Forever and a Day -> An Extract from my WIP

Chapter One

Forever and a Day

The day had finally come. 

Melissa “Missy” Hemlock and Zoe Keiko had been dancing around the idea of getting married...for over six years. By now, they had been together for roughly ten years, so you’d probably wonder, “what’s taking them so long?” This question vexed River Watson, too. Missy and Zoe were two of her best friends, and she loved them as dearly as if they were her sisters. The ceremony itself was over and now the reception was happening.  

River took another sip from her champagne glass as her eyes wandered around the ballroom. Here and there, she could see her closest friends, all of whom she loved with her entire being. Missy and Zoe were slow dancing; earlier they had a fast jammer with everyone else. The whole event had been such a whirlwind that River was having trouble remembering just what that song was. 

As she continued to look around for everyone, she noticed Marc Hemlock, Missy’s slightly older twin brother, chatting to Jenna Franco. Jenna was his ex, and Missy’s too, for that matter. That messy dynamic was literally a long story. Even though Jenna had gone back to New York City and had stayed there for most of the last ten years, she had come and gone a few times since then. Along the way, she had been ordained. Of course, when Missy asked her to be the officiant at her wedding, Jenna came down to Baltimore so fast it was as if she was waiting for the right moment to reveal that she had developed the skill of teleportation during her time in quarantine. 

Ah yes, River thought, with a wry smile, quarantine. By some Christmas miracle, the COVID-19 pandemic had finally been stopped on Christmas Eve, 2021. And yes, everyone was fully vaccinated.

 Today’s date was February 1st, 2022. The Year of the Tiger had come back around. Chuckling at that coincidence (and how Henry’s literary career was finally taking flight) she drank some more of her champagne and continued her visual tour around the room. Eduardo Ferrin, whom they all called Edo at his insistence, was in one of the corners, linked arm-in-arm with his wife Karen. 

Meanwhile, Henry and his wife Mia were getting more cupcakes. Dinner had been amazing - some of the best veal parmesan River had ever tasted - but now she was starting to get a bit sleepy. She blamed the combination of dense garlic bread and too much bubbly. Two of their usual gang, Dean and Val, weren’t there. It’s not that they weren’t invited or anything, they had just chosen not to attend. 

It had been six years since they had all been together. Back then, Val and Marc had just gotten engaged and weren’t far away from getting into the actual guts of the planning work. But then, things had all gone to hell. River didn’t want to dwell on it. After all, it was better left in the past. What’s done is done, and that bell can’t be unrung. 

Bringing herself out of her reverie, River felt a brief pang of regret. Once upon a time, it could have been her dancing with Henry as his wife. But alas, that was not to be - and yet again, it was a long story, meant for another day. 

There was one final player River had yet to reflect upon thus far. Yumi Carteris, Henry’s friend from his high school days, was here too. She hadn’t really bonded with the rest of the group until her husband Nathan Coriander had passed away three years before. After that, Henry had insisted that she join their little interracial family, such as it was. Large gatherings like this still left Yumi feeling somewhat overwhelmed. From what River could tell, she hadn’t really been her old self since Nathan died. 

But when someone’s significant other leaves for the other side, how else would you react? River herself had her own brush with death. She managed to climb back to a relative semblance of health, but the last six years had been a harsh reminder of her own mortality. Even when it happened a long time ago, a traumatic brain injury is not something you can just shrug off as though it were nothing.

With such a feeling in mind, River swigged the last of her champagne before setting the empty flute down. It probably wasn’t the best idea to keep drinking, considering the bevy of medications she had to take every day. But at that moment, she decided she wanted to go dance with Yumi and help put a smile on her cute face.

“Hey, Yumi.”

“Oh, River, hey! Fun party, right? These things still don’t feel...normal. Even though we don’t have to wear masks anymore.” 

“Yeah, but to be fair, it’s only been, what, two months? Maybe three? Anyway, do you want to dance?” 

“Sure!” 

They linked hands. River tried to remember how to lead. It had been a while since the last time she had danced, after all. It frustrated her, because deep down she understood, at a cognitive level, how to perform the steps and the fancier, more elaborate moves. But ever since the accident happened, her muscles and neurons had been having one long and drawn-out disagreement. 

“I thought it was adorable how Missy and Zoe proposed to each other at the same time. Like, how often do you hear of that happening outside of a cheesy rom-com?” River said.

“I know, right? It’s just so perfect, for the two of them,” Yumi smiled.

“It was bound to happen, sooner or later. I just didn’t think it would be this much later…”

“Yeah, but life is funny that way,” Yumi replied, somehow managing not to lose her balance or trip over her own feet. When the song ended, they both went to go sit down. The only difference this time was that Yumi joined River at her table. 

It didn’t take much alcohol to make River’s head spin these days. She had never really had a high tolerance to begin with and nowadays, she only watched with mild amusement as everyone in her circle would drink themselves stupid. There were a few instances of Power Hour, Wizard’s Staff, and Beer-Pong-induced-Shirtless-O-Clock experiences she wished she could delete from her memory banks, injury or no injury. 

Just thinking about the injury made her hands start to tremble. Yumi noticed, and without missing a beat, put her hand on River’s knee. That reassuring touch was a good start, but Riv’s small gasping intake of air is what actually caused the shakes to subside. At least for the time being. 

Something in the pit of her stomach began to cartwheel. She didn’t - couldn’t - make eye contact with Yumi at that moment. So she was a little relieved when Yumi excused herself to go get some birch beer. At this point, even as much fun as she was having, River just wanted the night to end. She felt the tiniest bit mortified by her reaction to that tiny fleck of friendly affection from Yumi. The problem was, she couldn’t determine whether she was embarrassed or pleased that it had happened. Either way, it was fair to say that she was flustered all the same. 

Before she could get up to go get some air, Henry and Mia landed in chairs next to her. Zooming in behind them was Henry and River’s almost six-year-old daughter, Izzy. Well, her full name was Isabella Jade Lei, but no one called her that unless she was in deep trouble.

One more thing: her NaiNai and GongGong (Henry’s parents Miranda and Russell Lei) had given her the Chinese name “Molihua” which meant “Jasmine.” 

“Hi, Mommy!!!!!” Izzy was out of breath. Even though there was nobody her age around, she was still having a blast. After all, it’s not every day your young lady gets to be the flower girl at her aunties’ wedding, you know. 

“Hi, sweetie,” River beamed as she enveloped her daughter in a tight hug and kissed the messy curls of nut-brown hair bouncing around on her head. 

“Auntie Mia said I could get a skateboard for my birthday, yay!” 

Sure, River knew that technically speaking, Mia was Izzy’s stepmother. But it was just easier, for the time being, for Iz to only know her as an honorary auntie. At least until babygirl was a bit older. Izzy was always a bright and curious child. The world around her fascinated her, and she wasn’t going to let a difficult birth and infancy hold her back. She was a quick and eager learner; utterly fierce and fearless as well. Just the kind of kid who could kickflip before she could ride a bike. Even for her, though, there were some notions that were too difficult to process.

“Only if you get a helmet and pads, too,” Henry said, trying his best to not burst out laughing at the concerned look on River’s face.