Can You Believe
By Laura Schiller
Based on Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
"If someone had told you ten years ago what you're about to do, you'd have slapped them," said Laurie, leaning in the doorway and meeting Jo's eyes in the mirror. Standing there in her simple white wedding gown, with white rosebuds in her hair and bouquet (roses from the garden plot that used to be Beth's), he would have expected her to look like a stranger – however, the twinkle in her bright gray eyes and the wry twist of her mouth were unmistakably the same.
"Perhaps. Can you believe I'm getting married, Teddy?" she said, with a small laugh and a shake of the head.
"Seeing as I'm the best man, yes."
She patted her hair one last time, making sure the bun at the back of her head stayed in place ("No frizzles and furbelows for me, thank you!" she'd told her sisters) and spun around, making her skirt twirl.
"Am I presentable?" she asked over her shoulder.
"Yes. No burned breadths this time. Seriously, you look lovely."
And she did. Falling in love had not tamed her, by any means, but made her happier and more comfortable in her skin; she didn't need to be so prickly anymore.
"Thanks, Teddy."
Something about the way she looked in that dress gave him, for the briefest moment, a feeling of deja-vu; he had been used to daydream about her coming up the aisle in a dress more or less like this, to marry him. Those days felt so long ago; thinking about it gave him a bittersweet feeling in his heart. But then he remembered Amy – his true bride, whom he loved with all his heart and soul – and the sensation faded.
"Jo," he said seriously, "There's something I've been meaning to tell you." He raised his hand to stop her interrupting; she frowned. "Listen. I never thought I'd say this, but … I'm glad you didn't marry me. You were right. It would have been a mistake."
She looked relieved – and just a tiny bit amused, with that 'I-told-you-so' expression that used to irritate him so much.
"Looking back, I'm not sure if I ever really loved you," he went on. "I liked you immensely, yes – still do, in fact – but anything more … back in Europe, after you turned me down, I made such a fool of myself over you. I played the forsaken lover to perfection, brooding over my piano, manufacturing heartbreak even after my real feelings had faded away. I even tried to compose a requiem for you, except the polka I danced with Amy kept getting in the way!"
His chagrined little-boy expression made Jo laugh. She could just imagine him banging his keyboard shut, frustrated by his too-rapidly healing heart.
"Love isn't a play or an opera, though, is it?" he continued thoughtfully. "It's a connection to another person, so deep it's like nothing else on Earth … 'one flesh', as the Good Book says. I still don't understand completely; I suppose it will take Amy and me a lifetime to find out."
He looked down at his wedding ring with a tiny smile, lost in his private thoughts.
"Well, my boy," said Jo, with a playful poke. "Lest you begin to doubt your wisdom, let me remind you that you were right about one thing."
"And what would that be?"
"That I would find someone, love him tremendously, and live and die for him."
Beyond her usual teasing tone, he saw that Jo positively glowed. This, he knew, was how she would look at Fritz when speaking her vows. Laurie felt an answering glow of satisfaction; all four of them were very happy indeed.
"Thank Heaven I was only right about half of that sentence," he retorted. "For I have every intention of standing by to see it."
"You didn't forget the rings, did you?"
"Really, Jo! What do you take me for?" With an exaggerated air of offense, he fished the box out of his waistcoat pocket and held it up.
"Pardon me. As your old manager and chief haranguer, I find some habits hard to give up."
"Don't ever give up haranguing me, my good fellow," he said, with a pat on her shoulder. "It would take all the spice out of life."
She grinned and shoved him with her white-gloved hands. "Now get out of here, you ridiculous boy. You'll see me walking down the aisle soon enough."
He bowed his way out of the room with a flourish, and went outside to find his seat next to Amy.