Ashley’s solemn reflection stared back at her in the mirror. Her eyes should have displayed happiness and love, but instead sadness and regret pooled in their brown depths. Her heart felt what her eyes and face displayed and what her lips failed to say. This was her wedding day and she shouldn’t have felt the way she was feeling, but Ashley would never be able to forget the way his blue eyes had tenderly gazed at her, the way he had made her feel, and the gentle words he had whispered, words that weren’t meant for anyone but her to hear. But it was all too late now. Too late for them, too late for their love, too late for everything that could have been. She had pushed him away, pushed away Nick, the person that she loved more than anything but hadn’t realized it until it was too late. Too late. Those words continued to ring in her ears, mocking her.
Ashley sat at the vanity of the brides’ room in the First Presbyterian Church in Tampa, Florida. The voluminous skirt of her wedding dress gathered at her feet and her veil fell softly about her shoulders. Her chestnut brown hair was piled up on top of her head in curls. Nick had told her to wear her hair down for her wedding. The stiff curls and height were unnatural for Ashley, but her soon-to-be mother-in-law had insisted that Ashley wear her hair up. Mrs. Vanderbilt had insisted on every aspect of the wedding that would be attended by 600 guests, half of whom Ashley had never met. 600 guests who were there to witness as she pledged herself in front of God to a man she did not love, while the man she did love avoided the painful ceremony at all costs, avoided the pain that only Ashley held the power to prevent.
She should have realized sooner. Shouldn’t have waited so long. Should have stopped lying to herself and to Nick. But she hadn’t and now she was paying the price. Her thoughts were interrupted as the door to the brides’ room opened. Ashley turned around only to meet the gaze of Nick’s best friend.
“Brian, what are you doing here?”
“Just came to see if I could help a friend out before it’s too late,” Brian smiled sadly.
Ashley turned back towards the mirror, “Have you talked to him today?”
Brian nodded, “Yep. He told me about last night. He blames himself for it. He blames himself for everything.”
Ashley’s eyes filled with tears, “It’s not his fault, Brian. It could never be his fault. Nick was the only person in my life who ever loved me. But I’m not good enough for him. He deserves so much more, Brian. He’s so much better than me.”
“You know that’s not true, Ashley, but I need you to listen to me. I need you to hear what I’m saying before it’s too late,” Brian walked forward and grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face him, “Don’t do this to him. Don’t do this to yourself. Do you understand me?”
A tear slipped slowly down Ashley’s cheek, “Why is it so hard for me to love Nick, Brian? Why can’t I just let myself love him?”
Brian paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts, “Because when you love someone as deeply as you and Nick love each other, I think it’s too much for your heart to comprehend at one time. Sometimes we love so much that it scares us and we don’t know what to do with those feelings. You love Nick. You know that. Just don’t spend the rest of your life regretting the fact that you didn’t act on it.”
Ashley shook her head as the tears came faster, “I ruined it this morning, Brian. When I left. I didn’t even wake him up. I just walked out like the coward that I am. What I did was so selfish. When I went over there last night I didn’t even think about how Nick would feel this morning. I knew exactly what I was doing, but I didn’t let Nick’s feelings stop me.”
“I don’t have a profound answer for this, Ashley. All I know is that Nick loves you and if you go through with this it’ll take him the rest of his life to get over it. As his friend, as your friend, I can’t just watch it happen,” Brian knelt down in front of Ashley, taking her hands in his, “Can I tell you something?”
Ashley nodded, wiping at her cheeks.
“I don’t have to try too hard to picture you and Nick together forty years from now. You’ve both got gray in your hair and you’re standing on the beach with all these little blonde grandbabies running around and Nick’s trying to teach them how to swim, just like he taught your own kids to swim. But then he looks over at you and you both forget about the chaos surrounding your life and you smile, because you love him as much then as you do now. Can you picture that, too?”
Ashley smiled through her tears, “Did you know that Nick taught me how to swim?”
Brian shook his head, “I never knew that.”
“My whole life I had been afraid of the water. My parents had paid for so many swimming lessons, but I still couldn’t get over my fear,” Ashley paused, remembering the moment, “Nick and I hadn’t been friends very long. I was probably around fourteen and Nick was fifteen. You guys were just hitting the big time in Europe and Nick was home on break. He invited me over to swim at his house. I’ve never been able to tell Nick no and of course one thing led to another and he found out that I couldn’t swim. From that day on, until he had to go back on tour, Nick and I were in the water. Because of Nick, I conquered my fear. He didn’t give up on me.”
Brian smiled and squeezed her hand, “How can you let go of memories like that?”
“I won’t let them go, Brian. They’re the only things that will keep me going.”
“You haven’t changed your mind,” Brian stated.
Ashley pulled her hand away from his, “No, I haven’t and I won’t.”
