The next day found me, and maybe a hundred or so others, in one of the most ancient-looking churches I'd ever seen. I wouldn't have been surprised if the walls had been covered in dust. The paintings were worn and faded, anything wooden (including the pews) had all sorts of divets in it, and everything in general seemed like it could have used a touch-up. Though, maybe that's what Eric and Amy found so charming about it; it was a relic untouched by the evil hands of modernity.

As Amy came walking around the corner in a sparkly white gown, smiling at her soon-to-be husband as if he was the whole world, I looked to see that there were tears streaming down Eric's eyes. Of course, this got me thinking about what the chances were that anyone would ever react that way to getting me as their lifelong partner. It was statistically more likely their tears wouldn't be of joy.

Those who were both romantics and devout worshippers of Yoba probably would have struggled to find a dull moment in this entire ceremony. I had reason to believe there were at least ten people in the pews that were shedding tears of their own. On the other hand, those on the other side of the spectrum, those with complete disbelief in both love and Yoba, were probably waiting for the first moment to get the hell out of this place. Most, including myself, were somewhere in between, and were some level of bored with this whole thing. The officiant would say something like "everlasting love and compassion," and I'd get a second's hit of dopamine. Then, he'd go back to "Yoba's grace" and "everlasting devotion to Yoba," and I was lost again.

I'm not afraid to admit that most of the time, barring the stray thought about what marrying Sam would be like (and the subsequent thought of how it would never be a good idea to think about that), I was looking at Elliott, who was sitting closer to the front on the other side. I was trying to read how he was feeling about this whole "wedding" thing. Trouble was, I could only see the side of his face. I thought I could see one corner of his mouth turned up, as if in a smile, but I couldn't see much beyond that.

A couple of hours after the wedding found us all at a reception hall by the resort, that was owned by the resort. Actually, from outside, it looked like an abandoned brick building, but when you walked through a green wooden door, there were tables, streamers, and fairy lights strung up. It was an almost jarring change of vibes.

I sat alone at my table for a second, sort of surveying my surroundings and letting my mind wander.

And, in standard hopeless romantic fashion, it wandered to what a reception would look like if it was for my and Sam's wedding.

I had nothing else to really focus on, anyway, so I let myself have this. I wouldn't be taking it too seriously.

Why did something tell me Sam's wedding reception, no matter who he married, would be fairly standard? Something like this, maybe somewhere that looked a little prettier on the outside. Maybe somewhere in ZuZu? I mean, Sam was his own unique person, but something told me he wasn't one to stray too far from tradition.

I looked at the table for the bride, the groom, and their respective parties. What would sitting up there with Sam look like? I'd probably have Abigail be my maid of honor, and I was willing to bet Sebastian would be Sam's best man. Aside from that, who'd be up there? I'd probably invite all Stardew's women to be in my bridal party, even if I wasn't close to all of them. I didn't know what other friends Sam had aside from Sebastian, Abigail, and Penny, though. Vincent would make an amazing ring bearer, Jas the most beautiful flower girl.

Then, after the formalities, what would Sam and I do? Would we go on some sort of honeymoon? I imagined he'd want to go somewhere with an expansive shoreline and palm trees and stuff. Then again, even before I'd gotten to this resort, I'd wanted Sam to experience it. Maybe I could have convinced him to let us come here.

…Again, why was I even considering all this?

All things considered, I couldn't deny that of everyone on the planet, Sam was currently the closest to marrying me. I was in a place where two people were getting married. My train of thought, then, was completely valid and justified, right? …Right?

I hadn't exactly expected to be dancing with anyone tonight. I had it all planned out that I was going to eat my dinner, watch as some woman miles prettier than me caught the bouquet, wait for the first person to leave so I wouldn't have to look like a jerk, then leave for my hotel room after that.

I'd made peace with that. I was prepared for this to be another lonely night.

But then, a bit of time after the festivities kicked off, when the DJ did that "slowing it down" thing before playing some generic love song from thirty years ago… Elliott walked over to my table, where I was sitting alone, and outstretched his right hand.

And, for a reason I couldn't pin down at the moment, I was filled with joy.

Caught completely off guard, I said "I didn't know you were into cheesy love songs."

"You cannot deny the power of the classics," Elliott countered, but in a tone that seemed to convey that he also understood where I was coming from. "They've brought countless pairs of people together since the moments they were released to the public."

I shrugged and replied "You're not wrong there."

"And now, I'd… like to ask…" he said. "I'd like to ask if I may have this dance."

A warm feeling enveloped my whole body. I didn't really have a good reason to refuse; I trusted and liked Elliott enough to share one dance with him. He and I had pondered life's complexities quite a lot, even just in the day since we discovered we'd be attending the same wedding. I didn't know what it was about reading deeply into things that was so great at bonding two people together, but however it happened, I had something with Elliott I'd never had with anyone else. I could best describe it as… well, friendship, I guess. He was the kind of friend I could just sit with, under a tree, and talk about anything and everything for hours upon hours. Putting this guy at a loss for words was a genuine challenge.

I didn't think I'd ever find someone like him again.

"You may," I said, offering my right hand.

His smile grew two-fold. He then took my hand and led me over to an empty spot in the middle of the dance floor.

And so, we danced together to the rest of this love song from thirty years ago.

I was surprised at how… happy I felt having Elliott's arm around my waist, and my right hand enveloped in his left.

He certainly wasn't Sam. He wasn't the one I'd cried over outside a ZuZu bar, the one who'd first welcomed me to Stardew Valley with open arms… whose face and voice I looked forward to seeing and hearing every day.

All the same, though, his hold on me was electrifying, like a heated blanket for my soul.

As we swayed back and forth, I tried to survey his gaze, which was focused intently on me, more so than I would have expected. I wondered what sorts of thoughts whizzed around behind those eyes, especially because he seemed like a man that was constantly wondering about something. For all I knew, he was thinking about what the life of a tree outside the building had been like.

At one point, he raised our arms and twirled me around, which caught me off-guard in a light-hearted sort of way that made me laugh. Soon after I laughed, I noticed that he was chuckling as well, a warm chuckle of amusement.

After the twirl, in a shockingly fluid motion, he had his other arm back around my waist. At least, the motion was fluid compared to my clumsily putting my free hand back on his shoulder.

I also noticed that his face was a bit redder than it'd been before. Was he new to this sort of thing? He was the most romantic guy in the valley, at least that I knew of.

I didn't know what he was thinking of, but while I looked back at him, I tried to figure out why I was feeling so positively about dancing with a man that wasn't Sam.

I first tried to picture Sam being in the exact place Elliott was now, and all the warm feelings I was experiencing were amplified at least two-fold for a second. That would have been, or at least felt like, what my whole life was leading up to. I would have been the happiest I'd been in my whole life.

When I put my imagination to rest and saw Elliott in front of me again, while I still felt warm and light-hearted, I felt nowhere near that same energy.

Elliott wasn't the one I wanted to… continue having moments like this with.

Or did I?

"I-If I may… say so…" said Elliott. "You look dashing tonight."

A simultaneous gumbo of warmth and discomfort swirled around inside me. That little bit of discomfort, and the thought that it wouldn't have been there had Sam told me that just now, answered a few of the questions I'd been asking myself.

…It was also the first time in a while anyone had ever so willingly danced with me like this. Somehow, that felt like the proper conclusion to this train of thought.

Still, I pondered it for the rest of the night, as Elliott and I sat at my table and talked a bit more, and as I eventually excused myself to my room. All I could be certain of now is that it was all unexpected.