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Sandy’s not surprised Alex’s finally pulled it off. He might have known he’d have the guts to find Lily somehow, now that his father was dead. But here they were, already getting married, barely a week after the reunion! It was shocking, even for Alex’s determination and his blandishments. Sandy started taking mental notes for his next book as he sipped wine by the refreshment table. He’d done his duty as the best man, and now he had time to breathe and relax.
He tilted his head back and let the sun soak into his bones. He’d been running around Spain trying to get a bullfighting novel going – something pure Hemingway – and had been stymied at every turn. Perhaps because it was such a well-trod subject that he couldn’t think of a single original thing to say about it; perhaps because he didn’t have enough love in his life to properly speak of the topic. Alex had no
Sandy sipped his glass of wine. It was of a good vintage but had gotten warm in the Parisian sunshine – Alex had hired a lovely crew to take care of the wedding but Lily had wanted something small and simple, and what Lily wanted she got, which would be and had always been the case. He glanced about the patio, hearing bees buzz and trying to remember if the best man was supposed to give a speech during the rehearsal dinner or not when he heard a soft coughing sound from beside him.
He spun around and saw a knowing pair of brown eyes and upended his wine glass onto his own shirtsleeve.
“Shit,” he blurted out. “Hello Stacey.” She hadn’t been in the bridal party but he might have guessed that Lily would have wanted her at the ceremony. Hell, he hadn’t seen her in years – not since he’d left her at the station in Italy. They’d sworn they’d write each other, but they’d naturally let that promise fall away. He’d heard she’d gotten married and had children now, was a teacher. All of that felt several lifetimes ago, but looking at her made him feel like he was back in France again.
“You’ve gotten awfully clumsy, Sandy,” she remarked lightly. He gave her an awkward smile.
“It’s the day, it’s made me emotional,” he said. He decided to refrain from saying that he’d tried to talk Alex out of proposing to Lily years ago due to his father’s never-ending nonsense. Not the time. He was happy to simply be forgiven. “How is your family?”
“My boys are on a camping trip with their father – who’s dealing with our separation in all of the predictable ways.” Sandy’s eyebrows went skyward. “How about you?”
“Erm,” he said. “I’m afraid I don’t have anything exciting to report. I’ve been going about the world, writing about what I know. Or to be more precise – what I think I know.”
She gave him a small smile. “That’s the spirit.”
He cocked his head. “I suppose you wouldn’t want to talk about this over dinner, later?”
“Only if you’re willing to try to guide me through another flock of sheep.”
Sandy laughed aloud and offered her his arm. They headed into the warm sunlight, listening to the chatter of the day. He was happy that he hadn’t scooped Stacey up when they were both in college – but now that they were both older, he was sure she had some fresh new stories to tell, ones that might keep him captivated for mote than a couple of months.