Changing Her Heart

by Gail Sattler

  In order to distract herself, Lacey picked up her coffee mug and took a long, slow sip. Thankfully the waiter arrived with their meals, and she could change the subject.

  “Is everyone ready for Bob’s wedding this weekend?”

  “Yup. Rehearsal is Friday, and the wedding is Saturday.”

  “That’s two of your friends who look like they’ve settled down.”

  “Actually, I think Paul is settling down, too. He’s been going out with a woman he’s known for years, and it looks pretty serious. I’m really the last one left.” He reached forward and wrapped his fingers around her hand. “Or maybe I’m not.”

  “I don’t think I want to discuss this.”

  Randy released her hand and smiled. He was so handsome when he smiled, and now, with the candlelight from the table sparkling in his eyes, Lacey felt as if she could have melted into a little puddle on the chair.

  “That’s okay. We’ve seen each other every day for a long time now, and we’re going to keep seeing each other every day. I think you know how I feel about you, and I’m hoping that you feel the same. We’ll just see how it goes.”

  Lacey didn’t know if that was a promise or a threat.

  Randy held up his coffee mug in the form of a single toast, winked and took a sip.

  Lacey nearly choked. Of course she liked Randy, but the thought of falling in love with him was too frightening to consider.

  Her father hadn’t been drunk all the time. Most of the time he’d been a good man, and a good father and, she thought, a good husband. But when he did drink, she knew he drank a lot. Then, all it had taken was one bad episode and their lives had been changed forever.

  Echoes of her mother crying and the misery of having everything in her life stripped away due to the ravages of her father’s alcohol abuse roared through her. She couldn’t live like that. Nor could she bear the heartache of what she saw happening to Susan; there were too many bad days compared to too few good ones—at least until Randy had started helping Eric deal with his life, and his addiction.

  But Randy wasn’t her father, nor was he Eric. Randy was a unique individual. Sometimes a little too unique, but those qualities in him made her love him even more.

  This time Lacey did choke.

  She did love him. She didn’t know when it happened, but it definitely had happened.

  “Lacey? Are you okay? Here, have some water.”

  She took a slow sip, and coughed into her napkin. “It’s okay. I’m fine. I must just have a frog in my throat.”

  “Are you nearly done? We have to get going to Eric and Susan’s pretty soon.”

  She quickly finished off her last bite. “I’m done. We can go. This was delicious. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Randy signaled the waiter. “The timing is perfect. I told you we’d be fine.”

  “By the way, while we were talking about Bob and George’s wedding, I meant to ask, what should I wear?”

  Randy chuckled. “You work in a clothing store. Don’t tell me you don’t know what to wear to a wedding.”

  “I just need to know if it’s casual or dressy, and how many people will be attending.”

  “It’s probably going to be a little more dressy because George’s family is going to be there, as well as some friends of their family. George’s parents are divorced, and she hasn’t seen her mother since she was a child. I hear that George found out where her mother is, and she’ll be coming, too, as well as some of her family from that side. She’s pretty excited. Bob said he’d know later in the week exactly how many people are going to be there. But her father is really rich, so I guess that means some of the people there will be really dressed up.” Randy pressed his palm to his chest. “Of course, I don’t have to worry. I’m going to be all decked out in my rented tuxedo. Final fittings are on Thursday. I’ll bet you can hardly wait to see how handsome and debonair I’m going to look.”

  Lacey couldn’t tell if he was being serious or facetious. Although she had no doubt that he would look great in a tux. She just never intended to tell him so.

  Randy looked at himself in the mirror, and straightened his bow tie. “I sure look great in this monkey suit, don’t I?” He stepped back and did his best imitation of a James Bond pose.

  “What are you doing?”

  Randy didn’t move as he replied. “It’s okay, Bob. You look good, too. But you don’t have to worry. You’ve already impressed the woman of your dreams and she’s going to marry you in less than an hour. I still haven’t completely impressed the woman of my dreams.”

