My Kind of Perfect (11 page)

“Lower your voice down,” John hushed me the next minute.

“The license,” I hissed back to him in a much lower voice,
as asked. But actually, what was utterly important right now was the sole
existence of that dangerous marriage license that might give me enough more
trouble in no time.

John stood on the tip of his toes, looking over the crowd.
Maybe by now he realized that Dorothy was long gone. And she got our marriage
license.

Quickly, now aware of the situation, he told the people around
us, “I can’t wait to take away my bride. We’ll be holding a press conference a
week from now. I hope we can see you all there.”

In another breath, he quickly dragged me out of the hotel as
he was saying something on the phone. The moment we got out of the building, I
saw that his car was already waiting for us.

It was nice and sleek.

I was quite aware that I had a fair share of knowledge about
cars. But still, I couldn’t help but stare in amazement at the black shiny car
that was in front of us. I had forgotten what it was called but I was sure that
I saw this one while browsing for a car years ago. Yup, this belonged to the
category of the ones I avoided to look at. The price itself might kill me if
not the fear I had for driving.

John hurriedly pushed me inside. I was still trying to
remember the said speed of the car but John resolved to just show me instead.
So in another moment, we were driving like crazy in the streets of Creeksburg.
By crazy, I meant every letter in it. We got past through every other vehicle
in the busy streets. I mean, he was like the only person I knew who could drive
so freely in crammed streets like this. It was like he created an invisible
third lane solely for himself.

I held on tightly to my seat throughout the ride and prayed
that this madness would end any moment soon. Feeling my heart revolting in my
chest and the feeling like I wanted to throw up, I tried my hardest to contain
myself. This situation called for nothing but bravery on my part. But then
suddenly, as much as I didn’t expect it, I felt the car stopped on its track.
The loud screech of the breaks echoed around.

Were we dead?

“Are you okay, Kayla?” asked John, pulling me out of my
newly formed illusion that we hit something, flew up in the air, and by
now—dead.

“J...o...” I tried saying but the words wouldn’t get out of
my mouth.

“Hey, are you okay? Look at me!”

I slowly opened my eyes and realized we were not yet dead.
That in fact, we only came to a stop. Upon seeing that everything seemed like
what real world sounded like as far as I could remember, I felt tears started
forming at the corner of my eyes. I hurriedly wiped it off only to realize that
I was shaking badly and cold sweats were forming on my forehead.

“I’m sorry. I forgot you were afraid of fast driving,” he
finally said apologetically.

I looked away and held on tightly to the seatbelt. “Don’t...
mind me. Go ahead, there’s... nothing... wrong,” I stammered. Clearly, there
was something wrong with me. As much as I tried, I never got over this.

“Are you really okay?”

“I’m... fine.”

He only nodded, realizing that I refrained myself from
saying anything else regarding this matter. One thing that he was always good
at—understanding me. As he was driving, he sped up a little. But it was just
right, not wanting to scare me again, I supposed. Then in a while, we stopped
in front of the clerk’s office. I was somehow relieved that Dorothy just got
out of her car and she arrived the same time that we did.

I hurriedly took off the seat belt, regained back myself,
and rushed out of the car. Sprinting my way down to where Dorothy was, I
snapped away the portfolio that she was holding as soon as I got the chance.
With clammy hands, I opened the envelope and looked the contents. I almost fell
down to the ground in relief that no damage was done. The documents were still
safe and sound.

“Dear, what are you doing out here?” asked Dorothy
obliviously.

I turned my gaze to her and saw the perplexed look on her
face. Did I overreact a while ago? Clearly not, for what she was about to do
was a matter of life and death. That was the least thing any person would do at
this moment. Not to mention that I did it dramatically—running around in a
wedding dress and sprinting like some crazy runner in the streets.

That was some show I put up out here. They should at least
appreciate my efforts on showing off my perfect figure while running. I feared
that I would be featured in wedding magazines. Talk about the aversion I had on
being famous.

So, back to the main point.

