At Her Sister's Wedding, My Best Friend Caught the Bouquet… Then Walked Straight to My Table and — Transcript

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1. 0:00At her sister's wedding, my best friend
2. 0:02caught the bouquet. Then she walked
3. 0:04straight to my table, held out her hand
4. 0:06in front of 200 guests, and said, "Wyatt
5. 0:09Harmon, you owe me a dance. 12 years
6. 0:12overdue." The whole room went silent
7. 0:16because everyone in that room knew two
8. 0:18things about Callie Brennan. One, she
9. 0:21never caught bouquets ever. She'd been
10. 0:23dodging them for 3 years. At the last
11. 0:26wedding we went to, she literally ducked
12. 0:28behind a pillar. And two, 12 years ago
13. 0:31at our senior prom, Callie asked me to
14. 0:34dance and I said no. My name's Wyatt
15. 0:38Harmon. I'm 30 years old and I build
16. 0:40wooden boats and a little shop on the
17. 0:42harbor in Camden, Maine. Lobster boats,
18. 0:44sailboats, the occasional rowboat for a
19. 0:47summer family from Boston. I'm good with
20. 0:49my hands. I'm terrible with words. I'm
21. 0:52even worse at dancing. Callie and I grew
22. 0:54up three houses apart on the same dirt
23. 0:57road. She's been my best friend since we
24. 0:59were eight when she fell out of the
25. 1:00apple tree in my backyard and I carried
26. 1:02her home on my bike handlebars crying
27. 1:05louder than she was. She's 29 now, a
28. 1:08wedding planner, auburn hair, freckles,
29. 1:11and a laugh that carries clear across
30. 1:13the harbor. She runs her own business,
31. 1:15Brennan Events. She's planned over 200
32. 1:18weddings in Maine, and she hasn't
33. 1:20believed in any of them for 3 years.
34. 1:23Because three years ago, Callie planned
35. 1:25her own wedding. The most perfect
36. 1:27wedding you've ever seen. A white tent
37. 1:30on the bluff, wild flowers, a string
38. 1:32quartet, and at 4:00 when the music
39. 1:35started, her groom, a lawyer from
40. 1:37Portland named Grant, didn't show up. He
41. 1:40texted her. A text. I'm sorry, I can't.
42. 1:45I was the one who found her behind the
43. 1:47tent in her wedding dress, sitting in
44. 1:49the grass. I was the one who drove her
45. 1:51home in my old pickup truck with her
46. 1:53veil in her lap. I was the one who sat
47. 1:56on her porch with her till 2 in the
48. 1:58morning while she cried and said, "I'm
49. 2:00never doing this again, Wyatt. Never."
50. 2:03Since then, she plans other people's
51. 2:05forevers. She just doesn't believe in
52. 2:08her own. So, when her little sister
53. 2:10Shelby asked Callie to plan her wedding,
54. 2:13I knew it would be hard. And when the DJ
55. 2:15called for all the single ladies, I knew
56. 2:17Callie would hide behind the cake table
57. 2:19like always. I was right. She did. But
58. 2:22Shelby knew her sister, too. So instead
59. 2:25of throwing the bouquet over her
60. 2:27shoulder, Shelby turned around, aimed,
61. 2:30and threw it straight at the cake table
62. 2:32like a quarterback. It hit Calie right
63. 2:34in the hands. She caught it on pure
64. 2:37reflex. 200 people cheered. Callie stood
65. 2:40there staring at those white roses like
66. 2:43they were a live grenade. Then she
67. 2:45looked up across the whole ballroom
68. 2:48straight at me and she started walking.
69. 2:51I was sitting at table 12 with a plate
70. 2:53of wedding cake, my tie loose in the
71. 2:56same suit I'd worn since 2019.
72. 2:59Callie stopped in front of me. Green
73. 3:02dress, hair pinned up with little pearl
74. 3:04clips, her cheeks pink from the
75. 3:06champagne and the dancing and something
76. 3:08else. She held out her hand. Wyatt
77. 3:12Harmon, you owe me a dance. 12 years
78. 3:15overdue.
79. 3:17Here's what happened at prom. We were
80. 3:2018. Callie came with a group of friends.
