“Thanks for being with her,” he murmurs. I nod into the embrace. I pull away first, giving them and Megan a wave before heading back to the reception area.
I spot Josie and Fallon trying to get the flower arch set back up. Fallon is standing back a bit, while Josie is on a stool, rearranging the flowers. I glance over to the bar, and note that Laila and Nora seem to have things well under control, so they should be alright for a few minutes.
“Jason,” Josie calls, pulling my attention back to her. “You’re tall.”
“Um, yes?” I respond, frowning and stepping up to the arch.
“Can you lift this piece so I can pin it down?”
I nod in agreement, and she shows me which vine to grab, and where to place it. She pins it delicately, but while also making sure it’s stable. She leans back, taking a glance at a new angle. “Perfect,” she mutters to herself. “Kenzy usually helps me, but she’s gone already, and I didn’t trust Fallon to be on a stool in her heels.”
I glance back toward Fallon, and give an agreeing nod. She’s still in her tall heels, and I’m grateful I was here whenI was. Wouldn’t want her to fall and hurt herself. I offer Josie a hand, and she steps down off her little stool, shoving her clippers and wire into a little utility belt I didn’t notice before.
“Thanks,” Josie says. “I’ll probably head out here shortly, so if I don’t see you, I’ll see you at brunch tomorrow?”
“Yep.” Every Sunday since I was a kid, my mom hosts Sunday Brunch. Our family, and our neighbors, Marley’s parents, will come over and have brunch with us. We’ve always been close with Marley’s family, and even spend most holidays together. As our families have slowly started to grow, so have brunches. Josie is now in attendance every Sunday with Andrew, and every so often, her parents will make the trek down too.
Soon, Marley and Beau’s twins will join in when they’re born, and I’m sure Thomas will find a girl soon, and she’ll become part of the family.
It makes me happy that my family is starting to grow, and even happier that Lennie will have some cousins to play with soon. Even though she’ll be five years older than them, I know she will still love to have them around. She’s been the only kid for so long.
Josie and I say goodbye, and she runs off to Fallon, giving her a quick and brief hug. I stand by the arch still, watching the wedding take place. Everyone is still mingling, slowly finding their seats as the cocktail hour winds down.Once we get through dinner, I’ll make my way to my parents’ house and pick up Lennie. I promised her we’d have aBarbiemovie night tonight, and while I’m not looking forward to the movies, I’m always excited to spend time with my daughter.
A tap on my shoulder startles me. Fallon is standingright by me, taller in her heels, so her chin is at the same height as my shoulder. “Don’t you love weddings?” she asks, a lovestruck look in her eyes.
I can’t help the grumble that builds in my chest, narrowing my eyes as I look at her. “Not exactly.”
“Why?” she questions, her voice light and genuinely curious.
“Too many people, everyone is drunk and annoying.” What I don’t say is that it can be hard to see people getting the happy endings I thought I might have gotten with someone.
“That’s fair. For me, It’s the huge display of love. I love that everyone is there to celebrate two people, and it’s such a combination of worlds. I mean, they have people here from all walks of their lives. Work friends, family, school, an obscure cousin you haven’t seen in ten years, but no matter what, everyone is here to support them.”
I really look at her as she takes in the crowded room around us. She really is beautiful, and so optimistic. I’ve learned the bare minimum about what she’s been up to in the last ten-plus years, only that she was married, and now she’s not. Maybe someday I’ll get to know her better, but for now, I think I should keep my distance, keep her as a friend, or someone from my past.
“Even after…” I trail off, stopping myself before I say anything more. “Never mind.”
“You can say it,” Fallon says, glancing up at me with those deep green eyes. “Even after my divorce?”
I grimace. This is the most she’s talked to me in months outside of the short conversations we have while our girls have their playdates. I do my best to keep my distance. She’s too easy to talk to. It would be so easy to fall back into the old cycle, confiding in her for everything and thenhaving my heart ripped out and shredded in the end. I’m a dick, because she tries to start conversations, but I shut down. I don’t engage.
She shrugs, dropping my gaze and glancing around the room again. “Even after my divorce, yeah. I still love weddings. My wedding day was a shit show if I’m being honest. I should have taken everything that went wrong as a sign maybe. The wedding planner quit the day before the wedding, my florist was in a car accident on the way to the venue, and my veil ripped. I took it in stride though. I find that doing what I do now, it helps me come full circle. I had a shitty wedding day, and well, to be honest, a shitty marriage,” she says with a scoff. “But that doesn’t mean I lost hope on love. I want these couples to have the best day, and if I can help them, then I will.”
“I get that,” I reply. Talia and I never married, so I never had that feeling of overwhelming love from all sides, but… hearing her describe it, I get it, and why she does what she does. I force myself to keep the conversation going. “Will you ever get married again?”
She shrugs. “If it’s the right person. My marriage to Brad changed me. I’m still figuring out who I am outside of that marriage. I’m not going to force it though. I’m happy, me and Pres. We are doing our best to make a good life for ourselves, and honestly, the thought of going through what I did again…” Fallon shudders. “Right now, I’m happy.”
“You deserve to be happy,” I tell her honestly. The drop of the name of her ex-husband has me reeling. Did she really marry the guy she left with that day in the library? The one that barely let her get two words out? If it’s the same guy, I’m glad she got out of the marriage, even if it hurt her. She’s better off without him.
“Are you happy?” sheasks me.
I think to myself for a long moment. I’m happy to be a dad, happy I have my daughter, but am I really, truly,happy? Before I can answer, someone calls Fallon’s name. She stands straighter, looking around to find the person. “I gotta go,” she says, waving to me, before running off to fend off another drunk cousin, fix a ripped veil, or who knows.
8
FALLON
Imentally slap myself as I run away from Jason. God, word vomit much? I was spewing how much I love love, like a freaking Valentine’s Day Hallmark movie. Meanwhile, he’s standing there next to me, the epitome of uninterest, probably thinking how absurd I am. We have barely talked since. Most of the time during playdates, he’s focused on watching Lennie, or gives me one word answers. Our conversations are short and to the point nowadays. I want to break down the walls he’s put up, but I doubt I’ll be able to.
