While Shanize walked toward the altar, I felt a knot form in my stomach. Weddings are meant to be happy times. I couldn’t ignore the fact that something was wrong.
When I finally moved to lift her dress, I was shocked by what I saw. Dave and I have been friends for more than 30 years. We had fun and laughed through the awkward parts of being teenagers together as we grew up.
I was so happy for him when he told me he was getting married to Shanize, a beautiful woman he met a year ago. That being said, I really didn’t think anyone could ever hold him down, but here we were on his wedding day. It was almost too beautiful for words that the ceremony was.
Her long white dress made her look like she was straight out of a wedding magazine as she walked down the aisle. Something wasn’t right, and I should have been lost in the beauty of it all. I first thought it was just nerves.
Don’t you think weddings are stressful? But as Shanize took one step, then another, I saw that she was walking funny. It wasn’t the calm and sure bride’s walk you’d expect.
It looked like she was tripping because her steps were small and shaky. She is Dave’s sister, Heather. I leaned over to talk to her.
“Do you see that?” I whispered and tried to keep my tone low. Heather looked down the aisle with a frown. That’s why she asked, “See what?”
“Shanize,” I said, making a small chin movement.
“The way she walks is off.” It seems like something is wrong. Heather looked hard and then shrugged. “Don’t think about it too much.” Janice, she’s just scared.
It’s a big day, you know. She smiled at me to make me feel better, but it didn’t calm the uncomfortable feeling I was having. Perhaps.
But I didn’t like the way Shanize’s dress moved. Was her dress too small? Was there something that happened before the ceremony?
Even though I tried to ignore the thoughts, I couldn’t as she got closer to the altar. Not only were her steps slow, they were almost forced. I couldn’t help but lean over again.
“Heather, I’m sure something is wrong.”
Heather said in a sharp voice, “Janice, stop it.” “You’ll mess up the moment.” “Don’t cause a fuss.”
I turned my eyes back to the altar. Dave was there, and love was shining in his eyes. He gave me a thumbs-up and said, “Can you believe it?” when we looked at each other.
I smiled and nodded back at him, but something wasn’t quite right inside. The more Shanize got close to the altar, the uneasy I became. It looks like I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Someone whispered behind me, “She’s gliding!” in a funny man’s voice. Something about what you said made me feel very cold. I leaned in closer to Heather again, and my voice was almost a whisper.
“Heard that?” Gliding? That’s the truth. The way she walks is wrong.
Heather hissed, “Janice, for God’s sake!” as her patience ran out. “You’re making Dave look bad.” Don’t act this way!”
But I had to keep going. As Shanize got closer, I looked closely at her feet to try to figure it out.
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