Chapter 3

The day before our wedding, which was also two days after my death, Yvonne brought Ernie into our new home.

He took our engagement portrait off the wall as soon as he walked in. "We can put it back tomorrow. Let's test Alex again. Think he'll get jealous when he sees his portrait gone?"

Yvonne caught the frame. "Don't break it."

Ernie pouted. "I know you care about him."

He stuffed the frame into a cardboard box and opened the closet. My wedding suit hung inside beside a black traditional dinner jacket.

My father had made that jacket for himself before he passed away. He had been so ill he could barely hold a needle, and the stitches around the cuffs were uneven.

When I tried on my wedding suit, he had held my hand. "I'll wear this during your wedding, Alex."

He had not lived to see that day.

Ernie pulled out the black jacket. "This thing's so old. What a bad omen for your new life after marriage."

Yvonne glanced at it. "Alex's father left him that. Put it back."

Ernie's smile faded. "I've spent all day getting everything ready for you, and he won't even come home to help decorate, yet you're upset because I touched some old jacket?"

Yvonne hesitated. "Just put it away for now. Don't let him see it."

Ernie smiled again as he balled up the jacket and threw it into the box.

At the bottom lay the only photograph I had of myself with my parents. Ernie complained that we were all wearing black and told the staff to take it away too.

Yvonne stood by and let him.

The crew making the wedding video had just arrived when the hospital called.

The person in charge opened a laptop. "Ms. Gomez, here's the video about your love story for the wedding."

The large screen lit up.

In the video, I wore my white suit and held a bloodstained watch as I climbed over the guardrail. Then, Yvonne stepped out with the roses.

Off camera, Ernie was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. "I won! …He was really going to jump into the river to keep you company!"

At the end, a line of text appeared.

[True love can withstand any test.]

The room filled with applause. Someone even laughed and said, "Alex is going to cry when he sees this. He'll be so touched."

Yvonne stared at my face on the screen. I was gripping the guardrail hard, my hands shaking. "Cut the part where he falls to his knees afterward. It won't look good at the wedding."

Ernie sat at my desk and unwrapped the wedding gift I had prepared for Yvonne. Inside was a scrapbook for our seventh anniversary. The first page held the bus ticket from our first ride together.

Ernie flipped through a few pages and laughed. "He kept this worthless scrap of paper?"

Yvonne snatched the scrapbook away. "Don't touch that."

Ernie's eyes became red. "I was just looking for things to use in the video. Why are you yelling at me?"

She looked at him for a moment, then let go. "Use it if you want."

Ernie pulled out the bus ticket, cut it into a heart, and pasted it beside a picture of himself with Yvonne.

The hospital called again. Yvonne saw the number and declined the call.

"That actor again?" Ernie asked.

"Yeah." Yvonne nodded.

She opened our chat. My last reply was still that single word: [OK.]

"He already promised he'd come to the wedding. He's just making a scene because he wants me to give in first," Yvonne mumbled to herself.

The staff carried the box out. A corner of the black jacket hung over the edge, dragging along the floor.

Ernie rested his head on Yvonne's shoulder. "If he's still mad tomorrow, let's test him again. Cancel the wedding in front of everyone and see if he begs you to marry him."

Yvonne glanced at the empty wall. "Don't push him too far."

"He can't bear to leave you." Ernie put on the bow tie that was once mine. "Not even in death."

She did not argue back as she sent me a message: [I've got our new home ready. Don't be late tomorrow.]

The message went through.

But this time, there was no one left to answer.