TROUVAILLE ... l.danes (REWRITE)

chapter thirty-one; the past

OR A MONOCLED GNOME THAT FELL OUT OF HIS POCKET 

nineteen-eighty-eight

IT'S ODDLY quiet behind the closed door. Lucas waits outside, fingers tapping against his thigh as he questions whether he should knock. Olive should be dressed by now, right? The ceremony starts in fifteen minutes, she wouldn't have waited this long to get dressed. Would she?

He lifts his fist and holds it over the door. His hand shakes. The door to the small private room in the chapel has been painted white, but the paint is beginning to flake. He knocks and some of the paint chips fly off with his knuckles. A startled "one minute!" comes from inside the room and then hurried footsteps rush towards the door. It's wrenched open by Sookie. She's wearing some weird polyester pink dress with a lace high-neck and long sleeves that makes her look like she should be living on a prairie, not going to a wedding. Lucas holds back his surprised laugh at the sight of it. She doesn't look too happy to be wearing it either. He wonders if Shelley is wearing the same thing.

"Jeff told me to check on Olive."

"Everything's fine!" Sookie sounds too cheery. Which is weird, actually, since she's always cheery. But there's something forced about the bright pink smile forcing her lips apart. Maybe it doesn't reach her eyes. Maybe it falters for just a second when a gut-wrenching sob echoes from the room behind her.

A tiny three-year-old comes toddling up and peeks out from behind Sookie's dress. She's also wearing bright pink polyester that is all ruffles and not much else. Lucas could laugh just at the sight of her.

"Uncle Lukey!"

He drops down to his knees to pinch Autumn's chubby cheeks, causing her to smile even wider. "Hey, pretty girl. What's going on?" Autumn glances behind her and ponders for a few seconds, before she spins back around to her dad's best friend, ruffled skirt twisting with her.

"Mommy's crying. She won't stop. Auntie Sookie says it's ruining her makeup."

Sookie's cheeks blossom bright red and she drops her head as if to absolve herself of any lies she may have told. Lucas barges through, not caring about anybody's state of undress. Olive shouldn't be crying on her wedding day. He freezes at the entrance to the room. There Olive is, drowning in white polyester, letting it swallow her whole in the middle of the room, where she's collapsed onto her knees in a fit of bubbling tears. He can barely make out a word she's trying to say to him as he finally moves and drops to his knees beside her, arms wrapping around her shoulders. Shouldn't her Maid of Honour be comforting her on her wedding day? Where the hell is she?

"Where's Shelley? Did she run out?"

He would have noticed her running through the chapel. He's been anxiously pacing the aisle with Jeff, waiting for even a glimpse of her. How long has it been since he last saw her? Three years. God, he can't even imagine what she looks like anymore. Her hair might be shorter, cut to swing around her chin, bouncing when she walks. Her smile might be wider and her clothes might be more big-city. Maybe she talks differently. Maybe she brings home a new boyfriend with her who lives in one of those big cities and has rich parents. Maybe, she's exactly the same as when she left.

Olive hugs him closer and sobs into his chest.

She is definitely not meant to be crying like this.

He twists his head around to Sookie, but she's not looking at him, cheeks still flushed pink. Instead, she's trying to fix Autumn's dress as she spins around and around, her bow coming undone from the back of the dress. Both dresses are frightfully pink.