While the guests meandered around the chairs, young men in maroon jackets hurried about the patio between the lawn and the reception tent. They arranged wineglasses on tables and brought out trays of ice for the cocktail reception, which would keep the guests busy between the “I do’s” and the real party, which wasn’t scheduled to begin until forty-five minutes after the vows.

From the window where Hannah stood, in the citadel above the Tower Gardens club, the guests looked like tiny dancers, stick-figure twosomes who appeared to be taking part in a grand waltz before settling in seats. Their movements were similar and circular. Hannah imagined that at any moment she would hear music and see them curtsy and bow.

She propped herself up on her toes, with her nose almost touching the glass, to get a better look. She squinted intensely, pretending she was a sharpshooter, her eyes darting between the shapes on the lawn.

Despite their reduced size, Hannah could identify some of their faces. She saw the two guys who had lived in the apartment above Bee during their junior year. They were holding the arm of similar-looking women, presumably their wives. There was Bee’s dad, Richard, who seemed to be having a discussion with the pastor on the edge of the property. Hannah also spied a few members of Bee’s and Matt’s extended family who had been at the rehearsal dinner the night before.

Hannah wiped her fingers over the glass where her nervous breath had created a small, circular patch of fog. She self-consciously rubbed her chest, which was mostly bare. The black material of her bridesmaid’s dress dipped low, revealing more cleavage than she was used to. The complicated bra, which pushed her cleavage toward her collarbone, only made the ensemble more revealing.

Hannah continued to stare down at the grounds below and dug her short nails, which had been manicured and painted for the first time since college, into the windowsill. The old wood was soft. Her tiny nails made a dent as she pressed, causing a few chips of brown paint and red nail polish to fall to the perfectly clean hardwood floor. She put her fingers in her mouth and wondered if she was giving herself lead poisoning. She closed her eyes and imagined the chips of paint traveling from her tongue to her head, where they would kill her brain cells and put her out of her misery.

“Hannah,” she heard Dawn order sharply behind her.

Hannah whipped around to see Dawn standing about two feet away, beckoning with her pointer finger. “Can I speak to you for a second over here? Just a second, hon. Over here.”

Hannah moved slowly in her new shoes as she walked to Dawn. The entire wedding party was dressed and ready now. Jackie and Lisa still stood by Bee, smoothing the back of her train and validating her with compliments about her makeup, hair, and tiny waist. Hannah knew that’s what Bee needed. She did look gorgeous, but she was probably still insecure, undoubtedly worried about how she’d look in front of her mother. Hannah was relieved that Bee would now be based in Raleigh, closer to Matt’s family, who showered her with warmth.