EPILOGUE: Twelve years later
[Third person POV]
Flowers. Music. The fanciest dresses and suits. Words of congratulations.
These are what you'll witness at the beginning of a wedding reception. People make their way to their tables and chat up with relatives or friends in a mini reunion of sorts, since most of them haven't seen each other in ages.
You see, as much as weddings symbolize the beginning of a new chapter, a new day where your lives change forever, they also offer a sense of nostalgia, a window to the past as you recall memories with your loved one and with the people surrounding you.
In her white dress and small yet pretty bouquet, April Preston is all smiles while talking to her college friends. She missed them so much. It's been a while since they've seen each other, being busy with work and life. It even took a wedding to bring them back together—not her wedding, of course.
They are in the middle of catching up when the emcee's voice echoes through the venue.
"Okay! It's time for the moment you've all been waiting for," he announces. "The bouquet and garter toss!"
"Alright!" One of April's friends, Cassie, cheers and nudges her shoulder.
April laughs. "Seriously? I'm pretty surprised that's still a thing in weddings these days."
The bride sits on the chair in the middle and her groom tries to dance sexily as he walks towards her. Then he kneels, crawls under her dress, and reappears a few seconds later with a garter on his hand.
"Okay, let's get to it. All the single ladies, come on up!" the emcee calls.
Women from different tables stand up and start making their way to the front. Two of April's friends are already getting up as well.
Cassie looks at April with her eyebrows raised, as if she's waiting for her to do something. "Well?"
"What?" April remains seated, relaxed on her chair.
"What are you waiting for? Get up, single lady!" She nudges her arm again.
April rolled her eyes. "I'm not—It's not required to participate."
"April, just join! It's fun!" Amy decides to butt in.
"Eh, I don't feel like it."
"What's there to lose, girl?" Cassie says. "You're single, and you're not a party pooper. Just get up there!"
Amy laughs. "Yeah, plus you're a bridesmaid. Don't wait for Maya to call you." She nods towards the bride.
April glances at Maya, who's checking if all her single friends are already gathered there. Then she scans the tables to see who else isn't there.
"Ugh fine. I'm going, I'm going." She gets up, hearing a few 'Go April!' and 'Yas girl!' from those left at the table, who aren't single.
You're not the best at playing catch so don't worry, April thinks as she stands behind her two other friends, Elle and Sunny. She makes sure she's at the far back so there's less chance of catching it.
Maya giggles when the emcee hands her the microphone for a few words. "You girls ready?" A few yeses are heard, but mostly they're just laughs. She hands the mic to the emcee, and right before she turns back, she spares Anne a scheming glance and a smirk.
Oh Maya, don't you dare.
The emcee takes the lead now. "Okay, now our beautiful bride will toss the bouquet in 3... 2... 1, go!"
She practically throws the bouquet. It flies over the group of girls behind her, and lands right on the hands of—
"APRIL!" Maya yells, her face full of glee. She claps as if she had just accomplished her mission. There's a round of applause and cheers from everyone else as well.
The rest of the girls pat April on the back for a job well done before they return to their seats.
"You did that on purpose didn't you?" April lightly hits Maya's arm with the bouquet.
They are told to move to the side because it was the guys' turn. Maya links her arm to April's and shrugs. "Oh, I don't know. Probably just got lucky."
April shakes her head, a laugh on her face. "After all these years, you've still got it." Maya is one of her closest college friends, who also happens to be a volleyball player back in their university days. Even though April can't catch, Maya sure can throw.
The garter toss thing is about to start, but frankly April doesn't even bother to pay attention. She just wants to get it over with. Now that she's got a moment with one of her best friends, she takes the opportunity to talk to her. "How are you today, huh?"
"Um, busy, overwhelmed, happy, in love, grateful? Oh, I don't have enough words to explain it!"
April smiles. "Congratulations, I don't know how many times I'll say this but I'm really, really happy for you." That's true. She couldn't hold back her tears during the ceremony, especially when the couple exchanged vows. Even when the reception had started, and the new husband and wife swayed and danced as they headed to their table with pure joy on their faces, April had gotten teary-eyed for some reason. Perhaps it's the genuine happiness, the atmosphere full of love? No, she's not jealous or envious of them. She's just. Really happy.
She wonders if she had already experienced that kind of happiness before. Will she feel that kind of joy any time soon? Who knows?
