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Right about now, Rose Tico was walking down a white carpeted path strewn with fragrant rose petals. Dressed in a gorgeous floor-length gown trimmed in lace and pearl inlays, her arm linked with her father’s. A gauzy veil probably covered her face, though it likely failed to conceal the radiance and beauty of her face.
Right about now, she was steps away from an altar blocked by a stern and serene minister, flanked by maids in poofy-sleeved pastel nightmare frocks and men in gray tuxedos. Her groom was smiling at her, no doubt amazed to believe a woman such as this loved him. Wanted him. Agreed to marry him. They were going to exchange vows and rings and pledge their eternal love and fidelity in front of a higher power and hundreds of people. Perhaps Rose even knew some of them.
Right this moment, Armitage Hux sat on the ground in a rough fabric tent supported by hand-whittled wooden poles. He wore a heavy coat with brass buttons, designed to resemble the winter outerwear of a Civil War-era Union soldier. His entire costume, from the felt of his hat to the woolen drawers separating his bare ass from his military trousers, had been stitched together by volunteers to create a sense of authenticity. Only his black Doc Martens spoiled the overall effect, but he’d left the boots to wear with this outfit at home by accident. This late in the game, plus his sour attitude, and nobody was giving him grief about it.
Right about now, the woman of his dreams was in Richmond marrying his older brother. He boycotted the wedding to participate in this reenactment event in Yorktown. Given the choice, Armitage would have preferred to stay home and drink away his misery, but a friend had called in a favor owed so here he sat, pretending to plot against the rebellious South.
Thousands of visitors came to this annual event at the local living history museum to experience different eras of military tactics and artillery demonstrations. Dopheld Mitaka, the friend in question, belonged to a group of Civil War reenactors. They reminded Armitage of people who went all out at comic book conventions, with the cosplay and equipment and total absorption of their historical interests. Nice enough people, and more than once Doph attempted to rope Armitage into their activities by virtue of his own genealogical connections to the war. To think it took wanting to avoid the worst day of his life to make it happen.
The tent flap raised and Dopheld poked in his head. “We’re about to start.”
“Fine.” Armitage put himself in his friend’s hands. He had only to stand around like a breathing exhibit himself, and poke at a campfire while Dopheld led the demonstrations and explanations to onlookers. At the very least, Armitage wasn’t required to smile for cameras or videos. He had to play the role of a soldier in perhaps the bloodiest military action to happen in this country. Not a joyful occasion.
The day dragged. Armitage took in the activities and people around him, using the distractions to avoid tracking the wedding schedule in his mind. No such luck, however. His mind continually drifted to sweet Rose at her wedding to his brother, Brendol Junior. The vows, the kiss, the introduction at their reception as “Mr. and Mrs. Brendol Hux.” For every milestone he imagined, he stabbed at a smoldering coal heating up a kettle of baked beans Dopheld bought from a gas station convenience mart on the drive here.
Families with small children, older veterans, couples with bored teenagers… some quick-stepped past their display while others listened to Dopheld’s spiel. They endured the occasional smart-ass as well; always one person trying to bring modern-day politics into an historical interpretation. It wouldn’t look good for Dopheld’s group, however, for Armitage to fling hot baked beans at those people.
When the weather got too warm Armitage pulled the plastic water bottle hidden behind his log-slash-seat and drank. A hard shove from Dopheld nearly had him choking.
“What are you doing?”
Armitage scowled at his friend. “Hydrating. I’m baking in this damn coat.”
“Union soldiers didn’t drink Dasani water, Hux.”
“Only because they didn’t know where to find it, right?” When Dopheld didn’t laugh at the joke, Armitage gave a half-hearted apology. “Fine. Is there a canteen or some historically-appropriate drinking vessel I can use?”
Dopheld handed him a tin cup, and Armitage poured in the rest of his water. He pitched the offending plastic bottle into the tent behind him just as a familiar voice sounded.
“Excuse me, where do I go to enlist?”
“Ben?” Armitage looked up, lurching up to stand when his good friend entered the campsite. What was he doing here? Surely the reception hadn’t ended this soon. With Ben’s wife Rey having matron of honor duties, no way should Ben have been anywhere else today but Rose’s wedding.
Armitage pulled back his sleeve to reveal his Fit watch. He caught hell immediately from Dopheld about it. “I know, Doph,” he said. “Union soldiers wore Apple watches, but this is all I have.”
Dopheld muttered a curse word and stomped to the other side of the campsite.
“Why aren’t you at the wedding of sweet Rose and the thorn in my side?” he asked Ben. According to the time, the newlywed Huxes were either waltzing their first or playfully teasing each other with bites of stiff, over-sweetened cake. Armitage wanted to kick the kettle of beans like a football into the Korean War chopper across the field.
“There was no wedding,” Ben said.
