Violet stared in shock at Kirsten’s feet perched near her napkin and salad fork. I could almost see her synapses firing off at lightning speed inside of her head, trying to keep her somewhere between calm and from going batshit crazy. For the first time in what would probably be … well, ever, I could relate to her.
“My potentially giving a drunken speech doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?” I patted Violet on the back, just as cheers erupting throughout the tent heralded Luke and Elle’s arrival.
Elle had changed out of her wedding dress and was in an ivory, floor-length silk gown that allowed for more fluid movement. No matter what she wore, she always looked stunning. Everything just naturally hung well from her tall frame, whereas with me, if I wasn’t careful, I could look like I was wearing a burlap sack. What I noticed the most, though, was the small bump that her wedding dress had been able to conceal. A smile overspread my face as I realized that I was going to be able to be there for my best friend during what would be the most rewarding and trying time of her life. I’d been standing on the sidelines of the lives of those I’ve cared about the most for too long, and it was finally time for me to join the game.
Luke grabbed a microphone from the DJ and positioned himself in the center of the tent. “Thank you, everyone. Elle and I can’t express enough how grateful we are to all of you for being here to share our day with us. Your presence means the world to us both, and we hope you’re enjoying yourselves. There’s an open bar, so I can’t imagine that will be too difficult. But in the meantime, I’m told the food is ready, so I hope you brought your appetites, because Elle was in charge of the menu. Have fun and let’s eat!”
*****
I barely touched my food at dinner; not because my Chicken Française wasn’t delightful, because it was. However, every time I took a bite, my stomach would send a not-so-subtle reminder to me about my present situation with Peter. Just the thought of that situation was enough to make my stomach turn. Well, that and a combination of the tequila and schnapps from Violet. Still far from inebriated, I estimated that I was probably a half a mini bottle away from not caring anymore, which told me I needed to stop drinking, because it was Elle’s day and I needed to care.
During dinner, I took the opportunity to see how Peter was doing—maybe he was just as distressed as I was, his food untouched as he contemplated why he was giving me the cold shoulder.
Yeah, no such luck.
Halfway through dinner, Peter’s plate sat polished clean while he laughed it up with Luke like old times. I never wanted to stab someone with a salad fork more in my life.
“Here,” I pushed my plate to Elle, “you’re eating for two and I’m not.”
“Don’t you like it?” Her concern over the suitability of her dinner selection was so insistent I couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s not your food, it’s me. Trust me, it’s all kinds of delectable and amazing, Mrs. Hutchins.”
Elle smiled at the mention of her new title. “That has a nice ring to it.”
“I’m still partial to Sloan, but Hutchins will work, I guess.”
“What’s wrong? You’ve been really … off.” Elle followed my gaze to Peter. “Oh, yeah.”
“You noticed it, then?”
She nodded. “He’s been pretty much avoiding you. Yeah, I noticed. I was going to say something to him, but then I remembered how Monroe processes grief. He’s hurting now. You need to give him time.”
“He wouldn’t be hurting if he would just let me talk to him.”
Elle eyed me questioningly. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by an announcement from the DJ booth.
“With the conclusion of dinner, it’s time for the maid of honor and the best man to give the speeches they’ve prepared for Luke and Elle.”
“Oh shit,” Elle muttered, all color draining from her face.
“First up is the maid of honor, Mena Stasdaz … Straszaski … Straszask?”
“Close enough,” I answered him, standing up and accepting the microphone from the hands of the assistant he sent scurrying over to our table. I cleared my throat, digging up the speech I’d mentally prepared months ago. The last thing I’d wanted to do was write anything down on a piece of paper and read aloud from it. It was important to me to have everything I said right now sound organic and natural, because that’s how my friendship with Elle had always been—organic and natural.
I cleared my throat and proceeded.
“I can’t see Elle’s face, but I’d be willing to bet Daffodil’s entire cache of secret booze that she looks pretty terrified right now.” I reached down and patted Elle on the shoulder. “It’s okay, it will all be over soon. But don’t worry, I’m sure the same won’t be said about your marriage.” From out of the corner of my eye, I could see Elle squirm as Luke chuckled. “I mean, in all fairness, she knew what she was getting herself into when she asked me to do this.” Elle nodded with her elbows on the table, her hands covering her face. “Seriously, though, you guys better get this right, because I’m not doing this again. My feet hurt too much from these shoes.
“All right, enough with the hazing. On to the sappy stuff that brought us all here today.
“When I first met Elle, we were but lowly college students from two entirely different backgrounds, yet she and I were oddly also very much alike. Elle was insecure, afraid, and alone. I, too, was all those things. Except, where Elle chose to convey her feelings, I chose to bury mine deep down inside, expressing them through an occasional cringe-worthy—as Elle calls them—comment, or not at all. You know, like every other emotionally stable human being does. Still, despite the opposite way we chose to deal with our shortcomings, we hit it off right away, becoming fast friends—mainly because we had no other choice because, you know, we kind of had to live together.