81. 3:22I came alone because I was the shy kid
82. 3:25who built boats and couldn't talk to
83. 3:26girls. For three hours, I stood by the
84. 3:29punch bowl in a rented tux that was too
85. 3:31short in the arms. Then the DJ played a
86. 3:34slow song and Callie walked across the
87. 3:36gym and held out her hand. Dance with
88. 3:39me, Harmon. And I panicked because I'd
89. 3:41been in love with her since we were 15.
90. 3:44And I thought she was only asking
91. 3:45because she felt sorry for me standing
92. 3:47alone by the punch bowl. And I couldn't
93. 3:50dance. And I was terrified if I put my
94. 3:52arms around Cali Brennan, I'd never want
95. 3:54to let go and she'd see it on my face.
96. 3:57So I said, "I don't dance, Cal." She
97. 4:00looked at me for a long moment. Then she
98. 4:02shrugged and said, "Your loss." And she
99. 4:05walked away and danced with Kevin
100. 4:07Murphy, the quarterback. We never talked
101. 4:10about it again, not once in 12 years.
102. 4:13And now here she was at table 12 holding
103. 4:16out her hand with the bouquet in the
104. 4:17other one and 200 people were watching.
105. 4:20Somebody at the next table whispered,
106. 4:22"Oh, this is good." Shelby, the bride,
107. 4:26had both hands over her mouth. "Cal," I
108. 4:29said quietly. "You know I can't dance."
109. 4:32Callie's eyes flashed. "That's exactly
110. 4:34what you said 12 years ago, and I've
111. 4:36regretted listening to you ever since."
112. 4:38The whole room went completely, totally
113. 4:40quiet. So, I stood up. Callie blinked.
114. 4:44She clearly hadn't expected that. I took
115. 4:46her hand. I turned toward the DJ booth
116. 4:48and I said loud enough for everyone to
117. 4:50hear. Hey, Mike, can you play something
118. 4:52with a little swing to it? Callie stared
119. 4:54at me. Wyatt, what are you doing?
120. 4:57Dancing? I said. You asked. The DJ
121. 5:00grinned and put on an old Frank Sinatra
122. 5:02song. Fast, brassy, fun. and I led Cali
123. 5:05Brennan out onto the middle of the dance
124. 5:07floor, put one hand on her waist, took
125. 5:09her hand in mine, and spun her
126. 5:11perfectly. Her mouth fell open. The
127. 5:13bouquet went flying out of her hand.
128. 5:15Somebody caught it. I didn't care. I
129. 5:17pulled her back in. Rock step, triple
130. 5:19step. I spun her out again, then under
131. 5:21my arm, then back into my chest. Her
132. 5:24dress flared out around her like a bell.
133. 5:26She was laughing in total shock. Wyatt
134. 5:28Harmon, she yelled over the music. You
135. 5:31can dance. I've been practicing since
136. 5:33when? Since last October. The whole
137. 5:36ballroom went wild. People were clapping
138. 5:39along. Shelby was jumping up and down in
139. 5:41her wedding dress. Callie's grandmother
140. 5:43was standing on her chair, waving her
141. 5:45napkin like a flag. And Callie was
142. 5:47laughing so hard she could barely keep
143. 5:49up with the steps. Her pearl clips were
144. 5:51falling out. Her auburn hair was coming
145. 5:53loose. She was the most beautiful thing
146. 5:56I'd ever seen. When the song ended, I
147. 5:58dipped her low right at the last note.
148. 6:01She hung there in my arms, upside down,
149. 6:04breathless, staring up at me. The whole
150. 6:06room erupted into applause. But Callie
151. 6:09didn't hear it. Neither did I. Since
152. 6:11last October, she whispered. Since last
153. 6:14October. Why? I pulled her back up
154. 6:17slowly. Her hands were still on my
155. 6:19shoulders. Mine were still on my waist.
156. 6:22We were standing in the middle of the
157. 6:23dance floor, and everyone was cheering,
158. 6:26but it felt like we were completely
159. 6:27alone. Because Shelby got engaged last
160. 6:31October, and I knew you'd plan her
161. 6:33wedding, and I knew there'd be dancing,
162. 6:35and I promised myself that this time, if
163. 6:37you ever ask me again, I wouldn't say
164. 6:40no. Callie's eyes filled with tears. So,
165. 6:43I found a dance teacher, Mrs. Delacraw.
