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The arrival at the reception was chaotic, all bursts of music and shouting and laughter, but when the dust settled, Ethan found Zoe standing in front of a table set up in one corner, her arms wrapped around herself as she watched the candle burning from its spot in the middle of the table. When bounded up to her, Zoe looked up from the candle and smiled at him warmly.
"You did so good today," Zoe said, letting Ethan stand in front of her so that they could watch the candle burn together, resting her hands on his shoulders. Then, in a quieter voice, she told him, "I know your mom is looking down on you right now and she's smiling because she's so proud of you that she can't stop."
"How do you know?" Ethan asked, twisting his head so that he could peer back at her.
"Because I'm proud of you," Zoe answered, leaning down to press a kiss to Ethan's curls. "There's no one else in the world that could have been a better ring bearer than you."
Ethan seemed satisfied with that answer, resting back against Zoe as they watched the candle burn. Zoe only released Ethan when she felt fingers brush across the exposed skin of her shoulder and she looked over to see Taz standing there, his tie a little looser than it had when she'd walked down the aisle but his appearance otherwise unchanged.
"Hey," Taz said, smiling as he watched Zoe draw her hands away from Ethan's shoulders, letting them fall to her sides. "They want us to do our speeches now."
Zoe nodded. Then, to Ethan, she said, "Why don't you go back and sit with your dad?"
Ethan did as he was asked, slapping his palm against Taz's in a high-five before disappearing into the crowd, weaving his way between tables to make his way back to Nate. Zoe turned to give the candle on the table one last look, but then she slid her hand into Taz's and let him lead her away, up to the podium that had been set up on one side of the room. Even though she didn't touch him, Zoe was grateful for Taz next to her as they both stepped up to the podium. His presence alone was enough to send a wave of calm washing over her as she adjusted the microphone so that it was positioned in front of her face.
Despite her obvious nerves, Zoe's voice was clear and steady, carrying through the microphone as she said, "Hi, everyone. I'm sure many of you know me, but for anyone that doesn't, I'm Zoe. I've known Bree since we were three years old, so I guess you could say that I know her pretty well."
Zoe paused briefly, glancing over to the table that held the wedding party. Bree and Jay were sitting together, Bree's chin resting on Jay's shoulder as she listened.
"If you had told my mom when she picked me up from daycare the day I met Bree that I would be standing here now, giving a speech at her wedding, I really doubt she would have believed you, but here I am, so here we go," Zoe continued, allowing a moment for chuckles to erupt from the people in the room. "Bree, I've been so lucky to get to grow up alongside you. We've gone through so much together. I remember being so distraught when we were going into high school because it was the first time that we weren't going to be going to the same school. I begged my mom so many times to let me go to the same school as you, but she never budged. She knew we'd make it work, and we did."
