The morning of Lydia"s wedding dawned and most of the bridesmaids were hungover. This is why bachelorette parties should be two days before weddings instead of the night before.
Everyone nursed their headaches and drank tons of water with breakfast trying to make themselves feel better. Keeley felt like she was going to puke because of all those shots so she took a couple of antacid tablets. It helped a bit.
At least the wedding wasn"t until 11 AM so they had a couple hours of getting ready for the headaches to lessen.
At the venue in the bridal room, the maid of honor painstakingly curled Lydia"s hair before twisting and pinning it into an elaborate updo. The bridesmaids were wearing their hair in low buns with a few wisps loose to frame their faces.
The bouquets lay off to the side as everyone worked on their hair and makeup. Lydia"s was made of purple roses and lavender while everyone else"s bouquets were lavender and baby"s breath.
The bouquets were beautiful. If only the bride had the same taste in flowers as she did bridesmaid dresses. n.o.body looked particularly good in theirs. Oh well, the bride was the star of the show today anyway.
"Fifteen minutes ladies," the wedding planner announced with a knock on the door, sending everyone into a frenzy.
"I"m not ready," Lydia panicked. "Has anyone seen my shoes? My veil? My mother?"
"I have your shoes and veil, sweetie," Mrs. Price said from her place in the corner of the room. She had been so quiet that everyone forgot she was there.
"It"s fine," the maid of honor soothed as she put the finis.h.i.+ng touches on Lydia"s hair. "You"ll be Mrs. Collin Renshaw in just a few minutes and then you won"t have to worry anymore."
The bride focused on her deep breathing. Were all brides this nervous? Keeley hadn"t been. She was so sure that marrying Aaron was the right thing to do back then. She had bet on the wrong horse.
It was time to go. The groom was already waiting in front of the arch. The bridesmaids and groomsmen met up near the entrance of the aisle and began walking down it to the beat of the wedding march.
By the time Keeley and Jeffrey linked arms her mind was blank. She needed to feel the music if she was going to walk without tripping but this march down the aisle reminded her so much of her own wedding that she wanted to cry.
Jeffrey noticed her eyes s.h.i.+ne with tears but couldn"t even ask if she was okay because all eyes were on them. She blinked rapidly trying to push them back. Ruining the makeup she barely put on would not do at all.
Eventually, the bride and her father made an appearance at the top of the aisle and all of the guests stood as they made their way down.
"Don"t cry. Don"t you dare cry, Keeley," she thought. "You can"t ruin Lydia"s big day."
Yet all she wanted to do was go hide somewhere and weep. It was even worse knowing she would have to go through this again in just a few months at Jennica"s wedding. She wasn"t ready for this at all—the pain was still too raw.
Her focus was entirely on being a pretty bridesmaid standing perfectly still for the pictures so she didn"t even pay attention to what the officiant was saying until it was time for the vows. Lydia and Collin had written their own.
The emotion in their voices was plain to hear as they talked about how much they loved each other. Keeley"s desire to cry returned full force but she held it in.
No one had ever or would ever love her as much as those two loved each other and for some reason it hurt. Hadn"t she told herself she didn"t care about love? That her career and her friends were more important?
But her friends wouldn"t be around forever. They were dropping like flies into matrimony. Even Valentina planned to go back to Peru eventually. Ryan would probably find a girlfriend at some point too that didn"t want him to be close with another girl.
It would be Keeley and her cat against the world. At least she would still have her dad for another 20 or 30 years but then she would be completely on her own.
When the happy couple each said "I do" and the officiant p.r.o.nounced them husband and wife and permitted them to kiss a couple of traitorous tears finally escaped. She wiped them away quickly while no one was looking at her.
The recessional quickly followed once the cheers died down and everyone made their way to the part of the venue where the reception was being held. Lunch was going to be served to all the guests before the first dance and bouquet and garter tosses happened.
Keeley sat with Keisha and Jeffrey like usual and tried her best to be upbeat as they talked but it was easier to sit back and listen to their banter than contribute anything. They were funny but watching them made her heart ache too. Yet another couple in love.
If Aaron were here now she would probably punch him in the face for making her feel so lousy.
The lunch consisted of delicious Mediterranean-styled grilled chicken and a light salad but Keeley could hardly stomach any of it. Or the cake that came later.
She was so tired. More than anything she wanted to go back to her hotel but she still had to smile nicely for pictures with the other bridesmaids. She didn"t have the emotional energy for this.
The bouquet toss came right after all the lunch plates were cleared away. Beyonce"s. .h.i.t "Single Ladies" played as Lydia prepared to launch the bouquet behind her.
To Keeley"s chagrin, it landed directly in her hands even though she had been standing as far away from the rest of the group as possible while still being a part of it.
These silly superst.i.tions didn"t work anyway. There was no way she would be the next one to get married. Could she get a redo? Some other desperate single girl at this wedding was probably dying to catch this thing to make herself feel better about life.