26. Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter 26
Mason’s feet hit the sidewalk like he was running with concrete blocks strapped to them; each stride was a heavy blow that he felt from his toes to his scalp.
The run wasn’t giving him any feel-good endorphins today. Or if it was, his crowded thoughts, filled with images of the patient they’d lost today, were squashing all sparks that would make him feel better.
“A job hazard,” Mason reminded himself, through clenched teeth. “You knew this when you got into nursing. Heck, you’ve known this since you were a little kid, and Dad told you his stories about being a doctor.”
The pavement continued to punish his body but he kept moving, hoping the sweat and the distance would ease his emotional pain.
Two miles later, he slowed at the edge of a city park. He made his way to the closest bench and sat with a thud.
Breathing deeply, he leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees, watching a line of ants marching between his feet.
He closed his eyes and replayed the last conversation he’d had with Franklin. The thirty-year-old man lamented that he’d put off asking his girlfriend to marry him until he made partner in his law firm. He’d thought by then he would have “made it” in his career and could work on creating the family he’d envisioned.
But a nasty car accident, then sepsis, had taken his life. He’d fought hard. He desperately wanted to live, for all the things he’d put off.
Mason couldn’t shake the feeling that God was sending him a direct message with this experience.
“I’m listening,” he said, though no one was nearby.
There are no guarantees any of us will get one more day, let alone a lifetime.
Leaning back on the park bench, he looked up and saw the Space Needle. He’d taken Linda there, and while they milled around in the observation deck, he’d had the fleeting thought that it would be a cool place to propose. They weren’t ready for that now. But someday…
Someday. There it is. That hopeful word.
Linda was the one for him. He’d known it since he was eleven. She was funny and kind and adventurous. Maybe not as adventurous as he, but she loved to try new games, watch new shows, try new things.
He smiled, thinking about her parasailing story. He’d never thought she’d do something as risky as that, but she had. And she loved it.
He loved her.
Ouch.
He needed to show her. He needed to be the man she wanted.
The minister said the prayer before the rehearsal dinner, getting a chuckle when he prayed for everyone, especially the groom, to show up to church on time the next day.
Once he said, “Amen,” Erin poked Linda in the ribs with her fingertip. “Mason might stop by after dinner.”
“Really?” Linda asked, filled with both excitement and trepidation.
“Yes, he wanted to see you before tomorrow.”
“Oh.”
Tomorrow. How was she going to tell Mason that she would have a date for Laurel’s wedding? She knew that Laurel had assigned Wyatt to the same table as Mason, much to Linda’s dismay. Laurel said it was the only logical place, though Linda thought Wyatt would do fine at the table with four sets of grandparents. But Laurel refused to have one table with nine people.
It was Laurel’s wedding; Linda could only push so far.
Wyatt and Mason would be at the “dates” table with the wedding-party dates, plus Linda’s boss, Grady, and his girlfriend, Nica. Linda would watch that table closely. She’d probably forget everything she’d planned for her speech; good thing she’d put it in a note on her phone.
A server put a Caesar salad in front of her, and Linda used the food as a distraction to avoid responding to Erin. She’d deal with Mason if he showed up.
Wyatt would be a fun date. He’d called her a few times during the week, asking innocuous questions—should he wear a tie, what were her parents like, would he mistake her for her twin. That made Linda laugh. “She’ll be in the big white dress. You won’t mistake us,” she promised.
After the rehearsal dinner, Laurel pulled her aside.
“I thought you were going to color your hair,” she said in a hushed voice, because their mother was five feet away.
Linda had doubled down on the color at her latest appointment. Her hair was now bright pink with purple tips. Laurel’s mouth had fallen open when Linda had walked into the church for rehearsal. Linda couldn’t help but laugh at her sister’s expression.
“I did!” Linda responded.
“I meant brown! You look like cotton candy!”
“I’ve been called worse.”
“The pictures! It will ruin the pictures.”
“Stop right there. Don’t have a hissy fit on the eve of your wedding. It’s fine. I have a tasteful, pretty wig for tomorrow. It’s a light brunette with soft highlights. I’ll look ‘respectful’.”
Laurel heaved an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. Does it look like real hair?”
“Yes. It wasn’t cheap! It will look fine. For tomorrow, we can pretend I’m a brunette. After the reception, I go back to my preferred hair color—pink!”
“Good.” Laurel hugged her. “Thank you. The pink and purple are quite striking. I wish I could pull it off.”
“We’re twins!” Linda shook her head. “Whatever I can pull off, you could pull off.”
“In looks, maybe. But I’m hoping to be promoted to principal soon. I couldn’t do it.”
The groom-to-be, Patrick, interrupted them. He was taking off and wanted to say good night to his bride.
Watching her sister and Patrick walk away together, his arm draped over her shoulders and Laurel looking up at him, her eyes filled with love, Linda felt a small weight lift from her shoulders. The weight that held a little jealousy that her sister was getting married when she didn’t even have a boyfriend. She was at peace and truly happy for her sister.
Someday, I’ll find that . Someone who makes me a better person, someone who takes me with all my faults and loves me, anyway.
If she could just get through the wedding. Get through seeing Mason and not being with him. She was determined not to let anything spoil her sister’s wedding day. She was going to be the best maid of honor she could be for her sister. And if that meant putting her own heart’s desires under lock and key, then so be it.