Peter's Perspective:

To say the wedding wasn't going as planned was the understatement of the century. Whatever could go wrong seemed to be going wrong and Claire was blaming it all on him. The flowers didn't arrive. The swans that were meant to be walking around the grounds turned out to be geese. The caterers were behind schedule. The minister was called away on a family emergency. And dishearteningly for Peter, he only had a best man and no groomsmen.

Even though everything that could be remedied was and adjustments were being made, that didn't seem to ease Claire's wrath. Peter had not even seen her or heard anything directly from her; it was messages passed along to him from different people. However, he could tell that she was being difficult just by knowing how she is.

Peter continued to gaze at his form in the mirror as he waited for Mike to return from Claire's tent. He was hoping that she was in a better mood and not treating Mike terribly.

All Peter ever wanted was for everyone to get along. He wanted all parts of his life to align seamlessly. He didn't feel as though that was much to ask.

His heart was aching for days past when all he worried about was when the next gig was, where money was coming from, who was after them, and what to do to get out of scrapes. No small feat by any means and under all that chaos was familiarity. He had been playing back a thousand memories and thinking about everything they had been through. Time seemed to stand still back then.

Last night, he had difficulty falling asleep. He kept focusing on the day ahead and the feeling of his own heart racing. A couple of times he could have sworn he heard footsteps outside his apartment door. He would rush over, careful not to wake up Mike who was staying with him, and look out to see if Davy and Micky happened to be there. He was hoping. It had not been long and he was still reaching for something even though he knew it wasn't going to happen. Maybe he had been going back in his mind too much lately.

Peter wanted and needed love and companionship, but at what cost? He was aware that people change and these things do happen. He felt the all too familiar pressure growing from his nose to his eyes as the tears began to sting. Always the sensitive one, he was trying to keep his mind occupied with the busyness of the day in order to ward off emotions. But now being alone with his thoughts, with only moments to go before the big show, it was difficult to keep his mind from wandering off.

"How did we get here?"


One month prior

Peter continued to shove the remainder of his belongings into a duffel bag as Mike watched. Claire had accepted the proposal and he was getting ready to move into her apartment. Usually, it was custom to wait until after the wedding to cohabit, but his friends were not making this process easy and he had to get out.

As he moved towards his dresser to get those items, he looked in the mirror. He saw the shadows on his face. There were dark circles from thought provoked sleepless nights and a gaunt appearance from lack of appetite. His friends kept telling Peter he didn't look the same. Maybe it was his physical appearance. Maybe it was because he was more absent than present and they were forgetting what he looked like. He looked away and shook the thoughts out of his mind. He had to cut his mind off because it felt as though his heart was going to burst.

"Peter?" Mike broke the silence and Peter's train of thought. "Are you sure you want to leave now? You're still welcome to stay."

"Mike that's very considerate of you, but I know when things are going south and that's a sign to leave."

"Oh really,you know when things aren't going well?" Davy said sarcastically.

"Davy, don't start," Mike warned.

"Oh no Mike, I'm going to. I'm just curious then, no red flags about Claire? Not like someone outright saying it to you?"

"Why do you even try? He's never going to listen," Micky chimed in condescendingly.

"Cool it, you two," Mike snapped.

"That's okay, Mike," Peter deadpanned zipping up his bag. "This is exactly why I'm leaving now. No one has common decency anymore."

"We have decency enough to tell you you're ruining your life," Davy yelled.

"You mean ruining yours," Peter shot back. "You're nothing without me! All you do is a tap a tambourine."

"Better than singing off key," Micky defended a stunned Davy.

"You too. You barely play those drums. Mike and I carry you two," Peter kept going.

"At least, I'm not desperate and marrying the first girl to give me a second date," Davy attacked.

"I can find someone with staying power and don't have to keep going to the next flavor of the week to appease my Napoleon complex."

"That's enough!" Mike shouted. "Are we really going to trash this friendship? We need to be stronger now more than ever."

