The Journey

Chapter 32

Elisha

It was deja vu all over again.

Everyone had no idea where Newton had gone. His cellphones were turned off. His doorman said he hadn't gone back to his apartment. Ben Johnson didn't even know he had gone missing again. Mrs. McAllister was going ballistic. Nick had to talk with her and organize discreet search parties while we all waited in the church. Thankfully the priest was very accommodating and let us stay.

Meredith was frantic, twisting her hands together and trying to think of where he could be. The wedding was less than 24 hours away and her groom was nowhere to be found. I sat her down on one of the pews in the church and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Where can he be, Eli? Why would he take off like that without telling anyone where he's going?" Meredith inquired painfully.

"I don't know, but I think he'll be back for your wedding. He wouldn't want to risk the wrath of your mother-in-law," I joked feebly.

She smiled slightly and closed her eyes, "I hope he's okay."

I gazed at her face and held her hand. This was the first time I'd seen her so worked up. Sure, she had the usual bridal nerves and insecurities and panic about the wedding and everything, but this was something more. I squeezed her hand gently and whispered, "you love him, don't you?"

Her eyes flew open and she looked at me in astonishment, "I...I...how can you say that?"

I smiled, "it's okay, Mer. I can see it in your eyes. You're worried sick about him. You're in love with Newton."

Her eyes filled with tears. I drew her head down onto my shoulder and let her cry silently. What a twist of fate. We were all a mess. When she had calmed down enough, she sighed and said, "I do. God help me, I do love that moron."

I had to laugh, "you shouldn't call your future husband names."

"But he is a moron. A lying, cheating, disappearing moron, who is still in love with you," she finished sadly.

I grimaced, "no, he doesn't. He just fancies the idea of having an affair with me, but he's not in love with me anymore. He hasn't been for a long time. If he did love me, he wouldn't have cheated."

"I'm so sorry, Eli. I'm as selfish as he. You're probably still hurting," she said contritely.

"No," I said calmly. "I'm not. I'm over him, Mer. You think I would help in your wedding if I were still in love with him? I may be strong, but I'm no masochist. Besides, that's the main reason why Newton split."

Meredith appeared confused, "what do you mean?"

I blushed slightly, "Nick and I... We're together now."

She pulled away to look at me, her eyes as wide open as her mouth, "you and Nick?"

I pretended to be offended, "anything wrong with that?"

"No! No, of course not. I was just...surprised. That's so unexpected. How did you two hook up?"

I shrugged, "while we were looking for him a month ago. That was the first time we spent a lot of time in each other's company. We got to know each other and... Well, the rest is history."

Meredith continued to stare at me in disbelief. I was starting to feel like a specimen under a microscope. She closed her mouth and nodded finally, "well. I guess that's logical."

I had to smile, "there's no logic when it comes to love."

"True," she shook her head and grinned at me. "I'm glad for you, Eli. If anyone deserves to be happy, it's you. Nick is a wonderful guy."