke, I'm fine, I was upstairs. What's up?"
"Have you talked to Grace today?" On the other side of town Joan Girardi- Rove shook her head as she sat down on the arm of the couch.
"No, I haven't talked to her since yesterday, why?"
"She left me." Joan's mouth fell open.
"What?!"
"I came home and she wasn't here, I called her, she told me that she couldn't marry me, and she was leaving town. Did you have any idea about this?"
"No, of course not Luke! I thought everything was perfect between you too."
"So did I." Luke sighed. "I'll let you go Joan, talk to you later."
The line went dead and Joan hung up the phone. She sighed softly and rubbed her hands over her slightly swollen belly. She tried to think of any reason why Grace might have decided to leave. But no ideas were coming into Joan's head.
Luke and Grace had been together for so long. A little over four years and slowly Grace opened up more and more to him, they seemed like the perfect happy couple. Joan wondered if Adam might have a better idea. Grace and Adam were always so much closer than she had ever been to Grace.
Joan got up from the couch and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Adam had been out in the garage since he got home a few hours earlier. He was building another sculpture. She had sat in there for a while watching him, before she had come back into the house to finish cleaning.
Adam was brilliant. He managed to sell a sculpture before they had even graduated from high school; Joan had managed to convince him to stay in school though. He was still taking some classes at the local University, like she was, but his sculptures were popular, and they made enough to be able to afford a nice, albeit slightly small, two story house.
Joan went to school part time, and continued to work in the bookstore that she had worked in since high school. Adam had proposed right out of high school, a long engagement, well two years long, before they were married, and now she was four and a half months pregnant.
"Adam, baby, what do you want for dinner?" Joan called to him as she stood in the doorway of the garage. The torch turned off, and then she saw Adam's face as he lifted up the mask.
"What did you say Jane?"
"Dinner? Are you hungry?" Joan couldn't help but smile.
"Yeah, I'll come in and help in a second. Let me clean this up." Joan nodded, but didn't move from the doorway.
"Have you talked to Grace today?" A loud clattering of metal made Joan jump.
"Why?"
"Well Luke called... he said Grace called off the wedding, and left town..."
"Oh." There was a long silence before Adam walked around the workbench and over to Joan. "I talked to her earlier. She... she told me she was leaving. I tried to talk her out of it, but it didn't work. She didn't want to hear what I had to say."
"This... is horrible. Poor Luke. The wedding is in four days, and she just left. What if... what if something happens to her?" Joan's face crumpled. She was concerned about her friend. The idea of anything happening to her scared the hell out of her.
Adam walked over to his wife and slid his arms around her waist. "I'm sure Grace will be back in a few days... maybe it's just the stress of the wedding."
"I know weddings are stressful Adam, but not once did I ever consider leaving." Joan rested her head on his shoulder.
"No?" Adam stood silent for several long moments, absently rubbing his hands up and down Joan's back. "I did."
Her head jerked up and she looked at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. "You did?"
"When I was standing at the end of the isle, waiting for you to walk down it... I was thinking 'What if this is a mistake?' But then you came around that corner, and I saw you in your dress... And then I knew, you were the best thing to happen in my life."
Joan looked at Adam with tear filled eyes. "I love you so much Adam." She hugged him tight and kissed him softly. "Let's get inside."
--
Grace drove for several hours longer, after she had talked to Luke. Silently berating herself for her stupidity, in everything. Stifling a yawn she pulled into the parking lot of what looked like a rather seedy motel. She didn't care. She just wanted to sleep.
After Grace got a room for the night she made her way down the narrow walk way to her room. She went inside and was greeted with tacky oranges and browns throughout the room. Shag carpet, worn curtains that did little to keep the street light directly in front of her room, from casting bright lights into her room.
But she would live. It was just for one night, then she could go somewhere else. Grace made sure that the door was locked before walking over to the bed and collapsing on top of it. Her eyes slid shut seconds later, and she quickly drifted of to sleep.
Well most of you did figure it out. Adam and Grace did have an affair, I'll give more details about that in future parts.
Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad that you're enjoying :)
More feedback is always appreciated!
--
Luke stared at the phone in shock. He'd been home for half an hour before calling Grace, he expected her to be home. But he had walked into their small apartment, with dinner on his mind, whether they could go out, or stay home. But her car had been gone. Grace was always home when Luke got home.
She left him? He couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around it. She left him. She wasn't coming back. They were supposed to get married, and she just suddenly decided that she couldn't marry him. Why the hell had she done that? And why did she feel the need to run away too?
