Here's a scene for you...
Charlotte lived a simple life, worked hard, dated, though unsuccessfully, fed the cat, gardened, ran with the dog, took painting classes... mid-thirties, lived in Carmel now, after many tours around the country with various jobs. Runs a publishing company she started 5 years earlier. And, incidentally, she is resolved to maybe NOT finding the one.....
Charlotte was planning a trip back east to visit her family, since she hadn't been in years there were many a brunches and cocktails planned to catch up with old friends and family. Although, she was most excited to see her older sister Karen. Ironically they secretly wished for a taste of each others lives. From the other sisters point of view, Charlotte had the exciting single life, traveling, casual strolls on the beach, dinner parties... and Karen having the white picket fence, 3 amazing kids, and doting husband to boot.
Upon arriving, and pollinating the first of the cocktail parites, she was asked if she was "attending Claire's wedding while she's in town??" This is her brother-in-laws best friends sister.... now... try to keep up... the brother-in-law's, best friend's, sister, also had an older brother... And given the history, they all had over the years, everyone seemed to assume her invite. However, that's part of the perils of moving away from the fold... you sometimes get forgotten on the invitation list.
All the same, Charlotte fondly remembered always having a crush on "him" and just as she is slipping into her day dream of younger years and past flirtations home from college breaks... someone mentions his name "Hey, Nate's going to be there... and I hear... he doesn't have a date...." She stops to think "Shit, he's still single too... Nate... single.... too... " She slowly repeats it a few times in her head until she comes to... only to find her sister already on the phone with Nate..."Sounds great... Perfect, OK... I'm so thrilled... and so is Charlotte... well then, See you at the rehearsal dinner!" It was all settled, she was not only going to Claire's wedding with the rest of the gang... she was to be Nate's impromptu date for his sister Claire's wedding.
Charlotte, having always been the dumpy, but full of personality girl with a great sense of humor, had gone from unsuccessful dating, to not really dating, to drowning herself in her bathtub with mystery novels.... to moving to the coast and doing yoga with the rest of the "Romans..." Ya know, while in Rome... to joining a gym... to secretly and unbeknownst to anyone including herself, looking GRRRREAT. So this blast from the past of a wedding date has her.... thinking. But unlike her old self... she is handling it with grace, and her seasoned sense of humor. She didn't even go buy a new dress... She wore that one she found while wondering through Saks for a lipstick... and walked out with the the perfect black dress, pencil skirt, cap sleeves, and a military collar, deep V neck line, with a wrap front. Paired with a pair of chandelier earrings she bought at a thrift store in West Hollywood years before, and an impulse purchase of a pair of black Christian Louboutin's, she was accidentally exquisite.
She arrives at the rehearsal dinner with her sister, and her sister's family, to find everyone she vaguely ever remembered, having not lived at "home" in 20 years. The first person she saw was, in fact, Nate. All that travel as a foreign correspondent has him looking unusually... smooth. He turned, their eyes locked... her sister says "You remember Charlotte..." Nate was silent for what seemed a year... "I don't remember you being this... " Silence as he searched for his words. Charlotte, confident, smiled gently. "You don't look so bad yourself, Nate." Another year of silence goes by until Nate suggests, "Drink?" Charlotte, nods slowly, smirks.
All the catching up family interruptions put a crimp on the attempted reconnection between Charlotte and Nate. However, there are undeniable splashes and bolts of lightening of common interests, similar theories of life, qualities of character... and the evening ends with bated breath and the anticipation of meeting again the next day at the wedding...
One dream filled night later, she arrives at the afternoon outdoor nuptials... Another flawless ensemble, pastel blue, flowy, square neck, chiffon skirt, tight bodice, grandmother's diamonds, and strapy sexy Channel pumps.... Nate of course looking devastating in a tux..... the ceremony seemed to take a millennium. Winks and glances are exchanged... followed by the longest wedding dinner in history, with all the traditional announcements, chimes for kisses, and cake cutting... until finally the band strikes up. Nate coolly makes his way across the room. Shaking hands with uncles and kissing aunties' cheeks. Just in time, to find Charlotte sitting with her 6 year old niece Lila on her lap, sharing a piece of wedding cake at the corner table.
He waits a moment before interrupting, and then announces "Lila!!" She affectionately raises her hands, to "Uncle" Nate... he lifts her easily, only to slyly relocate Lila to her papa's lap, "Hey, Bobby, take this will ya!" He kisses Lila's cheek... And with a wink and a swift take of Charlotte's hand he guides her to the dance floor, just as the band starts to play "Everything." As he turns to face Charlotte and take her firmly in his arms to dance, he whispers, "I've waited a long time for this dance." She smiles, nods. They fall endlessly into the nape of each other's necks. He kisses the top of her right hand... and whispers "Where have you been?" She shakes her head. He follows with... "Do you believe in love at first sight??" Charlotte, "I do now." And, they kiss... Charlotte would later describe it as "Planted, and juicy, and perfect!".... and long enough for the entire room to notice...
The many friends and family in the crowd, congratulating themselves for having had the good sense to fix Charlotte and Nate up after all these years... turn again to admire the happy couple... but they're gone... slipped off the dance floor... catching the last glimpses of them... Nate is grabbing a bottle of old Scotch and 2 rocks glasses from the bartender, and Charlotte, unable to contain herself any longer, looks back, to catch her sister's eyes, and shake her head, she secretly and silently screams, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. Charlotte turns back in time with Nate, they smile and head for the garden...
I guess they were right... when you aren't looking... there he'll be... and he was.
