Strip Search (Tap That)

“I have the perfect place. Let’s finish up with Autumn and I’ll take you there.”

Leighton tried to whip up some enthusiasm but honestly she was a little skeptical. Axl, the small town cop could not be an expert on unique and modern wedding venues. It was a science that she had down pat by now. Every episode she had to find something different, something breathtaking, something ground breaking. She’d done aquariums and riverboats and speakeasies. Barns, boats, and a basketball arena. It wasn’t arrogant to assume she might have a leg up on Axl.

But after they ordered his plain chocolate cake with her lemon top tier, Axl drove her out of town along Lake Superior. He drove with a smug secretive smile on his face and his hand on her knee. Leighton prepared herself to get fake excited.

He turned down what looked like a private driveway. “We aren’t trespassing, are we?”

“No, we’re not trespassing. I know the guy who lives here. He’s a vet from the Korean War and he’s in his eighties. He’s owned this property since the late fifties.”

They were disappearing into a copse of trees, the concrete apron of the driveway giving way to gravel. A few hundred feet down the drive, the trees cleared and there was a small house. It was Victorian style. White with black shutters and lots of gingerbread trim. It was cute but Leighton wasn’t sure where Axl was going with this. It didn’t seem like a wedding venue. Just some guy’s house.

“What’s your friend’s name?”

“Bill Cove. We met at a Fourth of July parade and hit it off. He’s a cool guy.”

It was really sweet and cute that Axl was friends with a man three times his age.

She followed him out of the car and up the porch steps. There were two rockers on the porch and a number of flower pots, but there was nothing planted in them. She was worried she was going to have to tell Axl this wasn’t going to work for the wedding and that somehow it would hurt Bill’s feelings. Or heck, Axl’s.

Axl knocked and Bill opened the door a minute later. “Hey, Axl, how’s it going?” He put out his hand and they shook. He was tall and skinny with a warm smile. He was dressed in cargo shorts and a T-shirt, which for whatever reason, she wasn’t expecting.

“Hey, Bill, good to see you. I hope you don’t mind me dropping by without calling.”

Bill rubbed his bald head, covered in liver spots. “What, because I’m so busy? Come on in, kid. Good to see you. Who’s this lovely lady?”

Axl put his hand on the small of her back. “This is my, uh, fiancée, Leighton.”

The words sounded awkward to her. He wasn’t really selling it. But then again, she wasn’t sure she could say that with a straight face either. “Getting married” seemed less intimate than “fiancée,” which made her just silly and playing with semantics.

Bill’s face registered surprise. “Fiancée? Wow, guess I’ve been out of the loop. I didn’t know you were engaged. Nice to meet you, Leighton.”

She took the hand he offered and shook. Bill had a strong grip and curious pale blue eyes. He was assessing her, that was clear. “Nice to meet you, too.”

“Come on in, come in.”

“Actually, I really wanted to show Leighton Soon-ja’s garden. Leighton loves roses and we’re looking for someplace special to get married.”

Bill’s expression changed. It softened. “I’d be honored to show you the garden. Come through the house and we’ll go to the back.”

“Thank you,” Leighton said, now genuinely curious. A rose garden was the reason Axl had brought her here.

They stepped into the small house. It was decorated with midcentury modern furniture, w

hich struck Leighton as fascinating. It was like Bill had moved in in the fifties, decorated it, and never changed it. Bill paused to pick up a photo and show it to her.

“My wife, Soon-ja, on our wedding day. She passed away nine months ago.”

“Oh, she’s beautiful, Bill. I’m so sorry for your loss.” Soon-ja was stunning, her dark hair flipped up at the edges, her cheekbones striking. She was staring into the camera a bit mischievously. She had a small but full mouth and dark eyes.

“Thank you. I met her when I was twenty years old serving in Korea. I clapped eyes on her when she was my waitress in a restaurant and I knew she would be my wife.”

“Really?” Leighton had always been skeptical of love at first sight. “Was that because she was pretty?”

Bill shook his head. “No, though obviously, I thought she was a looker. She turned heads everywhere we went. But that wasn’t the only thing.” He ran a shaky thumb over Soon-ja’s face in the photo. “No. It was that when I saw her, I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. Our eyes met and I saw my entire future laid out in front of me. Wham. Life was never the same again.”

That sounded so amazing. So…easy. Leighton had never felt that level of conviction in her entire life. “I take it she felt the same way?”

He gave a laugh. “Oh, hell no. I asked her out every day for a month before she agreed to go to dinner. And she said she only agreed to that so I would stop bugging her.” Bill gave a grin. “But then I won her over with my incredible charm. Much like Axl here, I’m sure.” He clapped Axl on the bicep.