I didn’t need to keep things going at a certain clip, rescuing Alex from floods of Mum’s guests who were nice, sure, but they’d overwhelm my sister.
Rix constantly kept his eye on her, going to fetch her when she got besieged, sticking by her side and guiding her away when chats went on too long.
And most importantly, when all eyes were on them, he protected her.
I will never in my life forget how he angled it so, after they’d cut the cake, you could only see a bit of Alex as Rix held her in one arm and they gently fed the cake to each other. And when he hugged her afterward, he slid his cheek down hers and buried his face in her neck so all you could see of my sister was her arms around her new husband and the crown of her head.
It was incredibly sweet.
The same with the couple’s dance.
Rix picked the song, and in doing so, he kept surprising me.
He picked “Storybook Love,” the theme from Princess Bride.
But it wasn’t lost on me that the song was very slow, very simple, very pretty and there didn’t need to be any fancy dance moves. Just two people in love swaying together in each other’s arms while words of love washed over them.
Rix made that dance so it wasn’t like they were being watched by two hundred people, but instead, dancing in their living room.
Alex’s face had been filled with smiles, her eyes saturated with adoration, and I could tell she was all in that moment with Rix.
In fact, it was so quiet, peaceful and perfect, after it was over, it took a long time for people to clap and cheer. We were all in the moment with them.
Rix gave his wife that.
Rix gave the love of his life that.
Rix gave my sister that.
And I loved him for it.
Now, the photos, the cocktails, the toasts, the buffet, the cake cutting were all done, the dancing was in full swing, and all that was left was having fun, the bouquet toss (the only bouquet that would be actual flowers, and Alex wanted to do it right before she and Rix got in the car and drove away), which was scheduled for just under an hour from now.
We weren’t doing the garter. It was Rix who put his foot down about that. Not that I pushed it. But he was having none of it anyway. So that wasn’t going to happen.
After the toss, I’d wind things down, hand out tips, and…
Done.
So really, I could relax and sip champagne.
It was good now.
On this thought, Gal collapsed on the chair beside me.
I was taken aback. Gal didn’t seek me out very much. Say, never. She put up with me when I was in town, and she had to spend time with me because I was spending time with Alex.
Other than that…no.
“Think our girl had a good day,” she said, taking a pull from the bottle of beer in her hand (one could say there were no airs and graces with Gal, one could also say I admired it).
“I hope so,” I replied.
She tore her eyes off Alex, who was laughing with Nora and Mika, to look at me.
“No, our girl had a good day. All thanks to you.”
That was such a shock, I swallowed hard.
