All of the wedding party was perfectly silent as the wedding planner went over the ceremony draft and read the headings aloud so everyone would know what came when. The actual content was to be saved for the big day so the surprise wouldn't be ruined.

"Alright everyone, file out in two straight lines. I know you'll be coming down the aisle in pairs but that's not how you'll be leaving it!" the wedding planner ordered.

"Maid of Honor, hand the bride her bouquet before she goes! Walk straighter! Flower girl, don't let your basket drag on the ground!"

Once they completed their retreat from the wedding venue to her satisfaction, she had them practice walking in to their a.s.signed places. Jeffrey and Keeley were less important than the family members in the wedding party so they were the second to last couple to head down the aisle before the bride made her grand entrance.

Though the venue was perfectly set up and ready for the next morning, everyone present was wearing regular dressy outfits rather than their wedding clothes because the rehearsal dinner at a nice restaurant was right afterward.

It was a relief when the rehearsal was over. Keeley had been on her feet in heels too long and they were killing her. It also didn't help that she forgot to pack a snack and hadn't eaten since 10 AM.

Everyone headed to a seafood restaurant and she sat near Jeffrey and Keisha because Lydia had too many other people to entertain. Keeley had hardly spoken two words to the bride since arriving since she was so busy.

She didn't mind. She was here to support Lydia on her big day, not be catered to. Hanging out with Jeffrey was good enough.

"So Keeley, you haven't mentioned what you've been up to lately," he said as they waited for the appetizers to show up.

She shrugged. "Not much to tell. I'm drowning in school because it's my last year and in Maid of Honor duties for my old roommate."

"Drowning in school work isn't new," he replied with a laugh. "Keish, I think she might even have more schoolwork than I do."

"Impossible. You're always doing homework."

"Yeah but she has lab time to contend with and is writing a doctoral thesis."

Keisha made an impressed noise. "Girl, really? I knew you were in grad school but had no idea you were getting a PhD. What in?"

"Developmental genetics. My research is coming along fairly well. It should be finished by August so I can write the rest of my dissertation. It needs to be 200 pages long and since my research isn't done yet I'm not even halfway there."

She let out a low whistle. "Well look at you and your big beautiful brain. I'm impressed. I only ever got my bachelor's degree because I'd been volunteering with animals since middle school and had enough experience to get hired straight out of school."

Keeley smiled at the compliment. "Thanks! It's not as glamorous as it may sound though. I spend most of my days quadruple checking the same sets of numbers over and over."

"I know all about things not being glamorous. Last week I was bringing somebody their cat back after getting put under anesthesia for a tooth extraction and he peed on me! He was a fluffy one too so it got stuck allllll over his legs and tail. Super gross."

She pulled a face at the end of her story. "I didn't even have extra scrubs to change into so I had to walk around like that for two hours before my s.h.i.+ft ended."

Jeffrey patted her hand consolingly though he was trying hard not to laugh. He obviously remembered that incident and thought it was hilarious.

"The worst part was that you sent him home like that. Those poor owners had to clean him up by themselves."

"What was I supposed to do?" she demanded. "They had already paid! A bath would have cost extra!"

He shrugged with a grin on his face. "Still."

Keisha rolled her eyes and chose to ignore her boyfriend because the crab dip served with warm bread had arrived. Everyone dug in with enthusiasm.

It had been ages since she had crab dip. The last time had been with Aaron years and years ago. She could never afford it on her own so it was nice that Lydia's parents were footing the bill.

She had thought about Aaron a lot as she had been out here. She worried that the wedding tomorrow would trigger even more unpleasant memories about her own way back when. It seemed like they only got worse the more involved in other people's weddings she was.

Keeley wanted to focus on enjoying good food with good company but worrying about her unwanted nostalgia took a bit of the fun out of it all. At least the bachelorette party tonight should help her snap out of it. She would be too busy to think.

"What are both of your best memories of Lydia?" Keisha asked out of the blue. "Since it is nearly her special day."

Jeffrey smiled and shook his head. "That's a tough one to answer. We've been friends since our freshman year of high school. That year she was in all but one of my cla.s.ses. She noticed and asked me for all of the notes she missed one day after being out sick. I didn't even recognize her."

His girlfriend laughed. "So I guess you've always been oblivious then."

"Apparently."

He thought about it a little longer. "I've got it. My favorite memory of Lydia was probably our soph.o.m.ore year when she accidentally cut her bangs too short and tried hiding it under a beanie, which was against the dress code. Uniforms, you know?

"I was on the student council at the time and she pa.s.sionately presented a 30 slide PowerPoint on the importance of freedom of expression that she wanted us to show to the princ.i.p.al. Of course, he didn't budge, but the look on her face when she had to go to detention for a week will forever remain in my memory."

Keeley giggled. Lydia had been particularly irate that day at lunch. She exchanged her beanie for a hood, which was technically allowed during lunchtime and pa.s.sing periods because n.o.body enforced the rule then.

She also had too many memories with Lydia to pick just one favorite.

The first one that came to mind was the time Keeley's period came early their junior year and she bled through her shorts during P.E. Lydia immediately pretended to faint in a scene worthy of an Oscar and distracted everyone long enough for her to escape to the locker room and change.

Lydia had always been such a good friend to her. Wedding memories aside, Keeley was happy to be here celebrating with her now.