Free as a Jailbird

Chapter 23

"Here comes the grilled cheeses, girls!" Maria announces, and they all turn toward Nick and I as we carry out the trays. Their eyes widen excitedly and they jump in their chairs screaming, "me! me! me!" None of them look at me with disgust; in fact, they smile brightly. It's a beautiful change.

I place my tray in front of Nick's sister and bend down beside her.

"Happy birthday, Kayla."

"Thank you," she smiles and shows me her badge. "I'm six."

"Wow," I say in awe, "six years old! And what did you get today?"

She takes a deep breath and lists all her gifts as fast as she can. "I got a Barbie mansion, a DVD, some candy from grandma and a new dress from Nick."

I turn and glance at her brother. He nods sheepishly. "It's true, I picked it out and everything. Kayla won't ever take it off."

I inspect the dress, wishing I had the chance to wear a princess gown again. I imagine sporting one down an alleyway toward a group of bikers and it cheers me up considerably. "Impressive," I say teasingly.

"Are you Nick's wife?" asks a girl next to Kayla and all of them burst out laughing, including Nick.

I blush bright red and shake my head. "Uh no, we're not married."

"You should get married," says another girl with rich, orange hair and cheeks dotted with freckles. "It's what happens in all the fairytale books."

I am about to tell her that if my life were written in a book it would give them all nightmares, but I refrain from upsetting them. "Maybe one day."

"Get married today!" Kayla exclaims. All of the girls squeal their approval.

I glance at Nick, who jumps forward and says, "Kayla, I don't think that's such a good idea, we just–"

"Please Nicky," she begs.

Nick rubs the back of his neck as he gazes down at his sister and I can tell just by the defeated look on his face that he loves her deeply. He can't resist her innocent eyes.

"Please! Please! Please!" the girls beg in unison and, before I can rebut, Nick has given in.

"Alright, just a quick ceremony," he says.

The six girls jump to their feet, shouting and laughing and gabbling excitedly. I decide to let them be, because its Kayla's birthday and not mine and I can see it makes Nick somewhat happy too, though he shoots me an apologetic glance over his shoulder.

"Its fine," I mouth.

I am pulled aside by Kayla, the red-headed girl and another taller and bossy blond girl. Kayla lets me wear her princess tiara and the red-head gives me a giant plastic ring that flashes like police lights. I laugh along with them as they busy themselves in preparing for the ceremony and glance over at Nick, who is being pampered by the three other girls. They are shoving a rose in the breast pocket of his button-down shirt and slicking back the small concave at the front of his hair. He catches my gaze again and there is warmth in his eyes that I've never seen in anyone before. It makes my smile widen, and for just that moment I forget all my hurt and pain and worry and fear. I can safely say this is the happiest day of my life. And it's not even a real wedding.

"Quick Lily, over by the rose-bush," Kayla urges the blond girl, and she goes and stands beside a blooming bush full of roses. Kayla and the red-head take my hands and lead me down the grass slope toward Nick standing by the roses. One of the other girls begins to sing.

"Dum dum da duum. Dum dum da duum."

I smile, feeling incredibly foolish, but there is something about this fake marriage that gets to me. Ever since I left home I've been looking for a purpose in my life, going through prison, community services, theft, trafficking, drug deals and every kind of crime imaginable. It wasn't until I met Nick that I began to care about which direction my life is heading. Suddenly, I want marriage. I want love and happiness and a home like Alice's. I want the bond of family. I want a life with others, not alone.

"You look beautiful," says Nick as I stand facing him at the rosebush.

I snort. "I wish I could have gone all the way for the occasion."

"Shush," snaps Lily beside us. "I'm going to marry you, okay?"

Nick nods gravely, his brow furrowed, all humor hidden in the sparkle of his eyes. "Of course, Reverend Lily. Please proceed."

Lily raises her chin and purses her lips. "I shall. Dearly beloved," she recites. "We are coming here today to marry Jess and Nicky, to have and to hold, in death and in sickness, and ... no in wealth ..." The girls gathered around us burst out laughing as Lily struggles to get her words together. She glares at them all. "It's not funny!"

"You're doing great," Nick assures her. His gentle tone makes my heart flutter. It can't be that I deserve a man so righteous and so loving when I live my life as a lowly criminal with a bad temper and no great ambition. Maybe that's what makes me so addicted to what I have with Nick.

"Anyways," Lily continues, "you both have to say your bows."

"Our vows?" says Nick.

"Yes. Bows."

We glance at each other.

Nick bites the corner of his lip. It's oddly cute that he is so nervous. Perhaps he's wondering if what he says next will be too forward or send me running for the hills.

"Well, Jess, we've known each other for ... uh ..."

"A week?"

The girls gasp.

"Yes, a week. But I ... you're a breath of fresh air and I find myself waiting for the next time I get to see you. I've never met anyone so tough, so guarded and so sure of herself. I'd be happy to get to know you more after this impromptu wedding."

I chuckle. "That's lovely."

"Jess, your turn," says Lily.

"Uh ... he said exactly what I was thinking."

"No, you have to say your own," Kayla whispers loudly with a hand against her cheek.

"Okay, um." Nick squeezes my hand in encouragement. "Nick Bronson," I smile. "Never in a million years did I think I'd ever find myself in the company of a cop and actually have a good time." Nick laughs at that. "But you surprised me the day we uh ... went for that drive to your work." I glance over my shoulder at the girls listening eagerly. "And I'm glad that I met you. You came into my life at the perfect time and I need a rock just like you to keep me grounded and sane."

"He's not a rock," one of the girls whispers.

Nick and I laugh.

"Okay, so do you take each other as man and wife?" asks Lily.

"I do," says Nick confidently and he squeezes my hand again.

The words that come out of my mouth don't feel like my own. They feel like lines from a soppy movie.

But the funny thing is, I mean them.

"I do."