Crossing Lines

Epilogue: The centerpieces

I couldn't throw up. I really couldn't.

I felt my stomach turn with the nerves but I tried my best to breathe through it. Becca would murder me if I managed to throw up on my suit. Instead of focusing on the turning of my stomach I let my hands mess with my jacket, straightening it out even though I'd already done it a million times.

"Stop that." Becca smacked my hand away. "You're going to mess it up if you keep fidgeting like that."

I let my hands drop back to my sides. I was nervous but there was that excitement that buzzed underneath it all. This was going to be one of the best days of my life. I just needed to get out of this room.

The waiting was making my nerves shoot through the roof. I knew how to calm myself back down. I knew one look at him and everything would settle.

But I couldn't see him because Becca had me locked up in this room.

"Has anyone seen my shoes?" Jetson wandered out of the bathroom in a suit.

"You lost your shoes?!" Becca's eyes widened in panic. "You can't walk out of here in just socks."

"Relax, I think I grabbed his by accident." Monroe held up a pair of black dress shoes.

"Don't scare me like that." Becca let out a sigh of relief.

I swear Becca was somehow just as stressed as I was about this day. I think she had put a lot of pressure on herself to try to make it as perfect for me as she could. She didn't want me to feel like I was missing anything with my parents not being in my life anymore.

A knock on the door allowed me to escape the craziness. Part of me was hoping for an impossibility and that I'd open the door to his face but I knew that wouldn't happen.

I peaked around the door to see a frazzled looking Adam on the other side.

"He didn't pull a runner, did he?" I questioned.

"Worse." He shook his head.

"Where is he?" I pulled the door all the way open ready to go wherever Adam said.

"No you can't see him yet, it's bad luck," Becca called out to me.

"He's at the reception area, I can't get him to leave."

I just nodded and pushed past Adam making my way towards the reception room. The walk was short and the second I stepped into the room my eyes landed on him.

I didn't know exactly what I was expecting to find but somehow with everything I knew about him I was still surprised.

Jake was sitting at one of the tables, all the center pieces were lined up and pulled apart. The table was littered with flowers and greenery.

"Jake." I called out to him as I made my way over but he didn't even look up as he kept taking apart the centerpieces.

"Jake." I repeated softer and I covered his hands with my own.

That seemed to break me out of whatever thoughts he was lost in.

"They weren't right, they look better this way don't you think?" He gestured to the one center piece that wasn't half torn apart.

"You need to get ready, we don't have time to redo all the centerpieces." I told him.

"But-, but they need to be perfect." He stressed.

This wasn't working so I pulled on his chair making some space between him and the table so I could pull him up and stand in front of him.

"Jake, the centerpieces aren't what make this day perfect. Everything could go wrong and as long as it's you and me, it's perfect." I pulled him close to me and wrapped my arms around him.