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Puzzle Pieces
It had been ages since Meredith was in a church. She had met Father Dave at Thanksgiving Dinner, but Ian and Ivy insisted that the wedding party join them at the church this morning.
She had to admit; it was a pretty church for a wedding. The sun streaming through the stained glass windows painted everyone in a riotous rainbow. She was sitting between Kendra and Angela, placing bookmarks in the hymnal. The hymns were each listed on a placard at the front of the church and in the pamphlet outlining the service.
“He cleans up pretty nicely.” Angela whispered.
Meredith turned to see who Angela was looking at. Toby was at the far end of the pew with Steve and Ian’s friend, Jeff.
She had to admit, Angela was right.
Left to his own devices, Toby was a big roly-poly bear of a guy. She had seen him in casual and semi-formal attire. This morning, he was in his Sunday Best and it looked pretty darned good on him. He wore a suit jacket over a sweater vest and button up shirt. The bow tie was a cute touch. Looked like he’d gotten a haircut or maybe he had just brushed his curly blonde hair differently this morning.
‘I wonder what he’d look like in a tuxedo.’ The thought came unbidden and unexpected. ‘Guess we’ll find out next week.’
“Honey, you’re blushing.” Angela whispered.
Meredith took a deep breath and looked at Kendra. She was focused on the pastor’s son, who was lighting candles on the altar.
“Isn’t he a little old for you?” She whispered.
Kendra shot her an incredulous glance. “Ew. I don’t like him like that.”
“If you say so.”
“I’ll tell you later. Church is about to begin.” She reached out for a hymnal as the organ began to play.
Everyone stood.
The service wasn’t too different from her own church back home. She enjoyed the musical selection and the familiar passages chosen for the readings. Father Dave’s homily was inspiring, if long.
Now and again, she’d steal glances down the way. Toby sat in rapt attention to the readings and sermon. He sang along with the hymns in turn.
She caught Kendra judging her. Angela had a naughty grin. ‘Snagged.’ She buried her nose in the hymnal.
‘Finally.’ She breathed a sigh of relief when the service was over.
The congregants were filing out slowly to muted organ music, but her pew stayed in place.
“Aren’t we going out?”
“Aunt Ivy arranged to meet with Father Dave so we could plan things out. Like, who goes where.”
“I see.” Meredith turned to Angela. “How do you know Ivy?”
“I’m actually a friend of Nancy’s. Most of Ivy’s friends already had plans, aside from you.” She looked down the pew toward the guys. “Actually, I was sort of Ivy’s competition.”
“Really?”
“Not exactly. Nancy was trying to set Ian up with a bunch of her friends to see who worked out.”
“I guess you didn’t?”
Kendra leaned over. “Aren’t you the one who threw up on him?”
“I’m never going to live that down.” Angela rolled her eyes. ”C’mon, I was nervous.”
“I don’t see why.” Kendra said. “You’re very nice and you’re pretty. I think most guys would like you.”
“Oh, aren’t you sweet? I don’t know. I just get caught up in worrying about stuff.”
“I understand.” Meredith said. “I can get like that.”
Kendra shook her head solemnly. “Grownups…”
“It’s easier for kids. Wait ‘til you’re our age.” Angela said.
Kendra shrugged and looked back over the pew. “People are mostly gone. Father Dave should be here in a minute.”
“In a hurry?” Angela asked.
“Mom said we’re all going to lunch somewhere after we’re done here.”
“All of us?” Meredith asked. “Ivy didn’t mention that when she picked me up.”
“To be honest, I think she’s starting to get the wedding jitters.” Kendra said. “Do people just lose their minds when they grow up?”
Angela laughed at that. “Maybe so. Happens to the best of us, kid.”
“That’s the nice thing about getting married.” Meredith said. “Usually, people don’t lose the same parts of their minds. Between the both of you, you can behave like a functional human being.”
Kendra tilted her head. “Not particularly romantic, are you?”
“Hmm, not my strong suit. I’m more pragmatic than romantic.”
“So, this thing about grownups being broken…”
“It’s like trying to find the puzzle piece that matches you.”
“Exactly.” Angela said. “And somebody shook the box really hard.”
Kendra kept her eyes trained on the door to the nave. Meredith turned to see what she was looking at. The pastor’s son was out of his alb and coming down the aisle. She smiled and looked over toward Toby.
He was looking at her, too.
‘Now what do I do?’ She looked down. ‘He’s way over there. He can’t do anything from way over there.’
“Are you okay?” Angela whispered.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Hmm, future tense. You’re not fine now. What’s the matter?”
“I’ve been hurt before.”
Angela nodded.
“He’s nice and everything…”
“Yes, he definitely is.”
“Have you…?”
“We went out a few times. He’s really nice, but…”
“But?”
“Sentinels, blah, blah, blah, Sentinels.”
“Did he show you his collection?”
“Oh, that’s another thing. He still lives with his parents. Yeah, I saw it. I pretended to be interested in it, but that just added fuel to the fire.”
“How?”
“He knows most people don’t care about the Sentinels as much as him, so if he thinks you’re into it, he starts really geeking out.”
‘Me, too.’ She turned back to look at him. “Sorry it didn’t work out.”
“Well, like you said, he’s not my puzzle piece. We have to find the right ones for us.”
“And hope we can cope when we find them.”
Kendra was watching the pastor’s son go about his duties. “If he’s your puzzle piece, why would you have to worry about coping with it? I think that would be a good thing.”
“You forgot something, Kendra.” Meredith said.
“What’s that?”
“Grownups are crazy.” Angela told her.