166. 6:45She's 78. She runs a studio above the
167. 6:48hardware store. I've been going every
168. 6:50Tuesday and Thursday for a year. She
169. 6:53hits me with a ruler when I step on her
170. 6:54feet. Callie laughed, a wet, shaky
171. 6:57laugh. You took dance lessons for a
172. 7:00year. For one dance for you, Cal? She
173. 7:03stared at me. Then the DJ, who clearly
174. 7:06had a future in romance, switched to a
175. 7:08slow song. Callie didn't let go. She
176. 7:11slid her arms up around my neck and
177. 7:14stepped closer, and we started to sway.
178. 7:17"Why did you say no?" she whispered. "At
179. 7:20prom." I didn't lie. I was done lying.
180. 7:23because I was in love with you," I said.
181. 7:26"And I thought you were only asking out
182. 7:28of pity, and I was scared that if I
183. 7:30danced with you, you'd see it on my
184. 7:32face." She stopped swaying. She pulled
185. 7:35back just enough to look at me. "Wyatt,"
186. 7:38she said. "I didn't ask you out of pity.
187. 7:41I'd been planning to ask you for 3
188. 7:43weeks. I practiced in my bathroom
189. 7:45mirror. I wore that blue dress because
190. 7:48you once said blue was your favorite
191. 7:50color." My heart stopped. And when you
192. 7:53said no, she said, her voice breaking, I
193. 7:56thought you just didn't feel the same
194. 7:58way. So I danced with Kevin Murphy and
195. 8:01cried in the girl's bathroom for 20
196. 8:03minutes, Cal. And then I spent 12 years
197. 8:08being your best friend because that was
198. 8:10better than nothing. The song was still
199. 8:13playing. People were still dancing
200. 8:15around us, but I couldn't move. 12
201. 8:18years, I said. 12 years. "We're idiots.
202. 8:24We are the biggest idiots in the state
203. 8:26of Maine," she whispered. And she was
204. 8:28crying and laughing at the same time. I
205. 8:31reached up and wiped a tear off her
206. 8:33cheek with my thumb. She leaned into my
207. 8:36hand. "I'm going to kiss you now," I
208. 8:39said, "unless you tell me not to." She
209. 8:42looked at my mouth, then back at my
210. 8:44eyes. "Don't you dare say no to me
211. 8:47again, Harmon," she whispered. So, I
212. 8:50kissed her. Right there in the middle of
213. 8:53the dance floor at her sister's wedding
214. 8:55with 200 people watching. It was soft at
215. 8:59first, careful. 12 years of careful.
216. 9:03Then she made a little sound and grabbed
217. 9:05my loose tie and pulled me closer. And
218. 9:07the kiss went deep and warm and sweet.
219. 9:11She tasted like champagne and
220. 9:12buttercream frosting. Her fingers slid
221. 9:15into my hair, mine tightened on her
222. 9:18waist. Somewhere far away, I heard her
223. 9:21grandmother yell, "Finally."
224. 9:24When the ballroom was on its feet,
225. 9:26Shelby was crying. Evan, the groom, had
226. 9:28his phone out filming, and Mrs. Delqua
227. 9:31herself, 78 years old in a purple sequin
228. 9:35dress, was standing by the door,
229. 9:37clapping. I'd invited her as my plus
230. 9:40one. Callie saw her and gasped, "Is that
231. 9:43her? Is that your dance teacher?" I
232. 9:46wanted her to see if I passed. Mrs.
