I got gas, but forty dollars in that gas guzzler wasn’t going to take us far.

Rin’s cell phone had magically reappeared and she had been sending texts the whole drive back to the city. Whatever happened, she wanted to make sure her contract with Carver remained intact, so she was giving him everything she could. I would have let her drive to stop her from texting, but she would have turned the camper around and gone in the wrong direction.

"Since you had a gas can in the camper, I guess Carver was never going to come back to get us and that was another one of your lies. At midnight, you were going to fess up to the truth and drive us back to the city then?"

"Yup," she said with a pop of her lower lip while she stared at her phone.

“Does Carver have my wallet and keys?” I persisted.

“I don’t really know,” she said coldly.

From that, I had to assume that he did. In that case, I wasn’t going to drive back to my parents’ house. My place was on the way to the church, whereas my parents’ place was out of the way. If I made it back to the fragrance store, the lady who ran it had a spare key to my apartment in case of an emergency. I just had to make it back before she locked up.

I pulled up in front of the shop. Sunlight glistened off the store front’s glass panels and I wasn’t sure if she was still in. I hopped out onto the sidewalk.

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The door was locked. I cupped my hands around my eyes and peered inside. No one was there.

Rin got behind the wheel and skidded away.

I didn’t care. If I had been worried about her leaving me in the lurch, I would have taken the camper keys with me the same way I had when I got gas. I was thrilled to be rid of her, but now I was on the sidewalk with no shoes, no coat, no phone, and no idea how to get into my apartment on the second floor.

The music store wasn’t that far away, but it would also be closed.

I banged my fist against the wall and shouted.

A siren went off behind me. “Sir, you can’t beat up buildings.”

I turned around. A police cruiser had pulled up to the curb, and an officer had sprung from it. The siren had stopped, but the lights kept flashing. It was Officer Todd.

“I thought that was you,” he said in a friendly way. “Aren’t you supposed to be at your wedding?”

“I am,” I replied, so relieved I couldn’t explain it.

“Yeah, the guests at your wedding are going nuts. Shannon has been posting every five minutes asking if anyone has any idea where you are. You look like you could use a hand. You are aware you’re still wearing your pajamas.”

“I know. I came home to get a suit. I have ten of them, but I haven’t got my house keys, and as much as I want to marry Shannon, I don’t want to go to my wedding in an undershirt and pajama pants.”

Todd nodded. “Yeah. I can’t get you into your apartment, but if you’re not picky, I can get you something to wear.”

“I’m not!” I declared.

“I can give you a ride to the church too!” he winked.

And I happily went with him.