Armitage’s heart stopped. Any noise within the vicinity of the campsite ceased and the world around him slowed. Everybody except him and Ben. Armitage looked past his friend to see Rey approaching in a Vaseline-on-lens haze. Dressed in her poofy-sleeved maid’s dress, hardly flattering to her figure, she negotiated the soft ground with her heeled shoes.
“Say that again,” he demanded, “and if this is a joke…”
Meeting Ben’s dark eyes, however, confirmed the truth. Ben wasn’t smiling. His friend appeared rather tired, in fact. “BJ called it off,” Ben said. “Decided at the last possible minute he wasn’t really in love with Rose and wasn’t about to spend the rest of his life in a lie.”
“That son of a bitch.” Right about now, Rose’s heart was broken. That sweet woman who enlivened every Hux family function with her enthusiasm for her nuptials to BJ. Armitage closed his eyes and tears beaded in the tight corners at the image of Rose in her beautiful gown, sobbing.
“Yeah, she’s pretty pissed,” Ben said. “About as much as Rey is with you.”
Armitage shot open his eyes. “Me?”
“You!” Rey marched up to Armitage, meeting him toe to toe. Tapping her dyed satin shoes against his thick Docs. “You think Ben and I weren’t aware of your unrequited crush? If you hadn’t boycotted the ceremony you could be with Rose–”
“Right about now,” he broke in. “Yes.” His standing here in a Union soldier getup didn’t mean the opportunity was lost. He’d make his apologies to Dopheld and head back to Richmond immediately. Tell Rose he’d always loved her, and only kept his distance from the wedding to selfishly preserve what was left of his heart. Hopefully she’d understand and allow him to heal hers.
“Where is she now?” Armitage patted his trousers for his keys, but remembered Dopheld had driven him here. Shit. “I’ll need a ride.”
“That’s the reason why we’re here, you dumb ass,” Rey said, shoving him. “We’ve been calling and texting you for hours.”
“Union soldiers…” began Dopheld.
“Don’t have mobile phones,” chorused everybody within earshot. Rey added a “Fuck you,” before turning back to Armitage.
“Rose decided to use her plane ticket for her honeymoon,” Rey said. “She went to the airport to see about getting on an earlier flight.” A ping sounded from her own phone. “And it appears she got it done. Her flight leaves in thirty minutes.”
Armitage froze, thinking of the possibility of losing Rose for good if she boarded a plane. She might meet another man, find sympathy in a stranger’s arms. Decide never to return.
Thirty minutes.
It was an hour to the airport.
Armitage dropped his gaze to Ben’s hand. He was fondling the keys to his sports car.
He grabbed them and ran.
***
Armitage pressed the red alarm button to help track down Ben’s souped-up Falcon. He followed the loud horn until catching sight of the sexy red two-seater with the flashing hazards. He knew he looked ridiculous dressed as an extra from Lincoln about to scream out of the museum parking lot, but fuck if he cared what anybody thought.
“Wait up!” Ben and Rey raced behind him, and managed to squeeze themselves into shotgun just as Armitage revved the engine and peeled nose first out of the space. His passengers cursed as they shifted for comfort, with Rey on Ben’s lap and pulling the seat belt over their bodies.
“Hux, I swear on every Force, if you wreck this car—”
“Sod your car. I’ll buy you a new one.” Eyes on the road. Mind on the goal.
“Is this really necessary?” Rey asked. “You know I could have just called Rose and handed you the phone.”
“Do it now then.” Pure adrenaline fueled Armitage. He was already on the interstate, a five-minute drive accomplished in two. He pushed the accelerator to the floor and watched the speedometer reach sixty, seventy, higher… Long way to go, short time to get there, every deity invoked to keep Rose in place until he arrived.
“Call her,” Armitage demanded. “Tell her not to leave.”
Rey dialed, turning on the speaker. They got voicemail. Again. Again. Over and over. Each click of the redial carrying over to that blasted automated voice hammered a nail through Armitage’s heart. Ninety miles an hour on the interstate now, blasting past minivans and eighteen-wheelers.
His passengers white-knuckled the center console and window ledges. Ben, a fan of speed himself, looked petrified. Rey seemed more distraught by Rose’s absence. “She must have switched to airplane mode,” she said. “Or powered down.”
“No.” That meant she was taking off. Leaving him. Taking away his last chance to declare his feelings. This was his fault. He should have said something sooner, stepped in during the preparations and given her the choice to call off the wedding. Instead he stood by and watched his brother soak up all her affection, only to dismiss it. He’d deal with that sorry git later.
“Send her a text,” he said, shifting lanes to pass another car. “I’ll tell you what to say.”
Rey opened the window and prompted him to start. Armitage took a deep breath.
“Rose, it’s Armitage. I’m borrowing Rey’s phone.
I had to leave mine behind, will explain later.
They told me what happened. I’m sorry.
I’m sorry I wasn’t there to console you.
I’m sorry I wasn’t there to kick BJ’s ass.
Most of all, I’m sorry for hiding my feelings for you.
