27. Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Marcy
Okay, so I might have kept Patrick in the dark last night about having already asked my nonna about the money, despite him suggesting we could broach the topic together. I fully realized we would need to include each other on big decisions if we were going to make this work, but this was my financial issue. I needed to handle it. To put those big girl undies back on and do the thing. Patrick and I would have plenty of time to scheme against my family later as an established power couple.
A text came in from Nonna.
Nonna: Stop by the house. I have an update on the trust.
My adrenaline surged. An update. Wait—a good or bad update?
Me: What did the attorney say? What’s the deal?
Nonna: Come by the house.
Excitement hit with a current of dread. My old habit of expecting the worst couldn’t be tampered down.
But maybe it’s not the worst. Maybe it’s the best.
The remaining time at work tortured me with each slow-by-excruciatingly-slow tick of the clock. Add to that, I’d had to fend off two nosy coworkers asking about my wedding date. I wasn’t even sure I wanted coworkers at the wedding. The fictitious, someday wedding.
I busted out of the office twelve minutes early and hit mostly green lights on the way to my parents’ house. I flew through the back door, my nerves buzzing.
Nonna was flitting around in her living area, fixing tea or something obnoxiously calming. Biscotti trotted over and rolled in front of me for a belly rub.
“Hey—uh, hello.” Nonna hated when I said hey instead of a proper greeting.
“I made tea. Let’s sit. We can review the papers.”
Papers? To sign? This was incredibly promising.
“I know you’re anxious.” She nodded toward the chair at her small dinette set. Biscotti ditched me to sit at her owner’s feet. “You’ll be pleased to hear the trust can be released to you. Given a few formalities.”
My chest nearly burst open. “Really? I get to have the money?” Tears threatened, but they were happy tears. Emotionally giddy tears. “Wow, thank you so much, Nonna. I can’t tell you how much this means. Especially with everything else going on. I know it’s a lot to ask and I know Mamá thinks I’m acting selfish and spoiled, but this is a huge deal. I am so very, very grateful.”
She smiled softly. “You’ve worked hard. It’s been my pleasure to invest this money so you don’t have to worry like I did at your age.”
Relief washed over. “Alright. Where do we start? Do you have the papers here or do I need to meet with the attorney?”
She folded her hands. “There’s a condition.”
“Okay. What’s the condition?”
“Releasing the money requires a marriage license. You and Patrick will need to handle that together.”
Time appeared to stop. Even dust floating in the air hung still for a good few seconds. “Um, what?”
“A marriage license. You need that prior to the wedding. ”
Right, that made sense, but my hammering chest sounded the doubt alarm. “I don’t know much about the process given I’ve never gotten married before, but isn’t the license one of the last things you do before the wedding?” The heart hammering reached my ears. This sounded all so very legal and permanent.
“I believe the shelf life for a marriage license is about thirty days in our state.” She took a careful sip of tea. “If it isn’t used, it simply expires.”
My mind raced. This wasn’t a bad thing. Just a hurdle. “Oh. So the license itself opens the trust, not the actual wedding?”
“That’s what the attorney said.”
Okay. So we would apply for a marriage license and then just do nothing with it so the thing expired. Seemed oddly simple. “And there’s no issue applying for a second license when we’re ready? I mean, once we know the date and we’re thirty days out?”
She nodded. “My attorney did not take issue with what happened after the license is obtained. It’s up to you what you want to do with it. To meet the rules of the trust, she considers the license as a means to satisfy the terms.”
Whew. A bit of legal theater and we were in business. Literally. Patrick would get this, the law being his realm and all. I grabbed my phone and tapped the calendar open to see what I had going this week. Maybe we could do a lunch hour run to the courthouse?
Nonna continued drinking tea quietly. Suspiciously quiet. I set my phone down, realizing it looked rude, like I was ignoring her after she’d done what I’d asked at her own inconvenience. “Just so you know, we really do want to get married. It’s a lot to think about right now with the campaign and everything.”
