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The emotions I’d spent most of the day suppressing almost got the better of me.
I was frustrated and overwhelmed.
But if I let loose right now, I’d regret it later.
This time, she got a pass.
But next time…
She held her breath for a few moments until my glare seemed to subside, and my shoulders slumped. “Okay. This is good, Valen! We’re ten minutes late, but you know I love a dramatic entrance. You can do this. It’s scary, but I’ll be right there next to you,” Jade rambled on—her attempt to soothe my nerves only kicking them into high gear. She quickly closed the distance between us and grabbed one of my hands. “You look beautiful,” she whispered, tears brimming her eyes.
The way her breathing changed, I knew this emotion was real, which could sometimes be hard to read with Jade because she was always so cautious about how she looked on the outside. This time, she seemed so sure of what she was saying, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised—she was the confident friend.
Self-assured.
Charmingly full of herself.
“Chad is waiting for you,” she stressed.
He was.
In more ways than one.
Chad and I had been together for around eighteen months.
He had a good family.
A good job.
And was content with mundane.
And while those things might be more like simple expectations people would have of someone they loved—during my life, I’d learned the hard way not to take some of them for granted. When you came from a life of chaos, you found comfort in the calm.
Sure, there was nothing overwhelmingly exciting about Chad and how he lived his life.
But, I was okay with that.
At least, I thought I was.
“And imagine how you’re going to feel afterward.” Jade tugged on my hands to pull me out of my haze, a huge grin lighting up her face. “Imagine how happy you’ll be.”
Happy.
Yeah.
Maybe.
I finally nodded, mirroring her smile. “Let’s go.”
She let out a sharp, high-pitched squeal in delight. “She’s ready!” she sang, bouncing on her toes.
With a symphony of footsteps, the planning team rushed in, helping me lift the weighty layers of fabric and maneuver me out of the bedroom, through the front door, and down the front porch steps. The beautiful little cottage we were exiting was dwarfed by the magnificent church that sat right next door.
Each rich, orange brick looked perfectly and meticulously placed, the condition of which made it look like it could have been built yesterday. However, I was beginning to learn that marrying into a Catholic family like Chad’s was no joke when it came to their expectations of how things need to look on the outside.
Aspirations were high.
Almost frighteningly so.
