Free Vindicated by Keary Taylor Page A

shopping?” Emily asked hopefully as she pressed her palms together.
    “Then we can go shopping,” I smiled at her.
    “Yay!” she cheered like a high school girl.   I wondered if her overly cheerfulness was a cover for how she was really feeling inside.   “Well, I’ve got to get going but I will be back tomorrow morning to give you a hand with this stuff.”
    “’K, see you later,” I called as she walked out the door.
    “So, which one?” Alex asked as he wiped his hand on that silly white and pink checkered apron.   It was a relic of his grandmothers.
    I considered for a moment.   “I like the square one.   The round one is just going to be ten times more cake than we are ever going to need.”
    “It’s a wedding,” he smiled.   “We’re supposed to go over the top with everything.”
    “Yeah, and what are we supposed to do with these cakes?” I teased him.  
    Alex’s brow furrowed.   He hadn’t thought of that part.   And then with perfect skill and balance, he picked the both of them up and headed toward the door.   “Wanna’ get that for me?”
    I chuckled as I opened it and he bounded to Emily’s car before she pulled away.
    The homeless would get to enjoy two undecorated mock wedding cakes.
    Alex came back inside and started cleaning up the remains of his cake experiment.  
    “No word about Caroline, right?” I asked as I settled onto one of the barstools.
    Alex shook his head.   “I did go file a missing person’s report about two hours ago.   They didn’t seem too eager to help find a drug-addicted woman though.”
    “She’s still a person.”
    Alex nodded.   “A person who isn’t wanting to be found.   Honestly I’m not planning on her showing up for the wedding.”
    “She’ll be there,” I said, feigning confidence.
    Alex looked up at me, giving a sad half-smile.   “I was thinking we should go look at wedding locations today.   We’ll be lucky if anything is available.”
    “I’ve got the rest of the day off,” I smiled.   “I’m working the next six day straight to make up for all the work I’ve missed so I guess today’s our only chance.”
     
    X
     
    Over the course of the next seven days Alex and I found our perfect venue, I finally settled on the colors of rosewood red and bronze, worked more hours in a row than I had ever worked before, and finally managed to drag Sal into her doctor’s office.  
    It hadn’t been a smooth experience and would have been impossible if not for Alex helping to keep her calm with his angelic talents.   She left the office with a prescription for sleeping pills and an anti-anxiety medication.   Sal said she would refuse them, that she didn’t want their drugs.
    Was I a bad person for slipping them into her food every day?   Sal was finally looking rested and finally seemed to relax.   I didn’t feel too terrible.
    Emily, Amber, and I went dress shopping.   I was grateful for Alex’s deep pockets as they both picked out matching dresses, found shoes and jewelry.   And together we picked out my bouquet.  
    It was starting to feel like my time at work was my only down time.   I could quietly stock the shelves, letting Rita handle the cash register.   Work was busier while Austin took it easy and let his casted arm heal up.   Life felt slower within the walls of the bookstore.   It felt like everything inside made sense, like my impossible world was just another story from one of the books on the shelves.  
    But things were far from perfect.   As I left work late one night, the silent council member had been standing across the street, just watching.   And literally with the blink of an eye, he was gone again.
    I didn’t like sleeping by myself at nights.   I hadn’t done it for months and months now.   I had gotten used to curling up into Alex’s body in the middle of the night, stealing his warmth, of the sound of his breathing.   Now the sheets on the other side of the bed were always