233. 9:49Delqua walked straight over, looked me
234. 9:51up and down, and said in her thick
235. 9:53Louisiana accent, "Your triple step was
236. 9:56sloppy," Sher. Then she turned to Callie
237. 9:58and smiled. "But he's been talking about
238. 10:01you for a year, every Tuesday and every
239. 10:04Thursday. You're even prettier than he
240. 10:07said." Callie buried her face in my
241. 10:09chest. After the reception, everyone
242. 10:12headed down to the dock behind the inn
243. 10:14for the sparkler sendoff. Shelby and
244. 10:17Evan ran through a tunnel of light to a
245. 10:19little boat waiting at the end of the
246. 10:21dock. A boat I built, actually, a wooden
247. 10:24launch named Second Wind. As the boat
248. 10:27pulled away into the dark harbor, Callie
249. 10:30stood next to me at the end of the dock,
250. 10:32wrapped in my suit jacket. The water was
251. 10:34black and still, the stars were out. The
252. 10:38lighthouse on the point swept its slow
253. 10:40beam across the water every few seconds.
254. 10:43She was quiet for a long time. "Watty,"
255. 10:47she finally said. "Can I tell you
256. 10:49something?" "Always.
257. 10:52I'm scared." I looked at her in the glow
258. 10:55of the lighthouse. I could see her face.
259. 10:57She wasn't smiling anymore. Three years
260. 11:00ago, I planned the perfect day. I had
261. 11:03the dress and the tent and the flowers.
262. 11:05I did everything right and he still
263. 11:08didn't show up. I know I was there. You
264. 11:13were there. She looked at me. You were
265. 11:15the one who found me. You drove me home.
266. 11:18You sat with me all night. Her voice
267. 11:21cracked. And ever since then, every time
268. 11:24I see a bouquet, I think about standing
269. 11:27behind that tent alone, waiting for
270. 11:30someone who wasn't coming. I didn't say
271. 11:33anything. I just let her talk.
272. 11:35Tonight was the best night of my life,"
273. 11:38she whispered. "And that's what scares
274. 11:40me. Because when you love something this
275. 11:42much, it hurts so much more when it
276. 11:45ends." I reached over and took her hand.
277. 11:49Cal, do you know what I do for a living?
278. 11:52She laughed a little. You build boats.
279. 11:55Do you know how long it takes to build
280. 11:57one wooden sailboat by hand? No. 2
281. 12:02years, sometimes three. You steam every
282. 12:06plank. You fit every rib. You can't rush
283. 12:09it. If you rush it, it leaks. I squeezed
284. 12:12her hand. I'm not Grant. I'm not going
285. 12:15to text you from a parking lot. I'm the
286. 12:17guy who spent a year getting hit with a
287. 12:19ruler by a 78-year-old woman just so I
288. 12:22could dance with you for 3 minutes. She
289. 12:25laughed and cried at the same time. I'm
290. 12:28not asking you to marry me tonight, I
291. 12:30said. I'm not asking you to believe in
292. 12:33forever tonight. I'm just asking you to
293. 12:36let me show up one day at a time. One
294. 12:39plank at a time. She looked at me for a
295. 12:42long moment, the lighthouse beams
296. 12:44sweeping over us. One plank at a time,
297. 12:48she whispered. One plank at a time. She
298. 12:51leaned her head against my shoulder, and
299. 12:53we stood there at the end of the dock
300. 12:55until the last sparkler burned out. The
301. 12:58next morning, I woke up at 6:00 like
302. 13:01always. I made coffee. I checked my
303. 13:04phone. There was one text from Cali.
304. 13:07Last night was amazing, but I think it
305. 13:09was the champagne. Can we just go back
306. 13:12to normal? I'm sorry. I read it 10
307. 13:15times. Then I put my phone down, walked
308. 13:18down to the boat shop, and worked on a
309. 13:20hull for 9 hours without stopping. For
310. 13:23the next week, Callie avoided me
311. 13:26completely. She didn't come by the shop
312. 13:28for her usual Tuesday lunch. She didn't
313. 13:31text me memes at midnight. When I saw
314. 13:33her truck at the coffee shop on Main
315. 13:35Street, she saw me through the window
316. 13:37and suddenly got very busy with her
317. 13:39phone. 12 years of friendship and she
318. 13:42couldn't look at me. On Thursday, I went
319. 13:45to dance class anyway out of habit. Mrs.
320. 13:48Delacroy took one look at my face and
321. 13:50put down her ruler. She ran. She said it
322. 13:54wasn't a question. She ran. Mrs.
