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Waiting
I stared at Scott as he watched his sister slow dance with her fiancé. “She really did hit the jackpot, huh?”
I nodded with a trace of a smile resting on my lips, more amused at the sound of his voice than the words themselves. “Yeah, she really did. I can’t believe she’s finally settling down!” I laughed and Scott joined me, incredulous at hearing something he never thought he would about his sister.
Breath by breath the laughter died and the silence returned. Margie had her hands and head resting on Matthew’s chest. With eyes closed, they swayed from side to side to a slow song and when Katie Queen of Tennessee came on, they hurriedly lifted their gaze to meet each other’s and a smile contaminated their faces. Soon, they were showcasing the worst dancing moves in the history of horrible dance moves—but they didn’t care.
The fact that the chef had messed up the dessert options during the rehearsal dinner and that his parents were appalled by the length of Margie’s maroon dress seemed to slip out of their minds. It didn’t matter if uncle Ben kept on complaining or if Matthew’s elderly relatives were falling asleep since the clocks struck such an ungodly hour for them. None of it mattered.
All that was worthy of their attention at that moment was each other’s presence and the smiles and little comments in between the lyrics of one of their favorite songs. We kept observing their every move, knowing that love was meant to look exactly like that.
“I’m going to get another drink. You’re good?” he asked to be polite, already picking up my glass because he knew I never drank more than two glasses of whatever alcoholic drink everybody seemed to be drinking.
With my nod of approval, he stepped inside and out of the balcony. I watched him go as he chased down a waiter to order his next round of drinks. I wanted to look away, afraid other people would catch me staring at the bride’s brother for a second too long, but I couldn’t make myself do it.
The buzz from my purse startled me. I reached my hand into it, picked up my phone and slid a finger across the screen. “Hello?”
“Hi dear, how are you doing?”
“I’m doing well, Mom. How about yourself?”
“A little bit confused with this text message of yours! What time exactly should I pick Bailey up?”
I smiled to myself, “My flight’s at nine o’clock. I’ll save you some trouble and drop off Bailey myself.”
“Oh, honey, are you sure? It’s really no trouble at all. Besides, you ought to be at the airport much earlier than that. When are you flying back?”
“Monday evening. It’ll be a long weekend,” I nervously chuckled.
“Oh, wow. But the wedding’s only on Sunday? Why such a long weekend?”
“Margie decided to take the entire weekend so everyone can settle in without a rush and mingle nicely.”
“And how’s Scott doing? Is he going to be your seat buddy on the plane?”
“Mom!” I scolded at her, much like an adolescent, with a smile of disbelief. Who knew mothers continued to do this sort of thing even when you were 24? “We’ve talked about this. I’m moving on.”
“I know, I know. Well, it’s just such a pity, dear. You never know where the weekend might lead you.”
“Probably just further away from him.” I bit the inside of my cheek, not wanting to think about the matter. “I’m just tired of waiting, Mom. I feel like that’s what I’ve been doing my whole goddamn life. Waiting. Meanwhile, people like Margie and Scott get somewhere because they just go for things.”
“Then just go for those things, sweetheart!”
“If only it were that simple.”
“It really is. If you feel like doing something, go right ahead and do it. Don’t wait for anything else, not even a second, Georgie.”
“I don’t know. It’s easier to keep out of things.”
“All for what? To watch things as they happen to others? Dear, your father and I raised you to be better than this. You’re wasting so much potential!”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll sleep on it. I’ll see you just now, OK? When the night’s over I’ll go by with Bailey. Do you want anything to eat?”
“Oh, no thank you! I’ve just had soup. Alright, alright. See you soon. Keep safe, love you!”
“Love you too.”
I walked off towards the dance floor to steal Margie from her groom for a second. “Hey!” I caught her attention with a shout, “I’m heading off, I’ve got to pit stop at my mom’s house. Do you need anything for tomorrow?”
More tipsy than anticipated, she shook her head ‘no’ and planted a kiss on my cheek. “All I need is for you to show up!”
I laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure both Matthew and I show up.” She threw her head back in laughter and went back to dancing.
After I made my way downstairs and out into the fresh air, my vision was filled with the sight of a woman pressed against the far brick wall, her face hidden by a handsome face. As he stopped whispering sweet nothings into her ear, my heart froze for a couple of seconds.
Scott had one of his hands around her slim waist whilst the other held her neck. He was ready to lean in for a kiss when she caught eyes with me, and soon his gaze followed hers. Like a deer caught in the headlights, I tried to pretend I hadn’t been staring for a while.
“Uhm,” I whispered in a quiver, trying to keep the knot in my throat down.
He rapidly stepped back from the woman in the silk dress, which would’ve appalled Matthew’s parents way more than Margie’s dress did. “Hey, Georgie.” He murmured something to the girl and walked over to where I was standing.
I pushed a strand of hair out of my face with a wide-eyed gaze, feeling too upset to make any other movement without starting to cry. “I—uh, sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to know about the flight, uh—”
“9 A.M, right?”
I felt like the stupidest person for asking something as obvious as that. “Right. Yeah, do you happen to know who you’re sitting next to? I just want to know in case I need to stay awake all night so I can sleep during the flight and avoid four hours next to someone chatty.”
He killed the uncomfortable air by laughing and I joined him. “You’re in luck then ‘cause it ain’t me!” He laughed even more and I faintly smiled, bummed out by the news.
“Aren’t I lucky?” I bantered with a smirk, swallowing the knot down. “Who are you sitting with then?”
He furrowed his brows as he searched his mind for the answer. “Jared, one of the groomsmen. Margie sent out an e-mail with the seating arrangements for the flights and dinners. She might be wild but she sure is an organised freak,” he chuckled.
