The Sun, The Moon and The Ocean

chapter eleven

● above is a photo taken by Sophia while Addison posed during a beach trip●

THE VENUE WAS absolutely breathtaking, as I imagined it would be. Everything was organized around a cluster of tall palm trees, strings of lights swooping from tree to tree, getting ready to glow as soon as the sun went down. Within the valley of trees, there were about fifteen circular tables which seated four, draped with white table cloths. In the middle of the tables, vases with pink, white and yellow flowers were placed next to three small candles. People I've known all my life and people I've never met were dispersed throughout the area, small talking about the bride and groom.

"Oh, Cooper," I breathed as I clicked my Jeep locked, "I wish you could see it. The place is dazzling." He smiled in response as he wrapped Sydney's leash around his wrist. "I bet it is."

As we walked closer and closer toward the crowd of individuals, I realized just how Penny this wedding was. It was bright and organized, thought through. Everything seemed to be arranged as the tasks were checked off a to do list. The whole thing looked like something one would find while scrolling through Pinterest. I could tell Penny planned this out all by herself: the lights, the color of the table cloths, the kinds of flowers blooming at the table, the timing of the sunset, the appetizers, absolutely everything.

It was just like her, perfect.

I pushed the negative thoughts out of my mind, this was supposed to be about Penny after all. I tried to embrace how intricately pristine everything was instead of putting myself down for it. I turned to Cooper, "Now I must warn you, my family and I are not on the best of terms."

"Because you moved out?" He questioned, his steps in unison with mine. "I mean, I guess," I affirmed, "But its mostly because I've always lived in Penny's shadow. So I'm second best to my parents, please don't be so alarmed if they speak to me in a condescending way."

I saw him frown from my left eye. "I don't get your family. You leave to chase your dream and they shame you for it," he spoke with confusion laced in his voice. I huffed in response. "It's because I'm not chasing their dream."

Suddenly, I felt Cooper's fingers searching for mine at our sides and I gently pushed my hand out to his. Once he noticed my hand, he slowly scooped it into his, his fingers roaming into mine. He gave it a squeeze and my heart jumped. "You don't have to, Sophia. You're here for Penny's wedding, not to prove yourself to your parents. Let's try to have a good time, okay?"

I looked up at him, his face staring a little below my nose, and I smiled. I was so blessed to have him there by my side that day, walking with me. Without him, I would have not gotten out of the car. I would have looked out into the distance, sighed and shifted to reverse. Cooper gave me strength I never knew I had.

We began to enter the crowd, I gave smiles to old neighbors I recognized from Broken Hill and to childhood friends of Penny's. I noticed some of the guests gave weird looks to Cooper, who still walked with his head tall, and they would whisper into their friends ear. I caught myself starting to feel embarrassed but something inside me put those butterflies to a halt because it was Cooper. Cooper was blind and wonderful, and no one was about to judge him for that. I was not going to let them.

I guided Cooper to the buffet table, knowing he was still hungry from lunch. I explained to him what was on the menu, some small shrimp kabobs, grilled pineapple and bacon bites, coconut cashews, and chicken avocado nachos. He decided he'd like a little bit of each. I plated each of them for Cooper as I heard a familiar voice behind me. I handed Cooper the plate of appetizers and he immediately dove in, which made me giggle.

I investigated the familiar sound and turned my body around to see Jonathan speaking to a group of friends. He looked very handsome, as he always did, but his tuxedo complimented his body shape. His full beard was noticeably just touched up, the curves on his cheeks were perfectly sculpted. His dark black hair was tousled in a fashionable way and was slowly started to get messy due to the wind. Jonathan's eyes locked with mine and became brighter than I thought they would.