323. 13:57Delacroy sat down on the old piano bench
324. 13:59and patted the spot next to her. I sat.
325. 14:03You know why I came to Maine? Sher, she
326. 14:06said. 50 years ago I was a dancer in New
327. 14:09Orleans and I met a lobster man from
328. 14:12Camden at a club on Bourbon Street. Big
329. 14:15clumsy man. Couldn't dance a single
330. 14:17step. He asked me to dance anyway.
331. 14:20Stepped on my feet the whole night. She
332. 14:22smiled. I told him no four times. Four
333. 14:27times he asked me to marry him. Four
334. 14:29times I said no. I was scared. I'd been
335. 14:33hurt before. I didn't want to be hurt
336. 14:35again. She looked at me. The fifth time
337. 14:38he didn't ask. He just showed up to my
338. 14:41door with a record player and said, "One
339. 14:44dance. That's all I want. One dance."
340. 14:47What happened? We danced in my kitchen
341. 14:50until 3:00 in the morning. We were
342. 14:52married 46 years. She patted my hand.
343. 14:56Some people need you to ask. Some people
344. 14:59need you to just keep showing up. Your
345. 15:02girl, she's the second kind. I looked at
346. 15:05her for a long time. Then I stood up and
347. 15:08kissed her on the cheek. Can I borrow
348. 15:10your record player? Mrs. Delacroy
349. 15:13smiled. Take the Sinatra, too. That
350. 15:17Saturday night at 8:00, I knocked on
351. 15:19Callie's door. She opened it in
352. 15:21sweatpants and an old Camden Hills high
353. 15:24school sweatshirt with her hair in a
354. 15:26messy bun and no makeup. Her eyes went
355. 15:29wide when she saw me. And then they went
356. 15:32even wider when she saw what I was
357. 15:34holding. An old record player, a stack
358. 15:37of vinyl records in the same white rose
359. 15:40corsage I'd bought for prom 12 years
360. 15:42ago, pressed flat and dried in a little
361. 15:45glass frame. Wyatt, she whispered. What
362. 15:49is that? The corsage I bought you for
363. 15:52prom. I never gave it to you. I
364. 15:54chickenened out. I've kept it in my sock
365. 15:57drawer for 12 years. She put her hand
366. 16:00over her mouth. I'm not here to ask for
367. 16:03anything, Cal. Not a date, not forever,
368. 16:06not a promise. I'm just asking you to
369. 16:09let me show up. One dance, Wyatt. One
370. 16:13dance in your kitchen. No bouquets, no
371. 16:17guests, no wedding. And if you still
372. 16:20want to go back to normal after that,
373. 16:22I'll go back to normal. I'll be your
374. 16:24best friend for the rest of my life.
375. 16:27I'll never bring it up again. She stared
376. 16:29at me. Tears were running down her face.
377. 16:32Then she stepped back and opened the
378. 16:34door wider. I set the record player on
379. 16:37her kitchen counter right next to the
380. 16:39coffee maker. I put on the Sinatra
381. 16:41record, the old one, slow and soft. Then
382. 16:45I held out my hand. "Dance with me,
383. 16:47Brennan," I said. She laughed through
384. 16:50her tears. Then she took my hand. We
385. 16:53danced in her tiny kitchen in our socks.
386. 16:56Slow, barely moving. Her head on my
387. 16:59chest, my hand on her back. The record
388. 17:02crackled. The rains started tapping on
389. 17:04the kitchen window. Halfway through the
390. 17:07second song, she started crying. Really
391. 17:09crying. I'm sorry I ran. I woke up that
392. 17:13morning and I was so happy and it
393. 17:15terrified me. I kept thinking about
394. 17:18standing behind that tent. And I thought
395. 17:20if I push him away now before I love him
396. 17:23too much, it won't hurt as bad. Did it
397. 17:26work? No. She laughed and cried at the
398. 17:30same time. I already love you too much.
399. 17:33I've loved you too much since I was 15.
