I stood there watching her leave.
Something still didn’t feel right.
I tried to convince myself that her awkward behavior had an obvious explanation.
Maybe seeing me unexpectedly had simply made her uncomfortable.
Maybe she worried I would become upset.
Maybe she felt guilty that Julian was getting married only three months after Adrian’s funeral.
I forced myself to return to work.
There were still arrangements that needed finishing. Candles needed positioning. The ceremony flowers required one final inspection.
Several minutes later, I spotted Colleen near the groom’s room.
This time, I almost turned away.
Of course she would be there. Her son was about to get married.
Still, something about her behavior bothered me.
She glanced around before quietly slipping through the door.
Then I heard Colleen speaking.
“You need to hurry. The ceremony starts in 20 minutes.”
A man responded.
I stopped moving.
That wasn’t Julian’s voice.
Something about the sound sent ice through my entire body.
I had heard that voice while half asleep in the mornings.
I had heard it whisper beside me inside dark movie theaters.
I had heard it arguing with me over cake.
But that was impossible.
I moved closer to the doorway.
Through the narrow gap, I could see Colleen.
Then the man stepped into sight.
My hand immediately covered my mouth.
Adrian.
Alive.
And he was dressed in the exact suit he had purchased for our wedding.
I couldn’t move.
For one horrifying second, my brain simply refused to accept what my eyes were showing me.
“Does everything look okay?” he asked.
Colleen straightened his tie.
“You look perfect.”
Adrian smiled.
“Good. I don’t want anything going wrong today.”
I staggered backward before either of them noticed me.
My heart was pounding so violently that I could hear it.
Three months earlier, I had stood beside Adrian’s grave believing I would never hear that voice again.
Now he was alive.
His mother had known.
And both of them had allowed me to mourn him.
I turned around and ran.
I barely reached the restroom before I started crying.
I locked myself inside and sobbed until breathing became difficult.
Then my phone began ringing.
