As I stood at the front of the church, I was struck–hard–by the singularly beautiful moment of Brooke coming down the aisle.
“Oh my god,” I said, and then I was shuddering with sobs I fought to force back.
It wasn’t sadness. It wasn’t the loneliness I expect to feel when my best friend and I are parted by the sea. It wasn’t mourning at all.
It was amazement. It was bliss. It was my primal response to ultimate beauty.
The organ music surged through me as one of the most amazing women I’ve ever known floated up to the altar. Dorothy rubbed my back to calm me as I gasped for air, blinking back tears of joy.