The Day You Never Came

After taking care of everything at the hospital, I went back to the small room we'd set up for the wedding.

The guests were long gone.

A large wedding banner still hung in the center of the room. I'd put it up myself the night before, making sure it was perfectly straight.

Mom had insisted on that. She always said if you started things right, everything else would fall into place.

The cake she'd picked out was still on the table, already starting to melt. The frosting had sagged into a shapeless mess, which pretty much matched how I felt.

I changed out of my wedding dress and started cleaning up on autopilot.

I was halfway done when Isaac Hudson and Jolene Cohen finally showed up, still carrying a bag from the popular cake shop.

"Lily, we're back! We even got Ms. Page a low-sugar cake. It's one of their specialties…"

Jolene's cheerful voice trailed off as she took in the empty room. She looked stunned.

"Where is everyone? I thought there was supposed to be a wedding. Why is it so quiet in here?"

Isaac frowned. "Lily, Jolene's talking to you. Where did everyone go?"

I didn't answer.

Jolene seemed to sense the tension and quickly tried to smooth things over. "Lily, is Ms. Page upset? This is my fault. I messed up the timing. Isaac only came with me to get the cake—"

Isaac cut her off and immediately tried to reassure her. "Don't worry about it, Jolene. Ms. Page is such a nice person. Even if she found out, she wouldn't blame us."

My eyes stung at his words.

Of course Mom wouldn't blame them. Even at the very end, she was still making excuses for them.

Ten years ago, when Isaac's parents were going through a divorce, he was pretty much left on his own.

One day, the pain from a stomach perforation got so bad that he passed out. Mom was the one who rushed him to the hospital in the pouring rain.

The hospital needed a deposit up front, so Mom covered it herself with two months' pay.

Later, not wanting Isaac to feel awkward about owing her money, she just smiled and said, "I'm your teacher. Of course I was going to help. Don't feel bad about it, Isaac. You've got a bright future ahead of you. Pay me back when you can."

Isaac lay in the hospital bed, clutching her hand and crying for what seemed like forever. He swore he'd spend the rest of his life paying her back for everything she'd done for him.

After that, Isaac was practically part of the family. He was always the first to show up for the holidays, and whenever Mom got sick, he worried about her even more than I did.

Everyone said he treated her better than most sons treated their own mothers.

But when it came to this final act, he couldn't even play his part.

I tossed my wedding dress onto a chair. My voice was so hoarse I barely recognized it.

"The wedding's off. There won't be another one."