Stranger in the Room

Rosa Sharon stood in front of the mirror. She was drowning in white lace. She didn’t turn around when he entered.

-Rosa Sharon, sorry, he said as he opened the door.

-Hi Joseph, right? We met once, my soon-to-be husband doesn’t have a lot of people he calls friends.

He just looked at the back of the dress.

-I’m feeling quite nervous about everything, she said. But I love him so much.

He stepped further into the room.

-He’s quite lucky to have you, he said.

She took a deep breath. Her shoulders rose and fell under the silk.

-Thank you, Joseph, she said. That means a lot coming from a close friend of Jack’s. 4

She turned around. She looked small inside the gown.

-There’s so much riding on this perfect wedding fantasy, she said. The dress, the venue, the guests. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by it all.

-You’ll be ok, he said.

She laughed. It was nervous. She picked at the fabric of the dress.

-Easy for you to say, Joseph, she said. You’re not the one who has to walk down that aisle and pledge eternity to someone.

-Are you getting cold feet? he asked.

She shook her head. The veil fluttered around her face.

-No no, it’s not that at all, she said. I want nothing more than to spend forever with Jack.

She paused. She looked at the ring on her finger.

-It’s the enormity of it all, you know? she said.

-I get it, he said.

-A big step, huge. Irrevocable, she said. -And what if... what if somewhere along the line, I change? Or he changes? What if we wake up five years from now and realize we made a terrible mistake?

He leaned against the wall. He kept his hands in his pockets.

-You’re both gonna change but you’ll be changing together, he said.

She blinked.

-You got this, he said.

-Thank you, Joseph, she said. Truly. Your perspective helps put things into better focus.

-You look like a dream, he said. He’s lucky to have you.

-I feel like Cinderella getting ready for the ball.

-You are, he said.

She smiled. She stepped closer.

-Tell me a little about yourself, if you wouldn’t mind, she said.

-Not much to say, he said. Just a guy.

She raised an eyebrow.

-Oh come now, don’t sell yourself short like that, she said. No one is just a guy. 21

-Divorced loser quickly entering midlife, he said.

The word hung in the air. Divorced. It was a crack in the perfect white room. She looked at him with soft eyes.

-Divorced, huh? she said. I suppose neither of us could have imagined ourselves standing here, in these particular shoes, a decade ago.

She reached out. She put a hand on his arm.

-Thanks Rosa Sharon, he said. I’m gonna let you go now. But I’m happy for you.

He turned to the door. He had done his job.

-Wait, Joseph, she said.

He stopped. He looked back.

-What do you need? he asked.

-Perhaps you’d consider being my escort as I wait for the ceremony to begin? she asked.

It was a strange request. The bride asking the stranger to wait with her.

-Sure Rosa Sharon, he said.

She exhaled. She sat on the plush couch.

-How long do you have until the ceremony starts? he asked.

She looked at the clock on the wall. It was ticking loudly.

-Forty-five minutes, she said.