As Nate showered and started getting ready for the day, he couldn’t help but think back on his week. His arms were still slightly sore from where Alicia knelt on them, the mild sunburn from his day with Natalie was no longer warm to the touch, and he prayed that the front desk worker that overheard Taryn and him yesterday was no longer working downstairs. Although, as he washed his short hair, he did realize that the worker didn’t interrupt them. She listened and closed the door and went to work. How much did she hear? Did she enjoy listening? His stomach grumbled, interrupting his thoughts, and he considered the last big meal he ate was breakfast with Alicia.
“Heh. Sparkling french toast.” Nate laughed at himself as he remembered his joke over breakfast. Once he had put a banana in a hot dog bun and called it “banana bread” to all his friends. He was so proud of his puns sometimes.
As he dried off he considered the day. This afternoon was the wedding, then the reception and dance. Then midday tomorrow was his flight home. Six more hours in a plane, one Lyft home, and then a weekend of sleep before he would go back to his life. His trip to Hawaii would be just a memory to think back on. But a good one. No – a great one. He smiled and laughed. Maybe he would wind up fucking the bride at this rate!
Nate arrived at the beach, wearing a simple black suit. He thought back on what Alicia had told him (and looking around, did not see the bridal party anywhere yet) and considered how easy the choice for formal wear was for me. Women had to decide on what kind and color of dress. Men’s formal wear was, essentially, a uniform. Black suit, button up shirt, and tie. If a tie was darker and only had one color, it was more formal. That was pretty much it. Nate pondered as he found a chair, he didn’t think he had ever actually seen anyone in real life wear a white tie.
He looked around at the plastic chairs on the white sandy beach. It looked like there were about 40 chairs set up. This would be a small ceremony, with an aisle cut through the middle leading to a white plastic arch decorated with white flowers and balloons. To the right of the arch was a woman standing, playing a violin (or maybe the bigger instrument that he could never remember the name of). He fidgeted his feet in the sand, the chairs were set directly on the beach and even the aisle was just sand. He glanced around, wondering how hard it would be to walk if the women wore heels. Several minutes passed and the chairs filled up with more people he didn’t recognize, a few people he had not seen in years, he recognized some of Kyle’s family – they had been best friends once upon a time after all. Most of the crowd was strange to him, so he sat alone until a young couple with a child sat next to him and they politely nodded at one another. Finally, after about 20 minutes of waiting, people watching, and playing on his phone, the music changed.
Nate turned around and saw people near the back. A man holding a Bible walked forward first, smiling at guests and waving at a few of them. Kyle proceeded down the aisle next, walking alone. He turned and waited, beaming. He didn’t look at the crowd and Nate didn’t think he should try to catch his old friend’s eye. Then they saw those shimmering blue-green dresses, the professionally done make-up, and the hair in fancy styles, first Ashley and Taryn walking arm and arm down the aisle, splitting up and going to either side of the man. Then Alicia and a woman he didn’t recognize, who must have been the maid of honor, came. Finally, Shelby walked down. Nate was sure that some people would call her dress beautiful but he had no idea about the different names of cuts and styles of hair and jewelry. It wasn’t a poofy dress, and he was right about the shoes – all the women were in sandals.
All of Nate’s mind went blank when he saw it, a small tattoo he’d never forget. A small pineapple, made of artistic messy crosses, was on the woman’s shoulder blade. The maid of honor’s face snapped into focus. This wasn’t a strange woman he didn’t recognize. Her brilliant blue eyes showed out from beneath the makeup, and her light brown hair was done fancifully, but the changes of years melted away when he saw her pineapple. This wasn’t a strange woman he never met. This was the love of his life. This was Greta.