I fell in love with you the night we met.
BJ brought you to our parents for dinner.
You wore that green dress, with your hair up.
You had the most beautiful smile.
My heart melted when you aimed it at me.
We shook hands that night. I still feel your touch.”
The whoop-whoop of a siren sounded behind them. “Rey, pause for a second,” he said. “Ben, is that county police?”
“State trooper,” Ben said.
Well, fuck. “Hang on, kids.” Armitage dodged in front of a Mack truck and sped on. “Rey, continue.”
“What?” she asked. “It’s the police.”
Yet Armitage continued the dictation:
“I skipped out on the wedding today.
Because I couldn’t stand here.
And watch you marry my brother.
What I feel for you, I’ve never felt for another person.
You are a beautiful soul.
The kindest person I’ve ever met.
I saw how happy you were with BJ.
As much as I wanted to step in and tell the truth.
I decided your happiness was more important.
Had I known BJ would do this.
I would have been by your side in a heartbeat.
I love you, Rose. I always will.
If you’re reading this and you haven’t boarded.
Please wait for me. I’m almost to Richmond.
If you’re already gone, know that I’ll wait.
I’ll wait the rest of my life for you.”
The sirens whooped again, followed by sniffling. Armitage turned to see Rey ugly crying.
“That was so beautiful,” she wailed, and wiped her nose on Ben’s shirt.
Behind them, the sirens gave way to a loudspeaker. “Red Falcon, this is your only warning. Pull over to the side of the road.”
“Fuck you!” Rey screamed.
Ben squeezed her close. “Sweetie, he can’t hear you,” he said, then to Armitage, “Rose is worth going to jail for? Because that’s probably going to happen.”
A second set of sirens joined the fray.
“Yes.”
Ben nodded. “Good thing Rey and I feel the same way.”
***
Rose wore her gown to the airport. After BJ callously ditched her minutes before the ceremony, she contemplated ripping away the dress and stomping it to threads. It was a beautiful gown, though, custom made and not cheap. She intended to wear it one time in her life, so why not show it off? Let people think of her as a modern-day Miss Havisham.
A few people asked after her husband. “Oh, he’s dead,” Rose answered, sounding petty. “Shame, too, he’s going to miss a banger of a honeymoon.”
The flight attendant called for Rose’s boarding group. Rose was pacing the gate and got in line behind people in shorts and flip-flops. She pulled the travel app on her phone and remembered it wouldn’t work in airplane mode, so she switched to normal. That’s when a series of text notifications flooded her screen.
Rose, it’s Armitage. I’m borrowing Rey’s phone, read the first one.
BJ’s brother. Rose had forgotten all about him. Of course, BJ gave her an excellent reason for it. The entire Hux family seemed to have ghosted her during and after the jilting. That Armitage claimed to use her friend’s phone baffled her, but it was enough to keep her reading.
And reading.
And not moving in line. People stepped around her to board. Rose’s fingers trembled as she scrolled through the series of confessional texts. At the end came a message marked from Rey:
This is not a joke, Rose. Armitage means every word.
Below that was a snapshot taken inside Ben’s car. Armitage wore some kind of historical costume and gripped the steering wheel like he was about to win at Daytona.
“Ma’am,” called the attendant. “This is final boarding.”
Rose nodded at her. “Have a good trip,” she said, and dashed toward baggage claim, texting on the way.
***
She stood on the sidewalk, watching a string of taxis and rideshare cars roll past. Her pulse kicked up on the first sight of Ben’s Falcon swerving around the corner and slowing to a stop at the nearest free stretch of curb. Behind it, several state troopers and local cruisers with their strobes aglow crowded all the lanes. Quite an entrance, and it erased all bad memories of the morning.
Looking ahead of her, different memories surfaced. Every Hux family gathering where Armitage listened intently to her speak about her jobs and interests. The lingering gazes when he refilled her drinks or offered her a ride or help with a chore. The occasional forwarded email about an event or news item he thought might interest her.
Right about now, she’d be married to his brother. Clueless as to Armitage’s affections. BJ did her a huge favor.
Rose gathered her skirts and ran to the car as Armitage rose from the driver’s seat. She leaped right into his arms. “You meant every word?” she asked.
“All of it,” he said, and kissed her hard. If people cheered Rose didn’t hear them for her own joy thrumming through her body. When BJ left her, her family attempted to soften the shock. Closed door, open window… everything happens for a reason. She wanted them to miss her with the platitudes, but as Armitage held her and took away her pain, she realized they were right.
“I think I’ve loved you all this time, too,” she said.
“I love you. I’d do anything for you, Rose.”
Rose looked past Armitage to the crowd of police officers approaching. No lies.
“Would you do something for me?” he asked as one of them came forward with handcuffs.
Rose watched Ben and Rey, now out of the car, receive similar treatment. “Get the bail money together?”
“Please.”
Rose kissed him. “On it.”