Chapter 62
The phone rang around ten in the morning and Tyler pulled the pillow over her head. She wanted Kevin to answer it and when she reached over to shove Kevin to get him to, she remembered he wasn’t there.
Mumbling, Tyler reached over for the phone. "Hello."
"Miss Dorough?"
"Yeah."
"This is Inspector McCabe, with the Orlando Police Department."
That woke Tyler. "Did you find out anything?"
"We went to Ms. Randof’s house last night and she was already gone. We’ve been searching the city for her but so far, nothing."
"Have you checked her ex-husband’s house?"
"No, we haven’t. Do you happen to know his name or where he lives?"
"No, but I’m sure Tiffany’s teacher would know. Her name is Mrs. Abernathy and her number is 555-5000."
"Thank you, Tyler. We’ll let you know something as soon as we can."
After hanging up, Tyler rolled over and looked at a picture of her and Kevin. She thought about Kevin and their relationship. It had been a wonderful friendship from the very beginning but things certainly hadn’t gone the way either of them had expected. Now it looked like not only would they be starting their married life off with a new baby on the way but the possibility of having a pre-teen to boot.
The phone rang again and Tyler answered it. "Hello."
"Good morning, sunshine."
"Good morning, ‘D’. How did you manage to wake up this early?"
"It wasn’t easy. Have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet. I just woke up myself."
"Let’s meet for brunch then, just you and me."
"Sounds good. Where do you want to meet?"
"Here at the hotel."
"What about Kevin?"
"Don’t worry about him. ‘Bull’, Carlos, and Billy had to carry him to his room. I don’t think he’ll be up any time soon."
Tyler laughed, "You’ll have to tell me about y’alls party for him.
Give me an hour."
"See you later, ‘Sunshine’."
Tyler got up, took a quick shower, and dressed in a pair of jeans. She went downstairs where she found Sonja and Brian sitting by the pool
"Where are you headed to?" asked Brian.
"Brunch with Howie. What about you two?"
Sonja said, "Just hanging out here. The caterers will be back soon to set up for the reception."
"I should be back in a couple hours but Kevin wants me to go out to the chapel at three for something."
"Don’t worry about a thing. Mrs. Richardson and Mrs. Dorough are on the way to make sure everything goes okay," said Sonja. "Have fun with Howie and DO NOT GO NEAR KEVIN."
Tyler laughed and headed to meet her cousin for brunch. The trip in to town was fairly easy and she found a parking spot close to the door.
Inside, Howie had already gotten a table and was waiting for her. He greeted her with a hug, "Hey, sunshine!"
"You look rough! What time did you guys get in?"
"Around five. Before we left the bar though, AJ insisted on doing shots of tequila. He and Kevin went at it to see who could drink the most."
"Oh, great! How drunk was Kevin before they started doing shots?"
Howie laughed, "Remember your birthday?"
"Yeah."
"About that bad."
"Oh, god! I had hoped that by having the wedding at seven, Kevin would have time to get over his hangover."
"Don’t worry, Ty. He’ll be okay by the wedding."
The two ate their meal and talked about everything. They had a wonderful time together and Howie shared his plans for his future with Kryss. Tyler was thrilled for her cousin.
As they were finishing their food, Tyler asked, "What time are you coming out to the house?"
"I guess around five," said Howie somewhat distracted.
Tyler noticed that Howie had suddenly become upset. "’D’, what’s wrong? Your mood went from really chipper to manic-depressive in 2 seconds flat. That’s not like you. You usually take at least 5 seconds."
"Nothing and everything is wrong. This is the biggest day of your life and Kevin has busted his ass to make it perfect for you but it’s not perfect."
"Why not?"
"Your dad should be giving you away, not me, and your mother should be here. You should be wearing her dress."
Tyler took Howie’s hands in hers and said, "Howard Dwaine, I don’t remember my parents. Mami and Papi are the only parents I know. As for who should be giving me away...that’s my choice. You have been by my side for as long as I can remember. You were there when I lost my first tooth. You walked with me to my class on the first day of school...EVERY year. You held my hand when ‘Sugar’ died and you even planned the funeral. You were there for my first date and threatened to kick the boy’s butt if he so much as looked at me wrong. And you were there for me when I went for my first doctor’s appointment. Howie, you’ve been my rock through it all. I wouldn’t have ANY one else give me away."
"But I’m the reason your parents died," blurted out Howie.
That stunned Tyler and she said, "How are you responsible? You were only five years old?"
"You and I were with them and I gave you some grapes. Aunt Maria had told me not to give them to you but I didn’t listen and you got choked on one. Your mom was trying to get to you and she kicked your dad’s arm causing him to loose control of the car. That’s when he wrecked."
"Howie, it wasn’t your fault. Daddy should have pulled off the side of the road. I don’t blame you and I don’t think anyone else does either. Have you been blaming yourself all these years?"
Howie hung his head, "No, not really, not until now. Tyler, they should by all rights be here to see you get married. This is the most important day of your life."
Tyler kissed her cousin’s hands. "Howie, the ones that I have grown up with and know and love ARE here to see this. Mami, Pops, Angela, John, Pollyanna, Kevin’s family, Nick and his family, Brian and his family, AJ and Denise, Sonja, Kryss, Fiona, Lex and the whole Backstreet family. Most importantly, YOU are here. That’s all that matters to me. Sure, there are times when I wonder what life would be like if Mama and Daddy had lived but they didn’t and I can’t dwell on the ‘what ifs’. I am marrying my best friend in...." Tyler looked at her watch and it was almost two-fifteen. "Shit! I’m going to be late! Look, Howie, I’m marrying my best friend in another five hours. STOP blaming yourself because Mama and Daddy aren’t here for it. I’m okay with it."
Howie smiled through his tears. "Are you sure?"
"I’m positive! Now, I have to go. I promised Kevin I’d go out to the chapel at three."
"Are you meeting him there?"
"No. He just said that there would be something on the altar for me. I’ll see you at the house at five."
Tyler reached into her pocketbook to get some money but Howie said, "It’s on me, 'Sunshine'. Go on and I’ll see you later."
Howie hugged Tyler and watched as she rushed out of the restaurant. Then he went to pay the bill and headed up to his room to get some sleep before he had to be at the house.
Kevin passed Howie in the hall as he was headed out to meet Tyler.
"Where are you going, Kev?"
"Out to the chapel. I want to give Tyler her wedding present."
"I assume she doesn’t know you’re coming?"
"No, she doesn’t know. Part of the gift is already on the altar."
"Well, she just left headed to the chapel."
"Damn! Well, I know a short cut. Hopefully I can get there before her," he said as he headed to the elevator.
"Oh, Kevin. You should know. ‘NSync is in town."
Kevin stopped and turned back to Howie. "You’ve got to be joking."
"I wish I were."
Kevin threw up his hands as he walked off mumbling. "Damn him! Why the fuck can’t he stay away from us? He won’t be happy until he screws up everything."