The ceremony was a blur. Nate couldn’t remember a thing he heard, who clapped, if the vows were read right. He stared at Greta and, as the bridal party recessed she stared back. She smiled and Nate was right back in freshman year, finally kissing her for the only and last time of his life. He could still feel her lips against his as she strode past, looking like an angel. And his soul left with her smile, it followed her and would follow her forever; Nate’s mind was trapped in elementary school, where they met; in middle school, where they became friends and she was nice to the chubby nerdy kid; in high school where they were each other’s best friends, but she needed to go to prom with her boyfriend; then in college when she came to him in tears after a breakup, only to kiss her once before he made up with her. Their history flashed before his mind in an eternity of a blink of an eye. Time slowed and blazed by as everyone left the beach and he looked for her. And all the lost minutes, hours, and years crashed back on him as he approached her again where she danced holding a drink that matched his own, the music of the reception loud and pumping through his ears.
Nate reached forward and touched her arm. Greta turned to face him and stopped dancing. A wide smile grew across her face and she turned to face him. Her smile could light up a room and Nate swore it made the whole beach brighter. Nate reached for her hand and grasped it, smiling and pulling her away from the dance floor without a word. They walked up the stairs back to the hotel and when they cleared the last stair, Nate could hear his own footsteps and he turned to hug her. “Greta,” he said simply.
“Nate,” she replied. “What are you doing here! I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“I got an invite. Shelby thought it was important that Kyle invite everyone. Even Ashley. And we used to be close, you know? What are you doing here?”
Greta’s face fell a bit and she took a long drink from her wooden tumbler. It smelled of coconut and rum. “Well. Casey actually. Casey and Shelby are good friends.” He nodded, pursing my lips as he remembered her boyfriend from all those years ago. The guy who took her to prom. The man who was both the cause of their first kiss and the reason it was their only kiss. Greta interrupted Nate’s thoughts, “We actually broke up just a couple weeks ago.”
“Oh my gosh, Greta. I’m so sorry, what happened?” Nate hugged her close again, he could smell her hair.
“He was dealing heroin.” She answered, slowly pulling away from the hug. Nate’s eyes grew wide as he stuttered. “I’m just kidding! He cheated on me. With two women. That he paid for.” She pursed her lips and Nate laughed awkwardly. “But you should have seen your face!”
Nate reached forward and took her hand again. “I generally think it’s rude to talk about a fresh ex, but,” he hesitated. “I never liked Casey.” He kept us apart, Nate thought.
Greta smiled sadly, politey. “I suppose he kept getting in our way, huh?” Nate’s eyes grew wider.
“I didn’t really mean it like that you know,” Nate trailed off.
“I did.” She smiled at Nate and paused for a moment in a sad smile for thought. “I’d suspected, for a while, that he wasn’t exactly boyfriend of the year. But I caught him. And we screamed. And I left and haven’t seen him since.” Nate nodded quietly as she spoke and he reached out and squeezed her arm. “I have been staying with Taryn,” Greta pointed down at her friend. “She has an apartment not far from campus.” Nate’s mind raced to keep up. Taryn must know our history. Why didn’t she tell me Greta was here?
“So what happens to you now?” Nate asked, holding his wooden tumbler out to her.
“Now,” she took it and drank the full contents of the tumbler without even stopping to ask what it was. “Now I’m not thinking about anything but a party where I get to drink all night. Tomorrow isn’t my problem right now.”
“Carpe diem, eh?” Nate responded.
“Carpe noctem, Nathan. It’s night.” Nobody called him Nathan anymore, but it sounded nice from her lips. She laughed, her voice sounded pure and delightful to his ears. “It’s just a classier version of YOLO, you know that right?”
Nate didn’t have a great response to that, so he just smiled at her and pulled her close for another hug. “I’ve missed you, Greta.”
A short talk on the stairs turned into sharing another drink, which turned into a dance, then dances, then sitting on the rocky shore very near where he and Ashley fooled around. Sitting together turned into shared glances, which turned into touching hands. Years came rushing back to them both. Nate’s mind was so far away from this week of depravity, and he finally leaned forward to kiss her. At the last second she turned her head and caught his cheek.
“I’m sorry. I just have a lot of feelings right now,” she said quietly into his ear.