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10
Katie stoodin front of the mirror and turned, viewing the dress at different angles.
She fell in love with it, and she felt young and beautiful again wearing it.For years, she had suppressed her feelings and denied her personal happiness to pursue a career.
“Is it too late?”she said out loud to herself.
She stared into the full-length mirror.The answer stared back at her.She saw a smile that looked vaguely familiar and a face that looked hopeful again.Like it was when she was eighteen—when life was simple and uncomplicated, and she was in love—before she made adult decisions for which she hadn’t thought through the consequences.
A lump seized her throat, and Katie twisted her neck, stepping back from the mirror.
“Are you okay in there?”Mary asked from outside the curtain.
Katie could hide nothing from Mary.She knew her so well.
She cleared her throat before answering.“I’ll be right out,” she said.She slipped out of her gown, being extra careful with it.
It wasone thing to have agreed to go to the wedding, but it was another to have the guts to go with someone she hadn’t seen in ten years and had hurt.Katie didn’t buy any accessories.She opened the jewelry box in her bedroom.Inside, she had the perfect piece.She picked up her favorite, the delicate ear drops.The ones Chase gave her when they were together—before she broke up with him and left him with a broken heart.She hadn’t worn these earrings since then, but she’d lost count of the number of times she’d looked at and caressed them.Somehow, it didn’t seem right to wear them for any other occasion.It had to be a special one like this wedding, with Chase as her plus one.She fingered the drops before she inserted and tugged the wires through her earlobes.
The coolness of the earrings against her reddened cheeks felt good.It sent butterflies through her stomach to think about Chase.She remembered the time he’d surprised her with a picnic basket packed with her favorite foods and drinks.They’d found a place in the woods, shaded by tall, majestic branches.He spread the blanket out for them to sit and eat.
Afterward, they rested.She reclined on the soft cloth, her long hair spilling over the edge of the blanket.He’d lain next to her, propped up on his elbow.His free hand caressed her hair, then his thumb stroked her cheek, stopping at her mouth.She had closed her eyes and parted her lips.When he sealed his lips against hers, it was tender, sweet, and lingering.She’d kissed him back, raising her head to meet his, pressing into him.She had signaled her desire, wrapping her arms around Chase.That day was their first time.
There were others.Would Chase remember their quick romp in the back of his truck?The time he parked under the stars and wrapped the large cotton-wool-blend shawl around her, bundling them together in the chilled air of the night?
It seemed so real, like it had just happened, their times together.These last ten years, she had relived them in her mind.She remembered Chase staring deep into her eyes, brimming with tender love, and hugging her tight in a locked embrace, not letting her go.She held the image in her mind, and it stayed there, for when she wanted—no, needed—to pull it out and replay it, over and over.Over the years, though, the need had receded, and the image in her mind had dimmed and lost its luster, gathering dust.
She choked on a bit of spittle slipping down her throat, and coughed.
Katie had hardened her heart.Put distance between the two of them, cutting the tie with one fell swoop of the blade.Wrenching away from his arms, she’d never looked back.She had been so sure of what she wanted… the big city, the one-in-a-million chance to work fortheyoung upstart of a company on the rise so fast, even its executives found their heads spinning.
She’d put her life into that job.What little time she had after work, well, it was used to go home, grab the top dinner on the stack in the freezer, pop it in the microwave, and eat.Some days she was so worn out, by the time she ate, her head would be nodding, and she’d jerk to stay awake.Sometimes she’d click on the TV to see what was on.Most nights, she got home too late for the evening news.She’d settle for silly reality shows, filling the slots of previously well-produced dramas.Sometimes she’d leave the TV on and not watch it.Her tired eyes were seeing, but not really focused.