"Aww, thank you, April." Maya squeezes her friend's hand. "This is the best day of my life. I'm so excited for me and Dan. I'm also beyond happy you're all here! I literally could not ask for anything more."
The emcee starts counting down again. "Toss the garter, in 3, 2..."
"Except maybe for you to finally get a boyfriend." Maya suddenly adds while some yelling occurs in the background. The game is probably over but April doesn't hear whoever gets the stupid garter. "Which is why I intentionally threw the flowers to you."
"I knew it." April frowns as Maya pulls her back to the space at the center to meet the guy who's going to put that garter up her leg. "You know that's all superstition, right? That the people who get the flowers and the garter would actually become a couple?"
"Eh, worth the try. You go girl!" Maya whispers and pushes her up front, before she and Dan sit beside each other again.
At this point, April doesn't even care anymore. She'll just go with the flow and it'll be over before she knows it. She looks up to see the guy who's just as unlucky as her to go through this stupid game. The moment she does, she freezes.
The man seems pretty shocked too. "Uh, hey," he manages to say.
Before April could respond, the emcee's loud voice interrupts. "This is it!" he announces and everyone settles down. "We have—sorry what are their names again?" He leans towards the couple to double check. "We have April Preston and Rodrick Heffley here for everyone's favorite wedding tradition!"
Rodrick Heffley. She hasn't heard that name in forever. Yet here she is, standing in front of him, the person who used to be her best friend and boyfriend. Used to be.
It's not like she still isn't over him. Of course she is, it's been years. It's just... weird seeing him again after so long. The first thing she notices is his hair—it's a lot shorter than the last time she saw him. He aged. Of course he did, now that they're in their mid-20's or so, yet he's still handsome.
Both are still frozen on the spot. It's not until the emcee repeats that April should be sitting on the chair that they actually get to their positions.
"Alright. Let's make this a little more challenging, huh? Rodrick, you're not allowed to use your hands."
"What?" both April and Rodrick reply.
"You heard it! Okay, play the music!"
A jazzy, sensual instrumental plays as cheers erupted from everyone at the audience. April sits there, faking a smile, but she actually just wants to be swallowed whole by the ground.
Rodrick, on the other hand, remains standing there, fiddling with the garter because what the fuck is he supposed to do again? He forces himself to glance at April for help. He didn't expect her to lock eyes with him, but she does. And even though he hasn't seen her in forever, wow she's still gorgeous. Rodrick snaps out of it. April raises her eyebrows and gives a nod, as if to say, let's just quickly get this over with.
Fine, Rodrick thinks, the sooner the better. He brings the garter up to his teeth and bites it. Cheers erupted once again from the crowd. Then he walks towards April and stops in front of her to kneel. He glances at April again, asking for permission.
She raises a bit of her dress up to help Rodrick somehow. Shit, okay, here goes. Still biting it, Rodrick slips the garter and drags it carefully up April's leg, making sure his mouth doesn't touch her skin. The garter needs to be above the knee, so he has no choice but to go under her dress—his ex-girlfriend's dress to be specific. Just great.
A few more seconds later, Rodrick succeeds and quickly reemerges from April's dress, a bit sweaty even though it wasn't hot at all. He gets up and gives April a hand. She takes it and stands up from her chair as well.
Everyone gives them a round of applause. Even the happily wedded couple behind them is very amused at the show, if you can even call that a show.
The moment the emcee says thank you, they instantly pull away from each other. Rodrick gives a shy smile and April does the same before going back to her seat.
As she expected, giggles and all sorts of teasings are heard from her friends sitting at their table.
"Nice one, April!"
"Girl, he's actually cute. You're so lucky!"
"Why don't you talk to him again later?"
"Next thing you know, they'll be the ones getting married next year."
April shakes her head and gives a laugh. "Come on, guys. It's nothing! You're all being so weird." They don't immediately stop, of course. April shrugs it off. She's curious about how Maya and Dan know him, though. She gets the chance to ask when the married pair stop by their table for photos.
"Hey Maya, sorry can I ask you something real quick?" April says before they leave for the next table.
"Yeah, of course," she tells Dan to give her one second, and they both move to the side. "What's up, April?"
"Uh, that guy earlier during the bouquet and garter thing—"
"Rodrick?" There's that teasing glint in her eyes.
"Yeah, Rodrick. I'm just wondering how you guys know him?"