Luke sat on the edge of their bed; her wedding dress was on the bed. He hadn't seen it before. She'd had it for two months, and she wouldn't let him see it. He touched the silky white material. He didn't understand why Grace didn't want to marry him anymore. Then he thought that maybe Joan or Adam might know. He grabbed the phone and quickly dialed his sister, and her husband's phone number.
Two and a half rings later an out of breath Joan picked up the phone. "He- hello?"
"You okay Joan?"
"Yeah, hey Luke, I'm fine, I was upstairs. What's up?"
"Have you talked to Grace today?" On the other side of town Joan Girardi- Rove shook her head as she sat down on the arm of the couch.
"No, I haven't talked to her since yesterday, why?"
"She left me." Joan's mouth fell open.
"What?!"
"I came home and she wasn't here, I called her, she told me that she couldn't marry me, and she was leaving town. Did you have any idea about this?"
"No, of course not Luke! I thought everything was perfect between you too."
"So did I." Luke sighed. "I'll let you go Joan, talk to you later."
The line went dead and Joan hung up the phone. She sighed softly and rubbed her hands over her slightly swollen belly. She tried to think of any reason why Grace might have decided to leave. But no ideas were coming into Joan's head.
Luke and Grace had been together for so long. A little over four years and slowly Grace opened up more and more to him, they seemed like the perfect happy couple. Joan wondered if Adam might have a better idea. Grace and Adam were always so much closer than she had ever been to Grace.
Joan got up from the couch and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Adam had been out in the garage since he got home a few hours earlier. He was building another sculpture. She had sat in there for a while watching him, before she had come back into the house to finish cleaning.
Adam was brilliant. He managed to sell a sculpture before they had even graduated from high school; Joan had managed to convince him to stay in school though. He was still taking some classes at the local University, like she was, but his sculptures were popular, and they made enough to be able to afford a nice, albeit slightly small, two story house.
Joan went to school part time, and continued to work in the bookstore that she had worked in since high school. Adam had proposed right out of high school, a long engagement, well two years long, before they were married, and now she was four and a half months pregnant.
"Adam, baby, what do you want for dinner?" Joan called to him as she stood in the doorway of the garage. The torch turned off, and then she saw Adam's face as he lifted up the mask.
"What did you say Jane?"
"Dinner? Are you hungry?" Joan couldn't help but smile.
"Yeah, I'll come in and help in a second. Let me clean this up." Joan nodded, but didn't move from the doorway.
"Have you talked to Grace today?" A loud clattering of metal made Joan jump.
"Why?"
"Well Luke called... he said Grace called off the wedding, and left town..."
"Oh." There was a long silence before Adam walked around the workbench and over to Joan. "I talked to her earlier. She... she told me she was leaving. I tried to talk her out of it, but it didn't work. She didn't want to hear what I had to say."
"This... is horrible. Poor Luke. The wedding is in four days, and she just left. What if... what if something happens to her?" Joan's face crumpled. She was concerned about her friend. The idea of anything happening to her scared the hell out of her.
Adam walked over to his wife and slid his arms around her waist. "I'm sure Grace will be back in a few days... maybe it's just the stress of the wedding."
"I know weddings are stressful Adam, but not once did I ever consider leaving." Joan rested her head on his shoulder.
"No?" Adam stood silent for several long moments, absently rubbing his hands up and down Joan's back. "I did."
Her head jerked up and she looked at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. "You did?"
"When I was standing at the end of the isle, waiting for you to walk down it... I was thinking 'What if this is a mistake?' But then you came around that corner, and I saw you in your dress... And then I knew, you were the best thing to happen in my life."
Joan looked at Adam with tear filled eyes. "I love you so much Adam." She hugged him tight and kissed him softly. "Let's get inside."
--
Grace drove for several hours longer, after she had talked to Luke. Silently berating herself for her stupidity, in everything. Stifling a yawn she pulled into the parking lot of what looked like a rather seedy motel. She didn't care. She just wanted to sleep.
After Grace got a room for the night she made her way down the narrow walk way to her room. She went inside and was greeted with tacky oranges and browns throughout the room. Shag carpet, worn curtains that did little to keep the street light directly in front of her room, from casting bright lights into her room.
But she would live. It was just for one night, then she could go somewhere else. Grace made sure that the door was locked before walking over to the bed and collapsing on top of it. Her eyes slid shut seconds later, and she quickly drifted of to sleep.