Unholy Matrimony

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I woke up to the smell of pancakes…Which is a wonderful way to wake up, if you ask me. I couldn’t remember the last time I woke up this way, probably when my dad was still alive. My mom wasn’t much of a cook. I untangled my legs from the sheets and followed the heavenly smell into the kitchen, to find Nick cooking.

“Holy crap, you cook?” I said, putting as much surprise into my voice as I possibly could. “Well aren’t you just the whole package?”

“Only the best for my fiancé.”  Nick replied with a smirk, making me frown.

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

I took a seat at the pre-made table and Nick flipped a pancake onto my plate. I added some butter and syrup, then dug in. They were pretty much the best pancakes I had ever had the pleasure of consuming. Nick sat down in the seat across from me.

“Well?” Nick asked me. “What do you think?”

“Pretty good.” I said, though it was a tragic understatement. “I didn’t know that you could cook.”

“When you’ve lived alone for a while, you just kind of figure it out.”

“What about your parents?” I asked him, putting the last piece of my pancake in my mouth and chewing thoughtfully.

“My mother died a few years ago.” Nick said.

I almost choked on my pancake. “I’m sorry, Nick, I didn’t know-“

“Its fine Tessa, married people should know these things about each other. Go on, ask me anything.”

Well, since he said so. “What about your father?”

A shadow passed over Nick’s handsome features. All of the sudden, he was interested in his watch.

“Would you look at the time?” He exclaimed. “I should get going, school will start soon.” He stood up from his chair quickly and walked over to the counter to gather his stuff.

I stood up as well. “Nick wait! I-“

“I’m going to need you to come to the school during lunch today,” Nick told me, changing the subject.

“What for?” I asked him.

“Because I’m going to pretend to forget my lunch so you can bring it to me, I want to convince the Vice principal that we’re a couple. Oakwood’s pretty close, you should be able to walk.”

“Whatever you say, Nick,” I said sarcastically. “Your wish is my command.”

“I wish that my darling ‘wife to be’ would do the dishes.” He replied as he walked out the front door.

“Keep wishing!” I called after him, but did the dishes anyways. Nick let me sleep in his bed last night and made breakfast this morning, it was the least I could do.

                                         *****

It was 11:30 when I headed out to “deliver” Nick’s lunch. Oakwood High’s lunch hour started at 12, so I figured a half an hour would be enough time to walk to the school. Boy, was I wrong. By 11:45 I was hopelessly lost in some random neighborhood, glaring at a rosebush in someone’s garden, like it was personally to blame for me getting lost.

“Now what did those poor flowers do to you to get such a hateful look, miss?” said the voice from behind me.

I turned around to see an older looking man, with graying hair, faded blue eyes and smile wrinkles, looking at me curiously. He was dressed in a smart black suit, with a blue tie, and his hands were clasped behind him. I got the strangest sense of déjà vu from him, but I couldn’t quite figure out why.