  “Still, it sounds like things have been going well since last Sunday.”

  “Yeah. We had a little talk on Monday, and after that something changed. It’s been real subtle, but it’s there. I plan to ask her to marry me tonight. I figure that a wedding is pretty romantic, so this is a real good opportunity to catch her when the mood is right.”

  “That seems kind of fast. Are you sure you’re ready for that kind of commitment?”

  Randy turned to his best friend. Visions and memories of kissing Lacey danced through his head. She wouldn’t have kissed him like that if she didn’t mean it. And that hopefully meant she was ready to kick their relationship up a notch, too, like he was. “I’m more than ready. Your family was always good to me, but this is the one thing I’ve always had missing in my life and now God has given me the chance to have it. I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen.”

  Bob grinned. “In other words, every little bit helps, including that rented suit.”

  Randy wiggled the bow tie, making it crooked once again. “I’ve heard that nothing impresses a woman more than formal wear and good manners.”

  “Or a uniform. That’s how I got George, I’m sure.”

  Randy gave Bob a playful punch in the forearm. “That’s not a uniform. Those are called coveralls, and George wears the exact same ones as you do. I don’t think that sort of thing would work for me because Lacey works in a ladies’ clothing store. Although, the first time I met her was when I was buying panty hose.” He shuddered at the thought, even still. “Now let’s get out there.”

  The second Randy stepped outside the small room, Bob’s two brothers barged past him, trapping Bob in the room with them. Once they made sure that Bob was dressed, they called out, and Bob’s three sisters joined the swarm. Randy did nothing to rescue his friend. He knew it was pointless to resist. Besides, they were just trying to keep Bob busy so he wouldn’t have time to be nervous.

  Randy stepped into the sanctuary.

  He fought the urge to wipe his sweaty palms down the legs of his spiffy rented tux.

  He was probably more nervous than Bob, which didn’t make any sense, but that didn’t change the fact that it was true.

  He spotted Lacey almost immediately. She was sitting in the same spot they’d sat in during Sunday’s evening service, wearing a pretty blue dress. As he got closer, he saw that her shoes and some kind of fluffy thing she’d stuck in her hair were all the same color as the dress.

  “Wow. You look gorgeous,” he said as he lowered himself into the seat beside her.

  Her cheeks turned the cutest shade of pink. It made him want to kiss her, except that kissing in the middle of a crowded church was no less improper than doing so in a dark, deserted parking lot. “You look pretty good yourself. But shouldn’t you be somewhere else?”

  “Not yet. Bob’s family needs some time alone with him. If you can call being surrounded by five siblings being alone. It’s actually quite a heyday in there.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Randy saw Paul and Adrian appear together.

  Randy stood. “Maybe you’re right, it’s time to get this show on the road. I’ll see you later. Remember, pick the chair closest to me for the dinner. I want to make goo-goo eyes at you all night.”

  Her cheeks darkened again, but she didn’t comment, so Randy thought that was a good time to make his exit.

  He took his place at the fron
t with his three friends, just as they’d been shown at the rehearsal. When the music changed, the bridesmaids came up the aisle, followed by George and her father.

  He leaned closer to Bob. “Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen George in a dress before. She’s gorgeous.”

  Bob smiled like an idiot, not taking his eyes off his future wife. “Yeah.”

  Randy looked at Bob, then back to George for a minute, then watched Lacey, who was also watching George and her father walking slowly up the aisle.

  Randy could see himself going all stupid over Lacey, just like that. In fact, he wanted to go all stupid like that.

  He managed to hold himself together until Bob and Georgette started saying their vows.

  He’d never had someone love him unconditionally before. The love and commitment between Bob and George made them almost glow, especially when Bob ever-so-gently slipped the ring on her finger.

  Just as he had feared, he felt his throat tighten and his eyes began to burn. He loved Lacey down to the bottom of his heart and soul, and he wanted Lacey to love him like that, too.

