Just Dive Right In

385 Words

Happily ever after, a lifetime of laughter

It wasn’t often that Elliot got roped into weddings, which given how bittersweet he found them, he was grateful for. His own wedding had been such a long time ago that he struggled to remember what exactly it had felt like. Back before Nora was born, before he’d settled into who he was supposed to be. The death of his late wife had really done a number on him, but with the way that things had turned out, he couldn’t say it was in a terrible way. Corinne had given him everything he needed to be happy long after she was gone and he could only repay her by raising their daughter to be happy all on her own.

It pleased him to see Nick in a marriage that was well-suited to him and in the midst of things, he found himself being wrapped up in memories of his first love. The first person that had ever made him feel as though he was worth being given everything that he gave. Halley was so similar to Corinne that he knew no matter what Nick would always be taken care of, which was all he could ask for when it came to his best friend.

An in turn, he felt he ought to give Nick’s aunt/sister/best friend the very same.

Before he even had a chance to truly appreciate the night with his date, he had his own responsibilities as the wedding singer. At his cue of the first dance, he made his way to the small makeshift stage and cleared his throat, tapping lightly on the microphone. Elliot was not one for speeches and having the eyes of everyone turning on him, made his hands sweat. Out of habit, he sought out two people, first his daughter who was giggling with her the groom’s younger brother and then...his eyes caught Emma’s and he grinned.

“Will the bride and groom please take the floor for their first dance, everyone else may join in later on,” He turned around to grab his acoustic off the stand placed behind him and sat on the barstool that had been set up already.

His fingers strummed the guitar lightly as he began the song and he shifted his eyes from his hands back to the audience as he sang. ”I found a love for me. Darling just dive right in, follow my lead….”

Elliot continued on in the song as couples began pairing up alongside the bride and groom, dancing together. The hired band continued the instrumentals as he set his guitar down and took the microphone with him to where Emma was standing. When he reached her, he offered his hand and smiled.

at the expense of the death of a bachelor

385 Words

Happily ever after, a lifetime of laughter

His eyes stayed on her face while he effortlessly continued singing and although he saw her hesitate, he didn’t linger on it when she took his outstretched hand. He twirled her onto the dancefloor with his free hand and let it settle on her waist while he sang the words to her.

“Now I know I have met an angel in person and she looks perfect,” Elliot felt that those words explicitly applied to Emma. The song was so insanely Halley and Nick and he even saw his former love in the words, but that line immediately had him looking at the woman in his arms. In some strange sense, he felt like Emma was sent to him for a reason. No matter his beliefs perhaps not being super religious, he still felt as though Corinne wanted the best for him and therefore gave him a gentle nudge in Emma’s direction.

Surely his late love knew that Emma would be an amazing influence on their daughter and that she would no doubt make him happy.

The song drifted to an end and he spun Emma around once more as the instrumentalists played the final note. Everyone else applauded, but he was oblivious to them and far more concerned with the look on Emma’s face. Through the dance he noticed that she seemed uncomfortable. If not from the look on her face, through the tension in her body. Elliot made a split decision and handed off the microphone before tugging at Emma’s hand to lead her away from the rest of the party.

His fingers laced through hers and he cast one more glance over his shoulder at Nora. As he caught her with Layla, his eyes locked with his best friend’s mother and she gave him a nod, as if expressing that she had a firm handle on the younger kids. Once they were away from others, he loosened his grip on Emma’s hand, giving her a chance to drop his if that was the problem. He had a feeling she wouldn’t have done anything with other eyes watching them, but now that they were alone, he wasn’t sure what he expected.

“What’s wrong, Em?”

at the expense of the death of a bachelor

385 Words

Happily ever after, a lifetime of laughter

Her hand held fast to his and though he knew he should take it as a good sign, the rest of what came did little to ease his nerves. He hardly ever saw Emma upset, so when he did, it was something he picked up on almost immediately. They were always so carefree and happy, enjoying little moments with their girls and stolen moments after they went to bed. If that wasn’t what it meant to be in love, he didn’t think he’d ever felt it before.

