Page 104 of The Lookback

One of the side benefits to being a touch late is that we don’t have to wait around long before the orchestra—yes, a full orchestra on Thanksgiving Day—begins to play.

Andrew decides to fuss at all the new noise, loudly, so I have to pull him out of his car seat, which means I’m distracted for just a moment. By the time I have him on my lap and have the wherewithal to look up, Helen has nearly reached us.

Her dad’s not walking her down the aisle.

I should have expected this, but it’s Abby. Helen’s wedding gown is entirely black, and the dress is much simpler than I anticipated it would be. The skirt’s sheared, and asymmetrical, but it’s full too, almost like there’s a small petticoat underneath it. Her heels are predictably tall, and deep red. The bodice is simple, slightly asymmetrical as well, and the top’s beaded with something bright that’s sparkling like little red diamonds. They look like they’re cascading down the front, thicker at the top and splayed outward near the base of the bodice.

She’s holding the largest bouquet I have ever seen. The flowers Abby retrieved were clearly just a bridesmaid’s bouquet.

The contrast between Abby and Helen is a marked one. Abby’s wearing an almost identical dress, but it’s blindingly white. The same tiny, bright red stones sparkle across the bodice, also cascading down like they’re frosting dripping down the sides of a warm cake. Only, against the white gown, it’s clear what they are.

Rubies, or maybe garnets?

They must be one or the other.

ItisHelen, after all.

And I won’t lie—the effect is visually stunning. When the two of them reach the front, Abby extends her arm, handing Helen off to David, who’s wearing a gorgeous black tux with a black shirt and a red tie that just matches Helen’s shoes and stone accents. He looks worthy of Helen, in all his haute glory. His tux is clearly made by some snooty designer, and his raven hair gleams in the light of the chandeliers overhead.

He’s also beaming as he helps Helen up the stairs and to his side.

As the rest of the wedding party works their way to the front, I can’t help admiring the contrasts Helen worked in. The first bridesmaid is Izzy, and she’s in black like Helen. The next one is Whitney, who’s in white like her mother. Beth is in black again, with Ethan on her arm, and finally Mandy stalks her way up the aisle, with not one, but two attractive groomsmen holding her arms like she might fall forward on her face any moment. Her white gown looks absolutely hilarious, like she’s part of some parody of a wedding for a comedy act.

Once she reaches the front, she yanks her arms free. “Thank you, young men. You’re nearly as steady as a walker, but you don’t listen as well.” Her eyes are flashing, and I can tell she’s loving this. Her scowl is just part of her act. I’m sure she’s complained convincingly through every step, all while everyone knows she’s enjoying it.

At least none of the bridesmaids other than Abby are sporting ruby-frosted bodices.

It makes me feel a little better about not being chosen that I didn’t miss out on forty thousand dollars’ worth of bling. I’m sure Helen left me out because I have a baby on both arms, but it’s a little depressing that everyone’s up there who comes to our girls’ nights other than me, and Mandy hadtwoescorts. Helen really should have asked someone else. Amanda was out, since she and Daviddated, so that would be awkward in the extreme. She could have asked me, though. We could have left the babies with Will’s mother if she had.

“Welcome,” a very large, very black man says, pulling me out of my head. “The first time I ever met Helen, she started an argument with me about the ethics of insider trading.” He spreads his hands. “In fact, you might even say she single-handedly drove me into the clergy.”

The audience, which contains a lot of Helen and David’s business friends, chuckle.

“I never in a million years imagined that David Park, the kindest business student I ever taught as a professor at Harvard Business School, and Helen Fisher, the most cutthroat, would decide to marry. But here we are, proving that strange things you’d never imagine could be just around the corner, because God’s hand is everywhere doing His work.”

Helen and David are looking at each other like two kids staring at their Christmas stockings. It’s actually pretty cute.

“Sometimes, things we never imagined become one of the most amazing things we’ve ever witnessed. I spent some time chatting with these two in anticipation of marrying them. It was strange that they came to me, their former ethics professor turned pastor, but I feel quite flattered to have been asked. And after talking to them, I feel there have rarely been two people more ready for this sacred commitment.”

The rest of the ceremony’s pretty much more of the same, with him complimenting the two of them like they just created an endowment at Harvard in his name, and everyone in the audience eating it up. Finally, he asks them if they have vows to share.

“Of course,” Helen says, at the same time David says, “That’s not really our thing.”

Helen’s brow furrows, and it feels like the room actually darkens as a result of her displeasure. Maybe sheisMaleficent.

Until David bursts out laughing. “Got you.”

When Helen cracks a small smile, the entire room takes a breath.

It feels like the market would plunge hundreds of points if he really had displeased her. I don’t envy him the future he chose. It stresses me out even thinking about it.

“I’ll go first,” she says.

“Of course you will, you overachiever.” But David clearly worships her.

“It’s to give you a few more minutes to make yours up,” she jokes. “But you know, that’s one of the things I love most about you. You don’t have to agonize over what to say when it’s time to speak. You always say the right thing at the right time, somehow. You always know, not just what I want to hear, but what I need to hear.”

Helen’s softer when she’s looking at David. Like a lion, gazing at her tamer.

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