"Today's going to go on forever, isn't it?" Alex whined, leaning into her husband's chest.
Steve pointed to the last person in line just a few feet away. "Only a couple more to greet," he said, smiling.
"Oh thank god." Alex kissed Steve's eye.
A few handshakes and congratulations later the newlywed couple was off to the bar. Once they had a few drinks in them, they waltzed to the dance floor to get in the first dance.
Steve, being the "macho man" he's always been, grabbed the mic from the stage to make a big toast to his lovely new wife.
"I've never seen someone so beautiful in all my life," he started. "No other woman in the world could compare to your beauty. Your intellect. You're so smart, Alex it makes me crazy sometimes."
Everyone in the room laughed.
"Sometimes…" he paused, stuck in her gaze.
Alex nodded and mouthed i love you.
"Sometimes," he continued, "I never want the day to end." His voice started to shake. "With you… I could stay in any moment forever. Because as long as you're with my I'm happy. I'm so happy, Alex. I love you. More than you could know."
Everyone stayed silent. Alex went to Steve and hugged him as tightly as she could. Alex's mother waved to the musicians and the first dance began. They slow danced for what seemed like an eternity in heaven.
"I can't wait for our life together," Alex whispered.
Everyone else joined them on the dance floor and the party was started. It was just like Alex had always dreamed it would go.
Once the music stopped, Aunt Linda stood up on the stage and proposed a toast to the 'happiest couple she ever met in her whole long life', and then everyone ate and danced until the sun went down.
A loud crash shifted everyone's attention to the entrance hall.
"Who's the lucky lady?" Steve's dad shouted from the doorway.
A few people gasped.
Steve hadn't seen his father in ten years, so he didn't expect him to even know he was getting married. Steve stomped over to his father.
"Who told you about the wedding?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Steve's dad took a step back. "Don't worry, Stevie boy—"
"Don't you ever call me that!" Steve yelled, his voice echoing throughout the whole room.
Steve looked back at the party. Everyone quickly went back to talking, eating, and dancing.
"I just wanted to tell you I miss you. I miss my son."
"I don't give a damn what you want or who you miss. You're not welcome here."
Alex quickly went to Steve's side. She grabbed his arm and nodded at Steve's father.
"I told him, baby," she said.
"What? Why would you—"
"Steve, your father misses you. He made one mistake ten years ago. You can't shut him out forever."
Steve's dad took another step back. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shoulda never came here." He looked around and wiped his eyes then headed for the exit.
Alex scoffed at Steve and walked over to her family's table.
Steve watched his dad leave. He had never been more ashamed of—himself? his father?
He headed back towards Alex. She shook her head and opened her mouth to shout, but everything suddenly was silent. Nothing was moving and everything was getting so bright. Steve shut his eyes as tight as they could go.
He opened them again and he was on a couch. His whole body felt numb and he was just stuck, only able to move his eyes.
A man lurked in the shadows by the door, glaring his beady red eyes at Steve. "Meet you in the End."
The door swung open and the light turned on.
"What are you doing in here, sweetie?" Alex whined.
Steve snapped out of his paralytic state and shot up to his feet.
"I just… I couldn't move!" he said. "I don't know what happened."
"Yeah, likely story," Alex laughed.
Steve reluctantly followed her back into the party room, but no music was playing.
"Did I pass out and ruin the party?" Steve asked, stopping in the middle of the dance floor.
"No… you must have just slipped away for a nap."
"But what time is it?"
Alex pulled Steve in close and kissed him. "Shut up and dance with me," she said. The band played the song from their first dance. Steve stood speechless, staring at Alex.
Everyone simultaneously ooh-ed and aww-ed around them.
Steve leaned in close to Alex's ear. "What's going on?"
"It's the first dance. Just follow my lead."
They tripped over each others feet and made cute fools of themselves for a couple minutes before people started flooding into the dance floor and joining in.
Once the song was over everyone started eating. When Steve and Alex sat at their table with Alex's best friend, Olga, Aunt Linda got up on stage and with her glass raised she grabbed the microphone. Everything seemed way too familiar.
"I know y'all don't know that much about me," she said. "And I know I've never been able to keep a husband for longer than a month…" everybody laughed, "but I can see how much y'all love each other and it brings a tear to my eye."
"She already said all this," Steve said, tapping Alex.
"Shh!"
"I just wanted to toast to you two, Alex and Steve. To the happiest couple I've known in my whole long life. I hope the world brings you much love and happiness."
"I swear she just said this earlier today," Steve said.
"Why are you being so weird," Alex said, whipping him with a napkin. "Go get me some buffalo wings."
Steve went to the buffet and stared at the food, waiting for the dream to couldn't work up an appetite to eat, and his need to dance had diminished entirely about an hour or so ago when he thought he had gone through this whole party already.
He looked up at the ceiling. A shadow moved back and forth, rippling the air around it. Meet you in the End kept repeating in his head. What could that mean?
He looked back at the dance floor. Everyone around him was having such a good time. His aunt was dancing with all the little kids from Alex's family, and Alex's mom and dad were dirty dancing by the band.
Steve filled a plate with buffalo wings and headed back to his wife—his wife that he just married. The bright, shiny face he saw before had been replaced with a bland, emotionless face. He was ruining the party for her.
"I'm sorry if I'm being weird tonight," he said, handing her the food. "I'm having some weird deja vu or something."
"Well, quit it 'cause we're dancing when I'm done eating," Alex laughed. She put a buffalo wing up to his face. "You want any?"
He shrugged and she went on stuffing her face.
"Look at your parents," he said.
"What, why?"
"Look at how happy they are."
Alex put down her wings and grabbed Steve's shoulder. "Get off the drugs."
"What? Just look at them. Don't you want to turn out as happy as them when we get that old?"
"Yeah, I guess. But let's not grind in public like that."
Alex finished her wings and dragged Steve onto the dance floor. Suddenly Steve didn't care that he had dreamed all of this already. He was happy to be dancing and having fun with the woman he loved.
They danced until the night came and Alex started to get tired. Steve got them drinks from the bar while Alex and Olga rested at the table. Once the heels came off the color in their faces came rushing back.
"I'll take a—"
A crash by the entrance hall interrupted him. Everyone averted their attention to the door. It was just like last time.
His father looked around the room from the doorway.
"Anyone seen my Stevie boy?" he shouted into the room.
Alex looked at Steve. When their eyes met everything went silent and the light got blindingly bright. Steve shut his eyes as tight as he could, just like last time, and when he opened them he was on the couch in the same dark room as before.
His body was numb again, and when he tried to scream nothing would come out. Shadows raced across the walls.
The dark figure with beady red eyes waited by the door. "Forever isn't as long as you think," he winked.
