by Shelly Bell
“Well that’s my cue,” I said to Missy.
“You’ll be great. And if not, who cares?” She laughed.
Easy for her to say.
I followed the intern out into the hallway and to the soundstage. “Wait here,” she demanded before running off.
Another woman greeted me with a mike on her ear. “They’re almost ready for you. They’re going to play the Wedding March and have you walk onto the set. Then you’ll sit down for your one-on-one with Bethany. Any questions? No? Good.” She didn’t even slow down to give me a chance to ask one.
This wasn’t my first interview with Bethany Williams, but I hoped it would be my last. Before, I had waited in a chair on the set and Bethany came to me. I just kept one thought in my head as I waited for my cue.
Adam.
Suddenly there were lights shining on me and voices shouting out stage directions, and I panicked. I couldn’t see beyond the lights and I didn’t know how to find my way onto the set.
“Just breathe, Sara. Hee Hee Hoo.”
I tried to tell Missy a dozen times Lamaze wasn’t appropriate in this type of situation, but she refused to listen. It’s not easy arguing with a pregnant woman.
The Wedding March blared through the speakers, and I walked onto the set carrying a bouquet of fresh flowers. On impulse, I handed them to Bethany. “These are for you.”
“Thank you. Have a seat. Here we are one year after you vowed to marry by the time you turned thirty. Let’s show the audience your speech from your brother’s wedding once again.”
I hadn’t watched it since last February. I thought I’d be horrified, but I actually felt relieved. It didn’t seem as bad as I had remembered.
“Tell our audience, did you succeed in your mission?”
“I am not married. But I did find my soul mate,” I revealed, trying to find Adam in the studio. I didn’t see him anywhere.
“You had a chance to get married this year, but you turned him down?” she asked gently. She and I had discussed my intention to spare Caleb’s feelings.
“I dated a wonderful man, but in the end, I decided we weren’t compatible. I could have gotten married, but it wouldn’t have been to my soul mate and that wasn’t enough for either one of us.”
I started to worry about Adam. What if he’d changed his mind about his feelings for me and decided to go back to Michigan? What if I declared him as my soul mate on TV only to have him run away?
I chastised myself for reverting to my old ways of thinking and behaving. I trusted Adam, and I knew now he’d never intentionally hurt me.
“You did find your soul mate. Tell us how you met him.”
“I’ve known Adam since we were children. He’s my brother’s best friend.”
“Yet you didn’t fall in love until recently. Why do you think that is?”
“We both had issues we needed to resolve before we could admit we belonged together.”
Neither Adam nor I wanted to reveal we had fallen in love in Israel while I was technically still committed to Caleb. The only people who knew other than us had agreed not to say a word. Besides, we believe we fell in love a long time ago, only both of us were too scared to admit it. It didn’t matter when it had happened. It only mattered that it did.
“Any plans to get married?”
“No, we’re taking things slow.” If slow meant living in sin together with no talk of marriage.
“Why don’t we ask him? Adam?”
He walked on the set, smiling, and looking handsome in his tuxedo. What was he doing?
“Hi, Bethany.”
“Welcome, Adam. So I’m asking you, any plans on getting married?”
“Nothing official, but I can tell you this. One day, the woman sitting next to me will be my wife.”
“Why don’t you ask her right now?”
“No, it’s not romantic enough for her. Trust me, when it happens, she’ll be surprised.” He smiled as though he had a secret.
“Will you let us know when it happens?” she asked to the both of us.
“No,” I responded as Adam said, “Sure.”
“We look forward to hearing all about it,” she stated, then finished the segment.
When the red blinking light on the video camera went out, I punched Adam in the shoulder. “We were almost in the clear! No more media coverage and you had to say sure.”
“By the time we get engaged, we’ll be old news.”
“Why, will it be a long time from now?” I asked, trying to pry the information out of him.
“It could be tomorrow, and we’ll be old news. She was just being nice. No one will care about you and me and our little Michigan wedding. Trust me.”
“I do trust you. It’s them I don’t trust.” It was then I remembered Missy had been waiting for me backstage. I didn’t see her anywhere.
