“Thank you for saying that, Mike.”
He reached over and patted Sammy. “Well, we better get back. It was nice meeting you.”
“You, too.” She hugged Sammy and got another lick on the cheek. “Bye, Sammy.”
As they were walking away, he turned back to her and said, “Keep trusting the Lord, Michelle. He loves you, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
She waved at them, then turned to face the water. Thank you, Lord, for letting me meet them tonight. It was just what I needed, and I know you brought them to me. I’m so thankful …
Suddenly, she realized what Mike had said. Keep trusting the Lord, Michelle.
Her head whipped around to where they were walking, but they were gone. She should have still been able to see them, but they were nowhere in sight.
She started to laugh.
I never told him my name.
When she returned to her apartment, she let herself in and nearly jumped sky high when she saw Simon and Maggie seated on her couch. “Oh my gosh!” She laid her hand on her chest. It took half a minute for her heart to return to its normal rhythm.
“Sorry to scare you. I still have a key,” Simon explained with a shrug.
Michelle closed the door and set her things on the kitchen table. “That’s OK,” she replied quietly. “What are you guys doing here?”
Maggie’s eyes looked slightly puffy, like she had been crying. “We’ve been talking.” She squeezed Simon’s hand and looked into his eyes. “A lot.”
He nodded at her reassuringly.
“I wanted to come here and tell you that …” Maggie struggled to find her words.
Michelle’s chin began to quiver in anticipation of what Maggie might say, what she hoped her friend would say.
“The past few months have been really hard for me. I was furious at first. Then I felt hurt and betrayed. I wanted to be angry at Ben and blame him for everything. That would have been so much easier. But you were the one that went to his place, and that was the hardest thing for me to understand. You knew how much I loved him and how much I wanted to marry him, but it was you who broke us up.”
“Maggie …” Michelle started to speak, but Maggie held her hand up.
“But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that you saved me from making a huge mistake. Ben wasn’t a good guy. He was selfish and unfaithful, and I know you saw that in him long before I ever let myself see the truth.”
Michelle’s shoulders relaxed slightly.
“I’ve been talking to my mom and Vi about everything, and they both encouraged me to forgive you as God has forgiven me. I know you’re sorry that you did it. And … I forgive you, Michelle.”
Michelle covered her face and wept.
Maggie stood and went to her, wrapping her arms around her friend.
“I’m so sorry, Maggie,” Michelle cried.
“I know.”
“If I could take it back, I would.”
“I know that. But if you hadn’t done it, I probably would’ve married him. And then where would I be today?”
Simon wrapped his arms around both of the girls then. “And where would I be? Probably still single, living in my parents’ basement in California.”
Their laughter broke through the tears.
Simon looked Michelle in the eyes. “Hey, I’m really sorry for what I said to you on that phone message, Michelle.”
“It’s OK. I deserved it.”
“No, you didn’t.” He kissed her cheek, then released the girls from his hug.
The three of them moved to sit on the couch.
Maggie began to talk. “I’ve been having these weird dreams the past few weeks. Maybe they’re suppressed memories or something. I don’t know. But it’s like I’m at the engagement party, and you’re standing on the patio watching Ben. At first, I feel really jealous because you’re staring at my fiancé, but then I see what you see — Ben sneaking around the side of the house into some dark corner with another girl.”
“Yeah, that wasn’t just a dream,” Michelle interjected.
Maggie nodded sadly. “I thought so.”
“You’re so special, Maggie, and I always believed God had someone better for you. Someone really wonderful like you.” Michelle glanced over at Simon. “But He brought you this guy instead.”
“Hey!” Simon playfully smacked her arm.
She winked at him.
“I think I’ll keep him.” Maggie’s eyes twinkled as she looked at Simon.
The three old friends sat for hours, talking and catching up. It was as if no time had passed, as if there had never been a rift between them, and the heavy burden Michelle had been carrying around for so long had lifted. She felt lighter and happier than she had in years.
The love in her friends’ eyes as they looked at each other was unmistakeable, and Michelle was so happy for them and the love they had found together.
But the happiest moment came at the end of the night.
“Michelle, I have something very important to ask you.” Maggie’s tone was serious as she and Simon readied to leave.
“OK. Shoot.”
“I was wondering … would you be a bridesmaid in our wedding?”
Michelle’s mouth dropped open. “Are you serious? After everything that happened, you would still want that?”
Maggie nodded. “Yeah, but … I mean, would you even want to? Or is it too weird to have you stand up in your ex-boyfriend’s wedding?”
Michelle looked over at Simon, her best friend.
He smiled sweetly. “What do ya’ say, Chelle?”
The fact that he called her that again melted her heart. “If Simon’s OK with it, I’m OK with it.”
“Maybe you should be my best man.” He winked at her.
She laughed at that. “Maybe.” She was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, and couldn’t find her words.
“Chelle?” Simon squeezed her arm. “We want you there with us. It wouldn’t be right without you.”
“But I hurt you. Both of you.”
“We’re putting that in the past,” Maggie assured her. “Say yes.”
