With hair and makeup done, Daniela and I zipped each other up in our light green, strapless bridesmaid dresses before going to help Kelly's mom get her into her wedding gown. Satin and tea length, the dress fit Kelly perfectly. She glowed and looked like the princess every girl should on her wedding day. The photographer came in to take some pictures while we all laughed, reminiscing about how Kelly had been planning her wedding since she was twelve years old. Kelly had a beautiful day for a wedding. It was sunny without a cloud in the sky.
We left the room Kelly used to get dressed and headed toward the sanctuary. We waited right outside the door.
"I'm so glad you're here with me." Kelly stopped and turned to look at me. I could tell she really meant it. Our friendship had managed to survive all the years we'd spent apart.
Her father stood a little ways away, waiting anxiously. He shifted his weight from foot to foot. I smiled watching him. This wasn't an easy day for him. I'm sure it's never easy for a father to give his daughter away. My dad never got the chance to give me away. At least he'd been there for Shayna's wedding. I forced an icy thought from my mind, determined not to let my own bitter memories interfere with Kelly's wedding.
Instead I focused on what was right in front of me. "Me too. I've missed you."
"Whoa, I'm going to start crying already." She ran a finger under her eye, trying to make sure the few stray tears didn't reach her makeup.
"Save that for when you're up there with Tom."
"You're going to have this too one day, you know."
"Let's just focus on you right now."
"All right."
We hugged before joining Daniela.
The doors opened, signaling the beginning of the wedding. I peeked in and watched as Tom stood at the altar with his groomsmen beside him.
As the music started, Daniela walked down the aisle. I waited in the entryway until she reached the halfway point, gazing up at the tall ceilings and enjoying the sun pouring in through the windows.
Right on cue, I started my slow walk. An idle thought about how I was supposed to be walking down the aisle in a different capacity hit me, but I quickly pushed it away. Just like Adam had said, I didn't actually want to marry him. Trying to give more significance to the date was self-serving and false.
I picked up my chin, smiled, and looked around at the beautiful stained glass windows lining the side wall. When I reached the end, I took my spot and immediately found Ben sitting in a pew on Kelly's side of the church. I gave him a small wave, filling with emotion just seeing him there looking handsome in a navy sport coat. Any doubts I had about us were gone. Ben didn't have to worry about me running awayâthere was nowhere else I wanted to be.
I held Kelly's flowers, did a short reading, and enjoyed every moment of their beautiful and simple ceremony.I even had to fight back some tears of my own. I felt grateful to have been part of her special day, to have had the opportunity to witness Kelly live her happily ever after.
We spent what felt like an eternity taking pictures outside, and I was probably the only one who didn't mind the heat. Gavin and I were the only members of the bridal party who weren't actually family, so we spent some time sitting under the awning of the church waiting to be called for a few more shots.
"You look beautiful today." Gavin smiled.
"Oh. Thanks. You look nice too." Gavin, like Tom and Kelly's brother Cole, wore a navy suit.
"That was a nice wedding, wasn't it? Sometimes weddings can be long and boring, but I liked theirs."
"I agree. It was really nice. I'm so happy for them." I leaned against the wall of the church as standing around in heels for a few hours started to wear on me.
"Me too. Tom's a lucky guy." Gavin moved to stand next to me. "See, we can do this."
"Do what?"
"Act like friends, without it being weird."
I looked over at him. "Yeah, it's nice."
"Okay, no more using the word 'nice' today."
I laughed. "Okay, good plan."
We were interrupted when the photographer called us over for a big group shot. Afterward, I was excused; Gavin still had to do a few more pictures with Tom. I headed back inside.
The reception was in another room of the church, decorated with pink and green flower arrangements as well as some pictures of the ocean I had taken over the past few weeks. It was simple, but beautiful. By the time I arrived, the cocktail hour was in full swing, and I made my way over to where Ben stood with a plate of food. Without asking, I helped myself to a cracker.
"Hey, gorgeous, are we on stealing each other's food terms already?"
I laughed. "I think we've been there for a while."
"I don't know. I take my food seriously."
"Yeah, but you know what I get like when I'm hungry."
"Very true." He held his plate over to me. "Dig in."
I picked up a strawberry. "Good selections, by the way."
"You know I picked them with you in mind."
I kissed him on the cheek. "So how'd I do?"
"Oh, you were fantastic. No tripping and you didn't stumble over any words when you read."
"Good. You know there is just so much pressure on the maid of honor."
"Speaking of pressure, are you ready for your big speech?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, it was pretty easy to write."
"By the way, you look beautiful." He changed the subject, pushing back a strand of hair that had fallen out of my updo.
"Thank you."
