“Stalled? What do you mean stalled?” Lisa’s voice climbed to a shrill, a topless box slipping out of her hands and spilling lace envelopes across the carpeted floor.
“I mean it is not working, I don’t know, why else would an elevator stop?” He punched the buttons roughly.
“Josh, careful!” she nudged him into the wall, scoping the envelopes up by his feet.
He side stepped out of the way and pushed the emergency button. “We’re trapped in 5 by 5 square and you’re worried about those.” He ran a hand through dark locks and bent down to help.
“These have to be mailed out tomorrow, Josh, or the wedding planner said the R.S.V.P’s wouldn’t- grrr, look, a footprint.”
Josh sighed and raised his hands in defeat, standing and letting her fuss. “Good. You’ll have to get better ones.”
Lisa shot him a look. “Matt likes these ones. He picked them out himself.”
His face hardened. “That explains it.”
“Oh, shut up. It was a sweet gesture, he knew I was stress about-”
A beep cut through the elevator. The intercom light flashed on. “Hello? This-this is Trudy at the main desk, is everyone alright in there? ...Hello? Oh, I can’t hear a thing, how do you work this?”
“Yes, hello?” Lisa dropped the invitations again, pressing her mouth into the intercom screen. Sounds of buttons being pressed echoed through the static. “Can you hear me? Hello? Myyyyyy naaaaaame iiiiiiis-”
“Oh, fuck, I can’t- Hello?” Trudy called. “If anyone’s in there, we’ve got personal on the way. Do you hear me?”
Josh slapped his hands to his head and winced as her loud voice grated his ears.
“Yes!” Lisa shouted back, punching the red button repetitively. “We can hear you-”
“Hello? I said, you’ll be oka-”
A button was pressed and the static ceased, leaving their small square eerily quiet. Lisa slumped into the wall, paling. Josh slowly reached out and pulled her to his chest, rubbing her upper arms. “Hey… you heard her, we’ll be out of here-”
“-I’m late.”
“What?” Hands on her shoulders, he moved her back and looked at her with panic eyes.
She her mouth worked a few times, her eyes suddenly glistening under the flourescent lights. “For my dress fitting.” She swallowed and nodded, her slim jaw squaring. “And damn, your tux, we haven’t figured out the tie color, we can’t have a best man without a-”
He shook her gently.
She blinked and stared numbly at him.
“Women. Crazy. All of them.” He sighed and dropped his hands.
“I resent that…”
A moment of silence, then: together, they bent down and picked up the cards, nails scraping against the fading magenta carpet.
“Matt must be frantic,” she mused, as if talking about an injured puppy.
“How would he even know?” Josh asked petulantly.
Her eyes widened, hands fumbling for her pockets. “You’re right. I should call him, I should-”
“Stop.” He grabbed her hand, squeezing it for a moment. “Save that for later. You’ll be fine, there’s not reason to-”
“-but-”
“Later,” he repeated firmly, gently easing the Blackberry from her rough fingers, parched from her many years of handling stacks of paper. “Besides, you’ve got me.” He shot her a charming smile, placing the box of gathered invitations in her now empty hand.
She accepted it and slowly stood. He mimicked her and leaned against a mirrored wall, which bounced the soft red glow of the emergency light back to dull reflection of the metal doors.
“This will make a great story at dinner tonight,” she relented, rubbing her arm.
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “And the reception. You’re a life saver.”
“I haven’t done anything right.” he studied her, brows furrowed.
“That’s not true, Josh, you’re always there when I need you. Like now and-.. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
His eyes softened, mouth opening to respond when the elevator jolted. The
power flickered and the box slipped to the ground as the elevator roughly resumed its assent.
“Seriously?” She went to her knees, quickly gathering up the stack as the elevator beeped each floors passing.
“Me either,” Josh finally murmured, stepping back onto an invitation.
