Once back in the lobby, we were told over a speaker that the reception was going to start in an hour down the street at their venue and that we should make our way down there sooner rather than later. The wedding party was going to be taking pictures.
“Well, I guess we can all meet down there,” Ed said.
“Would anybody be able to give me a ride there? I hate to impose,” Candice said.
“Well, I’m sure Bentley could,” his mother said.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have any room, Mom,” Bentley said, to my surprise.
“We’ll take her,” Cash said, much to Candice’s chagrin.
•••
“I just don’t know what to think,” I said, as Bentley and I sat in his car in the church parking lot.
“I didn’t know she’d be here. You have to believe me on that, Anna. You can even ask my dad or brothers,” he said.
“Fine, I believe you that you didn’t know she’d be here. Still, though, what does it all mean?” I asked.
“I don’t know what that means,” he said.
“I don’t know what I mean. I see the way she’s been looking at you, though, and I’m not sure I understand the way you look at her,” I said.
“I don’t look at her in any way,” he said.
“You mean after all your time together, you don’t have any lingering feelings for her?” I asked.
“No, I don’t. I only like you, and I only care about you, Anna. Please trust me on that,” he said.
“Do you promise me?” I asked, looking him square in the eye.
He didn’t look like he was lying, instead looking at me with almost saddened eyes, like he hated that he even had to be talking about this right now. I wanted to believe him, I really did, and maybe I was starting to, but it was all a lot to take in and I didn’t think I was being fully trusting at the moment. I was being rash, and I thought I had a good reason to be. This wedding was going to be a big event regardless, and adding the stress of a clingy ex-girlfriend was just a little too much to handle.
“I promise you, Anna. I do,” he said without hesitation.
“Then I believe you, Bentley. I just hope nothing happens. I don’t want to lose something with you. You mean a lot to me, and I have nothing but trust for you,” I said.
He leaned in and kissed me, and we looked at the clock and saw that we’d spent twenty minutes just sitting here and talking about Candice.
“We should get to the reception before people wonder what happened to us,” he said, turning the car on.
“Yeah,” I said, turning and looking out the window.
I suppose I shouldn’t have expected my life to go super simply and easily, but I never thought I’d have to deal with a problem like this. It seemed like there was some big underlying problem with every guy I dated. If it’s not one thing then it’s another, and I just wanted one relationship without drama and that dreaded wedge coming between us. I was sure it could still happen, as long as this was the last night Candice was involved.
We pulled into the parking lot for the reception, a large venue hall, and parked the car. Bentley grabbed my hand before I could open the door. I looked at him, looked into his eyes, and I knew things were going to be okay.
Without saying a word he let go, and we got out of the car and he locked it. He held my hand as we checked in, signed the guest book, and found our seating arrangement on a large board that was definitely found on Pinterest.
There were black and white pictures lining the hallway towards the hall, all of Kelly and her husband, and all of them artsy and beautiful. She really took a lot of care to make this wedding and reception intimate, and to invite people to see into their lives together, which I thought was a classy and beautiful touch. Not only that, but it was giving me ideas for my own wedding one day.
The hall was decorated with white and off-white colors, some accents of gray inside, and the circular tables were all draped with crisp, white tablecloths. Flower arrangements sat in the center of each table. There were string lights strung about, creating a glowing ambience as drapes closed on the windows kept the light mostly out to create a beautiful nighttime illusion.
We found our table, one with his immediate family there, with no sight of Candice. I’d totally forgotten to check the board when we looked to see who else was here with us, but she wasn’t here yet, which was a good sign.
“Find the place okay?” Ed asked as we approached.
“Yup, no problems. Didn’t hurt that there was a line and traffic out of the lot,” Bentley said, laughing.
“Yeah, we followed the same one,” he replied, with a laugh of his own.
“You’re Anna, right?” I heard from my side.
I turned to see Cash, smiling, as he held out his hand to shake mine.
“Yes, I am. We went to school together,” I said.
“I remember. I think we had an algebra class together, right? What brings you here, I mean to see Bentley? I guess, how did you meet is what I’m trying to ask,” he said.
“On the side of the road, actually. My car had broken down after hanging out with some friends and he happened to see me struggling and pulled over to help. I went and saw him at his shop the next day and here I am today,” I said with a friendly smile.
“One of those chance moments, I guess,” he said.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” I said.
“So, I just want to apologize,” he said.
“For what?” I asked, confused.
“For Candice. I know she’s not me, and I don’t have to apologize, but we really didn’t know she’d be here. I hope you believe Bentley about that,” he said.
“We talked about it on the way over here. Things are okay,” I said.
“Well, I just wanted to let you know. I know it’s not my place, but I thought you should know the truth,” he said.
“Cash! Come here! Your grandfather wants to hear about the team!” someone yelled, and Cash said bye and walked over to talk.
“What was that about?” Bentley asked.
“He just wanted to say hi. He remembers me from school,” I said.
“Oh, okay,” Bentley said, nodding.
Bentley’s mother, Carol, was busy mingling and talking to everybody with a smile as Bentley and I sat down in our spots and took it easy. I thought the rendezvous with Candice really put a damper on our fun tonight, though we were both still trying to make the best out of the situation.
“Bentley told me about you,” his father said, about an hour later, as Bentley went to get us some drinks.
“Good things, I hope,” I said.
“Only the best. You seem like a really great girl. He seems to really like you, and I like that,” he said.
“Well, I really like him. You raised a really great man,” I said.
“Oh well, thank you. He’s always been a good boy. Hasn’t always made the best decisions, as you could see with Candice, but he’s always had a good head on his shoulders at the end of the day,” he said.
“All right, let’s give it up for the wedding party!” the DJ announced as Bentley came back with our drinks.
I sipped mine rather fast, more like chugged it, as I knew I needed the alcohol to fry my nerves and keep me happy. This better not turn into a habit. That was how both alcoholics and super-villains were made.
The wedding party came in dancing through a cloud of fog as a laser show went on around them. Everybody clapped, all of them being announced by name as they came through. Ed whistled with his fingers. I shook my head, smiling, before the bride and groom were announced, coming through the fog with mouths open and dancing weirdly as they shook what their mothers gave them without any fear of embarrassment. I wished I could throw my inhibitions in the wind like that.
Since it was so early, they decided to start things off with the dancing and special moments before moving onto dinner, which was a little bit away. Everybody gathered in, watching the father-daughter dance, as well as the mother-son dances, as sweet tunes played and they swayed from side to side. It was cute, seeing them with their parents, and it made me think of my own. I should probably call them soon.
Things picked up pace and became a little raunchier when a chair was brought out and the groom was told to get on his hands and knees and get the garter from her leg. He happily rose to the occasion, making her laugh as he got down with red cheeks and stuck his head deep under her dress. She started to snort and put her head back while holding down the dress while he moved around inside.
He finally came back up for air, the garter in his mouth, before he let out a howl and made the crowd break into laughter. Boy, was he something.
With the crowd cheering, the couple got up, and the DJ announced that the dance floor was now open to everyone. A little nervous, I stood there, before Bentley looked at me and must’ve seen how nervous I looked.
“Want to dance?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not all that good at it,” I said nervously.
“Come on, it’ll be fun. Just me and you,” he said with a reassuring smile.
“I—I don’t know,” I said.
“Trust me,” he said, holding out his hand.
I nodded and grabbed his hand as we walked out to the dance floor, a fast song on. We started moving, the dance floor packed with happy guests, before the YMCA song started to play. Okay, this was easy enough. I knew this song, and I knew the dance, though I hadn’t done it in ages. I felt confident in my abilities.