Protagonist - Laurie the famous actress
Goal - True love
Obstacle - That idiot from corporate
Action - Gets married
First sentence - I loved the way she said the word “balloon.” She said it as if she were blowing bubbles.
Non sequitur - She was standing behind the counter, giving him this root beer-float kind of smile.
Sixth Sense - The sound of Marcie’s feet
Laurie hung her head and sighed. This wasn’t how any of this was supposed to happen. When she’d been asked to fill in on a short story narration for an audiobook narrator who’d been unavailable, it was because her boss knew that she did a podcast where she read short stories to her friends. The numbers on her narration had been good, and the production and editing teams had liked her well enough, so she started to get more offers, until she was one of the regulars on the payroll. She was still doing her normal admin work, as well, since they hadn’t even bothered to find someone to fill her position yet, so she was in a bizarre limbo between being a member of staff and one of the talent. She hated being in a gray area like this.
And seriously, who wrote this? “She was standing behind the counter, giving him this root beer-float kind of smile”? Laurie didn’t even know what that was supposed to look like, much less how she would read it. She sat at her desk and pulled the full manuscript to her, starting from the beginning again, and cursed Marcie under her breath. Marcie was delighting in giving her the books and stories that had been passed over by other narrators for a variety of reasons, and Laurie didn’t feel like she had a right to refuse the work. And so, highlighter in hand, she started again.
#
A month later, Laurie was wearing her nicest dress and fidgeting with the necklace her grandmother gave her. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” she said, forcing her hands to relax before she gripped the sweetheart neckline in her fist. “It’s not like I’ve never done a reading before.”
“Yeah, but you don’t normally do it in front of, like, an audience,” Joel said, straightening his tie in the mirror for the tenth time. “Usually you’re just in a both with me and the director, and we can tell you to cut and start again if you mess up. This is live!” He spread his fingers jazz-hands style in the mirror, catching her eye and making her grin. “You’ll be fine. I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t think you could do it.”
“Well, I appreciate it. Now come here and let me get that tie on properly, because you look like you’re trying to strangle yourself,” she said as she took his shoulder and turned him to face her. Even though he was a head taller than she was and built like the linebacker he had been in college, he turned meekly and dropped his hands. She reached up and loosened the tie, moving the gold silk around his collar until the knot was perfectly placed and sliding it in place. “There. Now you look respectable enough to get married.”
“You think so?” Joel said earnestly, and she realized that he was shaking. She took his hands and gave them a friendly squeeze, and nodded enthusiastically. He let out a huge breath and wrapped her up in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said, his voice slightly muffled to her ears since she was buried against his shoulder. “I don’t have many people that I’m close enough to for this kind of thing.”
She patted his back, reflecting. One of the best things that had come out of her nascent voice acting career was that she had gotten to know Joel and a couple of the other sound engineers in the office. Spending several hours together, working line by line on a short story or novel, bred a kind of intimacy that Laurie hadn’t expected to find at work. Joel, in particular, had become a fast friend as they discovered a mutual love of fantasy and hatred for cliche language. When he had asked her to stand up for him at his wedding and to read a short poem during the ceremony, she’d said yes without question, surprising herself at how eager she was to help. Laurie had never made friends easily, so having such a close friend so early in her new career felt like a sign she was on the right path.
The officiant came into the Sunday School classroom they had been using to get ready. “We’re about ready out here,” she said, grinning at Joel who had finally released Laurie from the bear hug he’d been giving her. “Are you walking down the aisle, or is your partner? I’m afraid I don’t remember.”
“They’ll be coming down the aisle,” Joel said promptly. He turned to face Laurie again, his shoulders set. “I think it’s time to take things to the next step.”
“Well, I should hope so, considering how much money you all have spent and how many people are out there waiting for you.” Laurie grinned. “Let’s get up there and wait for Alex. They’re going to look great, and we need to make sure the people get the good reaction shot of you when you see them for the first time.” Laurie followed the officiant out the door and stepped into the front of the chapel, Joel close on her heels.
The tiny chapel was packed to the gills, with several other people from the office in attendance. Laurie moved around Joel until he was standing between her and the officiant, and they all turned to watch the main door of the chapel expectantly. Laurie reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled the wedding band onto her thumb, making sure it was easily accessible and reminding herself it was there before things got properly started.
The doors opened slowly as the strains of the opening theme to “The Princess Bride” floated down from the sound system. The audience rose, murmuring appreciatively, as Raymond came walking down the aisle, carrying a bunch of flowers that was somewhere between a small bouquet and an oversized corsage. He was wearing the same shades of salmon and gold as Laurie was, looking much more fashionable in his gold slacks and pink suit coat, and he arrived at the front just as the music ended. He looked to be taking his role of bride’s man very seriously, though he winked at Laurie when she met his eyes. She grinned in return.
Alex struck a pose at the open door, waiting for the beat on the song to drop, and then started moving down the aisle to “Everything Is Awesome” from the Lego movie. Laurie felt her grin get even bigger as the cheers went up and Alex boogied down the aisle. They looked fabulous in a white sequined jumpsuit with a halter top and added skirt to allow for a dramatic sweep into the room. They came to a stop in front of the officiant and thrust their bouquet at Raymond, who barely caught it in time. “Let’s get hitched!” they squealed.
#
The reception had been going on for hours and showed no signs of stopping, but Laurie was beat. She’d ditched her heels sometime in the first hour of the night, after the photos and the toasts, and had been wandering barefoot after that. She was outside the church now, holding her heels in her hand and contemplating the gravel parking lot, when she heard someone beside her.
“You look like you’re in a bit of a conundrum, friend,” Raymond said, studying her carefully. Laurie rarely drank, and when there were so many coworkers around in a function like this, she’d allowed herself exactly one glass of champagne for the toasts in the first hour, and then stuck to water or juice after that. Raymond, by the sound and sway of him, had not taken this approach. “Anything I can do to help my fellow bridal party member?”
“You’re very kind,” Laurie said with a smile. “I’m just trying to decide which is worth the pain more - putting the ridiculous high heels back on to walk to my car, or walking across the gravel in my bare feet. There are pros and cons to each approach, naturally, but the longer I spend evaluating the situation, the longer it takes me to get home.”
“Yes, I can see that being a difficult decision to make,” Raymond nodded sagely. “You have, however, left out a third option that I think may trump the other two.”
“Oh?” Laurie looked at him with surprise. “What might that be?”
Without a word, Raymond swept her into his arms as though she weighed nothing. Laurie knew this was decidedly not the case, but after her initial squawk of surprise, decided not to argue. It was an option that would save her feet, after all. “Which one is your car?” he asked, and she directed him to her aging Subaru.
He gently deposited her next to the car, and she slipped the heels on long enough to unlock the car and get behind the wheel. “How are you getting home?” she asked politely. She didn’t particularly want to play designated driver for a lot of people at this party, but she was willing to make an exception for Raymond.
He blinked at her, startled. “Oh! That’s…that’s a very good question. Uh, is there any chance…?”
“If you’re ready to go now, hop on in,” she said with a grin. “If you need a few minutes, I’m willing to wait, but only for a few. There is a definite time limit on these heels, even just wearing them while sitting, and the clock’s ticking.”
“OK thank you love you be right back!” he hollered as he turned and booked it back to the church. She grinned, starting the car and flipping the mirror down to see what the damage was after hours of dancing and chatting. Not too bad, but not her best. Still, she thought as she saw Raymond running back to her car, she was willing to keep herself open to the possibilities. It was what had gotten her to this point, after all.
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