Chapter 7 - The Runner in the Hallway
The dressing suite felt too small with all of us in it. I remember the air conditioner humming against the wall and the smell of hairspray still hanging in the air. My dad kept his hand on my shoulder. I could feel how heavy it was through the thin tulle of my dress.
Marcus set his camera on the little vanity table. He turned the screen so we could all see it. Lauren stood by the door with her arms crossed. She wasn't shouting now. She kept looking at the mirror instead of at us.
"This is from about twenty minutes before the first dance," Marcus said. His voice was even. He pressed a button.
At first there was only the hallway on the screen. I recognized the runner right away, that dark red carpet with the gold border. The wall sconces made little pools of light. Nobody was in it. You could hear nothing except a faint buzz. My dad leaned forward a little.
Then Lauren walked into the frame alone. She still had her veil on. She was holding her bouquet down at her side. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked back over her shoulder toward the ballroom doors.
I felt my dad's fingers tighten on my shoulder.
On the screen, Lauren shifted her bouquet to her left hand. With her right hand she twisted at her left ring finger. It took her two tries. She pulled the ring off and held it up for a second between her thumb and finger. It caught the light.
She bent down and set it right in the middle of the runner. Not dropped. Set. She placed it down careful, like she didn't want it to roll away. Then she stood up and smoothed her dress.
Lauren in the room made a small sound. I didn't look at her. I kept watching the screen.
On the screen, Lauren took two steps toward the side door that led back to the suites. She stopped and checked the main doorway again. She leaned just enough to see around the corner. When she was sure no one was coming, she slipped out fast. The hallway was empty again. The ring was a tiny bright spot on the carpet.
Marcus didn't say anything. He let it play. The timestamp in the corner ticked forward.
Five seconds. Ten seconds.
Then I walked into the frame.
I looked so small on that little screen. My braids were neater then. I was dragging one hand along the wall as I walked. I wasn't hurrying. I think I was still looking for my dad because I'd gotten turned around after the bathroom.
I stopped because something shone under the light. I bent down the way kids do, knees out. I picked the ring up with both hands and held it close to my face to look at it. I turned it over.
I remember that part now. I thought it was pretty. I thought if I held it tight I wouldn't lose it before I could find a grown-up.
On the screen, I looked up down the hallway both ways. Then I started walking toward the ballroom doors with the ring cupped in my palms.
Marcus paused the video.
Nobody spoke for a long moment. The frozen picture showed me mid-step, mouth a little open, holding the ring like I'd been told it was something important.
My dad breathed out slow through his nose. His hand left my shoulder and then came back, but different. He pulled me in against his side. I leaned into his jacket. It smelled like sweat and mints.
"This was cued to before you came in crying," he said to Marcus. It wasn't really a question.
Marcus nodded. "Yes."
Lauren finally moved from the door. She came one step closer and then stopped. Her veil shifted when she moved. "Daniel," she said quietly.
My dad didn't look at her yet. He looked down at me first. He put his other hand over my hands where I had them folded in my lap. "You picked it up," he said. His voice was low.
May you like
I nodded. My throat hurt too much to talk.
He kept his eyes on me for another second, and then he turned his head toward her.
