“It will be fine,” Zoey said to Caroline. “Just breathe.”
Caroline nodded and let out an audible breath. Jonathan and Dan approached them with quiet hellos, and Sophie arranged everyone in their marching order. It all happened rapidly. First, both doors opened. The same music from yesterday wafted out of the room, and the bright flash of Lauren’s camera immediately blinded them.
Caroline’s brother Brandon walked first, escorting their mother down the aisle. When they reached the end of the short, makeshift aisle, Brady appeared in front of the doors from the side, as his parents took each arm to escort him down the aisle. Makenna helped their great-grandma down the aisle as they walked slowly.
Sophie motioned to Dan and Addison, who walked slowly and waved to people in the audience, giving their best politician smiles.
Sophie motioned to Zoey and Jonathan, and he took her hand and placed it on his arm. Her heart caught in her throat as they walked down the makeshift aisle. Noises of surprise lifted from the crowd; Zoey looked to the left and saw her mother, with tight lips and an unhappy expression.
She had totally forgotten about her mother being a guest at the wedding. Her mother hadn’t thought highly of Jonathan ever since the breakup, and trying to convince her that he changed would be a challenge.
Zoey glanced to the other side and recoiled in confusion. Who had the nerve to wear white to a wedding?
It was Aunt Lisa. Zoey hoped the shock wasn’t too evident on her face.
Aunt Lisa’s dress was stark white with long, bell sleeves.
Wait, she was wearing a flower crown too?
Zoey met Aunt Lisa exactly once at their high school graduation, and she looked quite different now, with frosted blonde hair and skin remarkably pulled and tucked. Caroline’s mother and aunt’s relationship back then was contentious, at best. Aunt Lisa was over the top and one of the loudest women Zoey had ever met.
Booming thunder echoed through the reception area, and the audience chuckled nervously. Then, Caroline and her father appeared like magic, and Brady’s face beamed.
Zoey looked to her friend, who looked so beautiful and calm now, smiling widely. She loved that the worries of earlier had just fallen away and all that mattered was her and Brady.
Caroline’s dad gave her hand to Brady, and Brady intertwined his fingers with hers. They looked at each other as they took a step forward toward Makenna, who dramatically opened the folder, her hair falling forward to cover the side of her face.
“Caroline and Brady asked me to officiate their wedding. I am so grateful and humbled that they asked me, although I have no qualifications whatsoever. I had to watch a lot of YouTube,” Makenna said. The crowd laughed nervously.
Zoey peeked around the couple to see Jonathan again. Jonathan was not looking at the bride and groom; he was looking at her. They shared slight smiles as Caroline started her personalized vows to Brady.
“Brady.” Caroline’s voice shook into the microphone. “We met in high school on an awkward double-date that went nowhere. I thought you were cute, so obviously I clammed up around you and didn’t say a word. Today, I hope to make up for what I did not say then.
“Brady, you make me feel like anything is possible. Your support and love empower me in ways I never dreamed of on that day I met you. When I look at you, I not only feel weak in the knees but also strong in my heart. I feel like you see me, warts and all, and you stayed.
“I know we have been through some trials and tribulations as friends who turned into lovers who turned into soulmates, and I know this will give us the confidence to persevere when times get rough. I was so nervous back then that I would say the wrong thing or come off as too nerdy or neurotic. But now, I know that those parts of that girl who make her weird and nerdy are safe with you. I love you with all of who I am. I am so lucky that the universe had these plans for us, and we found our way back to each other again.”
Zoey touched her cheek to see wetness on her fingers. She looked at Jonathan again. Maybe everything had to happen, all the pain and tears, so they could reconnect now. In that moment, she would’ve gone through it all again for Caroline and Brady to arrive here. For her and Jonathan to arrive here, being these exact people in this exact time and space.
She usually didn’t cry at weddings; however, the emotion came as she watched the ceremony, and when it was over, her face was covered with rivulets of tears. She cried out of happiness for Caroline and Brady, and she cried for herself. When she was seventeen, with a freshly broken heart, she could’ve only dreamt that at twenty-eight, she would find Jonathan again and forgive him. A tiny part of her felt like a dream was coming true.
16
After a copious number of pictures and the re-entrances into the reception, cocktail hour dragged out to cocktail hour and a half while the hotel staff prepared the wedding meal. Zoey had been cornered early by her mother, who wore a sparkly short number and a silk wrap over her thin shoulders.
“Just remember to keep your head about you.” Her mother had her in a death grip of a hug. “I remember how your feelings for Jonathan took over in high school.”
“I know, Mom.”
Her mother dropped Zoey’s braid over her shoulder. “I just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all.”
Zoey grabbed her mother’s hands. “Jonathan is different now. He’s been through a lot. I’ve been through a lot.”
“I’m just worried.”
“It’s fine.” Her mother’s eyebrows creased down before she took her daughter in another hug.
I need a drink, Zoey thought. She swung by the sweetheart table, asking Caroline and Brady if they needed anything. Caroline nodded vigorously while Brady gave her a thumbs up.
Zoey slapped the bar when she got to the front of the line. “Bartender, may I please have two white wines and a pilsner for the groom?”
“Certainly,” the tall, older gentleman said as he pulled a bottle from an ice bucket and poured the wine. Zoey looked back at Jonathan and then looked at her mother, who peered in her direction, while she talked to another guest. Everything her mother said had crossed her mind in the past twenty-four hours. Had he changed? Was he going to break her heart again? She looked back at the sweet, older man tending bar, who had no idea what was coming.
Zoey looked over at Jonathan, who was now being held hostage by Derek. Jonathan mouthed “help me” over Derek’s shoulder as Derek flailed, splashing a beer.
Zoey caught the bartender’s attention and pointed at Jonathan. “That man right there broke my heart when I was seventeen. I feel like he’s changed. Like I know it in my heart, but my mom is scared, and I’m scared too, I think. Still, I feel great about it, you know?”
The bartender said nothing and made no eye contact. No one was behind her so Zoey kept babbling. “He’s acting like he wants to try again. He wrote me this note…” Zoey pulled the note out from her bodice and quickly double-checked a nipple didn’t come out with it. “I can’t even read it! I mean, is this the start of some grand love story all my friends will be jealous of?”
The bartender took a towel from under the bar and began wiping down the counter.
“What’s your name?” Zoey asked.
“Bob.”