It Started as a Joke

It was supposed to be a joke, Sam thought.

It had started with a simple second date, “Be my plus one at my sister’s wedding,” Jenn said.

But now....

Jenn’s mother had tried to line Jenn up with a guy Jenn had dumped in high school.  Her mother insisted he was a nice guy even after he began aggressively stalking her.

Sam’d had a class with Jenn but in visiting she’d never showed interest in dating. Then she called late one Friday evening

“Will you be my knight in shining armor?” she’d said.

"Jenn?"

"I have a stalker who is getting aggressive. Can you come help me sneak out of my apartment?"

Sam hesitated, then smiled. "If you text me your address I can swing by and pick you up after midnight."

"I'll be watching for you."

"Do you have a safe place to stay?" he asked.

"My sister is getting married next weekend, I'm hoping she'll let me stay in one of the hotel rooms she has reserved for guests."

"OK, we'll see you in a bit then."

When Sam pulled in and texted, he was surprised to see Jenn racing from the building with a small bag.

"My mother is planning something if I don't show up with a plus one," she gasped. "Can you get me out of town for the night?"

"Stay in the spare bedroom at my place tonight, and we'll talk in the morning," Sam said as they pulled away from the building.

Jenn kept looking back to make sure her stalker was not following them.

"I live in a gated community," Sam said. "You'll be safe from him tonight."

Jenn finally relaxed as they pulled into his driveway.

As he showed her to her room, Sam made sure she knew that she could stay as long as she wanted, but that for now he was not comfortable being her rebound catch.

“Spoken like a true knights errant,” she’d said, giving him a peck on the cheek, and then closing the door.

Jenn slept late, and then spent the rest of the day talking to her sister.

Sam didn’t know why, but he decided to make her a candlelight dinner that night. He figured as long as he had a house-guest he might as well take the opportunity to cook.

“Gallant, and a great cook, why aren’t the girls swarming over you?”

He shrugged. “I work graveyard.”

“You wouldn’t like the kind of girls that work that shift,” she said with an impish grin.

“And I suppose you’re the kind I would like?” he said.

“You’re doing well so far,” she said. “But I’m not ready for a rebound guy yet either.”

“Fair.”

Sunday morning Sam let Jenn sleep while he watched a brief Sunday service. He made sure brunch was ready when she finally got up.

"One of the hazards of my work is I sleep Sunday afternoons he said as he cleared away the dishes.

"I'll try to keep it down," she said hesitantly.

Sunday night at work Sam had time to think about what he had done. Jenn had been a surprise that he wasn’t expecting, and he realized that neither of them was overanxious to link up. But the more he thought about it the nicer the idea of having someone at home sounded.

By Tuesday Sam knew it was getting serious. “My sister is getting married this weekend,” she said as she put a plate of breakfast treats in front of him.

Sam took a bite of toast and looked up expectantly. "So you said."

“Will you please be my plus one?”

“I thought you weren’t in the market.”

“It’ll be a joke on my mother,” she said.

Sam hesitantly took another bite of toast then washed it down with a glass of milk. “Let’s see if we’re still talking at the end of the week.”

Friday morning Jenn was still getting Sam's breakfast when he got home from work.

"Is that offer to be your plus one still open?" he said.

"We're still talking," she said without looking up.

"Having second thoughts?" Sam said putting his arm around her waist.

Jenn arched her back and then turned and kissed him. "It's just that I'm not sure I want it to be a joke anymore."

Sam had been hesitant to go along with the joke, but he was also hesitant to let her go. As he looked into those deep blue eyes and held her in his arms, she spoke.

"I could get used to this."

Sam smiled. "So could I." He kissed her again.

Sam had only met a girls parents once before, and then it had been the girl's father. He could feel the icy stare of the dominating woman that approached them when they entered the hall.

"You know you're not welcome here."

"He is my plus one, mother," Jenn spat.

Sam hesitantly extended his hand. "I'm Sam...."

Jenn's mother stuck her nose and the air and marched away.

"Sarah, said she'll make sure we can pull this off," Jenn said. "Just wait for the opportune moment."

Sam noticed Jenn's mother having words with the man he assumed was her father.

Jenn looked up and nodded. "And I get my disposition from Daddy."

Jenn's mother continued to glare at him during the whole ceremony, but between her father and sister, the woman kept her distance.

Sam had to wonder what life would be like with a mother-in-law like that, but a friend at work told him that it was just a matter of establishing that they hated each other, and then things would be fine. He hoped that would be the case with Jenn's mother if he couldn't make peace with her.

Finally after the newlywed's first dance Sarah nodded to Jenn, and she pulled Sam toward the center of the dance floor and whispered, "now."

The DJ played a familiar ballad, and then at the end, Sam gave Jenn a dip.

The look in her eyes strengthened his resolve and as he pulled her up he kissed her.

He hadn't noticed that the rest of the crowd had pulled away from them until the applause broke out.

Sam smiled as he pulled the box out of his pocket and fell to one knee.

"Jenn, will you marry me?" he said.

When she said yes, he knew that it was no longer a joke.

qed.