“I wish I could say something that would convince you. I wish I could give you a glimpse into the future and show you what it will be like: For you and Preston and for Nick. Don’t leave him alone like this, Ashley. You won’t be the one that has to sit by and watch him hurt like this. I will. Kevin will. A.J. will. Howie will. His family will, but not you. You won’t see what you’ve done to him. We’ve already seen it and we know that it’s just going to get worse. If you do this to him, he won’t forgive you.”
Ashley broke down, “It’s too late, Brian. I can’t stop this now. I want to, but I can’t.”
Brian folded her into his arms, “It’s not too late. We can stop this. It might take some people a while to get over it, but this is the rest of your life we’re talking about. Not theirs.”
Ashley cried into his shoulder for a few moments, allowing his words to absorb into her brain, “I can’t stop this wedding, Brian. It’s going to start in one hour. The only person who could do anything is Nick and there’s no way he’ll come here. Not now, not after how I left this morning. It’s too late, Brian. We all have to realize that.”
*****
A.J., Howie, and Kevin stood just outside of the sanctuary where they had met up with the girls.
“Where the hell did Brian go?” A.J. asked.
“You know, A.J., I really thought you would watch your mouth when we’re in a church,” Howie commented.
“God knows when I say the words, whether I’m in church or not, Howard, so shut your damn mouth,” A.J. looked down and glanced at his watch, “Why the hell did Brian make us get here so freaking early?”
“A.J., I need to talk to you.” Out of nowhere, Brian appeared beside them.
“Oh, look. It’s Boy Wonder. Who’s life are you trying to save now?” A.J. cracked.
“Brian, honey, where have you been?” Leighanne inquired, hooking her arm through his.
“A.J., can I talk to you over here for a minute?” Brian’s expression was somber.
“Sure, I guess, but what’s going on?” A.J. allowed Brian to lead him away from the others.
“Bone, I need you to go get Nick and bring him here.”
“Go get Nick? You’re joking, right? You and I saw the same person didn’t we? He wasn’t going anywhere and I for one am not going to put him through this.”
“I just talked to Ashley. For some reason, I get the idea that if Nick comes here, he can stop this wedding. But he’s not going to come unless one of us goes to get him,” Brian explained.
“Then why don’t you? You’re his best friend,” a cynical look appeared on A.J.’s face.
“Because I’m not persuasive enough. You might have to get tough with him. You’re the only one who can do this.”
“Brian, you’ve gone off your rocker. This wedding starts in an hour. We rode here in a limo. There are fifty limos out front. It will take me an hour to find our driver. There is no fucking way you can pull this off,” A.J. stated pessimistically.
“You can get a cab. It’ll get you there faster than a limo. You have to do this. We’re running out of time.”
A.J. threw up his hands, “Fine. Fine. I’ll do this, but if it doesn’t work out, you owe me big time.”
Nick could hardly believe the words that A.J. was saying to him.
“This isn’t a soap opera, A.J. It’s my life. You guys have to stop trying to screw with it,” Nick tried to close the front door.
A.J. threw up a hand and stopped it before it could close, “Nick, you’ve got to listen to me. You are going to regret this for the rest of your life if you just sit here on your ass while she marries Preston. You are the only one who can do something about this.”
Nick pushed against the door, “It’s too late, A.J. Everything’s fucked up. It’s just too late. Thanks for trying, but it’s not enough.”
“Fine, Nick. Let her go. For all I care you can spend the rest of your life wallowing in your own shit, which is exactly what you’ll be doing if you don’t get over to that church. You’ve always gotten out of things the easy way. This might be the easiest way, but it’s sure going to make your life a hell of a lot more miserable. Don’t come running to me when you’re old and lonely, because I won’t care. You had your shot,” A.J. turned on his heel and started to walk away from the door, praying that Nick would stop him. Not only did Nick need to stop the wedding, but A.J. didn’t have a ride back to the church. As he looked out to the curb, he saw that the taxi he had arrived in was gone.
A.J.’s prayers were answered.
“Wait, A.J. Just let me grab my keys.”
A.J. breathed a sigh of relief and made his way over to the Durango where Nick shortly joined him. Nick left tire marks on the road as he peeled down the street.
“How much time do we have?” Nick asked nervously, navigating his way towards downtown.
“Five minutes.”
“How long does it take to get to the church?”
“Ten minutes.”
Nick pressed harder on the accelerator.
*****
Brian sat uneasily at the end of the pew, glancing around every few seconds to look towards the doors.
“B, baby, who are you looking for?” Leighanne asked, “You’ve turned around about twenty times.”
Brian didn’t answer her, but felt someone tap him on the arm.
Amanda leaned towards him, “Brian, where is my boyfriend? The last time I saw him, you had him over in a corner.”
Howie spoke up, “They probably kicked him out of the church for use of obscene language.”
*****
Nick sped through the Tampa streets, breaking every traffic law that existed.
“Now how much time do we have?”
A.J. glanced at his watch, “You don’t want to know.”
A traffic light turned yellow as Nick approached it. Gunning it, Nick sped on through, not caring that it had turned red.