“Over time, Elle and I got to know each other, and the stranger I had to shack up with in college became something much more to me. She became the sister I always wanted—aside from my own sister, of course, but that’s a completely different story altogether. As my newly acquired sister, I wanted nothing more than to help Elle overcome the hand she’d been dealt before our paths crossed. I wanted to see her escape from the shackles that confined her to her own insecurities brought on by the abuse she suffered at the hands of the people who told her they loved her. I wanted to see her reach the goals she set for herself; to succeed and overcome where the odds had been stacked against her. But most of all, I wanted to see her happy.
“Enter Luke Hutchins.
“Now, I’d like to take the credit for these two crazy kids hooking up, as I more or less set up their first date, and, actually, I will. Because had I left it up to them, they would still be in that coffee shop parking lot, making awkward small talk, all while stealing lustful glances at each other. So, I guess what I’m saying is, you’re welcome, you two.”
I winked at Elle and Luke, who both seemed only slightly less nervous than they had when I’d first began speaking.
“After their first date, Luke and Elle became inseparable—like annoyingly so. Elle would come back to our dorm late at night, forcing me to have no choice but to converse with others for social interaction. Sometimes she would wake me up in the wee hours of the morning, which was a pretty risky move on her part. She doesn’t know this, but I was going to let her have it one night when she came in late. But no sooner had I opened my mouth, than I saw the smile on her face and I just couldn’t be angry with her anymore. For what was probably the first time in her life, Elle was truly happy.
“Luke healed something in Elle. He made her see herself for the incredible person that she is. He gave her the confidence she never had and the unconditional love she should have had from the beginning. Just seeing them together, I knew without a doubt they were made for each other. Then life happened and they were torn apart. Even Elle and I lost touch for a few months. When we reconnected again, I saw how much she had regressed without Luke and it broke my own heart. S
he tried to hide it, putting on a show to mask her pain, but I knew that as hard as she tried to move on, she never actually would. And I suspect neither did Luke.
“Then fate stepped in, setting forth the chain of events that have led us here today. When Luke and Elle found their way back to one another and reclaimed their love, I felt like my family had been reunited, for that is what they both mean to me. They’re my family. Luke and Elle have a love story like no other. Seriously, someone should write a book about it.”
I raised my glass, waiting a moment for everyone else in the tent to join me.
“So, without further ado, a toast to Elle and Luke. May your romance continue to flourish, showing us all the meaning of true love. May your patience be unlimited and your dreams attainable. May you continue to defy the odds, no matter how insurmountable. May your children be ridiculously tall, good-looking, poet-doctor hybrid kids with incredible heads of hair. And, last but not least, may your marriage play out more like an episode of The Waltons than an episode of Snapped.”
A chorus of, “Hear, hears!” rang out around the tent as I put the glass to my lips and took a sip of the sweet champagne.
I leaned down and wrapped an arm around Elle, whispering in her ear, “See, that wasn’t so bad.”
“Thank you,” she whispered back, rubbing her eyes.
“I love you.” I glanced up at Luke. “You’re all right, too, Hutchins.”
I sat back down just as the DJ’s voice came back over the speakers. “Okay, now it’s time for the best man to give his speech. Peter Monroe, when you’re ready, the floor is yours.”
Right then, I realized the microphone I used was sitting in front of me. Grabbing it, I passed it to Elle for Luke to hand off to Peter. The thing about Peter was, among the people he knew well, he was as introverted as the day was long. But get him in the middle of a crowd of people he barely knew, and his nerves really started to kick in. It was exactly that, his nerves, that kept him glued to his chair for longer than it should have taken for him to stand.
“I’m going to start out by saying that I agree with Mena in that this is the last time I’m doing this, too.”
He cleared his throat and exhaled a sharp breath before starting again. Like me, he had no sheet of paper in front of him. He was going in completely off the cuff.
“Anyone who knows me knows I have a tendency to say the wrong things. In fact, I feel like I should have my own Cyrano de Bergerac whispering to me from underneath this table, so I don’t screw this up too badly. But I don’t, so here goes nothing.
“I’ve known Luke for basically my entire life. We grew up together, went to school together, worked together at Burger Paradise until we both quit. Okay, I was fired after two weeks for insubordination. Luke quit because, shocker, Burger Paradise was anything but paradise. We ran track together, received our driver’s licenses together, even had crushes on some of the same girls at the same time. Luke had more game than me. But not much more, so don’t go getting a big head there, Luke.
“I tell you this because after over twenty years of friendship, I’ve come to know Luke well. Some would say even better than my own family. I would say even better than myself. And in knowing Luke, I’ve noticed that he is the embodiment of three specific qualities: drive, honesty, and compassion. Luke is the type of person who obtains a medical degree just so he can be the one to provide the care and support his father needs. He’s the friend you can call in the middle of the night who will come and sit with you just to talk, no questions asked. He’s the type of guy who volunteers at animal shelters and drops whatever he’s doing to help his best friend move, despite how exhausted he may be. Oh, and he’s pretty dreamy, too.”
Luke shook his head as Peter turned to wink at him.
“Growing up, I always thought Luke had it all. Turns out, I was wrong. Because he didn’t have it all, until he met Elle Sloan.”
