She smiled, and for a second she looked exactly like she used to. Exactly.
The ceremony was lovely. Claire was radiant — one of those brides who actually glows, who can’t stop smiling the whole way down the aisle. And she’d made sure there was a good spot for Mia’s chair, right up close, on the end of a row where she could see everything.
At one point during her vows, Claire caught Mia’s eye across the room and gave her a little wink. And Mia beamed back like she’d been handed the sun.
The reception is where it happened.
Dinner, toasts, the first dance. Claire and her new husband floating around the floor. Mia clapped for everything. She ate her cake — two pieces, I kept my promise — and she watched the dancing with this hungry, happy look, tapping her hands on the arms of her chair in time with the music.
