The Wedding Song

This place is so loud! Nurses constantly run by with people screaming and crying. Liz hated hospitals. She was usually the one being treated: poked, prodded and ignored… yet getting no peace until visiting hours were over.

This time she’s the one in the waiting room. Unable to grab her headphones and cd player before rushing here, Liz is bored outta her mind. She tries flipping through the magazines scattered around, but nothing interests her.

Eventually, things begin to quiet enough that Liz can finally hear the radio playing overhead. They rotate through a few songs she knows well. Then a song comes on that she’s never heard before. As she listens her heart skips a beat. That's my wedding song! Tears slide down Liz’s face.

"Dad is going to be alright dear," Mom says as she moves to wipe her tears away. "Once he's out of quarantine we can see him." Liz pushes her hand away.

"No. That’s not it." She smiles and points to the speaker. “It's my wedding song.”

Her mom’s face furrows in disbelief before she busts up laughing. "You don't know that. You won't be getting married until after college. Your tastes change over time."

A flash of anger boils Liz’s blood. "I DO know that! Everything changes… but it doesn't matter if i get married 10 yrs from now. We never forget how a song makes us feel. This WILL be my wedding song.”

Liz’s mother rolls her eyes and goes back to entertaining her baby brother.

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15 years later...

Eddie and Liz are standing on the recently waxed dance floor, waiting for their first dance music to begin.

"You know how to do the four step, right?" Liz asks. He wasn't positioned correctly. "Didn't Jerry show you?!" In the whirlwind of planning, both had completely forgotten to practice because they had never actually danced together before. After five years, this would be their first dance.

"What?! No, he didn't show me that. He showed me the two-step thing."

Liz wants to faceplam. The acoustic intro is blaring through the speakers. They try to get in rhythm but Liz is too distracted by the nonsense of it all. She starts swinging around him, laughing hysterically. The singer is already at the first chorus!

Eddie pulls her to an abrupt stop, kisses her, and then unexpectedly dips her! Liz grabs for his collar but can't get a grip on the starched, water resistant tuxedo. As she feels her heels slipping, she yells over the music, "Pull me up! I'm slipping! I can't hold on!" By the time he realizes what’s happening, Liz slips right out of his hands.

Her ass crashes to the floor. The momentum knocks Liz backwards and her head slams into the floor. The stillness is frightening. Time has come to a crawl. All were holding their breaths. Only the music continues to echo throughout the room.

Liz lies on the slick floor with arms spread wide. She takes a moment to gather her thoughts when she finally hears the lyrics: "I'm tripping on words, you got my head spinning..." Did that seriously just sync up with the song? She turns towards the guests, but only sees darkness. "Cause it's you and me and all of the people, nothing to do, nothing to prove..." I’m living in this song right now! Liz bursts into laughter.

Eddie pulls her upright and squeezes her tight with concern. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to surprise you. Are you okay?" He has tears in his eyes.

Liz gives him a reassuring kiss. "I'm perfectly fine. Everything is good. Don't worry. "

Eddie gasps. "You're not angry with me?"

"What? No. Why would you think I’m angry?"

"I dropped you on our first dance in front of everyone. " She places her palm on his cheek. He closes his eyes and leans into her touch. There is an audible "Awww!" from the audience.

"That doesn't matter. I love you for who you are and always will."

Eddie’s eyes snap open and he plunges forward giving Liz a kiss so deep, she swoons. Her arm loses feeling and limply falls off his shoulder. She never understood why all the women in those old black and white romance movies reacted that way when men kissed them. Well, now she got it!

Liz ignores the loud gasps from the crowd as she hears the song lyrics: "Cause it's you and me and all of the people and I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you."

When they finally come back up for air, Eddie smiles and lays his head on her shoulder. They fall in sync, dancing the two-step harmoniously until the end of the symphony.

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The happiest moment of her life was fated by a song she heard 15 years earlier and KNEW without a shadow of a doubt it was going to be the perfect song for their special moment.