Rush to the Altar

CHAPTER ONE

The phone rang with a soft trill, breaking the quiet of the evening.

Maddie lifted her head from the story she was reading to Max as her mother answered it. She paused to overhear who had called, ruffling Max’s hair.

“How are you doing, Sasha? How’s your mom? Umm-hmm…that’s good.” A short pause ensued while Gloria walked into the living room. “Oh, she’s just reading to Max. I’ll get her. Hold on.”

Maddie rose, taking the phone. “Mommy will just be a minute, sweetie.”

Max, at twenty-six months—okay, okay, two years old; it was just hard to let go of the month-counting stage—shook his head and held up the book. “Read it, mommy.”

“I’ll be right back, Max.” Maddie gave her mom a pleading look and walked toward the back door, the clear night air and a moment—alone—with a phone call of her own.

“Hello?”

“You’ll never guess what happened.”

“Hi, Sasha.” Sasha never started a call with “Hey, it’s Sasha, what are you doing?” or anything normal like that.

“Of course it’s me. Who else? Anyway, guess what happened!”

Who else, indeed? Maddie hadn’t connected with many of her old friends since moving back home and was thankful Sasha, her best friend from high school, had picked right back up from where they had left off. “You know I hate guessing games. Just tell me.”

“Oh no, this is too good. Three guesses at least.”

Maddie groaned. “You won the lottery.” Deadpan voice.

“You always guess that first. Come on. Be creative.”

Maddie smiled. “You had a blind date last night. Turns out he’s a doctor and wild about you. He proposed.”

Sasha laughed. “Now that’s more like it. But no, try again.”

Maddie laughed. “You won tickets to the Ice Capades!” Mock excitement laced her words, but she couldn’t help her smile.

“Oh my gosh. You’re so close!”

“Really? Tell me.”

“Okay, are you sitting down?”

“Yeah. Of course. Any news this important would have me sitting down.” Maddie plopped down on a wobbly lawn chair, leaned her elbows onto her knees and grinned into the phone. “No more stalling. Out with it.”

“Okay, okay. You know that morning radio show I listen to like a groupie? Well, all of my hard efforts have finally paid off. I won tickets to a Racers game!”

“Basketball?” Maddie couldn’t help the deflated tone after such a buildup.

“What’u mean basketball? It’s the religion of the Midwest!”

“Shhhh. My mother might hear you.” The smile was back in Maddie’s voice.

“You have to go with me! Front row seats and everything.”

“Really? Front row?”

“Well, maybe not front front row. Maybe we won’t be able to feel the flecks of sweat off their brows or anything like that, but close seats, great seats.”

“Oh, Sasha, I don’t know…”

“Now come on, Maddie. You haven’t been out in weeks. You need to have some fun.”