"Seems like it," Micky said. "Look Pete, nothings gonna change not for me and you, not before you realize how much you have to lose."

"I agree completely. You're letting go of everything for a lot of nothing," Davy added. "As far as I'm concerned, you're the one that needs to make effort and moves. Clearly, your head is too far up Claire's ass to see that."

Peter was fuming. He was clenching his fists, he was turning red, and smoke was practically coming out of his ears. This was the last straw. He slammed the last drawer closed. "If that's how you feel, stay outta my life. Don't bother coming to my wedding." He stomped towards the front door.

"Whew, thanks for letting us off the hook," Micky yelled after him.

Peter slammed the door and leaned up against the other side. He heaved a sad, angry sob.


"Pete?"

Peter was roused from the images of his mind by Mike's return. He found himself leaning against a tent post.

"Hey Mike, how did it go?"

Mike stood in silence looking baffled as to how to answer that question, which Peter noticed right away.

"It's okay, Mike. You can be honest with me. I am aware of how she is."

"Honestly, she was herself. She made comments and criticisms as always. There was not an ounce of kindness or even tolerability in her interaction with me. Plus she criticized my hat."

"I'm sorry, Mike," Peter apologized head down unable to face his friend's eyes.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I've just been thinking about our friendship. All of us," Peter sniffled. "That last night when I left. The tension. I feel like it will never get back to the way it was after that. You're with me and have always had my back. You even chased after me that day. But those two…I've lost them."

"I feel like they'll come to their senses one day."

"You know, I feel like I'm just waiting for them to come around every day since I've been gone. I keep waiting for things to be different. If this was a movie, they would have been here yesterday or crashed in here like the clumsy people they are. If this was a movie they would have been here by now."

"This isn't a movie, it's real life," Mike stares at the audience and winks. "I keep waiting for them, too."

"I just want it back the way it was before," Peter said turning away to hide the tears.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Shotgun, I'm going to ask one last and final time. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Peter shut his eyes tight and contemplated the question carefully. This was the last opportunity to think this over and Mike was offering him a decision. He heaved a heavy sigh before looking at Mike.

"I…"

"Fellas, let's go. Time to get started," the replacement minister interrupted the conversation.

With the weight of uncertainty of Peter's answer hanging in the balance, the two headed out of the tent to the altar.


Mike and Peter took their places standing to the left of the minister. Peter looked out into the crowd hoping to see some familiar faces, but all he saw was s sea strangers. Being estranged from his family ensured that his side of the room would be empty. He had hoped though to see the few people he did invite, Mr. Babbitt, Millie and Larry, and most of all Micky and Davy.

He turned to Mike to see if he noticed the absences. Mike gave Peter a sympathetic nod. There was no time to dwell though, the music began and the crowd stood to view the vision in white floating down the aisle.

Peter looked at Claire and thought she looked stunning. She was not the Claire that Peter always saw. She had a smile plastered on her face that would look genuine to and outsider, even though Peter knew better. He couldn't help but feel an emotion swell inside him at the sight of her.

Claire approached the altar and her father handed her hand over to Peter. She looked over at him and whispered through her smile baring teeth, "You chose that tie?"

"Can we just get through this pleasantly? Unless I screw this up again, I'm going to marry you."

"Well you better not mess this up!"

Peter should have expected it and had no time to answer before…

"Dearly beloved…" the minister interrupted Peter's thoughts.

The ceremony felt as though it was going by in a blur just as the entire day had. He knew the minister was reading scriptures and talking about the sanctity of marriage, but Peter was too distracted by thoughts to listen. He blankly stared at Claire's fake smile and felt a tinge of regret forming.

He was snapped back to reality by the minister's booming voice.

"If anyone here has reason why these two should not be wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

"Hold it!" Mike broke the silence.

Immediately after the gasps subsided at the words, a commotion came sliding from the back of the aisle.

"We object!"