Michelle smiled. “Yes.”
27
Having her best friends back in her life and seeing them together over the months leading up to their March wedding filled Michelle’s heart with happiness. She could not imagine two people who were more perfect for each other. They were her heroes. Not only were they planning the wedding, they were remodeling Maggie’s shop and merging their wedding photography businesses into one. It was inspiring. And seeing the love in Simon’s eyes when he looked at Maggie made her long for that kind of love. She wasn’t jealous of the fact that he had chosen Maggie. It was the opposite, in fact. She was overjoyed for them.
But being around them reminded her of what she had lost with Sean. She still thought about him, more than she should, and she wondered what he was doing. She wondered how the kids were and if they missed her. She wondered if he missed her.
On the morning of Maggie and Simon’s wedding, the girls had breakfast at the James’ residence. Patty and Vi made a glorious spread — bacon and eggs and pancakes and sausage. And there were waffles covered with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, made especially for the bride.
“Hey, you didn’t make special waffles for me when Tom and I got married,” Sarah whined.
“You didn’t ask for them,” Patty replied with wink.
Sarah pouted, then winced. “Ouch!” She poked at her protruding pregnant belly. “Quit kickin’ me.”
Maggie turned to Sarah and placed a hand on the spot Sarah had touched. “Now, you stay in there, little lady. At least until after the ceremony.”
Sarah giggled. “She’s staying put for at least two more weeks.”
Michelle hoped she looked half as beautiful as Sarah if she one day had a baby. She really did have that pregnant glow people were always talking about.
Maggie’s phone rang, and her lips turn
ed up in a happy grin as she looked at the screen. She hit “talk” and practically cooed. “Hey, baby.” Maggie’s eyes swiftly focused on Michelle, and she suddenly looked giddy. “Uh-huh. OK. I’ll tell her.”
“What?” Michelle was curious. “Tell me what?”
Maggie held up her index finger. “Are you kickin’ Tom’s butt?”
The guys were at the church playing basketball. Michelle knew without asking that Simon probably hadn’t scored a single point all morning. But she didn’t care how his game was going, she wanted to know what they were talking about and what was behind the look on Maggie’s face.
“I love you,” Maggie declared. “I’ll see you at the end of the aisle.”
When she hung up, she looked at Michelle with a sly grin.
“What?”
Maggie could barely contain her smile.
“Maggie, what?”
“Sean’s here.”
Michelle’s heart skipped a beat, and she nearly choked on a bite of pancake.
“He called Simon last night to let him know he made it to town, and Simon invited him to play basketball with them today.”
Michelle didn’t know what to say. She knew Sean had been invited to the wedding, but last she knew, he had sent an RSVP marked “will not attend”.
“I thought you said he wasn’t coming.”
Maggie grinned and tilted her head to the side. “Surprise.”
“Well, he’s not here to see me, so …”
Maggie touched Michelle’s hand. “But he’s here.”
Michelle smoothed the skirt of her golden yellow bridesmaid dress and gripped her small bouquet of white hydrangeas and yellow ranunculus. She walked slowly down the aisle of the church to Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”, fighting the urge to scan the crowd for Sean. Knowing he was in attendance was nerve wracking.
Instead, she focused on Simon, smiling at her from the front of the church. It suddenly struck her as funny that, all those years ago, she had hoped Simon would one day be waiting for her at the end of the aisle, and now it was happening, though not in the way she thought it would. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo. She smiled back at him, and he pressed his lips together. She could tell he was fighting back tears, which caused her to fight tears of her own. They had been through so much together and had come out on the other side with their friendship still intact. He reached out and squeezed her arm as she passed by. There was nowhere in the world she would rather be at that moment.
Tom stood to the other side of Simon along with Uncle Pete. It was the sweetest thing in the world for him to ask his uncle to stand up with him.
Michelle took her place, followed by Sarah, the matron of honor. Sarah glanced back at her, and they both grinned and looked toward the entrance in anticipation.
The bridal march began, and Maggie made her way down the aisle on her father’s arm. A sheer veil hung over her face and rested just past the edge of her strapless neckline. The silky organza of Maggie’s gown angled and flowed softly around her legs as they walked. She looked like an angel.
It was hard to believe that fifteen years had passed since she first met this lovely girl in their dorm room. She never would have imagined that Maggie would one day marry Simon or that she would stand by their side.
Maggie’s father lifted the veil from her face, kissed her on the cheek, then laid her hand in Simon’s.
The smiles on their faces lit up the room. There was so much love in their eyes, and Michelle could not stop a tear from escaping down her cheek.
The happy couple chose to exchange traditional vows, and they smiled their way through them all.
“I, Simon, take you Maggie.”
No hesitation.
“I, Maggie, take you Simon.”
No sign of nerves at all.
“Til death do us part.”
Just happy and very much ready to be married.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Pastor Jon smiled at Maggie, then glanced at Simon. “You may kiss the bride.”
Simon grinned and shook his head in awe as he looked at Maggie. He took her face in his hands and kissed his wife for the first time.
