I wasn’t trembling at all, which honestly caught me off guard.
I actually looked composed—almost unnervingly so—as I sat before the mirror, a cotton pad resting against my cheek while I gently removed the blush that had smeared slightly from hours of dancing.
My wedding dress had loosened where I’d pulled the zipper halfway down, slipping off one shoulder. The bathroom carried the scent of jasmine, extinguished tea lights, and a soft trace of vanilla lotion. I was by myself, yet for the first time in a long while, loneliness wasn’t there. Instead, I felt oddly suspended, like time had paused.
A gentle knock sounded from the bedroom door behind me.
“Tara?” Jess called. “You’re good, girl?”
“Yeah, I’m just… breathing,” I replied. “Taking it all in, you know?”
There was a brief silence. I could picture Jess—my closest friend since college—standing there, brows knit as she debated whether to step inside.
“I’ll give you a few more minutes, T. Just holler if you need help getting out of that dress. I won’t be far.”
