Page 97 of Holiday Wedding
Bonus Epilogue
Wednesday, December 25
Gwen’s and Caleb’s Wedding
Helen
Is there anything more awkward than being at a wedding where the only person you know is the bride or groom? They’re enjoying their big day while also being gracious hosts. They’re circulating to each table to say hello to their guests.
I was lucky. Gwen spent an extra 10 minutes talking to me in the bathroom. She asked how packing was going and if I was excited about my new job in California. I answered “good” and “yes” to her questions.
Now I sit in the corner of the room, idly swirling my glass of red wine. Droplets cling to the sides and then slide down like rain on a window. The wedding reception is at the Mandarin Oriental, just off Columbus Circle. We’re in a ballroom at the top of the building, on the 89th floor. Crystal chandeliers gleam over an Asian-inspired carpet so plush that my high heels sank into it when I first walked in.
Dinner was delicious, the food provided by Caleb’s restaurant. Tender, flaky salmon and thick steaks paired with thinly sliced scalloped potatoes in a buttery cream sauce. After we ate, Gwen and Caleb together held the knife to cut their three-tiered wedding cake. It sparkled with edible glitter designed to look like snowflakes, each one unique.
Now the guests are up, wandering around to talk with each other. A crowdsteadily grows on the dance floor, which is flanked by a DJ with spinning turntables and an open laptop.
I watch as Gwen floats across the room, breathtaking in her princess-style white dress. The ceremony earlier was the most touching I’ve ever seen. The way Caleb serenaded her, his words brimming with emotion. It almost made me believe that love is a real thing. Something that can be captured, shared for eternity,ifyou find the right partner. Since I haven’t dated for over a year, it’s highly unlikely I’ll find a soulmate, but I was gratified to see that my new friend has hers.
Gwen pauses by her brother Teddy, whom I’ve met once, a week ago. He’s dancing with a large group of young people. I’ve already noticed him several times tonight. He wears a black suit. Earlier he’d had on a red bow tie, a nod to the color scheme of his sister’s wedding, but now it’s gone along with his jacket. The top three buttons of his shirt, also black, are undone, revealing a fine sheen of sweat across well-defined pectoralis muscles.
When I first met him, an uncharacteristic zing flowed through my body. Like I’d stuck my finger into an electrical outlet. That night I’d watched him work and flirt his way through the bar. I’d been oddly enchanted by his mischievous grin and lighthearted laugh.
I’mnot lighthearted about anything. I’m measured and ambitious. Responsible to a fault.
Gwen tugs on his sleeve until he bends his ear down to her. She rises onto her tiptoes and whispers. Teddy glances my way. I flush, suspicious they’re talking about me. Sure enough, he gives her a nod and saunters over to where I sit.
“Hey.” He’s breathing fast, and a wicked grin lifts his lips. “Do you want to dance?”
“Oh no,” I tell him. I’m embarrassed that he’s obviously been sent on a mission by his sister. I can just imagine what kind Gwen said to him. “Go get Helen from her sad corner andmake her dance. I want everyone to have fun at my wedding.” This is a pity visit. Not something he would have thought of on his own.
“Thanks for the offer, though.”
My eyes widen in surprise when he responds by flopping down in the seatnext to me. I expected my refusal to be met with relief. That he would be happy to move on, knowing he’d fulfilled his brotherly duty, but that’s not what he does. Instead, he slouches in the chair and tips his face to the ceiling, closing his eyes with a weary sigh.
“Mind if I hang out with you for a couple of minutes?” he asks.
“Uh, sure.” With his eyes shut, I can stare as much as I want. This close, I see how long his eyelashes are. How the angle of his jaw is sharp and straight, like it was drawn with a ruler.
We sit together in silence, which is another surprise. Usually, with someone you don’t know, there’s this pressure, this urgency to fill the air with chatter. A comfortable silence is earned from knowing the other person well enough to not default to idle chit-chat. But this quiet between us is calm and oddly familiar, as if we’ve sat like this many times before, which we definitely have not.
Finally, his eyes flutter open and slide my way. “I love my sister,” he says, “and this wedding is the best I’ve ever been to, but I still can’t wait to leave.” Then he flinches, as if injured by his own words. “Don’t tell Gwen I said that, please,” he begs, regretting his candor.
“I won’t say a word,” I assure him, then tilt my head to the side. “You seemed like you were having a good time out there.”
He waves a languid hand in the air. “Old friends from high school. Haven’t seen them in years. You’d think it would be fun catching up, but the truth is, I already know what they’ve been up to. With social media, I’ve watched them grow up, get married, and have a kid. I even saw how they just got back from a trip to Orlando.”
He rolls his head without moving the rest of his body to look at me. “Reunions stink these days. There’s no mystery. No wondering how Bobby from Spanish class turned out.” He sticks out his bottom lip in a pout that makes me laugh.
“I guess I never thought about it that way,” I admit.
“You’re lucky,” he says. “You don’t have to pretend that you don’t already know how little Ricky won the All-Stars baseball game last summer.”
I think back to him laughing and dancing with abandon. “You didn’t look too miserable.”
He angles his entire body my direction. “Why? Were you watching me?” Teddy purrs, teasing and flirting all at once.
I’m glad it’s dark in this corner, so he can’t see my cheeks flush.
