The Little Skinny Greek Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
THE LITTLE SKINNY GREEK WEDDING REHEARSAL DINNER
CAM
I hadn’t slept in two nights. The day of the rehearsal dinner was here. I practiced the speech I would say to Rachel one more time as I got dressed that afternoon. My heart bounced around in my chest, and although I knew exactly what I wanted to say, I wasn’t sure how Rachel would react. What if she had found someone? I guess I was a little surprised she had stuck to her rule since she hadn’t done so well with the last set of rules we’d created.
The past few months had been a gift, allowing me to process the events with Britt and also spend quality time with Roman and my mother. I even sat down for lunch with my father, and we made some strides in fixing our damaged relationship. And yet, I still obsessively checked my phone to see if Rachel had called or texted.
She hadn’t.
I arrived at the rehearsal spot early where Laura and Foster were waiting. “It’s here, man. It’s finally here,” I said, pulling Foster in for a pat on the back.
“I know,” Foster said, adjusting his glasses. “Can’t believe this lady wants to marry me.” He grinned and reached for Laura’s hand.
“Who wouldn’t want to marry you?” Laura said, smiling. “Need to get you officially off the market, Foss.”
I squeezed Laura tight. “Are either of you nervous?”
Foster shrugged.
Laura shook her head. “The only thing I’m nervous about is my Uncle Nick taking his shirt off and swinging it around in the air like he did at my cousin’s wedding. He’s going to need constant supervision.”
The sun warmed us while we waited on the lawn, but it never got too hot as a cool breeze wove its way around us. Each member of the wedding party started to arrive, along with Laura’s and Foster’s parents, but as we reached the scheduled time to start, one person was missing.
Rachel Kicklighter.
“Where’s Rachel?” I asked Laura and Emily, who were both staring at their phones.
“She just texted us. Problem at the store. She’ll try to make it to practice, if not she’ll see us at dinner.”
“Oh no,” I said.
Emily shrugged. “She’ll be fine. She’s had a lot of practice walking down the aisle. Just pretend she’s walking with you.” Laura patted me on the back, and everyone took their places as the wedding planner and the priest gave instructions.
I felt a giddy tug inside me. Screw the new rules . As I texted Rachel, a prickly feeling rose through my insides. I suspected that her absence had nothing to do with a problem at the store.
Hey, hoping everything is okay. Miss you. Are you going to make it to the rehearsal?
She didn’t respond, and she didn’t show for the rehearsal either. I tried to stay light and happy as our practice marches ended, and we made our way into a private room of the restaurant for the dinner. Our appetizers had just been delivered when I smelled her floral perfume.
Rachel breezed in, not meeting my eyes until she saw the only seat at the table was next to me. Every feeling, every spark of electricity that I felt when I was around her, careened through me.
“Hey,” I said, putting my arm around the back of her chair when she sat down.
“Oh, hello.” Her voice sounded brittle, and she still didn’t meet my eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered to her.
She gulped her water. “Nope, nothing. I’m fine. This is fine.”
A series of toasts and general chatter at the table interrupted us, and although we were sitting close together, I felt like she was miles away. I tried to engage in the upbeat mood that filled the room, but my head was spinning. As Foster’s dad paid the bill, I got caught up in conversation with Matt, who was sitting on my other side. Suddenly, Rachel stood from her seat and said her goodbyes for the night. Without a word to me, she left.
I couldn’t follow her fast enough.
“Rachel,” I said, running after her. “What’s wrong? Is it …” I didn’t want to do it, but she wouldn’t slow down. I tugged on her arm to make her stop. “There’s someone else, isn’t there? You met someone during our time apart?”
Her mouth dropped open and her brow knit. “Me?” She pushed her hand into her chest. “Me? Have I found someone else? You’re unbelievable.”
She turned away, but I caught her arm again.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
She bit her quivering lip and glanced up at me with angry, misty eyes. “What’s going on is that I know you didn’t choose me. It was too much to wait for me, okay. Message received! So, let’s get through this weekend so I can get on with never seeing you.”
My jaw tightened. I had no idea what she was talking about. She pushed away from me and cut through the restaurant on the way to the lobby. I had to stop her. I had to make her listen, so I did the only thing I could think of in that moment.
“Rachel Renee Kicklighter, you stop right there!”
Rachel froze and a hush fell across the restaurant patrons, who all turned to me in unison. She spun around, her eyes wide.
I rubbed my stubbled chin and ran my hand through my hair. “Now, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but I did choose you. I do choose you because I’m in love with you, dammit!”
Rachel’s mouth fell open.
“And if I have to count the ways I love you in front of all these people, then I’m going to do that too.”
“Cam …” Rachel whispered.
“I love that you have socks that match your llama pajamas. I love that you blurt out whatever you’re thinking whenever you’re thinking it. I love that your perfume lingers in my car even after you’re gone, and I especially love that when you kiss me it feels like I’m having an out-of-body experience every fucking time.”
A woman sitting at a nearby table gasped as I crept closer to Rachel, who stood staring at me with her chest heaving.
“The past few months gave me time to sort out my shit, and that was good, but they were the hardest of my life,” I continued. “Harder than when my brother blew up my wedding by stealing away my bride-to-be. I thought that was the greatest pain that I’d ever feel, but I was wrong. The greatest pain is being away from you, because while you started as my plus one, you turned out to be my everything.”
“But I saw you!” she shouted. “I saw you with that blonde at Olive & Ivy. I was there, in line, to get a slice of butter cake, and I looked over and you were hugging this stunning woman who giggled in your ear like I do. Not only did that sight rob me of the joy I was meant to feel from seeing you today, but it also robbed me of my piece of cake!”
OMG. She saw me there with … no wonder.
All I could do was smile. “What you saw …” I glanced around, not wanting to discuss this in front of the dozens of people whose eyes were glued to us, but every time I took a step toward Rachel, she took two steps back. “… was a friend that I have known since the first grade tell me that after years of in vitro, she was finally pregnant. It was such an emotional moment. She had gone through so much pain in order to conceive. What you didn’t see was her husband, who was in the restroom. They surprised me and were only in town for the night. If it makes you feel better, he hugged me the same way and giggled in my ear too. I’ll show you who they are on Facebook, if you want. Maybe when we’re not standing in front of all these people?”
Something I assumed to be relief washed over her face as she processed what I said. “So there’s no one else?”
“Rachel, there’s no one but you. No one in my thoughts, no one I want in my bed, no one I want to see in pajamas with flamboyant animals on them. It’s you. You are … the only star in my sky.” I ran my hands down the sides of her arms. “I love you and I’m sorry you had to wait so long to hear me say it.”