Anything's Possible

Weddings make me sad, I know it sounds stupid but they do. There's nothing worse than being single and unhappy on someone else's perfect day. Evidently, I'm not the only one who thinks it. I was surprised at how quickly John had rushed into this marriage. Of course, having known him since my teenage years, he wasn't exactly the type to let go of something good when he had it. Shy, reserved and somehow charismatic, John O'Callaghan found Renee a year and a half prior to the point where he was pronounced married.

And here I was, laying on the grass outside the hotel where the recpetion was being held, dressed in a fancy suit with someone else I'd known since my teenage years. "Hey Kennedy," she whispered, turning on her side. I glanced over at her, my hands tucked under my head as I leant back.

"Yeah Lexie?"

She deliberated for a moment, a slight frown etched on her pale face. I could see the shadows on her face in the golden light. "Weddings suck. I'm 21 and I think weddings suck."

"Don't worry, I'm the exact same except I'm 22." I joked, and she smiled at me. Lexie had been friends with my sister, still was. They'd met the first day of high school, she'd spend weekend upon weekend at my house and although we'd never been in the same classes or the same year, we'd developed a strong bond as best friends. "I reckon it's because we're single."

"Probably. It sounds stupid, but I kinda wish that was me up there, only not in such an ugly dress." I laughed at her nonchalant comment, so right off the bat, so casual. The dress had been horrendous, and the only person I could think of that would be so open about it would have been Lexie. While everyone had fawned over Renee at the reception, telling her how amazing she looked and how beautiful her dress had been, Lexie sat at a nearby table, laughing with Garrett about the sheer size of the skirt and how it was almost it's own planet. Garrett was a year younger than Lexie, but at the same time they seemed to be that kind of match where everyone assumed they'd eventually end up together. There was still time, I suppose. "And not marrying John, who by the way, was wearing a pink tie, was he not?"

"Yeah, I told John a pink tie would look ridiculous, but he did it anyway. Not doing that at my wedding, it's black or it's nothing," I muttered.

"You'd have a nude wedding?" Lexie was sitting up suddenly, clutching her stomach. She was laughing uncontrollably, even falling backwards and rolling back and forth from side to side. I laughed with her, replaying my comment in my head until I realised why she was laughing. It was nice having someone to laugh with. The last two months had been spent at countless suit fittings, having John vent about Renee's "crazy mother" or having Renee complain about how John couldn't figure out how to write his vows. God forbid they stick to the traditional version.

"I think," I managed to stutter out between laughter, "my mom would kill me."

"Mine too," Lexie replied, her bell-like laughter stretching around the courtyard. The grass contrasted against her black and white patterned dress, bright green against the neutral shades. "If I ever get down the aisle. Or far enough into a relationship with someone to get engaged."

Something in me changed then. I had no idea how tit happened, or what exactly happened in me either. "Marry me." I blurted, my eyes meeting hers. She looked puzzled for a moment, then her voice resounded, laced with thought.

"Marry you?" she asked incrediously.

"Yeah! I mean, not like now. But if you're thirty, and I'm thirty and we're single, we'll get married." I smiled at her, thinking how easily it could be to watch her walk down an aisle towards me. I didn't need to be in love to get married to Lexie, her friendship was enough to keep me around. She opened her mouth to speak, but then shook her head ever so slightly. The only way I noticed it was because her shadow moved. "No, what were you gonna say?"

"So you reckon neither of us will be in a relationship when we're thirty?" Lexie eyed me, as if I'd said the wrong thing. Worried I'd offended her, I hurried to correct my mistake. I wasn't even sure why. She knew I'd never think that about her.

"Hypothetically speaking."

"This sounds like something from a movie. You know, My Best Friend's Wedding?" Lexie rolled onto her stomach and I noticed small blades of grass stuck in her hair. I began to pick them out for her, one by one.

"Yeah I know, except I promise you I'm not gonna ruin your wedding if you beat me to it. I'd hope it would be the same for you," I leant back on my elbows and stared up at the sky. Stars littered the blue velvet sky like diamonds. "I'll even get you a ring so it looks legit."

Lexie laughed a little, smiling. She rolled onto her back, staring up at the same patch of sky I was. "Just because you're my best friend and I can demand it from you, I want a really good one that'll make everyone else cream themselves."

"You're really taking the romance out of the moment, Lex." I shook my head, smiling at her blunt choice of words. She playfully hit my arm, smirking.

"I wasn't aware this was a romantic moment, Kenny," she shrugged. I sighed, but instead of searching the sky, I was searching her face for any sort of emotion. I gave up trying to find any.

"You just got proposed to, of course it is! And you haven't answered me. Hypothetically speaking, if we're both single at thirty, how about you marry me?"

She looked at me this time, her eyes meeting mine in a confident stare. I knew that she knew it wasn't a bad idea, and that she could stand to be married to me. We practically were, we'd even slept together once. "Alright, but with one condition."

"What's that?" It would be something stupid, something ultimately cancelling the "last resort" engagement.

"Don't wait for me, and I won't wait for you. Just because we're doing this, doesn't mean we don't try our hardest with someone that we might meet." Lexie tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Sound reasonable?"

I thought it over, never having realised that it might have been a dilemma we might have faced later on when the deadline got closer. "Fair enough. Pinky swear on it." I held out my right pinky, which she interlaced with hers.

"Pinky swear," she laid back down next to me, both us us staring at the stars. The noise from inside the hotel's function room was almost deafening, even though we were a good half a mile from the venue. "I can't believe I just got engaged." I heard her mutter.

I smiled, hoping she wasn't looking at me. "Me either," I whispered. We both looked at each other at the same time, our smiles meeting and our laughs sounding at the same time. "We're not crazy to do this, are we?"

"Probably." Lexie replied, her hand slipping into mine. It had happened a million times before, but never as my, for lack of better word, fiancee. We were crazy to do it? Yes. Would I have it any other way? No. I looked back at her, her eyes closed and a smile spread across her lips. Married at thirty? Anything's possible now.