But it was love and he could only be certain of that because the kind of happiness he felt with her mirrored the kind of happiness he felt with his daughter. They were the same level, just expressed in different ways. They were a family and Elliot wasn’t willing to let that go easily. He’d spoken to Nora in depth about how she felt towards Emma and more so how she felt about the relationship between Elliot and Emma. Had there been any hesitation in her answer of how much she adored Emma, he might have felt less certain about them, but there wasn’t any hesitation at all. Nora wanted so badly to call Emma her family and Elliot would be damned if he got in the way of that bond.

She let go of his hand and he felt like he’d empty the contents of his stomach right there. It was a brief feeling, as she placed her hand on his face. When tears fell down her face, his heart broke and his face contorted as if he were in pain.

Elliot placed his hand over Emma’s and his eyebrows pulled together in confusion at her question. It was a simple question, one that he should have understood, but given that it seemed so out of place, he couldn’t piece it together in his head. Did she really believe that he only stuck around her for their kids? Obviously that was a factor, but even if he hadn’t fallen head over heels for her, he would maintain civility so that Nora and Leah could stay close. But he wouldn’t just string her along for the younger girls’ sake.

It took him longer than was probably best before he could answer, and even when he did, it wasn’t the proper answer. “Wait, what?”

He shook his head to recover and he grabbed her other hand with his, “You don’t really think I would do that, do you?”

at the expense of the death of a bachelor

385 Words

Happily ever after, a lifetime of laughter

Elliot hated himself when he noticed Emma’s reaction to his words. He wanted to take them back. Maybe if he’d just immediately said that he wanted her no matter what without hesitating, he wouldn’t have to see the tears falling down her face. Maybe if he hadn’t thought about the way she thought about him and instead thought of the way she viewed herself, he could have said the right thing. And maybe then they would be able to go back to the party and enjoy the rest of the night.

But alas, Elliot didn’t do that. Instead, he made things worse.

His mind was still reacting slowly to the situation, so when her hand dropped, he again felt like he might throw up. All he was getting from her was that she didn’t want to be with him and he couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong. Things had been going so smoothly, or at least, he’d thought so. Nothing had raised any red flags to him and then all of a sudden, she was saying he didn’t deserve this.

Elliot frowned, “Don’t deserve what, Emma? What…” But before he could continue, she explained. She thought that she was competing with a ghost and he immediately felt guilty. In the last decade, he’d tried as hard as he could to make sure Nora knew her mother inside and out. He wanted her to know how much he loved her and how great she was and how much Nora was like her. He hadn’t realized that in doing so, he had made her a fixture in his relationship with Emma as well.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he didn’t even know how to fix what he’d been doing since they first started seeing each other. She cut off and he could feel tears filling his own eyes. The sight of her breaking in front of him was not something he ever wanted to see, but here they were, with him as the cause of their problems. Elliot ran his fingers through his hair and he tried to put his thoughts into words. All he could think to say was that it was her. She was all he wanted. All he thought about.

“Emma...she’s dead. Gone. You can’t….you can’t compare yourself to a dead person and you definitely can’t compete with one. You’ll drive yourself nuts,” He spoke quietly, deliberately, if not a little stammering. He paused and let out a deep sigh, “Corinne is Nora’s mother, and I know...I know that I talked about her a lot, but Emma...it’s been ten years. She’s not the person I’m going to spend my life with….”

Again he paused for far longer than he intended, wondering if he should be saying the next words that came to mind. “I want you to be that for me. For Nora. We need a physical presence in our lives, someone that...that loves us and wants us and can be with us. Someone that...that we want and love. I’m not with you for the girls’ sake, Emma. I love you and I...I’m just not willing to lose you.”

at the expense of the death of a bachelor