At the rehearsal dinner two nights before the wedding, the best man made a toast that included an anecdote about Trevor’s first impression of the Carter women at the work event where he had met Ashley. It came out sideways, badly phrased, audible to the whole room: Trevor had noticed me first. I stood immediately and redirected the moment, offering a toast that reframed the story around Ashley and Trevor’s connection, and the awkwardness dissolved, and people raised their glasses.
Ashley found me afterward by the dessert table.
You loved hearing that, she said. Her voice had the edge of someone who has been holding something for a long time. You probably wish he had chosen you.
He didn’t, I said. He chose you. And I’m with Eric.
You’ve been trying to outshine me this entire engagement with your centerpieces and your suggestions and your hair that everyone can’t stop talking about.
