Walk of Shame
“Where is he?” Piper asked as she looked at the empty bed next to the one in which she had been sleeping. “Did he get completely drunk last night? Is he an alcoholic?” She asked the last question, despite the feeling that deep down, she knew the answer. Cherie’s words about him being an alcoholic hadn’t stopped whirling within her mind.
“I did say I would never marry an alcoholic. I promised myself I would never marry someone who couldn’t control his impulses.”
She pictured herself with a different Nick than the athletic, hard-working one with whom she had fallen in love. The other Nick was always slurring and stirring under the influence of the alcohol that had stolen his health and his livelihood. The other Nick was sluggish, angry, and tired. The other Nick was Uncle Sully, her mother’s half-brother. She didn’t want to marry someone like Uncle Sully. She intended to marry a healthy and sober Nick who had the energy to fulfill his mission in life.
“Could he still be out partying with Bob and Flypaper?”
She looked about the room once again and caught a glimpse of the clock on the nightstand, which indicated it was 6 a.m. It was unlikely he was still at the bar, or in any bar for that matter. He had never been out so late while in her presence. And that scared her. Her mind raced.
“Could he be in Bob’s room? Could he have hooked up with someone else?”
Her thoughts raced as she thought of the other single women within the group of friends. Chase’s sister Kat was beautiful. If he hooked up with her, Piper would never recover.
“Or maybe he got hurt. Maybe he’s in the hospital. Maybe something bad happened to him.” Piper panicked as she fumbled around the room, looking for her mobile phone. Her mind was too cluttered with dark thoughts to be able to recall where she had left it the night before. When she found it charging in the bathroom, she dialed Nick’s number. Her heart pounded as the phone rang. It rang twice. Three times.
“Hullo,” a deep and somewhat gritty voice answered.
“Nick? Is that you?”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat.
Piper heard rustling sounds and grunts and felt relieved and angry, all at once.
“Nick, where are you? Why didn’t you come back to the room? It’s 6 in the morning.”
A long pause followed before he answered, “Uh, I’m in a hallway. By room 234. Must be on the second floor of a lodge.”
“What are you doing in a hallway? Did you pass out?” Piper could feel anger boiling up inside of her and a sense of disgust. “Did you get hammered last night?” She thought Nick had the power to control himself. What an embarrassment. Hopefully Cherie wouldn’t hear about this.
“Piper, I’m up. I’m walking back. Give me a few minutes. I think I’m in a different lodge. I’m so sorry. Not sure how I got here.”
“Okay, Nick. I’ll be waiting.”
“I promise to make it up to you, Piper. I love you. I’m sorry. Walk of shame right now. Walk of shame.”
Piper paced around the room, wondering when the door would open. A sea of emotions flooded her mind. On one hand, she didn’t want to jeopardize their relationship by being too harsh in its relatively early stage. On the other, she didn’t want this to happen again. She sat down on the couch again and crumbled as she tried to develop an appropriate response.
“Can’t believe how much we paid for this room; this couch must be from the eighties.”
The room was expensive and the only way for her to afford the week-long trip to Colorado was to split the costs with Nick by sharing a room, which she felt a little guilty about. Fortunately, the room had two queen beds, helping to minimize the temptation. They needed to wait until the wedding night. She was a good Christian girl.
She got up and found a wool blanket in the closet, so she covered the couch before sitting back down and reflecting on her relationship with Nick. Nick had said he could control himself, and she believed him. Hopefully he was right. She didn’t want to marry someone like Uncle Sully. That would be the worst life ever for her. She glanced over at the nightstand to check the clock again. Forty minutes had passed.
Maybe she could use the time by doing something useful. She got up and cracked the window open to let in a little bit of fresh air. That inspired her to do a few yoga stretches before heading into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day. Once finished, she put on a bathrobe and sat down on the couch. Its brutal odor could not be overcome by the fresh mountain air flowing in through the window.
The door opened.
“I’m back.” Nick threw his ski jacket on the bed and plunked down next to her on the couch. He was wearing the same blue jeans and striped sweater she had left him in the night before, yet something new appeared. Something crusty and brownish was all over his sweater. Vomit. How gross. Tired and disheveled and messy. His dark hair, which was always well-coiffed, was swishing all over his head.
“Oh. Hi. What happened to you?”
