I smiled when I was told to smile, and I moved when I was told to move. But despite all of this, I knew that everyone else could tell that I was bored out of my mind, that I would have preferred to be anywhere other than here. I resisted the urge to run my hand through my hair, since it had taken me quite some time to get it to look the way that it did this morning—either that, or I was merely trying to waste time.
"I think that that should be more than enough photos for now. We'll take more before the reception, when the bride and the bridesmaids are present. You're all welcome to go and get some refreshments."
After the photographer had made his announcement, he started to pick away his equipment. I had to admit that I was rather relieved to find that we were done. My eyes caught sight of my father and Mr. Harrison, standing quite some distance away from us. All of the pictures that had been needed with them had been taken first, since my father had made it clear that he had some business to discuss with Mr. Harrison. I assumed that that was what they had been doing now.
When they noticed that I was approaching them, they stopped their conversation, in a rather obvious manner and turned to look at me. I felt a frown pluck at my forehead, but I did my best to keep it from showing as I pushed my hands into the pockets of my slacks once I found myself standing beside them. If there had ever been something to be suspicious of, it was these two. I was beyond the point of suspicious.
"By the sounds of it, it seems like the Bridal Party has had somewhat of a mishap, but luckily, it's not a disastrous one. Mrs. Harrison seems to have broken her shoe and dirtied her dress. But instead of being dramatic about it, it seems like they managed to get quite a few group photos out of the fiasco."
My father sounded like quite the commentator while he spoke, and I kept my eyes focused on Mr. Harrison, watching as he shook his head, the corners of his mouth tilting upwards in amusement. I was easily able to pick up on the fact that he held a deep appreciation for his wife, despite the fact that she always came across as cold and unfeeling, like she was a literal Ice Queen.
"Unfortunately, my wife wasn't able to take any pictures with Rebecca, looking like she crawled out of a mud puddle. I believe that she's left to go home and tidy herself up while the rest of the pictures are being taken."
Once again, Mr. Harrison was shaking his head in what I assumed to be loving amusement. I felt myself beginning to frown, wondering—and not for the first time—why a multimillionaire was allowing his daughter to get married to a man who she believes that she's never even met before.
"Has she showed any signs of cold feet?"
The question was out before I could stop it, but I didn't allow myself to feel ashamed about it because I wanted to know more about her, to know more about my future wife. The tabloids hadn't even given me so much as a sliver of information about her, despite the fact that her parents were influential business figures. The only thing that had been mentioned, had been the fact that she seemed to be following in the footsteps of her mother, and that she had become labelled as the Ice Princess. Whenever she had been seen in public, she hadn't portrayed any emotion—no laughing, no smiling, no crying, literally nothing. She seemed impassive to the reality of the world around her, and I hoped that it was something that wasn't accurate, because I didn't believe it to be something that I would be able to deal with.
"Ah, well, Rebecca's—excuse me, I meant to say Becca. She absolutely hates it when we use her full name. She claims that it makes her seem a lot older than she is—that it makes her sound old."
He let out a laugh that came all the way from his stomach while shaking his head, and I came to the realisation that it was a habit of his. The fact that he had taken the time to correct himself even though Rebecca wasn't here, told me that he respected her wishes as an individual, or at least that was what he was trying to portray. He did a good job of painting the picture of a caring and involved father, but Mrs. Harrison had been the one involved in this decision. He had been nothing more than a silent partner, listening and watching and saying nothing.
"She is a very unique person. She probably has the biggest heart in the world. But that's beside the point. My wife and I took the time to have a long discussion with her last night to make sure that she didn't have any reservations about this situation that she simply wasn't bringing up."
I didn't miss the way that his expression chanced when he spoke, the way that his eyebrows pulled downwards for a fraction of a second before he started to smile again. I knew that no matter what he said or tried to convince me of, Rebecca had been far from happy with the situation that they had put her in. I was hoping that he would have the guts to be honest with me and tell me the truth about what was happening.
"Well, she had some reservations, as any woman does the night before her wedding. Some questions. But we managed to work through those obstacles and convince her to see sense."
I simply nodded in acknowledgment before I turned around and saw that Henry was standing a short distance away from us, looking like he didn't know what to do to entertain himself. I turned back to my father and Mr. Harrison with a polite, yet forced smile stuck onto my face.
"Please excuse me. My best man looks like he's scared that the ground is going to swallow him whole."
I wasted no time in turning around and making my way to Henry. He flashed me his signature smirk and started to walk further and further away from my father and my future father-in-law. Henry was walking with his hands in his pockets—something that he had always done. This was a rescue mission, it I had ever seen one.
"Now, tell me, what was all of that about? I can tell when you're annoyed, and that right there? Was one of those occasions."
Henry and I had been Neighbours since we had been children. Naturally, due to the relationship of our parents, we had become friends. And here, decades later, they were still friends with one another and joke that sometime in the future, our two families were going to unite in some way. Over my dead body.