And Michelle let the happy tears flow.
After the ceremony and family photos at the church, they were whisked off to downtown Hastings for bridal party photos with the couple’s photographer friends, Jamie and Shannon. With temperatures in the forties, the girls wore coats over their dresses and tossed them at Simon’s former photography assistant, Anna, when it was time for pictures. They posed by the fountain, on the steps of the old courthouse, and along the quaint streets. The giant mural on the side of the movie theater depicting scenes from movies like E.T., Forrest Gump, and Gone With The Wind made for a fun backdrop. They took photos of the newlyweds in their new photography shop and at State Grounds. Then it was on to Hastings Country Club for the reception in the clubhouse.
Knowing Sean was somewhere inside made Michelle very nervous. She hoped they would get a chance to talk. If he wanted to talk to her, that is.
DeDe, the wedding coordinator and dear friend of Maggie’s, arranged the bridal party just inside the entrance. As they waited, Michelle glanced over at the guest book table, which was decorated with candles, old vintage cameras, and a scrapbook. Anna stood to the side with a Polaroid camera to take photos of the guests, which they could then adhere to a scrapbook page and write their names and a note to the newlyweds. It was perfect for a couple of photographers.
The bridal party was soon announced and took their seats at the head table in front of the big stone fireplace. There were candles and different sized vases of yellow and white flowers along its length. In the center of each guest table were more flowers and candles and engagement photos of Maggie and Simon.
Ron James made his way to their table and took the microphone. “Welcome, friends and family. We’re so happy you’re all here to celebrate Maggie and Simon’s special day with us.” He glanced over his shoulder at his daughter. “I’m so proud of this beautiful girl of mine right here. And I’m very happy to officially welcome Simon into our family.”
Simon gazed at his wife, whose smile beamed brightly.
Once Ron had prayed for the meal, the waitstaff went to work.
Michelle thought she saw Sean at a table on the far side of the room, but the lights were low, and there were too many guests in her line of sight.
She glanced over at Maggie and Simon, who were staring at each other. He leaned in and whispered something into her ear, then picked up his knife and started clinking it against the side of his glass. As the clinking of glasses filled the room, Maggie’s hand lifted to her mouth, hiding her laughter. Simon stood and tugged her up from her seat. The smile on his face was ridiculous. He took her in his arms and leaned toward her slowly, barely moving, teasing her. Maggie gave him a disapproving look, then grabbed him behind the neck and kissed him. He smiled against her lips, then kissed her lovingly.
Michelle and Sarah clapped and cheered along with the guests.
Tom let out a loud, “Woohoo! Get a room!”
After the speeches were given, the happy couple danced to the song “Everything” by Michael Bublé. They swayed together, smiling happily, then Simon spun Maggie around a few times, and it was clear they had practiced a little choreography. They laughed their way through it all. Toward the end of the song, he pulled her in close and sang several lines of the song to her. It was a wonderful moment to witness.
Once the guests were invited to the dance floor, Michelle walked to the table for a drink of water. When she turned around to join the bridal party, Sean stood before her. He was wearing a pale blue dress shirt and colorful striped tie, looking handsome as ever, and her heart skipped a beat.
“Hi.” He greeted her with a smile.
“Hi. I wondered if I’d see you today.” She tried to act nonchalant.
“You look beautiful.” Those eyes of his pierced through to her soul.
She smiled shyly and
glanced down at the floor.
He didn’t say anything else at first. He looked nervous. She wished she could read him, but that was the downside of spending so much of their relationship talking on the phone. She didn’t know all of his quirks and tells.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked.
Now she was the nervous one. Dancing meant being in his arms again, which was the only place she really wanted to be. Butterflies started flitting around in her stomach. “The song is half over,” she managed to say.
He held his hand out to her anyway, and she took it. He wound his fingers through hers and led her to the dance floor.
His hands rested on either side of her waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, which felt like the most natural thing in the world to do.
He stared into her eyes, and she was lost.
But he didn’t say anything. She wanted him to say something to let her know what he was thinking.
The song ended far too soon, and he lowered his arms. “I should probably get back to my date.”
“Oh, OK.” Her heart sank. She almost heard it shatter into a million pieces.
As she turned to walk away, his hand clasped her wrist.
She looked back at him.
He grinned. “It’s Ashley.”
A smile broke out on her face. “Oh.” She laughed nervously.
“Come say hello.” He let go of her wrist and took her hand again.
She followed cautiously, still unsure of where things stood between them and still hurt that he had walked away when she needed him the most.
Ashley jumped up from the table as soon as she saw Michelle and greeted her with a hug.
Michelle was so happy to see her. “How are you, Ashley?”
“I’m OK. How come you and Dad aren’t together any more?” She got straight to the point.
Sean cleared his throat nervously. “Ash.”
“Um.” Michelle didn’t know quite how to answer that. She changed the subject instead. “How’s Aaron? Is he winning all his soccer games?”
Until Then (Cornerstone Book 2) Page 26