400. 17:36I stopped dancing. I lifted her chin so
401. 17:39she was looking at me. Callie, I'm not
402. 17:42going anywhere. I've been standing three
403. 17:45houses down from you 22 years. I'm not
404. 17:48moving now. Promise? I'll build you a
405. 17:52boat if you don't believe me. Takes 2
406. 17:54years. You'll have to stick around to
407. 17:56see it finished. She laughed. Then she
408. 17:58grabbed the front of my shirt and kissed
409. 18:00me in her kitchen in the rain with
410. 18:03Sinatra playing on a borrowed record
411. 18:05player. When we finally pulled apart,
412. 18:09she pressed her forehead to mine.
413. 18:11"Okay," she whispered. "One plank at a
414. 18:14time. One plank at a time. But Wyatt,
415. 18:19yeah, can we keep dancing? I'm not done
416. 18:22yet." We danced until 3:00 in the
417. 18:25morning. The next two years were the
418. 18:27best of my life. We took it slow, the
419. 18:30way she needed. Tuesday lunches at the
420. 18:32boat shop, Saturday nights dancing in
421. 18:34her kitchen. She started coming to Mrs.
422. 18:36Delicroy's class with me. Mrs. Delacroy
423. 18:39said Callie was a natural and I was
424. 18:41still a little bit of a lobster. I
425. 18:44started helping Callie at her weddings,
426. 18:46setting up chairs, carrying flower
427. 18:48arches, fixing whatever broke. Brides
428. 18:50started asking for the boat guy who can
429. 18:53dance. And every night after the guests
430. 18:56went home, we'd dance one last song on
431. 18:58the empty dance floor. Just us. Callie
432. 19:02still never caught bouquets. But now,
433. 19:04instead of hiding behind the cake table,
434. 19:06she'd stand next to me at table 12 and
435. 19:09squeeze my hand while the single lady
436. 19:11screamed.
437. 19:12I don't need it anymore. The bouquet.
438. 19:16The luck. I already caught what I
439. 19:18wanted. And in my boat shop every night
440. 19:21after work, I was building something. A
441. 19:24small wooden sailboat 22 ft long. Cedar
442. 19:28planks on oak ribs. I steamed every
443. 19:31single plank by hand. Callie asked me
444. 19:34about it a hundred times. Who's it for?
445. 19:37A client. What client? A very difficult
446. 19:41client. Very picky. Hates bouquets.
447. 19:44She'd narrow her eyes. I'd change the
448. 19:47subject.
449. 19:482 years after Shelby's wedding on a warm
450. 19:51June evening, I asked Calie to meet me
451. 19:54at the boat shop at sunset. When she
452. 19:56walked in, she stopped dead. The
453. 19:59sailboat was finished, sitting on a
454. 20:01cradle right at the edge of the water,
455. 20:03varnished until it glowed gold, white
456. 20:06sails rolled tight, brass fittings
457. 20:08shining, and painted on the stern in
458. 20:10dark green letters, the same green as
459. 20:13her dress at Shelby's wedding was the
460. 20:15name Overdue.
461. 20:18Callie put both hands over her mouth.
462. 20:21You said it at the wedding, you owe me a
463. 20:23dance, 12 years overdue, so I figured
464. 20:27that's what I'd call her.
465. 20:29Wyatt, she whispered. This is for me.
466. 20:33It's for us. Two years, one plank at a
467. 20:36time, just like I promised. She walked
468. 20:40slowly around the boat, running her
469. 20:42fingers along the smooth golden hole.
470. 20:44She was crying. Then she got to the
471. 20:47front of the boat and she stopped
472. 20:49because on the bow tied with a white
473. 20:51satin ribbon was a bouquet, white roses
474. 20:55and eucalyptus exactly like the one at
475. 20:58Shelby's wedding. She turned around. I
476. 21:01was standing behind her on one knee on
477. 21:03the wooden floor of my boat shop holding
478. 21:06a small velvet box. Somewhere in the
479. 21:09corner I'd set up Mrs. Delcroy's record
480. 21:11player. Sinatra was playing softly.
481. 21:14Callie Brennan. I said, 12 years ago,
482. 21:18you asked me to dance and I said no. It
483. 21:21was the biggest mistake of my life. I'm
484. 21:23never saying no to you again. She was
485. 21:27crying so hard she couldn't speak. I
486. 21:30can't promise you a perfect day, I said.
