Page 7 of Remember Always

“It’s a good plan, and if it doesn’t work you can keep doing what you’re doing. You never know, you might have plenty of people who are willing to drive here. It’s really not that far.”

After a couple of turns through an older neighborhood, we drove past a few houses and onto the main street. Colusa was bigger than Occident and was the official county seat. This was where we’d gone shopping for clothes when I was a kid and where we went to watch a movie as teenagers. Now it seemed so small. It’s funny how when you’re young everything around you is so big, but as an adult it looks and feels so small. I never realized how truly small my hometown was until I moved away.

“You’re deep in thought over there,” Dad said as he pulled into a parking lot.

“Just thinking how I never realized how small Occident was until I moved away.”

“Yeah, that happens. When your mother moved here, I never thought she’d get used to it, but she did. Now neither of us would move for anything. I like having my family close enough I can walk to their house if I want, and seeing my granddaughter grow up is not so bad either.”

“Not so bad?” I asked, as he turned off the motor.

“Okay, it’s my favorite, but you didn’t hear that from me.” He winked before he slid out of the car and the two of us walked up to a building I hadn’t been to since I rented a tux for my senior prom. Shaking my head at the memory, I followed Dad inside.

“Well, hello there,” a man about my dad’s age greeted us as soon as we walked in. “I bet you don’t remember me, do you?” He looked right at me with a grin and waited for my answer.

I looked at Dad for some help, but he crossed his arms and didn’t say a word. “I’m not sure. I haven’t been here in years.”

“Not since you rented a tux for your senior prom,” he said and pointed a finger at me.

“That’s right.” I looked closer and he did look familiar, but I still couldn’t place him.

“I’m Dave Butler.” His eyes twinkled as he held his hand out to me.

“Oh, yes. You’re the owner, right?” I shook his hand while he continued to grin at me.

“That’s right, but not much longer. I’ve decided to sell the place and do some traveling.”

“Dave, I didn’t know. Congratulations,” my dad said.

“Thanks. We love the business, but it’s time for a change.”

His words resonated with me. It had taken me years to build my clientele, and I loved my job, but it was definitely time for a change. The traffic and the long drive home were starting to wear on me. It felt like fate was showing me a sign or giving me a message. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to come back here to work. Being closer to Link and my family was a bonus. But was I ready to risk my business in Sacramento by moving it here? There was so much to consider.

“Son, did you want to see your tux?” Dad asked, while Dave unzipped a garment bag he’d hung on a hook, right by the large mirror just outside where I remembered the changing rooms were. Dave slipped one of the two black tuxedoes out of the bag and unbuttoned the jacket.

“I hope this fits as perfectly as I think it will,” Dave said while he held the jacket out for me to slip on.

I adjusted it on my shoulders and even though I was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, it was easy to see it fit like a glove. He’d chosen a modern cut with a silver and black striped pocket square, and inside the garment bag I could see a silver tie. “What do you think?” I asked and cleared my throat to tap down my emotions.

Dave walked behind me and checked the fit in the shoulders and length of the sleeves. “It fits great, now go put the rest of iton so we can be sure. Link has already been fitted so I know his is perfect.”

“When did he do that?” Apparently, Link had been planning our wedding longer than I thought. And the more I thought about it there were several times over the past weeks he’d been meeting with friends or running errands, and he never mentioned it again.Sneaky fucker.

Dave winked at me, and Dad smiled and slapped me on the back. “Go get dressed, you can argue with your husband about him keeping secrets once you’re married.”

My husband.I realized at that moment, none of my worries really mattered. We’d been through so much to get to where we were, and now that we were together nothing was going to change that. It didn’t matter if I worked here in Colusa or in Sacramento, I’d always be going home to Link.

Eight

Link

Everything was perfect, and as I drove away from Erik and Sam’s I hoped Andy hadn’t figured out more than he already knew. At first, I’d wanted to surprise him with the wedding, but Blair shot that down as soon as I shared my idea.

“Do you want to give him a heart attack? I mean really, Link. He loves you but my god that’s a huge thing to throw at anyone,” she’d said, and she had reminded me again today. I could always count on Blair to give it to me straight, even when I didn’t want to hear it. The truck rumbled along the gravel road just as the sun was setting. I snuck a peek at my phone but didn’t see any new messages. I hoped that meant Andy had been busy all day and he wasn’t waiting to see me in person to tell me exactly how he felt about me sending his dad to keep him occupied.

It only took a few more minutes for me to pull up to the house. Andy’s car was in its usual space, and the lights were on inside, so I took a deep breath and slid out of the truck. As soon as I opened the door the smell of tomatoes and garlic hit my senses.

“It’s about time you remembered where you live,” Andy said, repeating what his mom used to say to him every time he stayed out too late. “Wash up, dinner’s almost ready.”

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