I still have the seating chart from that night.

It sits in a keepsake box with photographs, cards, dried pieces of the wedding flowers, and other things I probably won’t look at often but can’t bring myself to throw away.

For a while, I considered getting rid of it.

Every time I saw it, I remembered those two names in the front row.

Patricia Sterling.

Robert Sterling.

Two places intentionally left empty.

Eventually, I stopped seeing only those seats.

Around them were nearly two hundred others.

Filled.

Aunt Evelyn was there.

Sarah was there.

Julian’s parents were there.

Friends were there.

Cousins were there.

People had driven for hours and flown across the country.

They had taken time off, booked rooms, dressed up, carried gifts, sat in the sun, listened to our vows, danced badly, laughed loudly, and stayed late.

My parents believed their absence would teach me humility.

In a way, it did teach me something.

Just not what they intended.

Love wasn’t supposed to be a test of how much disappointment I could tolerate without complaining.

Family wasn’t supposed to require one person to become smaller so somebody else could remain comfortable.

And absence was not proof of authority.

Sometimes it was simply absence.

For most of my life, I had stared hardest at the people who withheld what I wanted from them.

It took two empty chairs at my wedding for me to notice how many people had already chosen to sit beside me.

Disclaimer: This story is fictional and created for entertainment purposes only. Any names, characters, places, or events are fictitious or used fictitiously. No real person or organization is intended to be portrayed.

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