  He quickly wiped his eyes when he thought no one was looking, and composed himself in the nick of time as the ceremony continued.

  As he knew he would have to, when the ceremony ended he stayed by Bob’s side for people to take pictures alongside the church. Then, because of the warm weather and the clear sky, the photographer convinced everyone to go to the park where he could take pictures of the wedding party amongst the natural flowers and shrubbery instead of against his studio’s obviously artificial backdrops.

  While Randy moved around, posing under the photographer’s direction, he felt the telltale scratchiness in his eyes from his allergies kicking up. As well, he could feel his breathing beginning to tighten.

  He moved away from the bushes and blossoms when he didn’t have to be in the current photograph, but it didn’t help. There were flowers everywhere he could go. Adrian leaned closer to him when the photographer focused a series of shots on Georgette’s family.

  “Randy, your eyes are getting all red and you don’t look very good. Did you bring anything?”

  He sniffled. “No. We weren’t supposed to be outside today, so I’m not prepared for this. Of course the photographer is picking all the spots with the most flowers. How much longer is this going to last?”

  Adrian checked his watch. “They haven’t even started taking pictures of Bob’s family yet, so it’s going to be a long time before you can get out of here. You’re starting to look really bad. I’ll be right back.”

  Within a few minutes, Adrian had returned with two little pills and a bottle of eye drops.

  “What is this?”

  “I know someone else who has bad allergies, too. She gave me these for you.”

  “I don’t know. It’s not a great idea to take someone else’s meds, especially prescription stuff.” Despite his hesitations he accepted the pills from Adrian. “But at the same time, it’s also not a great idea for me to be like this, either. I don’t want to have to leave, and I especially don’t want to leave in an ambulance with a ventilator.” He popped the pills into his mouth, and swallowed them dry. “Thank your friend for me.”

  Adrian removed the lid from the eye drops. “Want me to put these in for you, since there isn’t a mirror out here?”

  With Adrian making such an offer, he could only imagine what he looked like. He didn’t want to ruin Bob’s wedding pictures with his bloodshot eyes. “Yeah. Let’s go under that tree where less people will be watching. Thanks, Adrian.”

  By the time the groomsmen were called back for more pictures, Randy was already starting to feel better. He made a mental note to send a gift to Adrian’s friend.

  After the pictures were finished and the wedding party was once again inside the building where the only flowers were fake, Randy felt completely back to his old self. He ignored everyone and everything, and went searching for Lacey.

  As soon as he found her, she took him out of the way of the crowd. “Every table here has two bottles of wine on it.”

  “Actually, there’s a bottle of wine, and a bottle of sparkling fruit juice, so people can have a choice. George’s family aren’t Christians except for her mother, and her father wanted the guests to be comfortable since this isn’t the kind of wedding celebration they’re used to attending.”

  She leaned closer to him. “Are you okay with that?”

  “Of course I’m okay. Just like everyone here, I have my choice, and my choice was made over six years ago. Don’t worry about me. Are you okay here?

  “Yes, there’s a lot of people from your church who I’ve talked to before, so I’m not completely alone. Now go up to the head table. Bob and George are coming.”

  He pointed to the table nearest where he would be sitting. “I tilted that chair for you. We won’t be sitting together, but we should be able to talk without having to shout. See you later.”

  When he took his place at the head table, Randy noticed that Paul was also walking to the head table holding hands with a woman. Paul gave the woman a quick peck on the cheek before he guided her to a chair, then walked away.

  Randy’s heart ached. He truly was the last one of his four friends without someone to call special, who would call him special.

  Though, with a little luck and a lot of prayer, after Bob’s wedding was over he hoped that would change.

  Randy pulled the paper out of his pocket with the list of the order of events, and stood. As MC, he called everyone’s attention to Bob and George and began the chain of events that, at the end of it all, would send Bob and George out into the world as a happily married couple.

