Free Second Thoughts by H.M. Bailey Page A

retort to that comment when she was suddenly aware of all the eyes on her. The minister and the bridal party were watching them awkwardly.
    There was a tense moment before she heard Jackie say, “Yeah, six months is totally long enough to get to know someone before you marry them.”
    That comment broke the tension and there was laughter among the onlookers, albeit nervous laughter. Even Nick seemed to find the comment amusing and leaned in to kiss her forehead while saying, “No big deal. Sorry sweetie, I just didn't know.”  Then turning to the guests, he said, “Who's ready to eat? Let's wrap this up and head to Angelo's!” That pronouncement was met with cheers and the guests starting chatting and making their way to the cars as if nothing had happened. But what did just happen? Aubrey wasn't exactly sure.
    Her jaw was still tense and she had no idea if Nick had just said that because everyone was staring at them or because it really wasn't a big deal. Because if he really thought it wasn't a big deal, why did he even have to say anything in the first place?
    She sat in their car waiting as he went over a couple of last minute details with the minister. She pulled a piece of gum out of her purse and started chomping on it. Chewing gum was a stress reliever for her. She tried to put the whole scene out of her mind but she couldn't. What her sister had said bothered her. It struck a chord and she didn't like that because it meant there must be some truth to it.
    She remembered back to when she and Nick first met. It was at an airport. They were both flying to San Francisco for business; she was an architect and he was a consultant for an engineering firm. He had flirted with her and then as fate would have it, their first class seats ended up being right next to each other. They talked and laughed and drank champagne and when the flight was over she gave him her number. He was so attractive and flirtatious, she figured he had girls lined up cross the country waiting for him. But, surprisingly to her, he did call her. And he told her that he could not get her out of his mind and he needed to see her again. So they had a first date-dinner at Angelo's and then a movie. Then there was a second date and a third. They took a weekend ski trip together and things got more serious. They got serious fast. Maybe too fast.
    They took another trip, this time to Mexico for their four month anniversary and on a beautiful white sand beach he asked her to marry him. How long they had known each other was not even an issue in her mind, it had nothing to do with how she felt about him. She couldn't picture herself with anyone else. The two months after that had been a whirlwind of wedding plans; it was hard to find places that hadn't been booked a year in advance. But Fairlawn had a cancellation and was able to fit them in. Then she found her dream wedding dress at a place that happened to have her size in stock. Everything fell together perfectly. It was meant to be.
    She was startled out of her thoughts by the car door opening. Nick got in and smiled at her, “I'm starving, how about you? I could go for some of Angelo's eggplant parmigiana.”
    “Eggplant? After what just happened back there, you want to talk about eggplant?”
    “What do you mean? About you keeping your name? I just really didn't know you were planning on doing it, that's all.”
    “So you have a problem with me keeping my name?”
    “I said it wasn't a big deal, Aubrey, we just never talked about it that I can remember. But I'll let you keep your name.”
    “What? You'll 'let' me keep my name, are you kidding me?”
    “Oh boy. That's not what I meant. Honest, it came out totally wrong. What I meant was that... you know the saying 'pick your battles'? Well, this isn't the battlefield I want to die on. I don't want this battle. If you want your name, so be it. It just kind of came as a shock to me. I assumed you'd want to take my name.”
    “I like my name,