She was still so very quiet drinking that tea. I couldn’t help but fill the silence. “In fact, I don’t even know if we want a big wedding. After being at that wedding expo and seeing how many things there are to plan and spend money on, it’s all so overwhelming. Not that we don’t want to have a wedding—I know that’s really important to the family. It’s just so much to think about when the truth is what’s most important is Patrick and I starting our life together.”
The words rang true as I spoke them. I hadn’t taken time to sit and think about what I wanted, wedding wise. I’d been so consumed by pushing it off.
“A low key event with friends and family sounds nice,” I mused. “Good food, but it doesn’t have to be fancy, you know?”
Nonna eyed me. “I’m glad to hear you say that.” Her eyes softened. “If you don’t mind my asking, why did you and Patrick put off being together so long? You two have seemed close for so many years. I never understood the hang-up.”
Now, my family and I were close, but this was getting into pretty personal territory. I didn’t want to spill about the kiss and my vow to pretend it never happened. I went with another angle. “Patrick was Matteo’s friend first. And then there’s Robby and Lucas. I was just tagging along when we were kids. I guess it took until later in high school to realize we had more in common. Being in school clubs together and stuff like that.” I shrugged. “I didn’t think he saw me as anything more than another Russo.”
“And you didn’t see him as more than a friend?”
Dang, this was hard to avoid spilling any details. “I…went back and forth a bit. And I wanted to experience college and not have some relationship hanging over my head.” Not that it would have been bad dating Patrick, but I really had enjoyed my time in college. I certainly hadn’t been pining for Patrick every second. “Once we were out of college and started hanging out again more often, things felt different. I wasn’t as worried about taking him away from my brothers, or whatever. I guess…things developed over time.” My blush crept up fast before I could will it away. “Maybe in just the right amount of time.”
“Sometimes the most innocent of feelings can develop deeply. Your friendship with Patrick is a wonderful foundation for what’s to come. So many people go into marriage on less than that. On attraction, which is fleeting.”
I could see that. And thankfully, Nonna saw it too. We were killing this fake engagement.
“I almost wish we hadn’t waited so long.” The admission fell out of me. “Now that we’re together and everybody knows, it’s like…we fit all along.” It was a nice thought, actually. Patrick and I fit . Maybe we always had, but now we both believed it. “I’m excited for what’s next.”
“And what’s that?”
“You know, the wedding, the election, looking for a new place.” A wave of exhaustion hit as my adrenaline crashed. I needed coffee or an early bedtime. “I hate to cut this short, but I think I need to head out.”
We both stood. I gathered the teacups and saucers—she’d used her good stuff with me today, how thoughtful—and took them to the sink. I threw her a solid and washed both right then and there and placed the dishes on the drying mat on the counter.
“One more thing.” Nonna placed her hand at my shoulder. “You love Patrick, don’t you?”
“Of course.” I didn’t flinch, blink, or stutter. Why would I? I loved him.
She smiled, and this time she was the one with a tear ready to streak. “I’m so happy for you both.”
“I’m sorry, what ?”
I had to pull the phone from my ear at Patrick’s elevated voice. Color me surprised, but I really hadn’t expected him to go nuclear over the marriage license. He was the calm one between us .
Just then, the drive-thru speaker barked at me. “Did you want that chicken extra-crispy or grilled?”
“Are you getting fast food?” Patrick surged into new meltdown territory. I clicked the Bluetooth back on so I could hear him through the car speaker—and turn him down.
“Grilled!” I called over to the speaker. “And with fire sauce, please.” I powered up the window halfway and turned up the volume in my car. “Sorry, I was starving, and I wanted to tell you first thing. As I said, we can let the license expire. It’s a legal formality.”
A heavy breath sounded on the other end. “Where are you? I’m coming there.”
“Do you want me to get you food? I’ll come over and we’ll—”
“Marcy,” Patrick cut me off. “So much is wrong with this conversation we’re having. I need a minute to calm down.”
“If you’re not calm, then you shouldn’t be driving.” I didn’t hear anything for a few seconds. “Are you still there? Actually, let me get my food and I’ll park.”
I did just that and dug into my fries. “You there?”
“I’m here.” His words sounded strained.