“Uh, Nick. You might want to pull over,” A.J. suggested looking over his shoulder.
Nick glanced in his rear view mirror to see the flashing lights of a police car. He glanced forward. The church was two and a half blocks away.
“Shit.”
*****
Ashley felt her father hook her arm through his. The sanctuary doors were pulled open as “The Wedding March” swelled throughout the church. She caught sight of Preston standing at the altar and her stomach churned. As her father began to lead her through the doors, thoughts of Nick swam through her brain. A horrifying realization sunk in. It was too late.
*****
Nick rolled down his window, mentally rehearsing what he would say to the police officer. He shouldn’t have stopped.
“Sir, do you have any idea how fast you were going when you ran that light?” the cop asked as he approached the Durango.
Automatically, Nick opened the door and stepped out. The officer immediately reached for his gun.
“Sir, I need you to get back in the vehicle or place your hands on the hood.”
“Officer, you don’t understand. I need to get to that church,” Nick pointed down the road, “The girl that I love is about to marry someone else and I have to stop the wedding.”
“Please get back in the vehicle, sir,” the officer pointed the gun at Nick’s chest.
Nick felt A.J. get out of the car. So focused on detaining Nick, the officer didn’t see A.J. sneak noiselessly away and down the sidewalk.
*****
Ashley stood at the front of the church, her hands joined with Preston. She knew the minister was speaking, but she couldn’t decipher the words that were coming out of his mouth. Finally, one sentence made sense to her:
“If anyone has any objections to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace.”
Brian’s head jerked up at those words. This was it. This was their last chance. Even if Nick were on his way, he wasn’t going to make it in time. Anxiety flowed through Brian’s body as he considered the fact that Nick might not even be coming. Summing up all of the courage he possessed, Brian stood up. He heard Leighanne urgently whisper for him to sit back down.
“I object.”
Everyone in the church turned to face Brian with perplexed looks on their faces. Ashley felt relief surge through her veins. She turned towards him.
Brian was shocked at the sound of his own voice.
The shocked minister spoke, “On what grounds, sir?”
Brian didn’t know what to say.
Another voice rose up in the church, only this time it was from the front of the sanctuary.
“I would have to object also.”
Brian turned to stare at Laurel.
“Perhaps we should take this elsewhere,” the minister suggested gently.
At that moment, the doors where Ashley had walked through only minutes before with her father, swung open and A.J. emerged.
Panting from running the two and a half blocks to the church, A.J. doubled over placing his hands on his knees and breathlessly called, “Stop…the…wedding!”
“What the hell is going on here?” Mr. Kelly rose from his seat.
Six hundred pairs of eyes focused in on A.J. waiting to hear what he would say. Still trying to catch his breath, A.J. didn’t look up, only prayed for Nick to come through the doors.
Mrs. Vanderbilt stood, “What is the meaning of this? Somebody get them out of the church!”
Ashley felt as if her heart had stopped. She felt Preston grab on to her upper arm roughly, “Do you know anything about this?”
“Brown Eyes, don’t do this!” Nick’s voice rang out through the church as he pushed through the doors and past A.J.
“What is he doing here? Somebody get rid of him now!” Preston ordered.
Ashley broke down into tears at the sight of Nick. He made his way up the aisle, speaking as he went, “Ashley, I love you. I can’t live the rest of my life knowing that I let this happen. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. When I’m not with you, a part of me is missing. I told you that I wouldn’t let you go without a fight, Brown Eyes, and I’ve never made a promise to you that I didn’t keep. All I can ask you now is to not go through with this. Let me love you. Tell me I’m not too late.”
The whole church was silent now, everyone’s eyes darting back and forth between Ashley and Nick. Slowly, she turned to face Preston. Nick felt his heart drop. He hung his head in shame and humiliation before turning to walk out of the church. Then he heard her voice.
“Nicky, wait.”
Nick’s head snapped up and he turned to meet her gaze, but she was still looking at Preston.
“Preston, I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you like this, but I would hurt you even more if I married you while I loved someone else. I hope that you can forgive me.”
Before Preston could respond, Ashley lifted the hem of her dress slightly off the ground and stepped down into the aisle. She made her way slowly to where Nick was standing despite the resounding protests that she heard coming from Mrs. Vanderbilt. Finally, Ashley stood in front of Nick. They didn’t speak, just gazed into each other’s eyes, finally, freely expressing the love that they felt for one another.
A smile played softly at the corners of Ashley’s mouth and her arms slowly wound around Nick’s neck. His arms found their way around her waist and Nick lifted her off the ground, holding her tightly against him. They became oblivious to the stares of the people surrounding them. Placing Ashley gently back on her feet, Nick spoke softly, “I thought I was going to be too late.”
Ashley touched his cheek gently with her hand and moved her face closer to
his. Before their lips met in a tender kiss she whispered, “No, Nick. I’ve
always been in love with you. I just didn’t realize it. Preston was the
one that was too late.”
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