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Friends of Logan told stories that painted him as loyal and steady. One of Courtney’s bridesmaids described her as the backbone of every group she had ever joined. When my mother took the microphone, she talked about how proud she was of her oldest daughter and how Courtney had always taken on responsibility.
Somewhere in the middle of it, she referenced the way family steps up for milestones, and several heads turned in my direction without meaning to. From my table near the back, I felt the distance more than the sound. When the toasts ended and the band started playing, guests moved to the dance floor while I stayed seated for a while, focusing on my breathing, counting each inhale to keep from overthinking.
From that angle, I noticed how carefully the evening had been arranged, the timing of speeches, and the little cues that moved people from one moment to the next. It reminded me of the folder labeled logistics and how the most important part of that package had been hidden near the back. Courtney found me there between songs.
She appeared at my elbow as if the night had finally reached a section where my presence mattered. Her dress was flawless, her hair pinned, her makeup still intact. Up close, though, I could see the same tightness at the corners of her mouth that I had noticed when I first refused to sign anything.
Without raising her voice, she suggested that we move closer to the center, that it would mean a lot if I stood beside her for a moment. The tone was pleasant enough that stepping away would have looked like rudeness, so I followed, letting her guide me toward the open space between the head table and the dance floor, the spot where everyone’s attention naturally returned. Guests began to notice us as we stopped.
Conversations thinned, then paused. A server carrying a tray of drinks changed direction to avoid walking through the gap that had formed. Courtney’s hand left my arm and found a fresh glass of wine from a nearby table with a practiced motion as if this too had been rehearsed.
Standing there under the lights, surrounded by her carefully arranged crowd, I realized that whatever she planned to do next was not spontaneous. It was another line in a script she had written without my input. One more scene in a story where the house and I both belonged to her version of family.
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