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And then Jude appears and…
She looks fantastic.
I don’t know where to start. From her delicate cream-colored dress to the way her curls are arranged up and out of her face, she’s a vision. This time like some sort of goddess sculpted by the hand of Michelangelo.
Jude Parry is a work of art.
I clear my throat and straighten up.Smile, dumbass.
Her hands fly up to her cheeks. “What’s all this?”
Dear God, this performance wouldn’t even win her a Razzie.
“Wow, there’s…” She scans the audience and then looks at me, paling. “A lot of people.”
I hold out my hand. “Come here, would you?”
Jude rushes down the runner to meet me and takes my hand for what feels to be genuine support. “This is crazy,” she says breathlessly.
“I know, I’m sorry, Gram insisted –”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Let’s…” She looks back at everyone. “Let’s do this.”
I clear my throat. “I want to thank everyone for being here today. I know this has all moved very quickly, seeing as you found out about Jude and me only this past week.”
There is polite laughter from the crowd.
“But I couldn’t think of a better way to dothisthan to have y’all here. Those who have made us, supported us, and…” I swallow back another wave of nausea. “Loved us.”
I turn to Jude. Though her delivery of the lines was pathetic, the look in her eyes seems as real as anything I’ve ever seen. They sparkle just like a pond in the middle of the vivid forest, reflecting with deep, astounding greens.
My heart starts to pound. This time, not from anxiety or nerves. But from…
Feeling? Am I actually feeling something for Jude?
“Jude, when I met you, you were just a kid playing in Gram’s kitchen sink with my sister.” I’ve prepared this. I’ve taken all the memories I’ve had of Jude and laced them together to give the appearance of having some amount of sentimentality.
Except now that I’m looking into her eyes and remembering everything…
What’s happening to me?
“And I remember thinking, ‘Toddlers are so annoying.’”
The crowd laughs and so does Jude.
“I promise, my thoughts on the subject have changed significantly since I was eleven years old, but…”
Jude reaches out and takes my hands.
The plan goes out the window. I’m totally lost in her touch. In her gaze.
This isn’t real, Chase. This is all pretend.
“We’ve both grown a lot,” I say. My voice cracks.
Jude giggles and squeezes my hands. “Yeah, we have.”
“But I’m glad that we’ve grown together in many ways.”
