“That’s because it didn’t happen to you. Sheesh, is there anyone you didn’t tell?” I said embarrassedly, folding my arms across my chest. “You forgot to tell me your brother graduated from college, but you remember to tell him that?”
“C’mon, Toren. It really is funny, and besides, I’m sure you’re not the only one that’s happened to,” Michele said, trying to comfort me, but it only embarrassed me more that she knew too. “We’ve all had our share of embarrassing experiences,” she said, glancing at Scott. “I was still living with my parents when we got engaged and one afternoon—yes, you guessed it—my dad walked in on us,” she confided blushingly. “Talk about mortifying!”
I laughed and her disclosure did make me feel a little better.
“The thing that gets me, though,” Scott added with a laugh, “is they’re still letting me marry her.”
“It’s probably only because I was on top,” Michele countered quickly.
We finished dinner and started talking about the wedding. Tomorrow, after the rehearsal dinner, Wesley would go rent a tux. The wedding was Saturday at four o’clock with the reception immediately following. Wesley would need to leave early and Scott spoke with a friend to come pick me up before the ceremony if I didn’t want to hang out at the church.
The check came and Wesley grudgingly let Scott pay. We stopped at a convenience store and bought a case of beer, some soda, and snacks, before heading to the hotel. Scott and Michele helped us to our room and then left a little while later. I took my suit from the suitcase and hung it in the bathroom to pull out the wrinkles. Then I called my mom to let her know we arrived safely. Wesley filled the bathroom sink with ice and put the beer bottles in to keep them cold. We drank the rest of the evening and went to bed around midnight, tipsy and tired.
IT WAS a beautiful day. The sky was partly cloudy, but rays of sunshine broke through and bathed everything in golden light. Wesley got dressed and he looked incredibly handsome in his tuxedo, with his hair slicked back. One of Scott’s ushers came to pick up Wesley about three hours before the wedding for pictures, but I decided to stay at the hotel because Mr. and Mrs. Carroll were going to be there, and I didn’t know if they even knew I was here. Half an hour before the ceremony, a friend of Scott’s came to pick me up.
The church was pretty and old. Families and friends mulled around, happily chatting before the ceremony. I strolled around the church, making sure I was anyplace Mr. and Mrs. Carroll were not.
As four o’clock neared, the church began to fill with people. I waited until Mr. and Mrs. Carroll sat down in the first pew on the right side. I slipped into the fourth row at the end because all the aisle seats were taken.
The minister quieted the crowd and Scott stood in front of the altar with his hands folded. He looked very handsome with a graceful elegance and my heart swelled with happiness for him. The minister said a few words and then the ushers and bridesmaids came down the aisle with smiles and bouquets. Wesley and Emily, Michele’s younger sister, walked down the aisle and took their places. Wesley patted Scott’s back and smiled genuinely at him, and butterflies flitted in my stomach. Then the “Wedding March” began, and Michele and her father started down the aisle. She looked beautiful, and I glanced at Scott, who was taking deep breaths with glassy eyes. At the altar, Michele’s father hugged her and placed her hand in Scott’s.
The ceremony was beautiful, touching, and even humorous at times. When Scott and Michele were exchanging their vows, Wesley found me in the audience and smiled warmly. I mouthed the words “I love you” and his eyes widened, his face turned red, and he quickly looked to the front again.
At the end of the ceremony, Scott and Michele joined for a sweet, gentle kiss and faced the congregation. “I happily present Mr. and Mrs. Carroll,” the minister said joyfully, and the small church erupted with applause. Scott and Michele beamed as they walked down the aisle together as husband and wife.
I was given a ride to the reception hall by the same friend of Scott’s who picked me up, and we took our seats. I was at a table with Scott and Michele’s friends, only a few years older than me, and I felt comfortable there. When I introduced myself, I was surprised that they had already heard about me. They told me how happy Scott was that Wesley and I came and about how he was so worried. I felt happy and confident; I knew just how much Scott wanted Wesley, both of us, to share in the celebration.
The wedding party arrived a little before six o’clock and everyone in the reception hall clapped and whistled at the newlyweds’ arrival. Wesley sat at the head table for dinner and gave me reassuring smiles all the way through. The meal was often interrupted with the clinking glasses of toasts, usually initiated by the guests at my table.
After dinner, the DJ began spinning in earnest and the open bar was constantly busy. Wesley met up with me and we watched from the side for the first dance and the father-daughter dance. Then the dance floor was overrun with Michele and Scott’s friends and family. Wesley went to get us some drinks from the bar and I sat down, watching the excitement from the sidelines.
“You got a hell of a lot of nerve showing up here,” Mr. Carroll’s voice thundered above me. I looked up and saw Wesley’s father standing in front of me with his arms crossed. “Just what the hell are you trying to do?”
I swallowed hard and stared at the tall man towering over me. Everything had gone so well today
