Page 2 of Love Rescheduled

He would always live there, at least in my heart. There I would forever keep him.

I steeled myself for what I was about to say. “I’ll come to her next show.” Alec would be so proud of me. Maybe the life coach thing was working.

“Promise? Like a fairy tale promise where there are dire consequences for breaking your oath. We are talking, sleeping forever until some random guy finds you in the forest and falls madly in love with you and administers the kiss of all kisses.”

I laughed at her. She’d been making me swear those oaths since our friendship began back in our college days. It was the first time I truly felt like I had friends. I still wasn’t sure why Tara and Jolene claimed me as theirs. I was nothing like my outgoing and adventurous friends, but I would always be grateful that good fortune had smiled down on me.

“I swear a fairy tale promise. Though it doesn’t sound too bad to sleep forever, only to be woken up by the kiss of all kisses.” Oh, did I miss kissing.

“Are you kidding me? You would freak out if you woke up to some rando kissing you. You’d want to know his medical history and the last time he brushed and flossed.”

I pressed my lips together. She was absolutely right. “Fine, I will for sure be there lest some unhygienic creeper kisses me without my consent.”

“Now you sound like yourself. So, tell me about your dilemma.”

“Maybe dilemma is an exaggeration, but um … I was going over my yearly calendar and—”

“Of course you would be at this forsaken time in the morning,” she laughed.

She knew how bizarrely quirky I was, so her laughing didn’t bother me in the least. The fact that she and Jolene still loved me and my idiosyncrasies, after all these years, speaks to how amazing they are.

“I know, I’m a weirdo.”

“You’re our weirdo.” See, they’re amazing.

“So, I have a wedding on my calendar for September thirtieth, but I have no idea whose wedding it is. Do you?”

She thought for a moment. “Hmm. I can’t think of anyone we know getting married then. When did you type it in your calendar?”

Before clicking on the app to get the details, I put Tara on speaker. I should have thought about doing that first. Maybe it would have jarred my memory. I clicked on the entry. When the info popped up, I let out a little squeak as the painful reminders of that day hit me like a punch to the gut.

“Are you okay?” Tara asked.

“Uh … yeah. I remember whose wedding it is now.” My throat was slowly closing, making it feel as if I could hardly breathe.

“Don’t leave me hanging.”

“It’s not important. I’m going to delete it.”

“No. No. No. Who’s getting married?”

“No one.”

“Nat, don’t make me get mean. Remember, I’m on no sleep and you woke me up.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Fine. It’s … my wedding,” I said as softly as I could, mortified beyond belief.

“What?” she freaked out. “You’re getting married? How could you forget that?”

“I’m not getting married.”

“Who’s getting married?” I heard a groggy Jolene in the background.

“Our best friend,” Tara incorrectly filled her in.

“What? She didn’t even tell us she was dating anyone.”

“I’m not dating anyone.”

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