Chapter 3
"Anne, come on!" I hear my sister's voice faintly through a sharp ringing in my ears. How long have I been standing here? "It's a fucking tsunami out there!" There's laughter, and I can distinguish my voices as being those of my wedding party: My sister, Kate, her husband Donald, their daughter Emma, my best friend Ruth, Devin's best friend Ronnie, and my mother's new husband, Kurt. They must have already broken out the Champaign in the limo, because they never get along this well. "We'll be late for the part-ay!"
I break out a smile. I can't let her see that this bothers me. Hell, I don't even know why it bothers me. I just know that, right now, all that matters is keeping myself sane. "Jesus, Kate. Everyone drunk in there already?"
"No," she says, trying to defend herself, "Emma's not."
I let out a laugh. "Seriously?"
"No, Emma's sloshed. She's actually the only one not sober!"
I look at her accusingly, and she sighs.
"No one's drunk Anne, but maybe you should be. It'll help you relax a little."
I sigh, and Devin kisses me again. Now more than ever, I just want to run away with him. I give one last look to the license plate. It's nothing… it has to be nothing. No one's ever been killed by a license plate, right?
I lead Devin into the limo, and get in behind him. I push my gut-wrenching fear beneath the new-found excitement. I'm getting married today. "Goin' to the chapel 'cause we're, gonna get ma-a-aried!" he sings, and my sister joins him. She pours my blind fiancé a glass of campaign. They're so happy, so full of mirth, that I can't help but hum along. Soon, the entire limo is erupt in song as it pulls away from the curb. There's nothing I can do now. There's no turning back.