TKB - The Time Apart

Chapter 16 - An Evans Wedding (Part 2)

Elle POV

Its wedding day!

After quite a late, but 'enjoyable' night, I rolled out of bed, but not before giving a sleeping Ben a quick kiss on the cheek.  My dad may not have wanted him staying in here, but honestly, I didn't exactly expect him to give me a hard time about it on his wedding morning - and I wasn't even sure he'd notice (he didn't).

I showered, and pulled together my things - my dress, a change of clothes, some socks for dancing, etc, and left to meet Linda and Kelsey at the reception hall.  We were meeting there at 10:00, which gave us plenty of time to get dolled up before pictures started at 1, and then the ceremony shortly after that.  Linda was absolutely glowing, and that was even before her makeup was started.  I could just tell how happy she was - she didn't look like she had a single nerve.  Me, on the other hand, I was a ball of nerves.  I'm not sure if it was for the wedding itself or for my speech later, but I was certainly thankful for the champagne in the bridal suite.  Linda had also invited June to join us for hair & makeup, so I was happy she was there to spend the time with us. 

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My dad and Linda did a "First Look" when the photographer arrived rather than seeing each other for the first time down the aisle.  And, instead of it being just the 2 of them, the 3 kids were there as well.  I could see the tears in my dad's eyes as he turned around to see Linda, and you could feel the love between them.  I find myself tearing up as well, which makes it a good thing that I'm covered in waterproof makeup!

We spent about an hour with the photographer - getting every combination of family members together.  Linda's brother and family came, and they took photos with them too.  We even did a Flynn/Evans family photograph - with one Flynn conspicuously absent from the picture.  It stung a bit, not having him here though.  Before we were done - I asked the photographer for a favor, and that was to get a picture of Lee and I, as well as one of Ben and I.  I wasn't sure what would happen with Ben, but I was happy with him, and I wanted it captured on film.   Lastly, and unbeknownst to Lee, I had asked Rachel to arrive just a few minutes early for a photo as well.  I had an idea that Lee and Rachel would stick it out this time, and I wanted to have this moment of their reunion preserved for them.  

By the time we were done with pictures, the guests had mostly arrived, and had been seated in the courtyard for the ceremony.  The aisle was lined with bouquets of white hydrangea and blush pink roses, similar to the bouquets that we were holding.  It was understated, but beautiful and elegant.  

Brad, Kelsey and I walked down the aisle together, rather than separately, to symbolize our families coming together.  Although we were older, I was glad to be gaining a sister, although to be honest, I think Brad could care less.   Brad and I took our places by our dad, and Kelsey stood on the other side to support her mom.

Everyone oooh-ed and ahhh-ed when Linda walked down the aisle, and again, I saw a tear in my dad's eye.  The ceremony was short and sweet though, and before I knew it, they were wed, and heading back down the aisle hand in hand.  

The wedding party was amazing.  The band that Linda found was incredible and kept everyone on the dance floor all night.  When it was time for them to have their first dance, my dad and Linda couldn't take their eyes off each other, like they were the only ones in the room.  The band leader invited us kids to join them, and Kelsey grabbed Brad's arm and danced with him, while I asked Ben if he'd like to dance.  I thought about asking Lee first, but asking Ben seemed like the right thing to do, since I hadn't really seen him all day.

As we danced, Ben told me how lovely I looked, and how he couldn't stop staring at me since he got there earlier today.  I blushed and thanked him, and told him how happy I was that he was there to celebrate with us.  

Lee and I did get our chance on the dancefloor though.  I had asked the band leader if he could do me an easy favor while the band was taking a break, and I had sent him some songs to choose from.  Fortunately, for us, he picked 'Be Together', by Ni-Ni, a song with Lee and I had killed on the DDM machine so many times.  The rest of the wedding guests formed a circle around us while we danced, and it was absolutely awesome.  It felt good to be the same old Lee and Elle that we always were.  It also felt nice to see Rachel and Lee together - they seemed to want to make up for lost time, and were never more than a few feet apart.

When dinner was served, it was time for toasts.  Brad and I had discussed this, and he decided that he didn't really want to speak in front of everyone and was really hoping that I would.  I took him up on it, and now, here I am, clinking my glass and asking for everyone's attention.

"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Elle, Mike's daughter.  When my dad first told me about Linda, I was not exactly thrilled, or very welcoming.  In fact, I was down right rude and obnoxious.  Boy, have we come a long way since that.  The more I've gotten to know you, the more I value our time together.  I've seen the way my dad lights up when you walk in the room, and I know you feel the same way about him.  Brad and I are lucky to have you in our lives, and Kelsey is just a wonderful, wonderful added bonus.  Its been said already this weekend, but I have to agree, I know my mom is looking down at us and smiling.  

Linda, welcome to the family - and please, take this Scottie Monopoly piece as a token of forgiveness."   And with that, I handed her an actual Monopoly piece, from that tantrum I had at the beach house.  

"Will everyone please raise their glass, and help me toast the new Mr. and Mrs. Michael Evans." to which I downed my entire glass of champagne, relieved that this part was over.

My dad gave a toast as well, a very heartfelt speech about how well Linda has fit into our family, how much he enjoys spending time with her, and how grateful he was to Kelsey for supporting me on my previous semester in London, and how thankful he is to us kids for being supportive.  

Everyone danced the rest of the night away, and my feet were definitely sore from all of my own dancing.  At one point, I looked around the dancefloor and saw my dad and Linda, Brad and Kelsey, June and Matthew, and Lee and Rachel - there were so many people in that room that mean so much to me, and I was so happy to be with everyone that I loved. 

Later that night, it really got me thinking.  Ben really is a great guy, and I meant what I said to him on the dancefloor, I just wasn't sure what would happen when he left next week and what was next for us.  Seeing the happiness on my dad's face, and hearing his words to Linda also made me wonder if my feelings for Ben really were that strong.  I'm not sure if I can see us spending our lives together.  

What I am sure about, is that I know I did feel that way about someone once, and he broke my heart, and trampled on it a bit more by not showing up today.  Really, what WAS Noah thinking, not coming to my dad's wedding.  It has to be that he's avoiding me.  What other possible reason would he have, because having to move is not a good enough excuse.  He could have made other arrangements - he's smooth talking Noah Flynn.  

My dad left for his honeymoon, and Ben and I spent the rest of the week continuing to explore LA.  After the wedding, we didn't really talk about what our future held, but I think he could tell I was holding back.  On his last full day here, we went down to the beach, and while we were sitting there, he turned to me, which felt like out of the blue, and said "You know, I've still never seen you as happy as you were in that photo back at Lee's, alongside his brother."  I was taken aback, and didn't know if he was upset or angry, turns out, he was neither.  He just knew that something wasn't there between us, and that photo made him realize it.  But, there were no hard feelings, even though there were a few moments of awkwardness, we still enjoyed the rest of our day together.

The next day, when I dropped Ben off at the airport, it was bittersweet.  I was alone again, but I was home. I'm grateful for my experiences over the past few months. I learned to live on my own, I managed an adult relationship, complete with adult breakup, and watched my dad get married.

A/N:  I'm trying to stay a few chapters ahead, but running into a bit of writers block with some details.  But, I'm still trying to keep this updated regularly!