“Man, I’m not sure. We started off with a couple of drinks. Buttery Slides and beers. Then we went to another bar just up the road. We ate some brownies. Chocolate brownies…with caramel. I think.”
“Brownies? Pot brownies? Geez, Nick. We talked about those on the airplane here. Cherie told me that ever since Colorado legalized pot, the hospital wards have been cluttered with people who made crazy decisions and overdosed and died. Little kids are even trying them, which is very scary. It messes with their brains. Scrambles their ability to think, permanently.” She paused. “C’mon honey, you’re better than that.”
“I know what you’re saying. I didn’t taste any pot, though. I don’t think I had any pot brownies. I think they were just plain brownies. But even so, I still blew it with the drinks. Just wasn’t thinking last night. What a mistake!”
Nick threw his arms up into the air as he stood up and paced about the room. “I’m feeling about as sharp as a bowling ball right now.” He shook his head.
After a few minutes, tears filled his eyes. “I love you so much, Piper. I am so sorry I’ve disappointed you. Please forgive me.”
Piper stared at him for a few moments before she decided not to belabor the point. Everyone makes mistakes. She even made mistakes, especially when tempted to judge others’ mistakes.
“I love you, Nick, and of course I forgive you. You know, I don’t have a problem when you drink in moderation. But you’re prone to excess. It’s hard for you to stop after one or two drinks. Might want to reevaluate the importance of alcohol in your life. Just saying.”
“Things will be different from now on, Piper. Promise. In fact, I’ll make you a deal. I promise you that if we get married one day, I’ll give up the sauce for good. How about that?”
“That would be amazing.” Piper smiled at him and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “So, you think you’re up for skiing today?”
“Of course! But I’ll need to take a shower and get some food in me before we hit the slopes. Are you up for breakfast? I see some greasy grub in my future. And tomato juice. Lots of tomato juice.”
“Sure, but let’s go somewhere off the beaten path.”
“Piper, don’t worry. Bob won’t be in the picture today. It’s all about you and me. What do you think of heading over to Coppertop Mountain after breakfast? It’s only twenty minutes away by shuttle bus.”
“Sounds perfect.”
***
While riding up the chairlift with Nick, Piper thought of his many good qualities. He was loving, appreciative, and humble. He had loved his mother and had shown her great respect, which to her was a sign of the way he would treat a future wife. He wasn’t perfect in some ways, but neither was she. He was a keeper. No one is perfect. She looked over at her man, who now had a much better appearance than the one he had earlier that morning. Walk of shame. A humbling walk of shame.
Cherie’s accusation about Nick being an alcoholic then entered her mind and she struggled with ways to handle such thoughts.
She’s wrong about that. He’s not an alcoholic. That’s too strong of an accusation.
She paused as she reconciled conflicting thoughts. Even if he is, I’ll stick with him. He’ll never get like Uncle Sully. And at least he’s not a mean atheist.
Her thoughts turned to Chase and the way he had addressed her as “sweetie” and spoke of how he was more romantic than Nick. She wondered about his intentions. Either he was hitting on her or he was a narcissist. Either way, no one would accuse him of being a nice guy or a humble man. She chuckled over her clever use of the word “accuse” in her thoughts.
The words “mean atheist” again flashed across her mind. He needed to change for the sake of her friend, Cherie. But what would make him want to change? His life was quite perfect and he was handsome, popular, and athletic. His fiancé was beautiful, sweet, and from a wealthy family. What more could they want? They had been blessed with a lavish wedding in Colorado, a honeymoon in the Bahamas, and a lifetime in sunny Florida. These issues burned in her mind.
“Nick, I’ve been thinking about Chase and Cherie. You know, when you compare them with people who are suffering all over the world, it’s quite unfair. Why were they given so many blessings? They should be using those blessings to help others, like we do. We volunteer at the Collins Foster Home and help those less fortunate. Clearly, Jesus must be happier with what we’re doing on this earth than what they’re doing. I don’t think they do anything to help others.” Piper felt proud of herself for how she was using her own blessings.
“You should try not to judge them. Makes you come across as being self-righteous.”
A vision of an actor playing Jesus in a movie came into her mind. He was holding a wooden plank as He asked the crowd in front of Him why they spend their time judging others, ignoring the planks in their own eyes. It made her shudder.
“You’re right, Nick. Why do I do that? Is it that I’m jealous?”
“You have no need to be jealous of them, Piper. Your life is going very well too.”
