Winning the Right Brother (18 page)

And they did. They drove back to the hospital and sat down in the lobby, and they held hands, and they kissed, and they talked quietly until morning. Then they walked hand in hand into Will’s hospital room, just like he’d wanted them to.

H
is wedding day.

Alex thought this should be a quietly serious moment, a moment to contemplate the future in some sort of deep and profound manner, but that wasn’t an option when you had Will for a best man.

“Okay, Coach, I went online to get all the advice-to-the-bridegroom I could find. Number one—when you’re standing at the altar, bend your knees slightly. Apparently if you hold them stiff it can cut off the circulation and make you pass out or something. Number two—”

“Will, in the name of everything holy, please stop talking. Why do they make us wait back here, anyway? I can’t tell if they’re ready.”

Will looked sympathetic. “Starting to get nervous, huh? That’s totally normal, by the way. One of my most
important jobs is to keep you calm. Would you like me to tell you a joke? I know this really good—”

Alex took Will by the lapels of his tuxedo. “I just need two things. Tell me if I look okay, and tell me if they’re ready for us out there.”

Will stepped back and studied him appraisingly. Alex stood up straight and tried to look easy, confident and manly. In reality he felt a little sick, but he hoped that didn’t show.

“Actually, you look a little sick. Do you want some Pepto Bismol? I brought some in my emergency best-man kit.”

“You have an emergency best-man kit?” Alex asked, momentarily distracted.

“You bet. It’s got—”

“No, don’t tell me. Just sneak out front and see if they—”

Before he could finish the sentence the little door opened and the minister popped his head in. “Showtime!” he said cheerfully, and Alex wondered if he had a few minutes to go to the bathroom and throw up.

Will patted him on the back. “It’s okay, Coach,” he said. “We made it to the state championship and we’re going to make it through this. Right?”

Alex managed to nod. He took a deep breath, and then he and Will went through the door to stand on the left side of the altar.

The church was full of people but Alex didn’t see any of them very clearly. His eyes were fixed at the back of the church, where Holly would be appearing any minute. He remembered what Will had said and bent his knees slightly.

The music began. It was something by Bach, played
on the piano. It was probably very beautiful, but Alex wouldn’t have noticed if it had been the theme to
Star Wars
or the Oscar Mayer wiener jingle.

He took a breath. Gina was coming down the aisle with the measured steps they’d practiced at the rehearsal yesterday. She was probably very beautiful, too, but she could have been hopping along in a pink gorilla suit and Alex wouldn’t have noticed that, either.

There must have been some kind of musical cue, because all at once everyone in the church was rising to their feet. Alex felt his heart stop. He bent his knees a little more and took another deep breath.

And there she was.

As soon as he saw Holly all his fear melted away. Alex had lived thirty-five years, and in all that time no one had ever looked at him like this. There was so much love and trust and joy in Holly’s face that she seemed to glow, as if she were lit from within.

He hadn’t been allowed to see her dress until now. It was nothing like he’d expected, especially the full skirt, which was frilly and feminine and as impractical as a fairy tale…and so beautiful it made his throat ache. Through the mist of her veil he could see her smile, and the extra shimmer in her eyes that came from tears.

Before he knew what was happening he was crying too. He started to lift his arm to wipe away the tears with his sleeve, but then Will was handing him a handkerchief. “Emergency kit,” he whispered.

“Thanks,” Alex whispered back, and suddenly he was grinning at Will, and at Holly, and Holly was smiling at them both with all the love in her heart.

Then his soul mate was standing before him, putting her hands in his, and Holly and Alex were promising out
loud and before God what they’d promised in their hearts long ago. And when they sealed their promise with a kiss, they knew that happily-ever-after had just begun.