AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The rolling waves hush,hush along the beach as the sun goes down behind Anna and Mike. Pink and orange streaks fade into deep blue, high overhead, with lavender playing across the middle like magic fairy dust. Anna has white lilies in her hair, and her strapless white dress reflects the sunset hues. Mike is handsome in tan pants and a short-sleeve blue linen button-down. The ocean sparkles in the Los Angeles lights, as far South as the eye can see. Behind us, the Malibu bluffs rise dense with foliage to where Geoffrey’s Restaurant is nestled high above. This night could not be more perfect, but it hardly seems real.
Mom finishes sharing her beautiful speech, closes her notebook, and hands the microphone back to the officiant. There’s not a dry eye among the thirty or forty people gathered while she walks barefoot across the sand, back to her seat, where she takes Jeremy’s hand. Jeremy leans into her and whispers something. The sunset pales behind the smile that lights her face.
“And now Anna’s sister, Zoey, will say a few words,” the officiant says. My stomach twists. I should never have agreed to this. But I make my way to the front and take the mic. Mike keeps pulling his phone out of his pocket and glancing at it. He might think he’s being subtle, but he’s not. What the hell is he doing?
I snap back to my own problems. All of their closest friends, plus the local aunts, uncles, and cousins, and even Mike’s last remaining grandparents, are staring, waiting for me to say something. But I only have a crumple of notecards at the bottom of my purse.
“Anna and Mike, you guys are…” I break off. I was going to say an inspiration, but that feels wrong. Because just a few weeks ago, Mike had a detective trailing Anna, and Anna was hiding out in a cafe bathroom while I posted on her Instagram so Mike didn’t realize she was spying on him. What they are is crazy. “Well, this is a big thing you’re doing and um… you never know who you’ve married. I mean, everyone is all inside their head…” I tap on my temple. “Secrets… am I right?” I laugh, but no one else does. “And sure, you guys know this. We all do. But…” The officiant looks at me like I’ve stepped in something smelly, and it’s not roses.
Mom shakes her head at me from her seat in the front row. Jeremy’s hand is so tight in hers that his knuckles are white. That’s how much he feels her pain at my shit speech. Something like a rock settles in my belly. The only person who ever made me feel that understood was Sebastian. And I walked away the minute I had anything to lose. Because I’m not brave like my mom. Like Anna and Mike.
“You know what?” I straighten. “The truth is, I’ve been terrified about speaking tonight. Mike and Anna are doing something I’ve never dared to do. I can’t offer words of wisdom, like my Mom. I can’t even say I’m proud of my sister, because that makes it sound like I have grounds from which to judge. But what I can say is I hope to learn from her.”
At the top of the steps leading down the bluff, a woman shouts and the foliage rustles. I take Anna’s hand. Meanwhile, Mike glances at his phone, and then his eyes flick to the stairway.
I barrel on.
“A few weeks ago, I took a cruise in Anna’s name. You’ve seen my photos on her Instagram account.” There’s scattered laughter. The guests know the story. “As many of you are aware, I’m not a cruise kind of gal. I’m more of a jump-off-a-bridge-on-a-bungee kind of person. Needless to say, I was scared shitless about spending a week on a ship with people who enjoy relaxation and easy fun.” More laughter.
There’s further crashing in the foliage. And then Mike’s face lights up. A petite blonde waves from the top of the steps. She starts down, one hand on the railing, the other on her pregnant belly. Behind her, Sebastian appears.
* * *
SEBASTIAN
By the time I’ve valeted my car at Geoffrey’s and figured out how to get to the beach, Madison is at the stairs. The group Anna and Mike have gathered looks idyllic from up here. They don’t know what’s coming their way. I sprint along the road.
“Madison!” I call out. She turns and gasps.
“Are you following me?” She rushes ahead, and in two bounds I’ve got one of her hands in mine. But she bites the fleshy pad at the base of my thumb. Her teeth clench, searing my skin. For a second, everything goes black.
When my vision clears, she’s already partway down the stairs. Damn, she’s fast - as fast as a pregnant woman can be. I leap down two steps at a time to reach her.
“You can’t ruin this for Mike and Anna!” I say.
“You know them?” Her eyes flash. “Then you should know I’ll ruin this if I’m any later! Mike asked for a bunch of last-minute changes to Anna’s ring, and I spent all day working on them!” She’s shaking her arm with force.
And then I hear it. Zoey’s voice floating from the sound system up the bluff on the sea breeze. Down below, she and Anna hold hands. To Anna’s white dress, Zoey counters with an emerald green jumpsuit. Against Anna’s circle of big white lilies, Zoey stands out with a simple, unadorned updo.
“What I didn’t expect about that cruise was how pretending to be my sister would give me a chance to see things from her perspective,” Zoey says. “Things like how cool a cruise vacation can be. Or how when you allow yourself to trust someone, that’s when you open the door to love.”
The world stops revolving.
Zoey pauses, as various members of the party sigh and murmur. Her face turns upwards, and even from this far, I feel it deep in my chest when our eyes lock. She lowers her mic. For a second, I’m afraid I’ve thrown her off her game. But then she smiles, and my pulse thrums. I start down the steps, but remember Madison, who is Mike’s jewelry maker, not his mistress. Giving her my hand, I help her the rest of the way as Zoey goes on.
“I met someone on that cruise who told me that the honeymoon always ends. That someone will break your trust in them. But then he showed me something else. That even after the trust breaks, the love isn’t gone. You’ll want to rebuild, even if it’s hard. I’m guessing people who make it the distance have to rebuild again and again, their whole life. And that’s what Anna and Mike are doing, isn’t it? They’re doing the hard thing and they’re trusting each other to go the distance. I suppose, tonight, we’re all here to show we’ll go the distance with them, too.”
Madison and I reach the beach. Zoey keeps her eyes on mine. Mike takes the microphone from her. Instead of heading to her seat, she walks around the crowd, coming my way.
“Anna, my love,” Mike says. “I wanted to give you a special gift at the beginning of our ceremony tonight, but it wasn’t here in time. I asked for some last-minute changes, which caused a delay. But it had to be perfect for you. And finally, my gift has arrived.” Madison hands Mike a small black velvet box. He takes it, lowering down onto one knee in front of his wife. Zoey turns back as everyone gasps. I step up to stand beside her.
“I made you a promise ring.” Mike opens the box, and Anna covers her mouth, growing misty-eyed at what’s inside. “It’s a token of my promise to you from this day forth.” Mike takes the ring out. She holds out her hand, laughing and crying as he slides the ring onto her finger. Zoey swipes at her eyes.
“I brought you something too, Zoey.” I hand her the folders labeled Mike and Jeremy. She flips through the contents, her forehead wrinkling. At the front of the group, Mike stands up from the sand and Anna takes his face in both of her hands. Zoey smiles at them, but then looks my way with questions written across her face.
“I wanted to prove you can trust Jeremy and Mike, so you can stop worrying about your mom and your sister.” Her eyes are like molten cacao again, but she’s still smiling.
“You did this for me?” Her wet eyes rove my face.