Violet placed a tissue in my hand, motioning for me to hand it to Elle. Finding Elle’s hand just as it was making its way back down from wiping away a tear, I carefully tucked the Kleenex between her fingers.
“Elle brought out something in Luke I’d never seen before. She made him happy. That isn’t to say he was never happy before. As anyone who knows Luke can attest, he’s always been an annoyingly jovial fellow. Elle just amplified that joviality by a million. She ignited a fire in Luke, a passion so intense you could see it on his face. It was sweet and so goddamned irritating at the same time that I found myself wishing I could have an opportunity to make others around me just as sick someday. And I did. Once.”
My jaw dropped, and I was surprised when it didn’t hit the table. Elle grabbed my hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.
“And then, out of the blue, it was over. The fire in Luke burned out. If I’m being honest, so did the fire in me. Luke and Elle had been a part of some of the best memories of my life up to that moment. After they broke up, nothing made sense anymore. Luke was withdrawn most days. Over time, he and I drifted apart. We weren’t nearly as close as we once were. Then I received a phone call from Candy, and I went to be by Luke’s side at the hospital. It was touch-and-go for a while. When he woke up, I honestly thought he was going to send me away; so, imagine my confusion when he woke up and asked for Elle, believing it was 2008.
“When Elle came to the hospital and entered the room for the first time, I saw the life return to Luke’s eyes, and I knew, I just knew, that everything would be all right. Turns out, I was right.
“As Elle will tell you, I gave her a tough time when she told me her reason for breaking it off with Luke, and it wasn’t until only recently that I understood it. You see, when you love someone—truly, deeply love them—you want only what’s best for them, even if what’s best for them doesn’t involve you. In Luke and Elle’s case, they found their way back together again. Today, they realized their happily ever after. Maybe, one day, so will I.”
Peter raised his glass, along with everyone else. With a shaky hand, so did I.
“To Luke and Elle. May your love endure all the triumphs and tribulations that come with marriage; and may Elle forever resist the urge to smother Luke in his sleep, because let’s face it, man, you snore like a chainsaw.”
“Hear, hear,” I said, along with everyone else, my voice coming out robotic as I sat stunned. He could have told me all of this. Why did he have to choose his speech to Luke and Elle to speak to me?
Luke stood up, and he and Peter hugged. “I need a few minutes, man. I’m going to step out for a bit,” I heard Peter mutter to Luke.
The hell you are.
“Everything okay?” Luke asked.
“No, but it will be.”
I watched Peter slip out of the tent, knowing that this was my moment. It was now or never. In a rush, I scooted my chair back, catching Elle’s attention as I sprung to my feet, swearing when my dress caught on the chair.
“What’s the matter? Are you all right?”
“I don’t know the answer to that question yet. The only thing I know for sure is that you may want to call the cops because I may just murder Peter.”
“What?”
I didn’t look back as Elle called my name when I ran out of the tent, pivoting in the direction I’d seen Peter heading. His long legs had probably already carried him halfway across the property by now, and it took a second for me to spot him. When I saw him, I moved to chase after him, turning my ankle when the heel of my shoe dug itself into the ground. Cursing, I unfastened the buckles and threw the shoes aside, giving chase on my bum ankle.
“Peter!”
He didn’t turn when I called out to him, instead maintaining his pace on his way to God knows where. The last couple of days had been particularly hard on him, but he had to also realize just how hard the last few months had been on me.
“Peter!” Still no response; no attempt to even turn around. Hell, his pace had even appeared to quicken. “Damn it, Peter, I know you can hear me!”
Now a sh
ort distance ahead of me, Peter threw his head back, resigning himself to the fact that he wasn’t going to get away from me so easily.
“We really need to talk.”
“Not now, Mena, please.” I expected to hear frustration in his voice when he spoke to me. But the tremble I heard in its place told me that he was beyond any bitterness he may have been harboring toward me, if he ever really was bitter.
Reaching out, I touched his arm with my fingertips, an unspoken request for him to turn and face me. When he did, I felt my resolve break when I noticed his red-rimmed eyes.
“Look, I know I told you that I would always stand by your side no matter what you chose to do, and I will. I promise you, Mena, I will. You’re too important to me not to have you in my life. I just really need a minute right now. Seeing you and him together, it was a bit much, and—”
“Peter.”
He shook his head as he held up his hand. “No, please, let me finish. I know it’s all my fault that my heart feels like it’s been torn in two and stomped on. I get that. But don’t let that make you think I’m not happy for you, Mena. Because I am happy for you, I really am—”
“Peter.”
“And, I know, I know, I’ll apologize to Phineas for some of the content in my speech—not all of it, but some of it. I’m sure I probably crossed the line a little, so don’t worry about that.”
“Phineas isn’t here,” I blurted out before he could continue further.
“Oh. Well, I guess I can scratch apologizing to him off my list, then. What, is he allergic to weddings or something?”
“Not exactly. He went back to New York.”
Peter’s brow furrowed in confusion, interlaced with an ounce of hope. “Wh-Why did he leave? Did a library catch on fire or something?”
“First of all, a library fire is nothing to joke about. Secondly, he left last night because he could see that … that I’m still in love with you.”
When Stars Collide Page 35
