Bride to Be

22: Tripping Over His Own Feet

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: TRIPPING OVER HIS OWN FEET

July 2nd, 2020

Rowan was not surprised that morning to find Avery sitting over the toilet bowl, throwing up. For the last few days, she had been fighting brutal morning sickness -- and today was no different. Rowan held Avery in his arms as she cried in bed. He wished there was more he could do for her.

"Row," Avery said in between coughs. "We have that wedding dance class today,"

"Shit, I forgot about that," he mumbled against her hair, leaving a kiss on the back of her head. "You can't go."

"I already paid for it," Avery sighed. "You can still go."

"Without you?" Rowan questioned. He was not sure how that would work; showing up to a wedding dance class without the bride.

"Maybe a worker can fill in for me. I should be okay to go to the session next week."

"Avery - "

"Rowan, go," her voice was stern. "I don't want my seventy-five dollars wasted."

He just nodded in response, even though Avery could not see him.

"Stay here for awhile longer," she whispered just before drifting to sleep. Rowan complied, and held Avery in his arms for the next hour. It was difficult to free himself from her when it came time to leave, considering she moved around a lot in her sleep and her head laid on his chest.

The drive to the dance studio was short. Rowan felt awkward walking in by himself, but thankfully, a worker approached him as soon as he walked in.

"Do you have an appointment?" the short blonde girl asked.

"Yeah uh - " he pulled out his phone with the confirmation email that Avery had forwarded to him. "For Rowan and Avery?"

"Take a seat, I'll tell the dance instructor that you're here. Is the bride on her way?"

"Uh, no," Rowan awkwardly responded. He wished Avery was here. "She isn't able to make it. Is there anyone else that can help me out?"

The blonde girl shook her head. "Sorry, you'll need a partner for this one."

Rowan nodded, defeated. There goes Avery's seventy-five dollars. She definitely wasn't going to be happy about that, but there wasn't anything Rowan could do.

"Well, thanks anyways."

Just as Rowan was about to leave, the blonde girl spoke again. "Could you call anyone to fill in? Maybe a bridesmaid?"

The thought had never crossed his mind. There was no way Rowan was going to call Miranda or Peyton. Rowan could not stand them, and never understood why Avery was friends with them.

"No - " Rowan started to say, but then remembered the other bridesmaid, who at this point, did not even seem like a bridesmaid, given how uninvolved she was with the wedding. "Well," he gulped. "Maybe. Give me a minute."

He walked out of the building before the blonde girl could say anything else. Rowan pulled out his phone, hesitating once he stumbled upon Gemma's contact. He doubted she would say yes, so he might as well have just left. There was no use in asking.

Just as he was about to put his phone away, Rowan forced any hesitation aside and hit the call button below Gemma's contact photo, which he never changed. It was a photo of them on a date. Rowan was not sure where, but they were both smiling in the photo. They looked happy.

To his surprise, Gemma answered only after one ring.

♥♥♥

When she heard her phone ring, Gemma was laying in bed with pajamas on, watching American Horror Story. She had a day off from Target, which was much needed considering how burnt out she was feeling. Pausing the show, she grabbed her phone, surprised to see that Rowan was calling. Though without any hesitation, Gemma answered the phone as soon as she read his name across the screen. She held the phone to her ear, thinking that maybe she should have let it ring for just a little longer.