As an exchange student from Scotland, a whole new world opens up to Darren Green when he moves to the United States. He'll live with a host family, start at a new school, and he'll have to make new friends. However, what won't be a part of this new...
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DARREN SAT IN THE FRONT row and the girls sat on his right, their legs swinging over the edge of the chair. When a piano in the back of the room started playing a melody, the chatter in the room died down, and the heads of all people turned around in the direction where Elle was supposed to come from, their eyes expectantly.
"Is mum coming?" Keri asked, much too loud.
"Ssshhh." But Darren couldn't help a laugh forming on his lips as a result of his little sister's behavior and the accumulated nerves of this day now all coming back to him in this small but meaningful moment. He told Keri that yes, her mother was about to come in and get married, so she better be quiet, and he exchanged one last glance with Larson. Their eyes met, and Larson's mouth formed an "o" from which a nervous breath escaped. When Larson's eyes went back to the door on the other side of the room, Darren turned around too, his eyes fixed on that same door behind which was his mother, having a last moment to herself before she would be united with Larson in an eternal bond.
His heart started beating a little faster when he noticed movement in the door. Slowly, the gap in the door widened, but he didn't see his mother right away. When the doors were open enough, she appeared from the side and took a turn to walk through the doors down the aisle in her slowest but most important walk of her lifetime.
Her dress was a warm-toned white, made from lace in a sleek fit that made her look slim. Her hair was in an updo. In the first steps she took, she was looking down at her feet, perhaps to check if she wasn't stepping on her dress, but when she lifted her chin and looked across the room, her eyes met Larson for the first time that day, and a big smile appeared on her lips.
Darren let out a sigh of relief. To think he had once been scared of robbing his parents of love, convinced he had been the cause of their divorce, this moment offered him relief and happiness. It had taken over forty years, but Elle had finally found the one, and Darren was sure of it.
He glanced back at Larson, and in this quick snapshot, he saw his stepfather-to-be's eyes standing big in amazement and his mouth forming the word "wow". Darren snickered, but quickly turned back to his mother to see her take her steps closer toward the altar. A veil trailed on behind her, its edges graced with lace similar to the one on her dress, and the closer she came, the more Darren noticed the fine detailing of her outfit. The glow she carried was her most distinct feature; it made her appear years younger than she actually was.
When she was halfway down the aisle, she seemed to remember the guests that had come for this special occasion too, and she looked around. She noticed her friends, who had all taken the opportunity to get dressed up, and her ex-husband. When she saw Darren, she winked at him, as if it were a compliment for keeping his sisters quiet.
His little sisters sat quietly beside him and took the ceremony in. The pianist in the back with the white piano, the many flowers along the aisle, the formal wear of everyone present; nothing escaped their curious eyes. They were so captivated by it that they forgot to chatter in their usual excited manner – something Darren was grateful for.
