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Jenna turned around so that Jamie could zip up her maid of honor’s dress.
“You look beautiful,” Jamie said.
“So do you. I’m still amazed that we were able to get your hair to hold those curls like that,” Jenna said.
“Not a problem that a little hairspray can’t solve.”
“You mean a lot of hairspray.” Jenna laughed.
The three women made their way out to the car that was waiting to take them to the park where Jamie was going to marry the man of her dreams.
She had met Ryan in college and had fallen quickly for him. He was tall and blond with the bluest eyes that she had ever seen. He was incredibly intelligent and had a great sense of humor. The two of them had bonded over a particularly difficult algebra class in high school and had been inseparable since then. They even applied and got into the same university together. Ryan had proposed to her a year ago, and the couple had set the wedding date for a month after the both of them graduated from the university with their degrees.
It seemed to take forever for them to travel from Jamie’s parents’ house to the venue. A little cabin was beautifully decorated where she would wait for the signal.
Jamie sat in a comfortable chair and crossed her legs. Then, she recrossed them in the other direction. A few seconds later, she stood up and paced around the cabin.
“You’re going to wear yourself out and have no energy for your wedding night.” Georgia laughed.
The clock on the wall indicated that it was time for the ceremony to begin, but there was no sign of Jamie’s father. Jamie could hear the ticking of the clock as minute after minute passed.
Almost an hour later, there was a knock on the cabin door. Her father entered with a grim look on his face and wordlessly handed Jamie a note. She read the note aloud.
Dear Jamie,
I don’t know how to tell you this, so I will just be blunt. I cannot marry you. I’ve been seeing Amber for the last several months and I have fallen in love with her. There is no way that I could make you happy. I hope that you will forgive me and that one day you will find love and happiness.
Ryan
Jaime pressed her lips together, refusing to cry.
She sat down on the chair and said, “Well, we have a ton of food, a good DJ, and we’ve already paid for the room at the community center. We may as well not let it go to waste.”
Her father patted her on the back and said, “That’s my girl.”
Jamie changed into a different dress and headed to what would have been their reception. She didn’t feel much like partying, but her pride wouldn’t let anyone see how devastated she was.
During the evening, she told herself that she should have seen this coming. Ryan had been distant lately, but she had blown it off, contributing it to stress, final exams, and getting ready for graduation. There had been a niggle in the back of her mind that suggested that he might have been seeing another person. Amber’s sideways looks and giggles whenever she walked by should have been a clue, too. Amber was a first-class bitch, who would take delight in another person’s pain.
Jamie didn’t have time to mourn for her lost love. Her mother was getting weaker every day. Georgia had decided that she wanted to die in her own bed, so Jamie took it upon herself to be her nurse.
One afternoon, when the winds were howling and the sky was full of gray clouds, Georgia opened her eyes to see Jamie sitting by her bedside.
“You know how very proud I am of you.”
“I know, Mama.”
“I love you so much. No matter what happens, I’ll always be with you.”
Tears streamed down Jamie’s face as she called her father into the room. He held Georgia’s hand and cried. They both wept as Georgia took her final breath.
Jamie felt as though her world had fallen apart. Her mother had always been her rock. She felt lost without her.
Georgia and Amos, Jamie’s father, had been together since they were fifteen. Their love was a testament to what every young girl dreamed of. They had both lived and breathed for each other.
It was no surprise to Jamie when her father followed Georgia into the after-life six months later. Jamie was positive that her father had died from a broken heart.
Jamie was between jobs when her father died. He had been so ill that Jamie had decided to take care of him and worry about a career later. She was so lost when her father took his last breath.