  As expected, his speech about Bob had everyone present nearly rolling in the aisles with laughter, including those people on George’s side of the family who didn’t even know Bob.

  To Randy’s joy and relief, everything went exactly as planned. When he came to the last item on his list, again Randy stood.

  “Here it is, everyone, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. I made a video documenting the courtship of my friend, Roberto,” he said, carefully rolling the R’s in his best imitation of the way Bob’s mother said Bob’s full real name when she was angry, “and his beautiful wife, Georgette, who looks great in a dress, I must say. Now everyone can see what Paul, Adrian and I had to put up with to get to this point.”

  Bob’s sister’s boyfriend hit the switch for the lights, sending the room into sudden, total blackness. Before anyone’s eyes could adjust, the bright light of the video broke the darkness, searing like a knife through Randy’s head. He stared at the screen, but he couldn’t see the whole picture—a glare of light with a dull gray spot in the center marred his vision.

  Randy felt himself sway. He quickly sank down into the chair, landing with a thud.

  “Randy? Are you okay?” asked Paul, who was sitting beside him.

  He covered his eyes with his hands. “I’m not having a very good day,” he mumbled as he pressed into his temples with his fingertips. “I’ve been feeling a headache coming on all day, I think it started with all the flowers in the park. Now the sudden light just triggered it into a migraine. I already have a blind spot and it feels like my head is going to explode.”

  “Do you want me to take you home?”

  “I can’t leave, and you can’t, either. This is Bob’s wedding.” Randy quickly fished his keys out of his pocket and opened up the secret compartment in his keychain fob, where he always stored one of his prescription migraine pills for emergencies. “The video is going to last twenty minutes. I’m going to take my meds and go lie down in the closet where the supplies are because that’s the only room without a window. Come and get me at the part where George drives the motorcycle by herself for the first time. That’s three minutes before the end. That gives this just enough time to work, and I should be okay.”

  He quickly swallowed the pill, dumped some ice cubes from his water glass into one of the cloth napkins, and
went into the pitch-black broom closet. He did his best to relax laying on what he hoped was a clean spot on the floor, with the napkin containing the ice over his eyes.

  A gentle rap sounded on the door just as he felt the dulling effect of the meds starting to work.

  “Randy? Time’s up. You going to be okay?”

  He sat up slowly, pushed himself to his feet and opened the door. He blinked repeatedly until he could get used to the harsh light before stepping out of the closet. “The headache is starting to fade, so other than feeling incredibly thirsty, I feel worlds better. Thanks. Now let’s get back to the action.”

  Chapter Ten

  Lacey joined a group of people to talk to while Randy and the rest of the wedding party visited with different people around the room.

  Just as he’d teased her, he did look great in the tuxedo, and every once in a while, she’d noticed that as she was watching him, he was also watching her.

  “Your name is Lacey, isn’t it?”

  Lacey turned to the woman who had addressed her. “Yes. I’m so sorry, I know you’re one of Bob’s sisters, but I can’t remember your name.”

  “It’s Maria. Don’t feel bad. You’re the new face here. I only had to learn one new name, but you’ve had to learn dozens.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Maria. The wedding’s been beautiful. Bob and Georgette make such a nice couple.”

  “Yes, everything has gone so well. Even that ridiculous video Randy made was great. We weren’t sure what it was going to be like. Sometimes we don’t know what to expect from Randy. Speaking of Randy, why aren’t you with him?”

  At the mention of his name, Lacey turned her head to watch him. Randy was talking to someone different than the last time she’d looked at him, and this time, as he was speaking, he was pouring the last of the contents of one of the bottles from a nearby table into a glass.

  Lacey turned back to Maria. “I don’t want to stop him from doing what he should be doing. After all, he is the best man and there are people here he hasn’t seen for a long time. He can see me anytime. I told him to go visit with everyone he won’t be seeing for a while.”