His eyes turn to me. The hazel is practically mocking, and even though I don't react, there's no way he doesn't notice the way my face warms when he stares at me a beat too long.
Jo would kill me. It's enough to get it from Amy, but me too? God.
_...
Jo tears her hand away from Meg's with a look of disgust. "But WHY?"
"I love him," Meg insists, glancing over at me. I shrug when she widens her eyes, looking eager for my input.
"You will be bored of him in two years and we will be interesting forever." Jo scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Just because my dreams are not the same as yours doesn't mean they're unimportant." Meg consoles her, reaching out to touch her arm. "I want a family and a home and I'm not scared of working and struggling, but I want to do it with John." A soft smile touches her lips, and I glance over at her, jarred out of my daze.
Without even realizing it, my eyes had drifted to Laurie's window.
I shake my head to clear my sudden trance.
"I just hate that you're leaving me." Jo sniffs, her voice cracking at the end, and I frown.
"Oh Jo, I'm not leaving you." Meg sighs. "Besides, one day it will be your turn."
"I'd rather be a free spinster and paddle my own canoe." Jo rolls her eyes dramatically, and the image of her with a husband flashes through my mind. I giggle at the ridiculousness of the thought, and she shoots me a half-hearted smile.
"We'll all still be together after this," I say, wrapping one arm around Jo. She leans into my side, sniffing again as she begins to tear up.
"I can't believe childhood is over," she whispers, and I sober up a bit.
"Me either," I breathe, my eyes sliding back to Laurie's window.
"It was going to end one way or another," Meg insists, and pulls us both to our feet. "Now—no more tears. I'm getting married today and neither of you are dressed."
Jo laughs shakily and hugs the both of us, her small arms strong despite her petite size. As I hug my sisters, my eyes hold focus on Laurie's window over Jo's shoulder, and I watch as the lantern by the pane lights and Laurie himself appears in view.
He doesn't see me—he's buttoning up a white shirt with deft fingers, his focus somewhere beyond our physical plane. I can tell he's humming—he has a dreamy look on his face, and when he's done with his shirt, he does a little shimmy out of view to grab his jacket.
I bite my lip to keep from laughing, my heart warming with the affection I hold for him.
Childhood is over indeed.
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"What excessive promise, giving yourself away to get the other. What a thing, what a gift, always given before it is known the cost or the reward." My father is wrapping up his speech—John and Meg finished their vows, and as soon as they kiss I give a little squeal, shifting around on my feet.
