Everyone scattered out of the room, their commander having giving them orders. I remained behind and kept my eyes on Riley. She was still pacing.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked.
“Just stay with me, please. Help me calm down.”
I put my hands on her shoulders and eased her down onto the bed in the room. She hung her head, and I saw a small tear run down her cheek.
“Everything’s okay, Riley.”
She looked up at me and scoffed. “Dude. Why am I doing this?”
“Getting married?”
“No. All of this.” She made a spastic gesture with one hand. “The flowers and catering and musicians. This is so damn stressful.”
Spotting a Kleenex box on a nightstand, I pulled out a tissue and sat next to Riley on the bed. She accepted the tissue from me and dabbed her cheeks with it.
“It’s going to work out,” I said. “You just sent out a whole crew of people to tidy up the loose ends. If any other snafus arise, you can send them out again. You can send me out, too.”
“There better not be any other damn snafus.”
“Even if there are, so what? The whole point of this is for you and Zach to get married, right? For you guys to start your life together. That’s going to happen no matter what. Even if there’s a piano in the backyard or the food shows up early—those parts don’t really matter.”
She sniffed and closed her eyes tightly again. When she opened them this time, she looked over at me and one corner of her mouth curled up.
“You’re right. Thank you. Actually, I think the upright piano will look kind of cool.”
“Maybe we could find some extra flowers to put on top of it?”
“Okay, that would definitely be cool. Can you go do that for me?” Her smile grew into a full one.
“Anything for the bride.”
The ceremony occurred at sunset. The officiant had arrived in the nick of time. The caterers had gotten the food set up, buffet-style, on the far side of the lot. The piano really did look beautiful, its dark wood in contrast to the jewel-toned peonies. Everything had come together, and Zach and Riley exchanged their vows in front of their hundred-and-twenty guests.
I stood with the other bridesmaids to the right of Riley as she stared into her groom’s eyes and slid a gold band onto his finger. I held both my bouquet and Riley’s larger one between my hands. For most of the ceremony, I watched the bride and groom and gave my attention to the officiant’s words about love and commitment. There were a few times, though, when my eyes and attention wandered off toward the guests and settled on River. He was sitting on Riley’s side of the aisle, in the second row. Each time my eyes found him, he was looking back at me.
Hundreds of pictures were taken following the ceremony, and then we were able to eat dinner, dance, and watch Zach and Riley feed each other cake. I had nervously given a short but sweet speech about my high school days with Riley and my visit to her in Seattle when I first met Zach. Riley cried when I was done, and then cried some more when Zach’s best man delivered his speech.
I was working on cutting up what was left of the cake when I felt someone’s hand rest on my bare shoulder. I looked up from the swirls of white frosting to see River there beside me.
“I take back what I said about you being easy to find.”
I was relieved to see him there, dressed in crisp slacks, a white shirt, and a black tie.
“I’ve been a little busy with this whole wedding thing,” I replied, finishing up with the last piece of cake, setting it on a plate.
“Come here.” He extended his hand, and I took it. He led us onto the dance floor, where Zach and Riley and other couples were swaying to a slow, soothing song. River placed his hands on the small of my back. We started swaying along with them.
“You know what this reminds me of?” I saw his eyes sweep down and up my dress.
“Don’t say it.”
“Prom.”
A combination sigh-laugh issued from my mouth. “This isn’t Prom,” I said.
“No, it’s not quite the same. Your dress is a little different.” He took one of his hands off my back and placed a finger up by my collarbone. “And you’re wearing the necklace.”
I had been wearing it nearly every day for the last twenty-or-so months. I remembered when David’s mother, Tiffany, had noticed it at her house. She had told me I seemed more like a pearl or diamond lady. That memory caused me to once again see the diamond ring in David’s hand, offered to me under the white roses in my parents’ backyard. It was hard to keep those images from resurfacing.
I had told River about the proposal on the drive down. He had listened to my story without interrupting. When I had finished, he kept his eyes on the road and simply said, Good.
“Why don’t you like thinking about Prom?” River asked me. The same slow song was playing as we moved from foot to foot. I had to ponder his question before answering.
“I was so uncomfortable that night. In so many ways. My dress was not especially modest, and it was just physically uncomfortable. I was going on my first date with Aaron Ingram, too. And then, you and Riley walked in on us . . . you know.”
“But why does that bother you? That last part?”
I gave River a skeptical look. “It’s embarrassing to have people stumble upon . . . that kind of thing.”
“Would you have been so embarrassed if only Riley had stumbled upon it?”
“I guess not.”
“So my presence made you feel more . . . uncomfortable. Me seeing you and Aaron together.”
“I guess so.”
“Did you like Aaron? I mean, did you really like him?”
River’s string of questions was tiring my brain. I mustered up enough mental energy to answer this one.
“I did like him. I didn’t know him that well, but even with the awkwardness of that night, I thought he was sweet.”
River nodded his head, his thick brows furrowing the way they did. That seemed to finally satisfy him, and the song faded away. I took the opportunity to excuse myself and go to the restroom. I hadn’t peed since before the ceremony, and it felt like strands of my updo were starting to come undone. On my way to the house, I ran into Lilian, her red hair practically matching her dress. She was facing the dance floor and put her hand on my arm to pause my migration. She leaned toward me.
“What’s his name?” Her voice had a smoky timbre.
“Whose?”
“That guy you were just dancing with?”
I turned around and saw River still standing on the dance floor, watching Zach and Riley. I looked at Lilian; her gaze was focused on him.
“River Mahlon.”
“Do you mind if I ask him to dance? You guys aren’t together, are you?”
“Oh. No. I mean, we’re not together. I don’t mind.”
“Thanks.”
I watched as she made her way to the dance floor, approached River, and said something to him while touching his arm. Next thing I knew, the two of them were winding their arms around each other and swaying the way River and I had been just a moment ago. I watched them a bit longer. I saw River laugh. I realized I was chewing my lip, and I resumed my quest to the restroom.
Later in the night, we sent Zach and Riley off with sparklers glowing and crackling in the dark air. The new couple ran off to a car parked at the back of the house. Zach opened Riley’s door for her, and I caught a glimpse of Riley’s face through the car window before they drove out of sight. She was beaming. I was so thankful for that.