- 7.
The salty sea breeze stung my face. Emily’s
laughter drifted from upstairs. I looked up.
David was drying her hair, his movements
careful, tender. So familiar. Emily leaned into
him, content. And me? I was a spectator.
Her laughter rooted me to the spot.
What if I told him? David was a man of honor.
What would he do?
I didn’t want his pity. I wanted his love.
By the time I calmed down and returned to my
room, it was past midnight. Lisa was still
awake.
“David figured it out himself. He might not
remember, but he hasn’t forgotten his old
tricks.”
<
“I know.”
David was too smart to miss Reynolds‘ clumsy
attempts to get close to him.
“His parents… Did Reynolds tell him?”
A silence hung in the air. “He said it was a car
accident.”
I nodded. At least it was a bearable lie.
“David said he’ll come back to Willow Creek
with us after the wedding.”
After a long pause, I spoke. “He’s starting a
new life. He should take his wife to meet his…
parents. He should.”
“Did David ask about you?”
I remembered him waiting for me outside.
<
12:40
100
“He did. I didn’t tell him anything. Don’t worry.”
“Nina, you know that’s not what we meant.”
I pressed a hand to my aching stomach. “But it’s what I meant.”
From eighteen to twenty–eight, a whole decade, David had been a part of me. He was woven
into my most precious memories. Now, tearing him away felt like ripping myself apart.
My third night there, insomnia returned. I lay awake until dawn. Two days until their wedding. Emily’s voice echoed through the courtyard,
making arrangements.
“Right here, I want a flower arch. Red roses.
How long should the aisle runner be? How big
should the backdrop be? David, if we don’t
have a photo display, you’re dead!”
I buried my head under the pillow, but her voice
<
cut through.
100
We’d planned our wedding too. White jasmine lined the aisle. David had made my bouquet himself, orange freesias, their sweet fragrance lingering in the air. Orange ribbons adorned the guest chairs. We’d revised the menu four times. We’d chosen the wedding favors together, our cartoon likenesses printed on the boxes.
He’d held my hand as we walked down the aisle during the rehearsal, his warm hand trembling.
He was so nervous.
Everything had been perfect. Until the mission
came up that night. He never got to put the ring
on my finger. He never saw me in the wedding
dress I’d embroidered with his name.
He’d apologized profusely, promising to be
back in a week. Just one week, and he’d come
back and marry me. I waited. And waited. For
five years. Until I learned he was marrying
12:40
<
someone else.
When I finally went downstairs, the courtyard
was buzzing with activity. Emily rushed over. “Nina, I need a small favor.”
I never imagined the favor would be for her
wedding.
