I Want Your Heaven and Your Oceans Too

When We Were Young (2/2)

As a rule, Bradley didn't particularly care for weddings. Since his own had resulted in a disastrously short-lived union, he always felt vaguely uncomfortable being invited to anyone else's. He'd dutifully put on a suit and show up with a genuine smile, truly happy that the two people choosing to make a commitment had found one another but at the same time, not understanding why they had to force such an archaic tradition and make it into such a hoopla. In his circle, especially, weddings seemed a dime a dozen and the more lavish, the more over the top and ridiculously outlandish, the better.

But there was something about this one that touched him and maybe it was his old age, that he was getting sentimental or the mini-reunion of beautiful people who had worked on a film that had changed the trajectory of his life...perhaps it was witnessing how deserved this was for Anthony and his bride who had stayed by one another's sides, throughout trial and tribulation.

Moreover, he realized, it was being with her, again. Observing the easy way she spoke to everyone, how her eyes caught the light, how beautiful she looked in her dress. He couldn't stop staring but he tried not to make her uncomfortable, knowing what it had taken for her to be sitting next to him in the first place.

He hadn't known what to expect when he picked her up at the house, hours before. And truth be told, he was nervous, to the point that beads of sweat had begun to form at his temples on the drive over. It was a strange thing: she'd always been the person he felt most comfortable with as if they'd known one another in a different lifetime. But he had to reconcile that when he'd walked out, he'd shattered everything they'd worked to build, including and especially, the way she'd trusted him.

The changes in his life over five years had not been as drastic as hers. He'd dated some but nothing serious and mostly, threw himself wholly into work and being a devoted father, maintaining an amicable environment for Lea with Irina and her fiancé. Most of the years, he had to admit, had been focused on trying to atone for the mess he had made, and eventually, he'd resigned himself to the fact she had gotten on with life without him.

"You can still fix things, Brad," Irina had told him days before his trip back to California. He had come to see Lea at the apartment and when his ex-girlfriend managed to pry out of him that Stefani would be at the wedding, she sat him down at the kitchen table after their daughter was out of earshot. "I don't believe for one second, she just stopped loving you."

It was almost unfathomable to him that they had gotten to a place where she could put own feelings aside, ones she'd quite loudly expressed that were more often than not, followed by a string of expletives. Time had soothed much of the resentment and Bradley also had to thank her soon to be husband for that. Tim loved Lea and tried to be as accommodating as possible so that the three of them could function as a united front for the child they all adored.

"I don't know if that's possible. She refuses to even speak to me. I can't expect, after all this time, that anything's changed," he had contested. "I made a big mess."

"You did," she acknowledged gently. "But she's got a huge heart. I saw it in how she never forgot about Lea. You can prove to her that you're ready now. Because you are, Bradley."

"What if she's not? I can still see her face when I told her I couldn't be with her. I ruined whatever future we might have had.. She may not ever be able to forgive me, Irina. And I can't blame her."