for June

32. Best darn ending

Minsi, who reminded him of June a little in her look, looked up from her computer with a grin. "I like Fay."

"Fay." It had a nice ring to it. He waved her goodbye with a smile and boarded the lift.

♡

"Thanks for coming." Chad leaned in to Terry, whispering as they stood on the freezing cold beach despite it being November.

"Not like you often ask for favours," Terry replied sarcastically, only to see his face fall in disappointment. "Oh, lighten up, will you? Your parents are getting married for fuck's sake." She nudged him with her elbow. "I like the new title and the pages are coming along. How are you typing it so fast? I thought you were still writing the ending?"

He smiled, eyeing the back of Jo's head ahead of them, with Tom beside her. "Jo."

"Can we change my name though, to something softer? To something that doesn't elicit fear?"

"Lighten up, will you, Terry?" Chad laughed. "You're stuck with the name. It's my book. Be glad I don't use your real one."

"But Petra? Come on, Chad. You can do better than that? Do I look like a Petra to you?" she huffed, holding out her arms in a look-at-me way.

Chad nodded, he'd chosen the name Petra because it was the closest thing he could think of to petrifying, but she had a point. Terry was more than a Petra, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "Fine, suggest something else then."

Marjorie fired them a disapproving look from the altar. Terry straightened in response, whispering, "I'll think on it."

Jo turned with a hiss. "Honestly you two... Shut up."

"Why, who are we disturbing?" Chad fired back, eyeing the gathering of five. Jo and Tom, Chad and Terry, and one random neighbour mum had befriended last year.

Jo shrugged. He was right. Besides, the wind was howling so hard they could hardly hear the vows being exchanged anyway, and she doubted her mum could hear them either. "So, are you going to Setal's wedding next month?" she asked, leaning back with gaze fixed on the parents.

"I thought you wanted me to shush," Chad replied.

Jo eyed him.

Terry turned to Chad. "I almost forgot she invited you."

"It's even in the book, Terry. How could you forget?"

She shrugged.

"Well. Are you going?" Jo asked, smiling at mum whose eyes were growing big in annoyance.

Chad shook his head. "June was supposed to be my date. How about you? You're the actual friend. Are you going?"

Jo shook her head too. "Not after the scare. I'm bedridden after tonight. I don't want to go, anyway. I haven't talked to her since you two broke up."

That's right, thought Chad. He'd almost forgotten Jo had a little scare with her pregnancy last week, and she'd ended up being observed overnight in a hospital. He didn't blame her for taking off work early or skipping a hectic Indian wedding. She was the reason his book was being typed fast.

Jo had been coming over every morning to his house under the ruse of boredom and needing company once Tom left for work. It had been her thinly veiled attempt to check on him. She'd sit typing his story as he continued writing the rest of it on loose leaves. He loved he had her to help with the type up.

"You should go and bring me the goss," Jo grinned, her eyebrows dancing as their parents sealed their vow-renewal with a kiss. "Yay. Go you two."

She leaned back again and hissed, "Bring me the goss!" Then she rushed off to hug the oldies and congratulate them.