"Oh, here's this." Ben handed me the paper I had entrusted him with earlier.
Kelly and Tom made their entrance, dancing a beautiful first dance to Lonestar's "Amazed." I smiled. Kelly had always planned on making that her first dance song. I doubted Tom had any say in it. When they walked over to their sweethearts' table, I knew it was time to make my speech.
I stood up, accepting the microphone from the DJ, took a deep breath, and faced the crowd.
"I've been lucky enough to know Kelly my whole life, or at least since age three when we started nursery school. As legend, or at least Mom legend goes, we became best friends when we arrived at school wearing the same dress. Even back then we both had good taste." I paused for some light laugher.
"Speaking of good taste, Kelly has had the same taste in men for a while. I actually have proof." Kelly looked at me with a surprised expression. I unfolded the faded notebook paper Ben had carried for me all day.
I held up the paper, knowing that no one else could actually see it, and started to read.
Predictions: January 1, 2000
Kelly will marry Tom Farell and have four kids, two boys and two girls. She will teach elementary school and will be neighbors with Molly. Molly will become a famous photographer, and hopefully find someone who shares her love for art, pasta, and the open water."
"No way! You don't have that!" Kelly interrupted to examine the evidence. "Oh my god. I remember writing that. Where did you find it?"
"On the floor of my closet."
"Wow, oh my god." Kelly started crying what I assumed were happy tears as Tom came to walk her back to her seat.
"So the lesson here is: Tom has a lot of work ahead of him." I paused as the audience had another laugh. "Oh, and that some dreams do come true." I looked out at Kelly, who was wiping her eyes.
"Anyway, Kelly has always been a true friend to meâsupportive of my decisions no matter how out there or strange they may have seemed at the time. Although we haven't been able to see each other often over the past few years, it hasn't changed the strength of our friendship. In all of my years of knowing Kelly, I've never seen her so happy. Tom, you really know how to make her glow and shine. I love you both and wish you a lifetime of joy and happiness."
Kelly ran up to hug me, and we both lost it. Gavin gently took the microphone from me. "You're a hard act to follow, but nice job," he whispered.
I smiled, fighting down the urge to call him on using the word 'nice.' "Thanks, I'm sure yours will be just as good."
Gavin's speech was short and to the point. He cracked a few jokes, but ended on a similar note as mine. Kelly and Tom made an incredibly beautiful and happy couple.
"So if you count music as art, I'm actually your dream guy." Ben took my hand and led me into a slow dance.
"I suppose you do love pasta as much as me, and you like the water more." I smiled.
"So, maybe that means your dream came true too."
"I'm not a famous photographer."
"Not yet, but the second half was the important part."
"You're right, it was."
"Do you think that will be us one day?" I followed Ben's gaze and watched Kelly and Tom laughing as he tried to feed her more cake.
"I don't know, maybe. But not like that."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't want a traditional wedding like thisânot anymore. If you ever decide to propose, you better make sure you really want to marry me. I'm not doing another long engagementâand we're not spending much money."
"Considering I've wanted to marry you since high school, it's a 'when,' not an 'if,' so I'll keep that in mind."
"You do that." I couldn't ignore the flutter in my chest when Ben talked about us getting married. I wanted it as much as he did.
"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked.
"Go home?"
"Just to pick up some stuff." He had a mischievous glint to his eyes.
"Pick up stuff?"
"Let's go on a road trip. We never got to take that one after graduation."
I thought back on the trip we were going to take right before I left for college. It had taken months of begging to get my dad to agree, and it was all for nothing. Somehow taking that trip now seemed fitting. "That sounds perfect."
***
"All right, I think that's it." Ben slammed the trunk of my car after loading the last of the camping gear. A couple of duffel bags lined the floor of the backseat, along with the case of one of Ben's acoustic guitars.
"Do you want to drive first?" I asked.
"Sure."
I tossed my keys over to him, and we got in.
"First, we need the perfect music." He pulled a CD out of an old jewel case, sliding it into my ancient CD player. The Fray came on. "I made us twenty hours of music that we never used. We're listening to it now."
I laughed. "This is going to be interesting."
"Isn't it always?" He pulled away from the curb, and we headed out of town.
We reached the highway leading out to the interstate. Other than heading west, we had no particular plans. We hoped to eventually make it to see my family in Seattle. I figured we'd do some traveling first though.
"Which way do you want to go?" He held my hand and rested it on his leg.
I shrugged. "It doesn't matter, does it?"
He squeezed my hand, meeting my gaze. "No, it really doesn't. That's kind of nice, isn't it?"
"Definitely. It's the company I care about."
He smiled. "I happen to agree."
Ben turned, and for the life of me, I don't remember if it was a left or a right.