She leans closer and whispers, "Why, you like him? I can get his number for you—"
"What? No, nothing like that! I'm just curious."
"You're just curious. Yeah, right." She rolls her eyes.
April sighs. Might as well tell her already. "Fine. Remember that guy I told you about back in college?"
"April, that's... That's a very vague question, not to mention it's so long ago."
"The guy I told you about when you asked me if I had a boyfriend? The one I broke up with half a year before we met?"
Maya racks her brain, trying to remember. Then she snaps her fingers. "Oh, that guy, yeah. What's that got to do with—Oh. Oh." Her eyes widen in realization, and April nods to confirm it. She points her thumb backwards and mouths, That's him?
April nods again, and before Maya reacts negatively, she says, "But, you know, that's a forever ago. I'm only curious how you know each other. Nothing else." She smiles.
"Oh, he works with Dan. You know, at that music production company. They're close friends." Music production? Wow.
"Ah, interesting."
"What a coincidence. I can't believe—"
"Hey, honey, sorry to interrupt." Dan approaches his wife, flashing a kind smile to April. "Are you ready to go? I think we need to take more pictures."
April apologizes. "Sorry we took longer than a sec. You guys go!"
"Spill the tea next time." Maya says before she and Dan head to the next table.
After their photos, the usual program continues—toasts, song numbers, dances. Before they know it, the real party starts. There are people on the dance floor, while others chat at their tables. The buffet is still open for those who want to eat again, and of course there's free-flowing drinks at the bar.
That's where April is headed.
"Just a margarita please," she tells the bartender and takes a seat.
"So you drink now?" a familiar voice says.
April looks up and sees Rodrick walking up to the bar as well. He takes a seat, but leaves a chair empty between the two of them.
"'Course I do," she replies as the bartender hands her the drink. "Why wouldn't I?" A smile tugs on the corner of her lips as she takes a sip.
"Mule, please," Rodrick tells the man on the other side of the counter before responding to the lady beside him. He shrugs. "Thought you hate alcohol."
She scoffs. "That's a long time ago. Besides, I only drink occasionally."
He nods and then smiles. Of course things change. "Right. Long time no see." The bartender gives Rodrick his drink, who then thanks him. "By the way, sorry about earlier. I know it was kind of awkward and uncomfortable."
"Yeah, a little." April smiles sheepishly. "You don't have to apologize. We didn't have much of a choice anyway."
Rodrick agrees while he drinks from his glass.
"I gotta be honest though, I never thought I'd see you again. Like ever. Who knew we'd meet again? At a wedding of all places." She lets out a little laugh.
"Ha. Same here." Rodrick taps his glass lightly. "When I heard Maya say your name, I thought it might be you, but there are lots of other people named April. So what are the odds, right?" He smirks, shaking his head. "But I guess we do live in a small world. How do you know them by the way?"
"Oh, Maya is one of my closest college friends. She actually told me that you and Dan work together? At a music production company?"
Rodrick nods, trying not to show how excited he is that his job has been brought up. "Yeah, it's called Beyond Hits? I don't know if you've heard of it." April pauses but then shakes her head lightly. "Anyway, Dan and I have gotten pretty close over the year and a half that I've been working there."
April shifts to fully face Rodrick. Her arm is propped on the table and her hand is under her chin. "What do you do?"
"I'm a junior music producer. I help produce songs for our artists."
Music. It's always been Rodrick's dream. Even now, April can see the passion in his eyes. She can feel his eagerness when he talks about something he loves. "Wow, that's great! So you'll be one of those big time producers soon, huh?"
He laughs shyly and rubs the back of his neck. "I don't know about that. But I hope so. It'll take some time before I get promoted to senior music producer."
"I'm happy for you, Rodrick. I really am," April says sincerely. Rodrick thanks her and takes a drink again. Just to continue the conversation, the girl asks, "So is Löded Diper one of your artists?"
"No. We actually disbanded a few months after—" He pauses, thinking twice if he should bring it up. Then again, April seems to have moved on already, and so has he. It's been ages. There's nothing wrong if he casually mentions it now, right? "A few months after we broke up."
"Oh, I see. I hope it wasn't too bad for any of you." April looks down and turns to drink.
He shakes his head. "Not really. We didn't have time to jam or practice anyway since we were all far from each other."