The lift arrived at the top of the slope and Nick and Piper popped themselves out of their chair and skied over to the top of an intermediate run. As they arrived, Piper scanned the mountain, which was canvassed by a blanket of glistening snow and dotted by clusters of snow-covered pine trees. Wrapped around the mountain was the deep blue sky, whose wispy cirrus clouds whirled and swirled high into the heavens.
“This looks like a perfect way for us to make this the perfect day,” Nick said as he adjusted his goggles and hopped up and down on his skis to warm up.
“It’s just beautiful out here. I’m ready for some shredding!” Piper started down the slope, feeling the crisp breeze of a new Colorado morning coupled with the warmth of her love for Nick, who was skiing just behind her.
***
After a long day of skiing, Piper and Nick enjoyed a candle-lit dinner in a cozy hickory-style steakhouse a few blocks from their lodge. Once finished, they bundled themselves up in their ski jackets and gloves and got ready to brave the chilly night. Piper slipped a Peruvian ski hat on her head as she followed Nick through the door and out into the parking lot. His thick mane of hair was all that kept his head warm. Within moments, they were strolling hand in hand along a sidewalk on their way towards the lodge.
“Great dinner. That steak was amazing,” Nick said.
“I agree. Delicious.”
“Should we stop anywhere, or do you want to head straight back to the lodge?”
“I’m thinking we should head back and get cozy by the fireplace.” She put her hand on his shoulder as she said, “I enjoyed the time alone with you today, Nick.”
“I always enjoy being with you. Much healthier than hanging around Bob and Flypaper. That’s for sure.” He turned towards her and put his arms around her as he gave her a passionate kiss. Then he looked into her eyes and said, “I love you Piper McCoy. Always have. Ever since I met you so many years ago. Thank you for being my girl.”
“I love you too, Nick.” Piper felt butterflies dancing in her stomach and her heart throbbing. She was more in love with Nick than ever.
“I hear that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Do you like diamonds?”
Piper gasped. “Well, sure. Of course I like diamonds.”
“Round, square, oval, marquis?”
“Why do you ask?” Piper grinned the biggest grin ever as she stared into his eyes.
He kissed her again and winked. “Just curious.”
“I like round diamonds. No more than a carat. Bigger ones are too showy for me.”
“Good to know,” he said, just before they resumed their stroll.
Piper was elated. Maybe he would be popping the big question soon. She was ready to marry him, have kids with him, and live out their lives. Five kids. She wanted five kids, so they needed to be married soon. She wasn’t getting any younger.
Moving into his house in downtown Orange Bay would happen first. Then she would give the whole house a good cleaning. The windows needed washing, the floors needed scrubbing, and the furniture needed dusting. Nick wasn’t one to clean much and the house had become a little untidy since the passing of his mom. She pictured herself planting colorful flowers and Hibiscus bushes around the front porch and filling the planters with impatiens and carnations.
Her mom came to mind and she envisioned her in the kitchen in her apron cooking meals for the family. She always made the most scrumptious meals in all sorts of international flavors, from rump roasts to burritos, curried chicken and tuna casseroles. The meals were always followed by warm chocolate chip cookies, apple pies, or velvety chocolate brownies. Her mom was an excellent cook and she missed her more than anything, but she knew she was in heaven watching over her. Her mom had lived a good Christian life.
They walked another block holding hands before Nick opened up again. “Do you think you could grow old with a wretch like me?”
“Are you kidding? Wretch? I’d love to grow old with you. You’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in my life, and you’re as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside.”
“Piper, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She would need to select a bridal gown, flowers, centerpiece arrangements, table settings, and other decorations. Together, she and Nick would develop a guest list and determine the table assignments. They would also need to meet with the pastor to discuss their plans.
Her thoughts placed her in the offices of the church, sitting next to Nick and discussing their wedding plans with the pastor. She recalled the first time she saw the pastor when Nick took her to the Fellowship Church a few years before. The church wasn’t one of those auditorium or gymnasium-style churches one often encounters in the southern region of the United States, but a rather cozy one. The strong messages delivered by the pastor every week had inspired hundreds to squeeze into its doors so they could “come, grow, serve, and go.” It was a little slice of heaven.
Piper turned her attention back to the slice of heaven she was enjoying in Colorado. She wondered where and when Nick would be popping the question. Hopefully soon. Very soon.