Soon after, John was by my side. He was the one who answered
Dorothy’s question earlier. He said, “Grandma, I think there’s no rush in
submitting this form. I’ll take care of it myself. You don’t need to bother
with any of this.”

“I can’t see the point. We’re in front of the clerk’s office
by now. So we might as well submit this one,” she replied as she grabbed the
envelope from my hands.

Crap! She was fast. For a moment, I forgot how quirky she
was.

I thought hard on how to make her believe that she didn’t
need do all this. And somehow as I gave myself enough time to think about
things, I also remembered that my face was now all over the news by now. The
mess. Everything. How would I ever be able to escape all this? It was so stupid
of me to believe that what the fortune teller said was true. It was kind of
obvious that trouble seemed to always find its way back to me no matter what I
did.

“Grandma, we need to talk,” John finally said, seeing that
his grandma was far from letting this go without a credible explanation.

“You can say that to me when we get home. For now, let’s
register your wedding. Come along my dear,” she said as she motioned for both
of us to follow.

I threw a stern look to John.

He was the one who got us into this mess. He should be the
one who should think of a solution for all this. I felt another headache as I
recalled what had just happened. The whole world would soon know that I was
John Brooks’ bride. We needed to devise something before any of this happen. Or
to resolve what had already occurred.

“Grandma, we need to talk first,” said John. And this time,
he dragged her grandma to his car. “Come along, Kayla.”

I nodded and followed them to the car. As long as we were
not in front of this office which could legalize things that weren’t supposed
to be legal, I was perfectly okay with that. The John led his grandma to the
passenger’s seat up front and I slipped to the back.

We drove to a very unfamiliar street which led to an open
field. Soon after a two-storey house came in sight. The house itself was just
right, not that big but not that small either. It was average looking except
for the part that it was lost in the middle of nowhere. I guessed that this was
where Dorothy lived. It had nature surrounding it. Was she fed up with the
hotel and wanted a serene life like this?

When the car stopped, they both got out of the car and I did
the same. I was merely following with their leads because I had no clue where
we actually were. I saw John opened the front door and they both entered in
while talking about something I hadn’t got the chance to hear. I was
preoccupied with the place. I mean, it was the only house across a green field.
The next house was located far across to the other side, like you could barely
see it from where I was standing.

Somehow, I felt bad about all this. I browsed my phone and
looked at another horoscope for the day. It was like something was telling me
that there would be an unusual turn out of events today.

Your kind heart may lead you to places you haven’t seen
before. But just sit back and enjoy the ride. You’ll never know, maybe
something good might actually happen.

“Kayla, get in here,” called John from inside.

I put back my phone inside my gown and hurried to the house.
Good thing that the weather was fair enough to let me travel all over the
places in this gown. I noticed a rip or two but everything was still intact.

But with the rip, I couldn’t sell this anymore.

They left the front door open for me so I just welcomed
myself in. The moment I stepped inside the house proper, my eyes widened with
what I saw. I took back the thought that this house was just average looking.
The furnishings inside emphasized every single letter of the words luxurious
living. Even the floor mat looked expensive so I avoided it, not wanting to make
it dirty or anything.

“In here,” said John again and I followed his voice.

I saw the two of them sitting on the white sofa while
discussing something. Dorothy was still holding our marriage license in her
hands. The wicked thing must not be kept intact. It should be torn apart any
moment soon or else I would not just be a bride of John Brooks in papers and
magazines but in the courts as well.

Why didn’t I think of tearing it up sooner?

If Dorothy did not intervene in our perfect plan, everything
would have gone well. I came to fully believe that she was born to annoy me. I
mean she clearly did her utmost best to make my life even more miserable. Not
to mention that she was so good at it.

I took a seat on the other side, across John and Dorothy. In
another beat, Dorothy looked at me carefully. Then she asked, “So you just
faked the wedding?”

I was taken back at her sudden inquiry. Then I realized that
she already knew. I guessed there was no helping it after all. And so I just
silently nodded, admitting the plot that Johnny and I had devised.

