Our Fifty Moments
Part Twenty-Six: Painting

Best Man
On their honeymoon, Mr. and Mrs. Irving receive and unexpected wedding present – a precious memory from their dearest friend.

A bellboy knocked on the door of the VIP room at the very top of Altamira's grand hotel, a brown envelope under his arm. A moment passed without any answer, and the bellboy bit his lip and knocked again, slightly louder this time. Although he was one of the more experienced in his profession, he couldn't help but worry - he had been told that the guests in the VIP room were important friends of the President, and he wanted to be sure that they received anything that had been sent to them during their stay. Otherwise, he knew he would make a terrible impression on them, and who knows what the President would think if he caught word of it.

After his second knock, the bellboy was relieved to see a rosy-cheeked young man in a white tuxedo open the door. The man grinned, using one hand to lean on the doorframe and the other to run through his messy brown hair. "Oh, hey there!" he said cheerfully, "Sorry we didn't hear you!"

The guest's demeanor and dress was a sight the bellboy had seen many times before. Ah, yes, he thought, the telltale signs of a newlywed couple on their honeymoon - presents lining the floor, an open bottle of champagne on the table, a happily intoxicated groom and his giggly bride sitting on the bed, her wedding veil sitting awkwardly on her head. The bellboy's worries melted away at the heartwarming scene as he read the label on the envelope.

"Mr. and Mrs. Irving?" he asked.

The groom seemed to light up at that. "That's us!" he said. He turned back to the woman on the bed. "Hey, Colette! We got another present!"

"Really?" she giggled. "What is it, Lloyd?"

The bellboy respectfully handed the envelope to Lloyd. "You should open it and see," he suggested with a smile. "And you both have my sincerest congratulations. Please, don't hesitate to ask for anything during your stay."

"Okay! Thanks!" He took the envelope and waved to the bellboy as he walked away. Lloyd then shut the door and headed back to the bed where his bride waited for him.

Colette made room for him, tucking the skirt of her wedding dress under herself. Her cheeks were also quite pink, both from her makeup and from the champagne. Although the two had already put it away for the evening, they were still fairly tipsy after their private celebration. "What is it?" she repeated. "Open it up...!"

"Okay, okay," he replied, undoing the fastener on the envelope and pulling out its contents. After looking at it for a moment, his eyes widened. "Colette, this is...!"

She leaned over to look for herself. "Oh my goodness... I had completely forgotten about that!" she said with a surprised smile.

"Man, how old were we back then?" wondered Lloyd. "Let's see, I was ten, and you were nine, and Genis..."

"All right, class! You all have five minutes to finish your paintings," said the young teacher at the end of the classroom. Although merely sixteen years old, she already had quite the command of her pupils. "After that, it's time to clean up the watercolors!"

"Yes, Professor Sage!" cried a chorus of young children as they worked diligently on their art projects. However, the youngest member of the class did not join them - instead, he focused all of his attention on his watercolor painting, clumsily streaking the paper with yellow.

"Genis! Genis!" A ten-year-old Lloyd bounded over to his friend. "Did you finish your painting yet?"

"Go away, Lloyd!" Genis huffed, still gripping his brush. "I'm trying to!"

"Then let me see what you're working on - "

"No, Lloyd!" said Colette from behind him. "Genis said it was gonna be a present for us! So we've gotta wait for him to finish."

Lloyd blinked. "A present? Whoa... thanks, Genis! Now I wanna know what it is even more!"

"You'll see!" After a few more brushstrokes, the younger boy placed his brush in his cup of water and held the picture up to his friends. He grinned mischievously. "There, I'm done! Here you go!"

The other two looked closely at it. Colette's face brightened. "Oh! Is that a wedding?"

"Yup!" Genis pointed at the three figures. "That's you, Lloyd, in the suit. And Colette's in the dress! And I'm next to Lloyd, 'cause I'm your bestest man!"

The brown-haired boy turned a bright red and grumbled. "Y-You made a picture of me and Colette getting married! Why!"

"'Cause you're going to!" snickered Genis. "Lloyd and Colette, sitting in a tree...!"

"Sh-shut up, Genis!"

Genis stood up after placing his painting on his desk and stuck out his tongue. "Just wait! You're gonna get married and have lots of babies, and I'm gonna be your bestest man!"

Colette giggled at the two. "Will I get to wear a white dress? And carry flowers?"

"Uh-huh!"

"St-stop going along with it, Colette!" Lloyd turned back to Genis, ready to pounce on him. "You're in for it now, Genis...!"

A chase began, with Genis laughing and sprinting around the room and Lloyd following close behind. They would eventually get caught by Professor Sage and be made to stand out in the hallway for roughhousing. However, Colette simply went over to Genis' desk and placed a hand on the painting.

It could never happen, she knew. It wouldn't happen. But to know that her young friend could see through her feelings like this made her feel, for a short moment, that it really would come true one day.

The young couple laughed heartily as they recalled the story of the watercolor painting. Although they had forgotten about it during the past decade, to remember Genis' prediction and how accurate it turned out to be brought even more joy into an already perfect day.

"Wow, he really got it right!" said Lloyd as he handled the slightly yellowed picture with care. "Even the thing about him being best man!"

"Genis always was smart," replied Colette. She placed her head on Lloyd's shoulders, her stomach muscles hurting from laughing so hard. "No wonder he knew."

Just then, Lloyd's fingers slipped, and a small note that was behind the picture fell into his lap. He picked it up and read it aloud.

"It says, 'Told you so. Genis.'" After exchanging a glance with each other, the couple burst into laughter once again and fell back onto the bed. After their giggles finally subsided, the bride took a hold of her groom's hand.

"We need to send him an extra special thank you," she said, "for thinking of us all this time."

"Yeah," Lloyd replied. "He really is our best man, isn't he?"

"We'll get a nice frame for it," she said, snuggling up to Lloyd's side, "and put it up in the new house. Then he'll really say that he told us so."

The happy groom snickered again. Of course he would, that obnoxious, precious friend of his. And he would never stop letting them know how important his support and friendship was to them for all these years.