I danced until my high-heeled shoe broke, at which point I kicked both my shoes off and didn’t worry too much if they hit anyone on their way across the packed dance floor.

The DJ announced, “It’s time to slow it down a little,” and put on something with a lot of long, low notes blown on a saxophone. The people around me began to pair off, and I headed to the bar to cool down.

“Your usual?” The hired help wasn’t much older than me, but about fourteen shades too hip for my tastes. He had obviously spent more time getting his hair to spike just so than I spent taming my wild curls.

“You bet!” I smiled brightly at him. It is a happy day, after all.

He passed me an iced tea, extra ice, two straws. And a cherry, for luck. I turned back to the dance floor and saw Luke, dancing with his blushing (quite literally, blushing) new bride. My stomach twisted.

I put the iced tea down and headed for the nearest exit. I almost made it out of the reception hall, except Luke’s mom was just returning from the restroom.