"Right." She nods and stays quiet. For a moment, Rodrick wonders if he made the mistake of saying that. He doesn't want the conversation to end just yet.
He clears his throat, and turns to face the girl beside him. "Enough about me. What about you, April?"
"What about me?" She looks up with a charming smile on her face.
"Uh, how's life? What do you do?"
"Well, I'm an assistant editor at this book publishing company." She pauses, thinking of what else to say that wouldn't bore the person she's talking to. She decides to keep it short. "That's pretty much it. Life's been okay. It's not that interesting honestly—"
"No, tell me. Book publishing company. That means you write books now?" Rodrick leans a little closer, listening intently. April is quite surprised that someone actually wants to listen to her ramble about her job. It's not that common, especially in an era where people would rather browse social media or make short-form videos.
"Well, I wish!" She laughs. "No, I work closely with writers though. I help edit their works—mostly novels—before our company publishes them."
"That's cool! You've always loved books, right?" He sounds genuinely excited for her.
"I do. It's great, really. Just kind of stressful sometimes, especially when the work I'm editing is not that good. But every job is probably stressful one way or another." She glances downward to take a sip from her drink, and mumbles under her breath, "I still wish I could write a book though."
"Go for it!" Rodrick says. He heard that, apparently.
April sighs, but nods anyway. "Well, soon maybe. When I find time to finish the ones I started."
"I can see it already." Rodrick raises his hand and waves it in the air in one swift motion. "Written by. April. Preston," he says, the way the voice-over of a cinematic trailer would sound like, and then gives a slow clap.
She laughs again, and Rodrick is delighted to see the big smile that stays on her face afterwards. "I don't know when that will happen, but thanks."
"I'm serious. I know you'll do great. I'll definitely buy your book, whatever it is. I promise." He raises his glass.
"I'm flattered. Thanks." She clinks her glass to his, taking the encouraging words to heart. Who knows, she might actually continue writing the next day.
Seeing each other unexpectedly was a little awkward. But after they have broken the ice, the conversation flows naturally from there. They talk more about what's going on with their lives, then the topic changes to asking how their high school friends are or if they have kept in touch with them. That leads them to laugh and reminisce about high school days in Plainview, and then they end up talking about the most random things under the sun. They don't even notice until later on that they're already sitting right next to each other.
It's quite amazing actually. Even both of them are surprised that they can share stories with each other so easily, despite the number of years that passed and their history. There isn't any trace of bitterness nor sadness as they chatted. It's just like catching up with a friend. It's almost like old times again.
April catches her breath after laughing at a joke Rodrick just said. She sighs. "I have to admit, I actually missed talking to you, Heffley. I missed this."
He nods in agreement, leaning back to relax on his chair. "Me too. I haven't had a really good conversation with someone in a long time."
"I don't think dad jokes and a little debate on which is better between sunny-side up and scrambled eggs would classify as really good, but okay." April laughs again.
Rodrick is about to start listing the pros of scrambled eggs again, but stops himself. "Whatever, you get what I mean."
The smile doesn't disappear from April's face. It's only when she stares at her almost-finished drink that it slowly fades. "What happened to us?"
The man beside her taps his glass and shrugs. "We were a really good pair. But, you know, college. Distance. Priorities. We were also... young, dumb, young, dumb and broooke." He literally sang that part.
April snickers. "I can't believe you're quoting that song. That's so—" she counts on her fingers, "7 years ago!"
Rodrick laughs. "Okay, okay. Sorry, I'm just trying to lighten the mood."
"Well, you're not totally wrong. We were young and dumb to think that our setup would actually work. Oh and we were definitely broke." She looks down at her drink and swirls it. "We really tried though."
He chugs the rest of his drink, and then replies, "We did."
. . . . . . . . . .
April and Rodrick's breakup wasn't anything dramatic. It was short, straightforward, and practical.
Everything was sailing smoothly until they got to college.
The biggest difference between their relationship was distance, and perhaps it was the biggest factor too. In high school, they literally lived two houses away from each other, went to the same school, and saw each other every day. In college, they were miles and miles apart. April was in Rhode Island, Rodrick was in California. The only time they saw each other was during their winter and spring break
They really tried. FaceTime, constant updates, and all that. However, with the amount of work they had to do for school and even their orgs, they couldn't avoid forgetting to reply, or not being available to catch up on some nights.
They tried their best, but it just wasn't the same anymore. Their priorities have changed.
