Unspoken

The rehearsal at the church was chaotic with conflicting instructions from the wedding planner and priest for how the attendants should enter and where they should stand. To further complicate issues, our numbers were lopsided--we were short one groomsman. Behind the chaos there was a quiet whisper--the bride's brother isn't going to make it.

L was one of my college roommates. A friend of a friend to fill the extra spot in our suite my sophomore year, she had quickly become one of my best friends--someone to laugh with, to shop with, and to plan crazy stunts with. Her brother enlisted in the Navy while we were living together and I was there to share souvenirs when she came back to school from visiting him. As her wedding approached, he was still on a ship in an unspecified location.

The morning of L's wedding dawned cool and clear. After getting all dolled up, the bridesmaids were trying to pass the time at the bride's parents' house without mussing our hair or carefully applied makeup. There was a phone call as we started eating lunch and the level of tension in the house rose--L's brother was in the US. After a sleepless night spent in a helicopter, he was one quick plane ride away. Common sense said he wouldn't make it in time for his sister's ceremony, but suddenly there was a reason for seeds of optimism.

Soon our time arrived; we dressed and then helped the bride dress. The photographer arrived and we posed like supermodels. During this time, the phone kept ringing--hurried conversations indicated her brother's plane had touched down. Then there was the call trying to locate his ride and one to confirm directions. As the photographer moved on and began taking family pictures, we waited in a clump on the stairs and readied ourselves to leave for the church. There were excited murmurs and L's mother came running through the entry in her mother-of-the-bride dress and heels to clasp her son standing in the doorway. Next came his grandmother and aunt to rush to greet him. Everyone was sniffling and I had to turn away to keep from ruining my makeup.

When I turned my head back, he had stepped into the living room and was clasping hands with his sister. The light from the windows behind them was muted by sheer drapes and there was almost a halo surrounding them, her in her lace dress and veil and him in his Navy whites. Their heads leaned together, I had to blink back tears watching this unspoken moment of love between sister and brother.

Those opportunities don't come along every day

We arrived back at the hotel from the amazing rehearsal dinner about 11pm, the night before BLB's wedding. LS, my sorority sister, roommate and fellow bridesmaid, and I knew we had to be ready to leave the hotel--all bridesmaid accessories in hand--at 7am so we got ready for the next day and then hurried to bed. We had only been in bed for a few minutes when the phone rang.

"Hello," I said--who could be calling our hotel room? Even my mom didn't have that number.
"Hey--is LS there?"
"Yes, but she's sleeping."
"Oh, is this Angie?"
"Yeah."
"This is Owen, the best man. We're downstairs in the bar--come join us."
"Who's us?" I asked.
"The groomsmen. We're playing bocce ball. Come down and join us."
"Look, we're in bed and we have to be up early in the morning. BLB would kill us. We're not coming down."
"Come on--it'll be fun. I'm a fun guy."
"Here--talk to LS."
LS had sat up after I turned on the lamp and was looking curiously at me. After taking out her earplugs, she had been following my side of the conversation and wondered what plans I was turning down. LS could be fierce when she wanted to, so I knew she would tell Owen off. I handed her the phone and she mostly listened--after just a minute or so, she said, "Ok, we'll be down in a few."
"What?" I said. "We're in our pajamas and we have to be up early in the morning."
"Yeah," she replied, "but we're not in college anymore. These opportunities down just come along everyday."
A few minutes later I was downstairs--drinking beer from the groomsmen's glasses, contributing to the noise that got us kicked off the outdoor bocce ball court, dancing with the groom's uncle and warmly laughing at the groom's drunk declarations of love for his absent bride.

LS was right--those opportunities don't come along everyday.

T-17: Big girl bed

Talking to my friend BLB while I was shopping for furniture for my apartment.

A: So I don’t know what kind of bed to get. I’m thinking about a queen because I want something I can have for a while.
BLB: Boys like big beds.