They made it to the courthouse before the fear that had held her to this path turned into the fear that would not let her be still. They were standing in a hallway waiting for their names to be called when she suddenly felt ill. She felt clammy and cold and barely managed to stammer out the word "bathroom" before her feet took over to propell her away from him. The look on his face as she turned and almost-ran pierced straight through her but did not slow her escape. She fled down stairs and around corners and eventually found herself in a dim little stall in a out-of-the-way restroom. It was filled with an officious silence that only government buildings seemed to possess.

Without allowing herself to think about it, she pulled her cell phone from her purse and hit the first speed dial number. A groggy but cheerful voice answered, "I'm sorry... I know, I know. I'm late. I'll be right there."

"Hi, Will," she said quietly.

She heard a rustling and imagined him sitting up, pulling his knees up the way he did when he wanted to concentrate. He said her name in a breath, "Maggie... how are you, love? What's going on?"

She was silent for a moment, trying to determine what she needed to say and how she could possibly say it. Finally, she said simply, "I'm getting married."

"Ah," he replied in a tone that was impossible to gauge the subtleties of, "When's this, then? Perhaps I could make it back..." he trailed off into silence, allowing space for her to expand details and plans into the excited monologue they should have been.

"In about twenty minutes," she answered.

There was another silence, this time leaving her to realize how silly she'd been to call. She imagined hanging up then, sparing both of them the need to finish the conversation.

He exhaled long and slow and she wondered if he was smoking again. "So. You'll be a married woman in half an hour?"

"Aye, Will, I will," she said, surprised to hear their old joke come out of her mouth at a time like this.

He laughed, then, and the sound was the same as it had always been. It was a sound that warmed her more than any blanket or fireplace. She found herself wondering again how it was that he always seemed to end up so far away.

"I guess I won't be there to see it then, will I? I'd ask if my invitation was lost in the mail but something tells me this was not so ... planned. Am I right?" His tone was joking but she knew he was worried.

"Plans don't ever seem to work out, though, do they?" she asked, her voice not betraying the sad bitterness she felt.

"No, love, it seems the best ones never do." There was a sound in the background and caught the words "gonna be late again" yelled by some roommate of Will's. Terry, perhaps. "Looks like I have to go... I suppose you do, too."

She nodded, knowing he couldn't see her but unable to speak around the lump that had appeared in her throat.

"Look," he said, his voice solemn and the pause was filled with the intent of his words. "Be happy, love, okay?"

"Aye, Will, I will."

He hung up and she closed her phone, adding for her own benefit, "I'll try."

When Maggie left the bathroom she still hadn't made up her mind about how the next half hour would play out. Walking out of the oppresive weight of this government building and all her continued presence meant was every bit as likely as walking back to stand and wait with Adam. Walking through the halls and back up stairs without a destination, she found herself on the far end of the hallway where she'd left Adam. Even looking at the back of this man she barely knew, she could tell he was anxious. He swung his gaze between the way she had gone and the still-closed door of the room where they were to be married. It was clear he wasn't sure what to do - whether to follow after her or continue to wait. She watched him for a moment, then called his name softly and walked purposefully toward him. The relief on his face when he saw her cleared her mind of everything else. He took her hand and when their names were called they walked in together.

The ceremony was brief, the secretary who witnessed it was impatient to get to lunch, the man performing the ceremony mispronounced Adam's last name, and they had to stop altogether when it turned out Adam had mistakenly assumed "Maggie" was short for "Margaret" instead of just her given name. After the correct papers were signed and copied and filed, they stood on the steps, blinking in the bright noon sunshine. Maggie felt shellshocked and disconnected from herself. Surely this was a movie she was watching. Nothing this surreal could have really happened, could it? Adam was still holding her hand and he pulled it towards his mouth. She watched him kiss the back of her hand and saw him grin at her. She tried to smile, concentrated on pulling her mouth into the right position, focused on returning his expression. But it was as if her brain had lost contact with her muscles and all she could do was stand and be completely blank.

As they walked back to her car one moment of the ceremony crystalized in her head. She hadn't said "I do." What she had said was "Aye, Will."