Page 90 of Dreams and Reptiles

“A what?”

“You know. An arrhythmia, like when you realize something?”

“You mean an epiphany?”

“Whatever. I’m not getting married. Todd is great, and I love him, but I’m not ready to commit to one man for the rest of my life, and it’s not fair to him.”

Evelyn cupped Karen’s jaw and tilted her head, speaking slowly. “And you couldn’t have decided this before we spent twenty-five-thousand dollars on your perfect day?” She grasped her by the upper arms, but her expression was concerned. I was kind of impressed that Evelyn wasn’t screaming at her granddaughter.

“I’m sorry, Grandma. I was so determined I was going to do this while Mom was still here to watch me get married, but she wouldn’t want me to do this if I’m not ready, and I’m not. I’m so not. I’m not even finished with college yet. I’m so sorry, and I’ll pay you back for everything. I just can’t do this.”

Karen went into her grandmother’s embrace, and Evelyn held her close as she cried.

Then it dawned on me.

“I hadn’t put it together, but I know who Karen’s mom is. She’s very sick, but I didn’t know how serious it was.” I turned to Francis, and he nodded.

“Okay.” He walked closer to Evelyn and Karen, and I stayed a few feet behind.

“Smart girl,” Anne said. She’d come back out and was standing beside me.

“Yeah, I guess,” I said.

“Better she decides now instead of dragging that poor boy through the wedding.”

I looked around. The florists had set out some breathtaking sprays on the patio and were standing around, wondering what to do.

“It was going to be so beautiful. Francis worked so hard on this.”

“Mm-hm,” Anne said. “Shame to let it all go to waste.”

The craziest idea hit me. What if all his hard work wasn’t for nothing? What if…

Would he marry me? In front of his family and our town? Was I out of my mind to even think about it?

The night after Francis stayed at my house the first time, I was going through some of the boxes I’d put aside with Grandma’s personal things, and I found Grandpa’s wedding band. I had Dad’s as well, and I’d wondered… what if?

Was it too soon? Would Francis even consider marriage?

I opened my mouth to say something. I could tell Anne was thinking the same thing. She grinned.

“Unless someone else wanted to get married today,” she said, her eyebrows rising toward her hairline.

I was speechless. Francis had seemed so troubled the other night. I hadn’t wanted to push him on the topic. But I wanted him to know that I absolutely wanted to marry him. We’d both known nearly from the start that we had something special, and even though it had only been four months, we’d talked at length about what we wanted from our relationship, and we’d faced every possible obstacle together and worked them out. I’d almost told him that I’d marry him right now, but he’d held back, and I didn’t want to pressure him if it wasn’t what he wanted.

“I love him so much, Anne. I’d marry him in a heartbeat.”

She nodded. “He needs to be reminded that marriage can be a good thing, and you two make such a great team.”

Francis actually had a smile on his face as he talked to the teary bride-not-to-be and her resigned grandmother. Evelyn stepped away and spoke to someone on the phone, while Francis held Karen’s hands and smiled at her. After a few minutes, Evelyn hung up, spoke to the two of them, and then Francis patted them both on the shoulders before returning to us.

“Okay. Here’s the plan,” he said, when he reached us. “Evelyn says that since everything is already paid for, and it’s too late to cancel the wedding, she wants the show to go on. She’s going to try to convince Karen’s parents to use this opportunity to renew their vows—her daughter Angela has terminal cancer, and she thought today could instead be a celebration of Angela’s life.”

“Whoa, that’s… heavy but beautiful,” I said. Francis had the most serene expression on his face. His eyes were rimmed red, as though he’d likely shed a tear with Karen and Evelyn.

“Then put us to work.”

An hour later, we were all dressed in our finery and doing our assigned tasks. Roger and I were in charge of parking, and Arnie had the keys to Francis’s new golf cart to drive those who needed help walking up to the house. My buddies were bummed that Derek couldn’t make it, but he assured them that he was nearly finished covering for his co-worker and would be back in the area soon. I was looking forward to the end of their moping, and I knew Francis would be happy to have his partner in crime back in town.