Deep Night by Kathy Clark

a long, soft skirt that flowed behind her in a slight train. The empire waist completely disguised her baby bump. She had pink and red flowers woven into her long, dark hair instead of a veil, and she carried a bouquet of peonies, poppies and roses.
    Her gaze locked on Rusty’s, and for the rest of the ceremony as the minister spoke, it was clear she and Rusty were the only people on the planet.
    Chris was truly happy that his brothers had both found such great loves. But just as he had looked longingly at their Matchbox cars or their video games or even their real vehicles, he now wondered what it felt like to love and be loved like that.
    He’d never even had a serious girlfriend. Not that he lacked for dates, but they were recreational, not emotional. And usually he was fine with that. But today, surrounded by people who were crazy in love, he felt like an outsider in his own family…and in the whole world. He let his gaze shift slightly, and he caught Sara looking at him. For a second, they froze, then both quickly looked away. It could have been a bonding moment. Instead, it made him feel more isolated than ever.
    “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” The minister’s voice broke into Chris’s thoughts. Rusty leaned over and Julie met his lips halfway in a kiss that lasted well past appropriate. Several guys from the audience hooted and yelled, “Get a room,” and the newlyweds finally broke apart. The couple turned to face the audience as the minister announced, “May I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Russell Wilson.” The cellist burst into an enthusiastic version of Billy Joel’s “
Just the Way You Are”
as they walked back down the aisle toward the house, stopping often to say hi along the way.
    Sam took Kate’s arm and followed. Chris and Sara stared at each other, then linked arms and joined the procession. “I didn’t know you were going to be a bridesmaid,” he said to her.
    “Neither did I,” she admitted with a wry smile. “Julie’s other bridesmaid got called out at the last minute on an emergency, and”—she waved her hands down the dress—“as luck would have it, it was my size.”
    “You look amazing,” Chris told her.
    She squinted at him, trying to decide whether he was sincere or joking around. “I don’t wear dresses.”
    “I know. Julie must have been quite persuasive.”
    “She was,” Sara admitted. “She started crying.”
    “Softie.” He flashed a crooked smile at her.
    She shrugged. “Yeah, so shoot me.”
    He could think of about a half dozen things he’d like to do to her, but shooting wasn’t one of them. They reached the back door and were separated by the photographer, who was trying to set up group photos.
    Dinner was a lively affair. Mixing firefighters with cops and a couple of paramedics almost guaranteed that the conversation would become loud and mostly inappropriate.
    “How do you make a firefighter come?” one of Rusty’s buddies shouted.
    Someone else yelled, “Call 9-1-1.”
    Everyone groaned, but laughed.
    Sam called out, “How many firemen does it take to change a lightbulb?”
    Another cop from across the room shouted out the punch line: “Four. Three to cut a hole in the roof and one to change the bulb.”
    “What do cops and firefighters have in common?” one of the firemen called out. He didn’t even wait for a response before answering, “They all want to be firemen.”
    An equal amount of laughter and boos started a barrage of bad, bawdy cops-versus-firemen jokes until Jack stood and clinked his knife against his glass.
    “It seems like only yesterday that my wife and I were the bride and groom,” he said to the quiet room. “Then along came Rusty and our lives changed forever. He started walking when he was ten months old and hasn’t stopped moving since. He was the first to explore a cave or to climb a tree or to jump off the roof…which could have been worse if he hadn’t landed in his