Yikes. I hated this tension between us. I resumed the explanation I’d already told him before he freaked out. “I know the marriage license sounds scary, but it’s the legal document we need to open the trust. Nonna’s attorney said the decision is ours what we do with the license. If we want to apply for a new one when we’re ready, we can. A quick Reddit search showed me the same.”
“Marcy.” Patrick sounded calmer. Good.
“Yeah?”
“Why did you tell me the other night you didn’t want to discuss any plans? Had you already talked to your grandmother about the money? ”
The guilt hit instantly. “Yes. I did. But it’s because this is my issue. Me being scared to deal with her and the money isn’t your problem. So I handled it.”
“I thought we talked about being a united front? Together?”
The salty fries bit sharp at my tongue. “It was a nice suggestion, but ultimately, this is my problem. Not yours.”
I wasn’t sure, but I thought I heard a growl. I checked out my partially open car window for a nearby dog.
“ Marcy .” Nope, the growl came from Patrick.
I snorted. “Are you…growling? At me?”
“I’m not—no, it’s not at you. Okay, I’m really frustrated right now. First, I was under the impression you wanted me with you as support with your family. Now I find out you didn’t want me or need me at all. It…it stings.”
I saw his point. “Sorry. I’m used to doing things myself. I didn’t think you’d take it so hard. It wasn’t about not wanting you with me, but more like I wanted to spare you the time and effort when I should be managing this myself.”
We were both quiet for a beat.
“Thanks for that,” he said finally. “I have another point, though. I don’t know if you understand the consequences. Did you consider what it might look like for my campaign if I apply for a marriage license and leave it hanging? That’s public record. Not following through on my own wedding and applying for the license too early will make me look scatterbrained and unreliable. Or like something shady is going on.”
“Something shady is going on.” But he had points. Fair ones. “Is this really that big a deal? Are the Ribbens looking for dirt on you like this?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. I just wish you’d included me in the conversation. I could have joined you and your grandmother for a meeting with the attorney. We could have come up with a solution together. ”
“That would have taken weeks to get us all in a room together.” I munched another fry. “I guess I got impatient.”
“I thought this was our plan. Not your plan and my separate plan, but ours. Together.”
Was this what being married would be like? Having to consider him for every decision? Did I want that? Then again, the marriage license did affect both of us. And the public record aspect was legitimate and a potential concern for his campaign.
“I didn’t mean to leave you out,” I said. “I assumed handling this would be less of a burden for you. I was the one who dumped all of this inheritance stuff on you to begin with.”
“You are never a burden, Marcy. You drive me crazy sometimes, but you’re not a burden. I want to do these things with you.”
My engagement ring caught my eye. I spread my hand across the steering wheel, gazing at the fake diamond in my hot parked car. And cried. “I’m sorry.” My throat tightened.
“No! Don’t cry!” Patrick sounded frantic. “I didn’t mean—”
“No, you’re right. I’m being selfish. I never meant to leave you out.” I sniffled. “I love you so dang much Patrick. I just get in my head sometimes.”
He went silent again.
Oh. OH. I said that out loud, hadn’t I? The big L.
“Did you—” he started.
“Yeah, I said it. And I meant it too. I love you, you sexy small-town mayor-to-be.”
Patrick’s laugh filled me with pure joy. And diluted the guilt I’d been feeling.
“I love you right back. I both love you and am in love with you, Marcy Russo.”
My grin nearly split my face. He loved me! And he’d said it! Right here in a fast food parking lot over my car’s Bluetooth. How romantic.
But I couldn’t stop smiling .
And I couldn’t think of a better way to punctuate this messy conversation, other than one more pressing question. “So…about that license?”
Patrick sighed, and a laugh tumbled out. “Let me run it by my campaign staff. I’ll get back to you.”
Which sounded rather impersonal except— “Wait, that means your mother!”
“Yes. Yes, it does.”
“Should I…be there for that?” Please say no. No—if this was what mature relationships required, then I should be willing to be there for the tough conversations.
“This might be one I do on my own,” he said. “As long as you’re okay with that.”
“I have no issue with that plan.”