three, no . . . four beads of sweat on your forehead. I can’t believe it.”
“Stop.”
“You’re a real person who actually sweats .”
“And you’re crazy,” Skylar tells her. “We gotta get you back out there to bust a move. We all know who the real dancer is.”
“I’m just saving my moves for later. It’s gonna be a long night.”
Skylar nods, then finds an untouched glass of water on a nearby table to sip. “It’s a bit surreal, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“This moment. Having all these people here. It’s like some last hurrah.”
Lauren looks out at the crowd. “Or maybe it’s the firsthurrah. You know? The start of something bigger and better.”
Skylar gives her a big hug. “I’m so glad to know you, girlfriend,” Sky tells her.
“Feeling is mutual. You know that.”
“I do.”
Skylar takes her hand.
“What? Where are we going?”
“You are gonna stop watching and start moving.”
A favorite song begins to play and Lauren finally stops resisting.
Soon the music and the motion and the moving lights all make Lauren laugh and feel like there’s no reason to worry about tomorrow.
Tomorrow will take care of itself.
Today is what matters.
Being here in the moment.
Thank You, God. Thanks for moments like this.
A dark world only makes the brighter moments shine that much more.
8
THE END IS NEAR
The feeling is back, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
In the midst of the loud music and laughter and flowing gowns and sparkling smiles, Allison sits at a table tapping the edge of her champagne glass. She watches Dan and Skylar cut the cake and then perform for the audience. Dan acts like he’s going to shove some in Skylar’s face, but Allison knows there’s a better chance of the sky falling than cake getting on the bride tonight. The couple flirt and playfully nibble at the desert while cameras and cell phones take pictures.
Allison feels restless.
The confusion and anger bubble up inside her, and she knows there’s no way to fight it. She can’t forget, not here and now. This whole day is about marriage and happily-ever-afters. It’s the thing she’s waited for and wanted for a long time. The nagging voice in the back of her heart sounds louder now, and it’s demanding some kind of action. It doesn’t want to hide in the shadows anymore.
How long am I going to be sitting here on the sidelines?
It’s not like she isn’t happy for Dan and Skylar. She’s overjoyed for them. But she’s also jealous and impatient. She knows she’d look just as good wearing a bride’s dress and dancing with her groom and cutting the cake and being the center of attention. But that’s just the superficial part of it all.
I want someone by my side to grow old with.
The problem is, the voice of doubt that’s been nagging her is asking her whether the man who will be at her side is Jack. Of course it is, she has answered herself time and time again. He’s everything I want and need, and I love him, she’s tried to tell herself. But somehow the voice seems to know her too well. The voice keeps asking her to stop wasting time and stop wanting something that might not happen.
She and Jack have had conversations about it, certainly. She’s joked with him until the joke has become more painful than anything else. She’s tried to ask the question that everybody else is asking, but it seems too real and far too raw.
I shouldn’t have to ask that question. I should be the one being asked.
The question of when. When is it going to happen? When will it be time? When will that day come when Jack finally asks her whether she wants to be with him for the rest of their lives? When will the dream come true for them?
“This is pretty awesome,” a familiar voice says as he takes a seat beside her and sets a plate in front of her. “Cake for the girl at table 1?”
Allison smiles at Tommy. “Is it diet?”
“You have to be done starving yourself. The wedding’s
“Stop.”
“You’re a real person who actually sweats .”
“And you’re crazy,” Skylar tells her. “We gotta get you back out there to bust a move. We all know who the real dancer is.”
“I’m just saving my moves for later. It’s gonna be a long night.”
Skylar nods, then finds an untouched glass of water on a nearby table to sip. “It’s a bit surreal, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“This moment. Having all these people here. It’s like some last hurrah.”
Lauren looks out at the crowd. “Or maybe it’s the firsthurrah. You know? The start of something bigger and better.”
Skylar gives her a big hug. “I’m so glad to know you, girlfriend,” Sky tells her.
“Feeling is mutual. You know that.”
“I do.”
Skylar takes her hand.
“What? Where are we going?”
“You are gonna stop watching and start moving.”
A favorite song begins to play and Lauren finally stops resisting.
Soon the music and the motion and the moving lights all make Lauren laugh and feel like there’s no reason to worry about tomorrow.
Tomorrow will take care of itself.
Today is what matters.
Being here in the moment.
Thank You, God. Thanks for moments like this.
A dark world only makes the brighter moments shine that much more.
8
THE END IS NEAR
The feeling is back, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
In the midst of the loud music and laughter and flowing gowns and sparkling smiles, Allison sits at a table tapping the edge of her champagne glass. She watches Dan and Skylar cut the cake and then perform for the audience. Dan acts like he’s going to shove some in Skylar’s face, but Allison knows there’s a better chance of the sky falling than cake getting on the bride tonight. The couple flirt and playfully nibble at the desert while cameras and cell phones take pictures.
Allison feels restless.
The confusion and anger bubble up inside her, and she knows there’s no way to fight it. She can’t forget, not here and now. This whole day is about marriage and happily-ever-afters. It’s the thing she’s waited for and wanted for a long time. The nagging voice in the back of her heart sounds louder now, and it’s demanding some kind of action. It doesn’t want to hide in the shadows anymore.
How long am I going to be sitting here on the sidelines?
It’s not like she isn’t happy for Dan and Skylar. She’s overjoyed for them. But she’s also jealous and impatient. She knows she’d look just as good wearing a bride’s dress and dancing with her groom and cutting the cake and being the center of attention. But that’s just the superficial part of it all.
I want someone by my side to grow old with.
The problem is, the voice of doubt that’s been nagging her is asking her whether the man who will be at her side is Jack. Of course it is, she has answered herself time and time again. He’s everything I want and need, and I love him, she’s tried to tell herself. But somehow the voice seems to know her too well. The voice keeps asking her to stop wasting time and stop wanting something that might not happen.
She and Jack have had conversations about it, certainly. She’s joked with him until the joke has become more painful than anything else. She’s tried to ask the question that everybody else is asking, but it seems too real and far too raw.
I shouldn’t have to ask that question. I should be the one being asked.
The question of when. When is it going to happen? When will it be time? When will that day come when Jack finally asks her whether she wants to be with him for the rest of their lives? When will the dream come true for them?
“This is pretty awesome,” a familiar voice says as he takes a seat beside her and sets a plate in front of her. “Cake for the girl at table 1?”
Allison smiles at Tommy. “Is it diet?”
“You have to be done starving yourself. The wedding’s
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