"It has come to my attention that Mr. and Mrs. Harrison hadn't been very honest with me when they told me that their daughter would have no problem with an arranged marriage such as this one. I was just informed of the fact that she had some very vocal reservations last night, but that they managed to 'make her see sense.'"
I knew that Henry would be able to pick up on the sarcasm and it was then that we started walking along the cobblestone path ahead of us. I couldn't help myself from shaking my head, reality starting to set in. I was getting married to Rebecca Harrison in a few hours. It was an odd thought to come to terms with.
"From what I remember, Rebecca had been a sensible person, hadn't she? The shy one with the glasses? Am I thinking of the right girl?"
I leaned back against the railing of the bridge that we were standing on. Henry was leaning against the opposite side of the bridge, turned to me with a smirk that I would have been able to recognise Like the back of my hand.
"I must tell you that I fine this whole situation quite amusing. I remember the way that you had always been so taken with her—no matter who your flavour of the month was. I still don't understand why you never took the plunge and made your move on her."
Henry just shook his head, and I found myself thinking back to our high school years. Henry and I hadn't exactly had the best reputations—with girls or grades. The fact that he was the one who managed to get married to Danny is still a shock that I struggled with, but she made him happy and she grounded him, and I was in no position to question any of it. Rebecca had been the girl who everyone had known about, yet, no one would have found themselves caught dead with her. She was cold and impassive, and if her parents had told me anything, that hadn't changed. She had always mixed with the dorks who were in the glee club and in the art program, those kinds of kids.
"What can I say? She was the smart one. I wasn't."
I made sure to keep my tone of voice factual as I allowed the imagine of her to drift into my subconscious. My memory of her reminded me of her long her, with the wild curls that she had always worn in an incredibly messy bun. She had always had her books scattered about in front of her as if they were what she lived and breathed. I wondered if any of that had changed.
"Daddy!"
Henry and I turned in unison and watched as his three year old son came running towards his, his legs a lot sturdier than they used to be. I watched as a smile broke out on Henry's face. He looked more than happy to see him.
"Hey, Champ. Where's your mother?"
Henry bent down and picked up his son, to which I smiled at in amusement, for trying to catch up to Bobby, was no one other than Danny. Her heels were dangling in her hands, which told me that she had been chasing him for quite a while. She glared me and flicked me off, to which Henry responded with a laugh. She must have thought that I was busy laughing at her.
"By the way, she still hasn't forgiven you for making those pregnancy jokes. I'm sure she thinks it's too early to give Bobby a little brother or sister. Am I right, or am I right?"
The question was directed at Bobby, of all people. He was shaking his head from side to side as soon as his mother was nearby. Danny—short for Danielle—was almost as short as her nickname. The blonde hair that framed her face had never been allowed to grow past her shoulders in all the time that I had known her.
"I want a-a-a bwothe."
I couldn't stop myself from smiling, the tugging at the corners of my lips being something that I found practically impossible to ignore. Danny was instantly frowning up at her son, and Henry looked like he was in his element, clearly satisfied with what Bobby had said. Bobby, on the other hand, seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he had just taken his fathers side.
"I swear to god, it's like he's becoming more and more like you everyday! He's going to drive me up the walls before it's my time."
Danny seemed to be complaining rather dramatically, leaning against the railing next to Henry. Despite her words, the love and admiration shining through her eyes as she looked at her husband and son, was something that I had never been lucky enough to experience. The sight caused my stomach to churn.
"You still love him."
Henry sounded certain of his statement, and I could do no more than watch as Danny rolled her eyes at him. Despite this, she seemed quite happy to be having this interaction with Henry. I had to admit that there was a dash of jealousy floating around inside of my chest.
Because I knew that Rebecca wouldn't be looking at me like that.
"Luckily for you, I love one of you."
I envied the innocence between their relationship, but I made sure that it didn't show, forcing myself to seem amused as Henry glared at her while she smiled at him. Moments later she kissed him on the cheek and took Bobby out of his arms.
"I'll see the two of you at the chapel."
And just like that, she left, walking back the way that we had come. I sighed wistfully, leaning over the railing to look into the water. Henry understood that this was a heavy moment for me, that all of this felt overwhelming. I appreciated the support that he was giving me, and in that moment, I valued our friendship more than I ever had.
"If you want me to be honest, I'll admit that there was a time when I really thought that I would have the guts to make a move on her. Remember when we just won the basketball finals? She was sitting on the bleachers."
"I remember that day. I remember thinking that you were disappointed, just staring into the crowd. You definitely didn't look like you were appreciating the win, but I guess that you're going to tell me that you were staring at her?"
I felt the temptation to give in and run my hand through my hair, but I knew that that wouldn't do anything for my appearance. I was on the verge of not caring about it, for my mind had taken me to a different time, a different place. One that felt like it had been yesterday.
"This might sound stupid to you, but there was just something about her that was different. It was like the moment that I laid my eyes on her, there was this click… Don't get me wrong, it's not love at first sight. I don't believe in that shit. But I do believe in that click."