Thursday morning the mail came late, not until nearly six when Claire was heading out the door to meet with Sebastien. There were a couple of bills, a postcard from Portugal (where one of her childhood friends was vacationing), and a card in a lilac envelope. It wasn't just any card, either. It was an invitation to a wedding, sort of a last-minute thing put together by some friends at home who hadn't been planning to get married but suddenly found it had become important to them. Everyone would say the bride was pregnant, though Claire was pretty sure she wasn't. There wasn't any shame in it anyway, but there would always be whispers.
This invitation put Claire in a bit of a bind. Ordinarily it would be the kind of event a girl in a relationship would want to bring her boyfriend to. Of course, in some significant ways, they were not in an ordinary situation. Well, Sebastien would understand, she thought. And he did.
And in fact it seemed to Claire that he felt a little relieved to have her gone for that weekend. He had a lot of work to do, he said. He wouldn't have much time to spend with her anyway, and he agreed the wedding wouldn't be the right occasion to introduce him to her parents. Only perhaps, if she found a moment, she could at least let them know she was dating him? He had sounded a trifle irritated, and she understood.
It's just that she had grown really fond of her special secret. Their relationship, his very existence as her lover, was a secret she cherished. But she knew the time would come that she would have to tell her parents...and everyone else. She just hadn't expected it to be so soon.
Sebastien seemed very distracted as he kissed her goodbye, though he promised to call her.
Her parents picked her up at the airport back at home, happy as anything to see her after such a long time. They were definitely her parents, she reflected. She had her mother's eyes and love of food, and her father's eyes and aptitude for singing. They drew her into a long hug and then showed her to the car.
"Baby, I wish you'd come in last night. Aren't you tired from the flight?"
"Mom, it was cheaper to fly in this morning. And I'm not tired. The flight was only an hour long. I just have to change and I'll be ready for the wedding."
"If you say so."
"Hon, let her alone. She's a big girl," said her father, giving her a wink in the rearview mirror.
"Thanks, Dad. What's new with you guys?"
"Not a lot. The Andersons finally got a divorce and that, plus one new prenuptial agreement, paid for our vacation to Mexico."
"Uh, well, good, I guess," she said, amused by her father's cavalier attitude toward the legal situations that paid the bills. At one time he'd been a firebrand, a young public defender out there doing his civic duty. Then he'd met her mother, a sweet pre-med student aiming to become a pediatrician, and his thoughts turned more to family things. They moved together to a smaller, gentler town, where he set up his own private practice and she got hired at an established doctor's cohort. He was still doing a civic duty, but one that could be more amusing and, even more importantly, less dangerous. And yes, Frank and Jill became beloved pillars of the community.
No less so when a few of their siblings relocated to the wonderful town her parents so loved, bringing their adorable children and their marketable skills. Okay, so it wasn't like her family had founded the town or turned it around from certain bankruptcy or anything. But it was a smaller town, and genuinely nice people were always welcomed with open arms. In fact, everyone was so happy, Claire might never have been born. Her parents were satisfied with their life, their time with their nieces and nephews and occasional dinners at the homes of their clients.
But then Jill's sister Dena had gotten pregnant again and though it hadn't been planned, Jill blamed her sympathetic hormones when she found out that she was going to have a baby, too. And then Claire came, and her parents wondered why they had waited so long to have her. She had been the light of their lives. Still was, maybe.
"Baby, are you sure you're okay? You're awfully quiet," said her mother, looking at her in concern in the mirror.
"I'm fine, Mom. Just thinking about how nice it'll be to see everyone. It's been too long since I came home."
"Yes it has. Everyone has been asking after you."
Shortly, they arrived at the church and Claire ducked into the bathroom to change into her dress. She hadn't wanted anything too fancy for a casual afternoon wedding, so she'd brought a grey cotton dress with butter yellow detailing. Sebastien had bought it for her on a whim when they passed it hanging in a shop window. With her hair twisted loosely up and a little yellow flower pinned in, she thought she looked pretty cute.
On impulse, she pulled out her phone, snapped a picture of herself, and sent it to Sebastien. He hadn't seen her in the dress yet, and she knew he would love it on her.
By the time Claire made it back out into the church, others were arriving. She located her parents and went to sit with them.
"That's a lovely dress, baby. Where did you get it?"
"It was a gift," she said without thinking.
"Oh? From whom?" She didn't want to lie, but right that minute didn't seem the appropriate time for the truth, either. Luckily, she was saved from having to answer when the music started. She turned, along with everyone else, to see the doors open and her friend Annie float through the doorway with her fiancé Rob. Annie was beautiful; really, they both were in their pressed, fancy clothes. Neither had gone strictly traditional. Annie was actually wearing pants. She hadn't worn a skirt in twenty years, and she wasn't starting again now. She was in a dove grey pantsuit and Rob wore a navy suit with tie to match.
They looked so happy, so in love. Claire felt her heart skip a beat, her thoughts turning to Sebastien. It would have been nice to have him here by her side. But no matter. She would see him soon enough, and in the meantime she wouldn't have to bore him with introductions to half the town.
The ceremony was short and sweet, and pretty soon everyone had moved outside, where the reception was taking place in the unseasonably warm weather. Claire sat at a table with her parents; her cousins Heather, Mark, and Elliott; and some of her childhood friends. Susan and Leah were alone, but Megan had brought her husband Carey.
Conversation was pretty much what she expected: news from around town, how her new job was, how she liked the city, how she was faring living alone. Then the question she'd been dreading came.
"So...how do you like your boss? Quite a looker, isn't he?" asked Leah.
"Yes, well, he is, um, very attractive, yes." Her friends, her cousins, her parents were all looking at her expectantly. "And, of course, very talented, very good at what he does." She felt her cheeks beginning to pink. Should she tell? They were sure to notice her awkwardness. Then she was saved from having to answer again.
"Hey, beautiful. Long time, no see." Claire looked up to see one of her very best friends from high school, Alex. They had dated briefly back then, but decided they just weren't ready for anything serious. They'd never tried it again, though Claire was pretty sure he'd wanted to.
"Want to dance?" he asked.
"Sure," she said, grateful to get up and away from the prying eyes of her tablemates. Of course, it was probably just her imagination. Still.
They danced around under the light of the fading sunset. Little lights were beginning to come on around the courtyard and a string quarter was playing soft, easy tunes to dance to.
"It's been a long time, Alex."
"Too long," he replied, and she thought he seemed very serious. "Claire, I've been thinking. Do you remember when we were fifteen, we made that pact that if we were both unmarried by thirty, we'd marry each other?" Warning bells began clanging in her head, but it was already too late.
"Sure, but we're not thirty yet."
"No. But by the time we're ready to marry, we might be. We could start dating again, and in a few years..."
"Listen, you know how much I care for you, Alex. But I can't. There's...someone else."