When we got back to the Green Room, Missy was hanging up with someone. She’d been crying.
“You guys were great,” she sniffled.
I gave her a hug. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. Let’s just go.”
“Happy Birthday, Sara,” Adam said, kissing my cheek.
I linked arms with both Missy and Adam and walked out of the studio without looking back.
EPILOGUE
MARCH 25, 2013
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
“How are we ever going to get through this night without getting drunk?” Adam teased, referring to last year’s Seder, when he and I platonically ended up in bed together after drinking too much wine.
As we entered my parents’ house, I swatted away his hand that had rested on my backside. “Behave yourself!”
He removed his hand and placed it on the back of my neck and kissed my cheek. “I can never behave myself around you. You know that.”
We walked into the kitchen only to find my parents making out. I immediately covered my eyes with my hands. “Sorry, I didn’t know this room was taken.” I giggled.
My parents grinned at each other as though they shared a secret. I hoped Adam and I would steal kisses in our kitchen after thirty-five years of commitment.
My father shook hands with Adam while my mom gave me a hug.
“Everyone is already in the dining room,” my mom told me.
After giving hugs to my family, I introduced Adam as my boyfriend. They remembered him as Seth’s best man and commented how romantic it was I fell in love with my brother’s best friend. A few minutes of small talk later, we began our Seder.
I had a difficult time concentrating on the service since Adam kept massaging my thighs with his hands and rubbing his foot up my leg. The room grew uncomfortably warm from his touches, so I tried kicking him to make him stop. Unfortunately, my foot missed and I kicked the chair.
“Ow!” I screamed. My whole family stared at me with questioning glances, and Adam just laughed.
“Sorry,” I muttered, embarrassed by my outburst. “I kicked the chair by accident.” Judging by the expressions on the adults in the room, they had figured out what was going on under the table.
My father cleared his throat. “Yes, well, why don’t we continue? Why don’t the children sing the “Four Questions” for us?”
All my little cousins sang the prayer, and we all clapped when they finished.
“Wait, they forgot one,” Adam said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Tonight there’s a fifth question,” he answered, getting out of his chair.
He turned my chair around to face him, then got down on one knee and presented me with a sparkling diamond ring.
“Sara, we’ve known each other for more than twenty years. You’ve been my best friend’s bossy older sister, my tormenter, my obsession, my fantasy, my crush, my friend, and my lover. I want to wake every morning to the sight of you drooling on the pillow next to me and go to sleep every night with your arms draped over my chest. I want to raise cats and children with you. I want to do all of it with you as m
y wife and with me as your husband. Sara, will you marry me?”
My throat tightened. I had never seen such a beautiful ring. Simple and modest, I knew it would be a perfect fit. I took it from his outstretched hand and placed it on my ring finger.
I was right.
A perfect fit.
“Yes, I’ll marry you, Adam,” I cried as I got down on my knees to kiss him.
“I love you so much,” he said, holding me close.
“I love you, too.” We kissed while my family clapped and cheered.
We got off of our knees as my parents congratulated us.
“Did you know?”
They smiled in response. I guess I figured out their secret.
Seth and Emily stood and came over to us as well, Emily giving me a hug while Seth slapped Adam on the back.
“Welcome to the family, bro,” Seth said to Adam.
After a few minutes of congratulations, we sat to resume the Seder.
“Before we continue, there’s something I’d like to announce,” Seth stated.
“We’re pregnant,” Emily blurted out, the excitement written on her face.
Everyone started laughing and cheering all over again.
Adam turned to me. “Don’t even think about it.”
I laughed and kissed him. “Someday. Right now I’m happy practicing motherhood with our cats.”
My cell phone rang and I checked the number.
Missy.
“Hello?”
“It’s time! My water broke! Meet me at the hospital!” she screamed before hanging up.
I turned to Adam. “I’m going to be an aunt.”
“Take the car. I’ll get your brother to drive me home,” he said, handing me the keys.
“I’ll see you at home,” he whispered, kissing my ear.
I nodded. “I’ll see you at home.”
There’s no place like home.