She took off her eyes from me and turned to Johnny and said,
“How could you do this to me? You already knew how much I wanted to witness
your real wedding before I’d depart from this world.”

Johnny looked troubled at her grandmother’s notion. That
must be the reason why he wanted to forge a wedding—to let his grandma witness
it with her own eyes. I wondered if what he said the day before was true. Was
this old lady really sick? I was not fully convinced. But just for the sake of
it all, I considered the possibility that she was.

“I’m sorry, Grandma. I just wanted you to see it. Sorry for
taking it this far,” replied John, sounding deeply contrite.

“Well, that’s why I told you for so many years to find a
girl and move on from that lass who dumped you a long time ago,” she continued,
imposing every word especially the ‘dumped’ part.

I saw the surprise look on John’s face when her grandmother
uttered the words. What? He really failed to move on after a girl dumped her.
Screw that! That was just plain lame. I mean, come on, he was not that bad
nowadays. Any girl, except for me who knew how he was like before and still
couldn’t get rid of the thought, would fall for him the moment he smiled at
them.

“Don’t be foolish, Grandma. I’m over that girl already,” he
retorted, wiping his brows.

“Oh really? That’s why you’ve kept all her letters in your
room?” she added.

John replied with apparent uneasiness, “I did not.”

“Sure you did. And you two called yourselves Mr. Dork and
Ms. Perfect. I read all that,” she exasperated.

Oh my, she was one nosy old granny.

Wait. Mr. Dork and Ms. Perfect? Where did I hear about that
before? But it couldn’t be. They couldn’t possibly be talking about me, weren’t
they?

Looking for clarification, I met John’s eyes. He was
throwing quick glances at me, alright. And when I met them and held it, he
literally fell lower in his seat. Oh my gosh! That was us. We were those two.
With all that nervousness he was showing, it was kind of obvious.

“Me?” the words needlessly escaped my mouth.

Dorothy looked at me. Then she asked with one of her
eyebrows raised, “Kayla, are you Ms. Perfect?”

“I... think... so,” I mumbled. I was hesitant to answer her
question thinking that since I was in the wrong side of the book, things might
turn out a little unpleasant. She was angry and all with the letters.

“You’re that girl?” she asked once again, this time with
roughness in her voice.

“John, am I that girl you guys were talking about?” I
frankly asked John, hoping that maybe just in case, I wasn’t really that girl.
There was still this chance that he once upon a time exchanged letters with
some other girl using those codes.

“You are, Kaye. Who else can it be?” he answered,
stuttering. He then grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and furiously wiped
away the sweat that formed on his forehead.

“And you’re not yet over me?” I asked incredulously. I mean,
come on, we were talking about a span of ten years out there. That was more
than enough time to get over a girl.

He scoffed. “And you believe that? Of course I am.”

That was what I was saying—ten years was enough.

“See, Dorothy? He’s over me. No need to think like that,” I
encouraged, hoping to pull myself out of the bad side and make a place in the
good one.

“Oh dear, you have no idea how much trouble you’ve brought
to this punk,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I did?” I innocently asked. What trouble was she talking
about? John Brooks seemed fine to me—all well and kicking.

“Don’t mind her, Kaye,” said John. Then he looked at his
grandma and offered his hand as he said, “Let me have that license, Grandma.”

Dorothy pulled the paper away from him and held it firmly in
her hands. She then replied, quite dramatically, “Oh, you think I’ll let go of
this matter just because you said so? You guys deceived me. I fully believed
everything.”

“Grandma, we can talk about this later on just give that to
me now,” said John as he tried to grasp it from her hands.

Dorothy got up from her seat and shook her head in
disapproval. Then she shrugged off her shoulders, grabbed the phone, and headed
off towards the kitchen, ignoring us both. I looked at John who also followed
his grandmother with his eyes. Then after which, he pulled off his tuxedo and
adjusted the sleeves of his shirt. Did I mention that his firm arms were
showing off this way?