She nods. “I’m glad he’s doing better. I hear congratulations are in order. When is the big day?”
I twist the ring on my left hand. “He said he doesn’t want to do it until he can stand with me at the altar. I’m pushing for sooner.”
Karen looks around, but the rest of her family is gone. “I’m glad for the way things turned out today, and I’m sorry again—for everything you’ve been through.”
“I’m sorry too.” The words feel hollow. Nothing I could say can express how sorry I am—for everything.
She nods as if she feels the same way and walks out.
eighty-five
Jess: The Last Kiss
Ishift my weight, but the chair I’ve been sitting on too long still digs into my hip. A trickle of sweat slides down my neck. I reach to scratch my nose as a piece of bangs falls into my eyes.
It must be a hundred degrees in the barn, and I’ve been waiting so long.
“Hold still and don’t touch your face. You’ll ruin your makeup,” Jasmine pins the errant curl back in place.
“Jessica, are you up here?”
My heart pounds at the sound of his voice. I hold my breath.
“Jess?”
“Absolutely not,” Kendra says. “It’s bad luck for him to see you before the wedding, and the two of you have had all the bad luck you can take.”
His steps are slow and heavy with the added thump of his cane, but he’s walking, climbing stairs even, something he wasn’t ever supposed to do again.
I shake my head and bite my lip to keep the tears from sliding out. They come anyway.
I stand up against their protests. I’m not in my dress yet, so it’s not like it matters whether he sees me half-done. My dress hangs on a hook in the corner. It's a simple satin gown, long and form-fitting. Kendra couldn't talk me into something more elaborate, but I gave in when Jasmine suggested the low-cut back. I knew Jacob would like it.
Mom transformed the barn with lights and flowers. Dad built a little dressing room at the top of the stairs. Tyler painted everything. We're having a small wedding, like I wanted–family and close friends. Jasmine, Taryn, and Kendra are my bridesmaids. Tyler, Bryan and Nate are the groomsmen.
His face at the top of the stairs surprises me. I step back, and he laughs. He looks amazing in his dress uniform, even if it hangs loose now. Seeing him in it makes the tears flow freely, because I understand the depth of what he gave up for me.
He reaches up and wipes a tear away. “Don’t cry, Jess. I never could stand to see you cry.”
“You’re going to ruin–” Jasmine starts and then shakes her head in defeat. “You have five minutes."
“Sorry to go against protocol, but I have something I want to give you. I meant to do it before now, but it wasn’t ready. Nate just picked it up for me. I thought you might want to wear it for the ceremony.”
He hands me a little silver locket, the same locket he gave me all those years ago. It’s been repaired—the scuffs buffed out, and it has a new chain. I open it to a picture of the two of us together, years ago.I’m eleven; he’s fifteen. His arm is around my shoulders, my hair is crazy, thick glasses shroud my eyes, but I’m smiling.
“Mom found that picture. I thought you’d like it, to remember what we were before. Let me help you put it on.” Jacob says, and I realize I’ve been staring at the locket without moving.
“Okay.” I pull my hair up out of the way and turn around.
His fingers tremble, and he struggles with the clasp, but just as I decide to help him, he pats it in triumph. I rub the little heart between my fingers, still not convinced that any of this is real.
He puts his hands on my shoulders, turning me around to face him. “Promise you’ll never take it off.”
I finally meet his eyes. “I promise.”
“Just to be sure, I’d better give you something else.” He has a look on his face, unsure, like he’s trying to decide something. My heart beats so loud I’m sure he can hear it. He leans close to my face.
And kisses me.
