Page 2 of The Do Over
“Have you been in Oregon long?” She asked.
Emily nodded.
“Yeah. I decided to move in with Andrew five months ago. It was a spontaneous decision—quitting my job and packing my things the second he asked if I wanted to live with him. Of course, I knew that I was madly in love with him, so that sealed the deal."
Then he proposed, and there was no going back.” She was beaming with smiles and radiating with happiness. Sophie was almost jealous because she hadn’t been on a date in six months, much less getting a proposal.
“My Mom and Dad love you already, I can tell,” she said.
Emily’s eyes widened at that.
“They’ve been the absolute best. Mary has been working round the clock ever since we told her we wanted to get married, and Ben’s in charge of calling everyone to ensure they don’t end up no-shows. He’s also done all the long-distance pickups.
“You don’t need me then,” Sophie said playfully. “If you have my Mom and Dad up and going, then you have all the support you need.”
“Who’s going to be my maid of honor, then?” Emily sounded distraught.
“I’m kidding. I’m kidding,” Sophie quickly clarified, as she was also scared that the bride-to-be would soon burst into tears. She could now understand why Andrew sounded like he did when he called her hours ago.
“You can count on me for anything, Emily,” she said, placing a hand on Emily’s shoulder for a quick pat. “Nothing is going to go wrong under my watch.”
That seemed to do it, and Emily moved on to other topics, discussing the other bridesmaids who were already in Oregon and some of the groomsmen that she knew—two of whom got to the airport an hour before Sophie.
•••
When the car came to a stop, Sophie looked out the window and saw the familiar shape of her childhood home. The large bungalow building was still painted in the shade of blue that Andrew liked, and they had the small picket fence around that her father built, with the garden patch her mother insisted on keeping.
The only thing that used to be hers was a swing that was tied to a tree by the side of the house. It used to be visible from afar, but she couldn’t see it from the car window.
They had taken her swing down.
It made Sophie a bit sad, but she reminded herself that she hadn’t been home in five years, choosing to spend her hours working to make a partner in the law firm where she got employed right out of college, with no time to date or take a flight to see Ben and Mary.
Then she upped and quit one day, choosing to work as a nanny instead. It was fulfilling to work with children, and they were better company than the adults she saw every other day.
Andrew, on the other hand, had been around their parents and helped them. It made sense that they would keep the house in the same color.
“I’ll get your bags,” Emily said, exiting the car before Sophie could protest. She made haste to come down, and at that moment, her brother burst through the front door with his golden retriever energy.
He bundled towards his fiancée and sister, squashing Sophie in a tight bear hug that had her struggling to break loose a few seconds later.
“It’s so good to see you!” He said.
“Same to you,” Sophie replied, wanting nothing more than to find a place to sit down. She patted his back. “You’ve grown inches taller since I saw you last year. Was it in an attempt to inform everyone that you’re my older brother?”
He laughed and hurried to get the bags from Emily.
“I’ll get that, love. Thank you.” He turned briefly to Sophie, “Mom and Dad are indoors. You should go in and say hi.”
“Sure.”
Sophie spent the entire evening with her parents. Her mother stuffed her with food, her father talked about all the people she dated in the past five years that Andrew had reported to him, and she did a little walk around the house to see that more things had changed.
Hours later, her mom and father had retired for the night, and Emily went to the airport to pick up one of her friends who would be among the bridesmaids. She was left with Andrew in the living room.
“I’m happy for you,” she told him when he brought a bottle of uncorked wine and two glasses, coming to sit beside her on the couch. “Very happy. I can tell that Emily is the perfect one for you.”
He smiled. “Thank you. You’ll find someone like that too. Someone that makes you happy that makes you see the world in a better way, in a brighter way.”