Eventually, it became difficult for both of them to deal with it. So on their last day of spring break in their second year of college, they mutually decided to end their relationship.
Did it hurt? To let go of each other's first loves like that? Of course it did.
April had already forgotten how many pints of ice cream she finished all on her own, how many times she procrastinated school work to watch supposedly feel-good movies. She cried herself to sleep every night, until the wee hours of morning. It became harder for her to get up from bed as the days went on.
Rodrick had zero motivation despite recently shifting to a program he's actually passionate about. Zero motivation to study, zero motivation to continue writing any of the songs he had started. His mornings were spent nursing horrible hangovers as he got wasted every single night.
They've lost count of the amount of times they looked at each other's photos, their photos together. They've lost count of how many times they had the urge to message or call each other, of how many times they wanted to talk to each other and just take everything back, go back to how they used to be.
April, I miss you. Let's try again. Maybe we can make it work this time. Please.
Rodrick, it was a mistake. I miss you so much. We can make it work if we try harder, okay? Let's try harder.
I love you.
But these remained as monologues in their minds, text attempts that they never sent.
They did what they had to do. They both agreed that it was the healthier and more practical choice for both of them in the long run.
It just had to hurt as fuck first.
Life went on, and eventually they accepted it and moved on. One thing's for sure, they never forgot each other, as well as the good memories they had together.
. . . . . . . . . .
"Do you think we'd still be together today if we didn't break up back then?" Rodrick asks.
"Oh we'd probably be married like Maya and Dan." The corner of her lip curls upward as she finishes what's left of her drink.
Rodrick on the other hand, is definitely caught off guard by that answer. His eyes widen upon hearing what April said.
"I'm kidding, Heffley!" She laughs.
"I know that." He laughs too, albeit nervously.
She purses her lips, thinking. "Hmm. Maybe? Maybe not? I'm not sure, to be honest."
He nods. "Same here. I'm wondering if we'd even see each other today if something else happened."
April shrugs. "I guess we'll never know."
They chat up a bit more, until April's phone buzzes a few moments later. She pulls it up to read the message.
A little disappointed that the night is cut short, she tells Rodrick, "Hey, uh, I have to go. My friend over there by our table is leaving, and we went here together, so—"
"Right, sure. No problem." He climbs down from his hair and assists April too.
They look around and realize only then that a lot of guests have already left. Time really flies when you're having fun, huh?
Now it's time to say goodbye. Again.
April smiles. "You know what, I'm really glad I saw you today, Rodrick."
He smiles too. "Me too. I'm so happy to see you."
She sighs. "Well, this is goodbye then. I guess I'll see you around?"
For some reason, Rodrick does not want to say goodbye. Not when April is standing in front of him, with her beautiful eyes and smile, with the few strands of her hair that fall on her gorgeous face. Not when she's someone he can talk to so easily about anything, when they've had the most amazing time with each other tonight. Not when the connection is still there.
"Uh, April, before you go," he says before he can stop himself.
"Mhm?"
He clears his throat. It's a long shot, but he asks anyway. "Can I... Can I see you again?"
April isn't sure she heard it right. She's not sure if it is what she thinks it is. "What?"
"I mean, I had a great time talking with you tonight. And, I don't know, maybe we can grab coffee or something?" He rubs the back of his neck and waits for a reply. But then he adds, "Ah this isn't some kind of date, okay? It's just, you know, two friends hanging out, with coffee, or whatever drink you want—"
April interrupts with a laugh. Then she smiles. "Sure. I'd love that."
"Really? G-Great!" He didn't even expect a yes, much less an I'd love that.
They exchange numbers, and April's heart skips a beat when she looks at Rodrick. She's not entirely sure why. What she's sure about is that she's beyond happy that he didn't want this to be the last time they see each other.
Indeed, going to a wedding is like opening a window to the past, and at the same time beginning a new chapter.
THE END.
A/N: It's finally done! First of all, thanks to everyone who took the time to read this story. Second, after reading some of the chapters again, I realized there's /a lot/ of room for improvement, the first being: I should have come up with a concrete outline before starting this! That way, the story would probably have been more solid and people wouldn't have to wait for ages to read the next chapter, haha. Anyway, I still have a lot to learn, so here's to improvement! I hope you somehow enjoyed this story though? If you have comments or even constructive criticism, just let me know. Again, thank you for reading!