“Who am I sitting with then?”
I nodded with a trace of a smile resting on my lips, more amused at the sound of his voice than the words themselves. “Yeah, she really did. I can’t believe she’s finally settling down!” I laughed and Scott joined me, incredulous at hearing something he never thought he would about his sister.
Breath by breath the laughter died and the silence returned. Margie had her hands and head resting on Matthew’s chest. With eyes closed, they swayed from side to side to a slow song and when Katie Queen of Tennessee came on, they hurriedly lifted their gaze to meet each other’s and a smile contaminated their faces. Soon, they were showcasing the worst dancing moves in the history of horrible dance moves—but they didn’t care.
The fact that the chef had messed up the dessert options during the rehearsal dinner and that his parents were appalled by the length of Margie’s maroon dress seemed to slip out of their minds. It didn’t matter if uncle Ben kept on complaining or if Matthew’s elderly relatives were falling asleep since the clocks struck such an ungodly hour for them. None of it mattered.
All that was worthy of their attention at that moment was each other’s presence and the smiles and little comments in between the lyrics of one of their favorite songs. We kept observing their every move, knowing that love was meant to look exactly like that.
“I’m going to get another drink. You’re good?” he asked to be polite, already picking up my glass because he knew I never drank more than two glasses of whatever alcoholic drink everybody seemed to be drinking.
With my nod of approval, he stepped inside and out of the balcony. I watched him go as he chased down a waiter to order his next round of drinks. I wanted to look away, afraid other people would catch me staring at the bride’s brother for a second too long, but I couldn’t make myself do it.
The buzz from my purse startled me. I reached my hand into it, picked up my phone and slid a finger across the screen. “Hello?”
“Hi dear, how are you doing?”
“I’m doing well, Mom. How about yourself?”
“A little bit confused with this text message of yours! What time exactly should I pick Bailey up?”
I smiled to myself, “My flight’s at nine o’clock. I’ll save you some trouble and drop off Bailey myself.”
“Oh, honey, are you sure? It’s really no trouble at all. Besides, you ought to be at the airport much earlier than that. When are you flying back?”
“Monday evening. It’ll be a long weekend,” I nervously chuckled.
“Oh, wow. But the wedding’s only on Sunday? Why such a long weekend?”
“Margie decided to take the entire weekend so everyone can settle in without a rush and mingle nicely.”
“And how’s Scott doing? Is he going to be your seat buddy on the plane?”
“Mom!” I scolded at her, much like an adolescent, with a smile of disbelief. Who knew mothers continued to do this sort of thing even when you were 24? “We’ve talked about this. I’m moving on.”
“I know, I know. Well, it’s just such a pity, dear. You never know where the weekend might lead you.”
“Probably just further away from him.” I bit the inside of my cheek, not wanting to think about the matter. “I’m just tired of waiting, Mom. I feel like that’s what I’ve been doing my whole goddamn life. Waiting. Meanwhile, people like Margie and Scott get somewhere because they just go for things.”
“Then just go for those things, sweetheart!”
“If only it were that simple.”
“It really is. If you feel like doing something, go right ahead and do it. Don’t wait for anything else, not even a second, Georgie.”
“I don’t know. It’s easier to keep out of things.”
“All for what? To watch things as they happen to others? Dear, your father and I raised you to be better than this. You’re wasting so much potential!”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll sleep on it. I’ll see you just now, OK? When the night’s over I’ll go by with Bailey. Do you want anything to eat?”
“Oh, no thank you! I’ve just had soup. Alright, alright. See you soon. Keep safe, love you!”
“Love you too.”
I walked off towards the dance floor to steal Margie from her groom for a second. “Hey!” I caught her attention with a shout, “I’m heading off, I’ve got to pit stop at my mom’s house. Do you need anything for tomorrow?”
More tipsy than anticipated, she shook her head ‘no’ and planted a kiss on my cheek. “All I need is for you to show up!”
I laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure both Matthew and I show up.” She threw her head back in laughter and went back to dancing.
After I made my way downstairs and out into the fresh air, my vision was filled with the sight of a woman pressed against the far brick wall, her face hidden by a handsome face. As he stopped whispering sweet nothings into her ear, my heart froze for a couple of seconds.
Scott had one of his hands around her slim waist whilst the other held her neck. He was ready to lean in for a kiss when she caught eyes with me, and soon his gaze followed hers. Like a deer caught in the headlights, I tried to pretend I hadn’t been staring for a while.
“Uhm,” I whispered in a quiver, trying to keep the knot in my throat down.
He rapidly stepped back from the woman in the silk dress, which would’ve appalled Matthew’s parents way more than Margie’s dress did. “Hey, Georgie.” He murmured something to the girl and walked over to where I was standing.
I pushed a strand of hair out of my face with a wide-eyed gaze, feeling too upset to make any other movement without starting to cry. “I—uh, sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to know about the flight, uh—”
“9 A.M, right?”
I felt like the stupidest person for asking something as obvious as that. “Right. Yeah, do you happen to know who you’re sitting next to? I just want to know in case I need to stay awake all night so I can sleep during the flight and avoid four hours next to someone chatty.”
He killed the uncomfortable air by laughing and I joined him. “You’re in luck then ‘cause it ain’t me!” He laughed even more and I faintly smiled, bummed out by the news.
“Aren’t I lucky?” I bantered with a smirk, swallowing the knot down. “Who are you sitting with then?”
He furrowed his brows as he searched his mind for the answer. “Jared, one of the groomsmen. Margie sent out an e-mail with the seating arrangements for the flights and dinners. She might be wild but she sure is an organised freak,” he chuckled.
“Who am I sitting with then?”