487. 21:32Things break, boats leak, grooms get
488. 21:35nervous. But I can promise you this. I
489. 21:38will always show up. Every day, every
490. 21:42plank, every dance. Will you marry me?
491. 21:46She looked at the bouquet tied to the
492. 21:48bow, then at me. Then she reached over,
493. 21:51untied the ribbon, and took the bouquet
494. 21:53in her hands. "I caught it," she
495. 21:56whispered, laughing through her tears.
496. 21:58"Look, Wyatt! I finally caught one on
497. 22:01purpose." "Is that a yes?" She walked
498. 22:04straight to me, just like she'd walked
499. 22:06to table 12 years before. She knelt down
500. 22:10on the floor in front of me, bouquet in
501. 22:12one hand, and held out her other hand.
502. 22:15"Wyatt Harmon," she said. "That's a yes.
503. 22:19That's a thousand yeses, and you owe me
504. 22:21a dance." I slid the ring onto her
505. 22:24finger. She threw her arms around my
506. 22:26neck and kissed me so hard we both fell
507. 22:29back against the hull of the boat. The
508. 22:31bouquet got crushed between us. Neither
509. 22:34of us cared. Then I stood up, pulled her
510. 22:37to her feet, and we danced in the middle
511. 22:40of my boat shop in the sawdust to
512. 22:42Sinatra while the sun went down over
513. 22:45Camden Harbor. We got married the next
514. 22:48September on the bluff above the harbor,
515. 22:50the same bluff where Grant never showed
516. 22:53up. Callie said she wanted to take it
517. 22:56back. She planned every single detail
518. 22:58herself. The white tent, the wild
519. 23:01flowers, the string quartet, everything
520. 23:04exactly like before, except this time
521. 23:07the groom was standing at the end of the
522. 23:09aisle an hour early. Shelby was the
523. 23:12matron of honor. Mrs. Delacroy, 80 years
524. 23:15old now, sat in the front row in a gold
525. 23:18sequin dress, holding a tissue and a
526. 23:20ruler just in case. And when Callie came
527. 23:23walking down that aisle on her father's
528. 23:26arm in a white dress with the sun on her
529. 23:28auburn hair, she was smiling so wide
530. 23:31that half the guests started crying
531. 23:34before she even reached me. At the
532. 23:36reception, the DJ called for the single
533. 23:39ladies. Callie stood up with her
534. 23:40bouquet. She looked out at the crowd.
535. 23:43She smiled. Then she turned around,
536. 23:46walked straight past all the single
537. 23:48ladies, and handed her bouquet to Mrs.
538. 23:51Delroy. For luck, Callie said. Mrs.
539. 23:55Delroy laughed so hard she had to sit
540. 23:57down. Then the DJ played Sinatra and my
541. 24:01wife held out her hand to me in front of
542. 24:03200 guests. "Dance with me, Harmon," she
543. 24:06said. "And this time, I didn't even
544. 24:09hesitate. We danced our first dance on
545. 24:12the bluff under the string lights with
546. 24:14the lighthouse sweeping its beam across
547. 24:17the harbor. I didn't step on her feet
548. 24:19once. My triple step was perfect. Mrs.
549. 24:22Delacroy watched from the front row and
550. 24:25nodded. Finally, she said, not a lobster
551. 24:29anymore. Now, every Saturday night,
552. 24:32Callie and I still dance in our kitchen.
553. 24:35The same record player, the same
554. 24:37Sinatra. And in the harbor below our
555. 24:39house, a little golden sailboat named
556. 24:42Overdue rocks gently on her mooring.
557. 24:45Sometimes Callie looks at it through the
558. 24:47window and says, "12 years, Cal. We
559. 24:50wasted 12 years." And I always tell her
560. 24:54the same thing. "We didn't waste them,
561. 24:56Cal. We were just steaming the planks."
562. 25:00So tell me, have you ever said no to
563. 25:02someone and regretted it for years? Or
564. 25:05has someone you love ever given you a
565. 25:07second chance? Share your story in the
566. 25:09comments. And if this story made you
567. 25:11smile, hit like, subscribe, and I'll see
568. 25:14you in the next one.