Chapter 2: What He Carried Back In
Brandon was carrying a suitcase.
A real one.
Large, worn at the corners, with a faded luggage tag still attached.
He set it down in the middle of the aisle, right in front of his mother.
The room didn't make a sound.
"I found this in the back of your car," he said.
"You packed it this morning, didn't you?
Before the ceremony."
Barbara's smile disappeared.
"Brandon, I was simply—"
"You were leaving." His voice was steady and quiet.
"You planned to walk out the moment the wedding was over.
You weren't going to stay for the reception.
You weren't going to stay for any of it."
"That is not—"
"Lisa." He turned to her gently.
"Can you come here?"
Lisa looked at me.
I nodded.
She walked to him slowly, still in her flower-girl dress, still holding her little basket.
Brandon knelt down so he was eye level with her.
"Those suitcases on your mom's dress?" he said.
"They don't mean what my mother said they mean.
You are not baggage.
You are the reason I said yes."
Lisa's chin wobbled.
Then Brandon looked up at the pastor.
"We're ready."
But Barbara wasn't finished.
She reached into her handbag and pulled out an envelope.
"Before you continue," she said, her voice sharp again, "there is something you need to read."
She held it out toward Brandon.
"It's about Lisa's father."
---
What's inside that envelope — and what does Barbara know about Lisa's father?
May you like
What Brandon reads next will change everything.
Click the link below to read the full story.
