The Handsome Guy
A week before the wedding, I took my dad to the hospital where my fiancé worked for an upper endoscopy under sedation.
Dad had gotten up extra early to shave and put on a gleaming white shirt and a new pair of shoes. Clutching his numbered ticket, he asked me quietly, "If Yale's busy, we don't need to see him. We shouldn't hold him up."
I patted his arm. "Don't worry. I made an appointment. It wouldn't be holding him up."
He'd been up since five without anything to eat. By eleven, his legs were trembling from standing. I texted Yale Xavier.
[Dad can barely stand anymore. How many people are ahead of us?]
It took him a long time to reply.
[Wait your turn like everyone else.]
Another hour passed. Just as our turn finally came, they called in the mother and daughter who'd been sitting the whole time.
Through the gap in the door, I heard the girl ask, "Yale, who are those people outside? Are you sure it's okay to give me their spot?"
"Sure. I happen to know them a little. They're father and daughter. They won't mind."
I looked down at the ticket in my palm, soaked with my dad's sweat.
Dad had paid his tuition for medical school and his doctorate, and in five days, I was supposed to marry him.
Now we were just people he happened to know.
I rolled up the ticket and tucked it into my pocket, then helped Dad to the nearest place serving breakfast. As soon as we sat down, I sent a message to our family and friends.
[The wedding is off.]