Page 74 of Divine Sense

“Do you guys think it would be a terrible idea if I tried to sleep with the maid of honor?” Malcolm asked from his seat on the couch as he pulled back a shot. “I mean, I know it’s totally cliche, groomsmen and maid of honor and all but…”

Hank and I were standing in front of a mirror, fixing his bowtie, and both slowly turned over our shoulders to stare at him. Conrad choked on his own drink at the same time.

“The maid of honor?” Hank started, raising his brows at our friend. The look of absolute disbelief on his face would have beenfunny if it weren’t caused by the fact that Malcolm just asked for our blessing to sleep with the bride’s best friend.

“Malcolm, no.” I tried to shut him down.

“You wanna sleep with Ophelia?” Conrad scoffed, pinching his face up as if it was the most disgusting thing he’d ever heard. “Why?”

“Uhh, because she’s hot as fuck?” Malcolm retorted as he poured himself another shot.

“Dude, easy on the booze, you have to be able to stand next to me.On your own.” Hank reached towards him and pulled the bottle of liquor from his hand. “Look man, I like Ophelia but I don’t think you can handle a girl like her.”

“More like you don’t think she can handle a guy like me,” Malcolm said slyly with a slick grin on his face.

“Trust me dude, if what Bailey has shared with me about her is true, she could handle two of you at once and you’d be none the wiser. I think you should just steer clear of that.” Hank looked at our friend and then flicked concerned eyes at me.

“I’ve never slept with a maid of honor before…” Malcolm hummed to himself, contemplating the idea as he swirled the amber liquor in his glass between his fingers.

I shot Hank wide eyes and shook my head. Just then, the director for the venue came in to tell us it was time to line up. I faced Hank and pulled his vest down and straightened his tie.

“You ready for this?”

He clapped me on the shoulder with one hand. “More ready than I have been for anything else in my life.”

“Bailey’s a fine woman. You’re a lucky man.”

“I know I am. But you have a fine woman yourself. One day this might be you man.” I chuckled softly at his words.

“Yeah, maybe one day.” As I said it, the more I knew that there would come a day that I would want to be the one liningup at the front of the altar, watching my own beautiful bride walking towards me.

“Alright you sad saps, bring it in,” Malcolm barked, pulling all of us into a hug. The four of us huddled together in an embrace for a beat before Conrad pulled away.

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” he said shortly. “We need to go before Bailey comes in and yells at us to hurry up.”

“You really are afraid of her,” Hank laughed as we started down the hallway towards the lawn that had been set up for the ceremony.

“I’m less afraid of her and more afraid of what you’d do to me if I upset her,” Conrad admitted through tight lips. We all laughed at his admission, knowing good and well that Hank probably would snap our legs in two if we upset his girl.

The music started to play as we all filed down the aisle, one after the other. As the best man, I would be standing to Hank’s left and was the second to last one to start walking. As I did, I quickly spotted the bow tied in her hair and watched as she turned in her chair to watch me. She had a wide smile on her lips and I winked at her as I passed. Hank followed behind me and took his place next to me before the music changed and the guests stood to welcome the bride down the aisle.

Bailey wore a full length gown with hints of yellow in it. The sleeves of her dress were beaded and she had her hair pulled up behind her neck. The bouquet in her hands was almost as big as her head and full of deep blue hydrangeas. She glided down the pathway between the chairs towards her perfect match. I glanced at Hank just in time to watch him wipe a single tear from his eye as he watched her come.

While the officiant was talking, I looked back out into the crowd towards the girl with the raven black hair who’d crashed into my life—literally—not so long ago. She was holding a tissue and dabbing her eyes as our friends became husband and wife.When she noticed me looking at her, she blew me a small kiss and I smiled at her. My cheek burned as if it could feel her kiss landing on it.

As I stood at the front of the altar, a knowingness started to fill my chest. The sense that someday soon, I’d be standing in a similar spot my friend was and vowing to keep her safe for the rest of forever. My eyes went back to Magnolia’s again and I knew.

When the time was right, I would make her my wife.

47

MAGNOLIA

Ilove love.

Ever since I was a little girl I loved getting to witness love in any form. Whether it was watching two people holding hands as they walked down the sidewalk or watching two characters fall in love in a movie, I’ve always loved love. It’s always been something I’ve wanted and desired and craved because it was something I’d rarely gotten from my parents.

As a girl, I knew what love was because of people like Ms. Ruthie and Margaret. They showed me the type of love that comes from people who want to see you grow and be happy. The type of love that fills you up and makes you feel seen and wanted. Other people in my life, like Daniel and my parents, showed me the type of love that hung on a contingency. The kind of love that you only got if you did things their way or played by their rules. For a long time, I was okay with that type of love. I hardly knew anything different.

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