Falling Forward Chapter 2

After Edward stopped laughing and Jacqueline gave a welcome speech, the guys left to get food for us while Alice and I caught up.
"So, what have you been up to since we graduated?" I asked, swirling my glass of wine before taking a sip.
"I've been trying to start my line. So far it's been going okay. I got a position with Kenley Collins as her marketing person. Oh, I have another surprise for you, but Edward made me promise not to tell you until he was here, so I guess I'll just have to wait patiently," she said as she sat excitedly, looking for Edward.
As the guys approached, I used the signal system we invented during a long finals week our junior year to tell the boys to hurry up before Alice exploded with excitement. She barely managed to wait until the boys sat down before pulling her left hand from under the table and showing the large diamond to Jasper and me.
"Edward and I are engaged!" she exclaimed.
I got up and walked over to Alice and Edward, giving them both hugs. These two were always meant for each other, and anyone who looked at them together knew it. They hadn't had it easy, but neither had Jasper and I, nor any of the other couples from school we stayed in touch with.
Our happy reunion was interrupted as Jacqueline stepped onto the stage with her laptop and a projector. "I know we're all happy to reconnect with each other after so long, so I'm going to make this quick. As tonight's coordinator, I looked through our yearbooks and Facebook pages, collecting pictures and memories to share tonight. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did." She stepped off the stage as the slideshow began to play.
The class picture that was taken the day we moved in showed up first, followed by a picture of Alice, Jasper and I standing in our room on move in day. There were boxes everywhere and Alice was running a hand over her delicate skirt while Jasper was laughing at something he found in a box packed by his parents. I smiled at the memory and waited for the picture to change. We finished eating while watching the slideshow in silence, the room bursting into applause when the picture of our class from graduation with caps frozen forever in the air stayed on the screen while the song finished.
I looked back over at Alice, her head resting on Edward's shoulder, and I couldn't help but smile at the complete trust and love that surrounded them.
I squeaked as Jasper poked me in the ribs and smiled up at him. "Do you guys remember the day that picture of the three of us was taken?" he asked.
Edward started to laugh and Alice and I shook our heads while we all waited for someone to start us down memory lane. Jasper finally spoke up with his version of the events that happened on move in day.
Bella and Alice had just made introductions after recovering from the flying ipod and I, like the well trained friend I was, stayed away from any boxes marked with Bella's chicken scratch.
"Bella, is it safe for me to move from this corner?" I asked, not wanting to have anything else thrown in my direction.
"Yeah, it's fine. I'm sorry I threw that at you," she said, looking up from the box she was currently unpacking.
I smiled and carefully made my way through the mine field of boxes to another one of my piles of boxes. When I reached my destination, I took a second to take in all the details of today. Bella was wearing her blue Finding Nemo shirt with ridiculously short shorts and her patterned Converse. Her hair had fallen out of the ponytail after several trips to the moving van and was sticking to her flushed face as she concentrated on the box in front of her.
I opened the box at the top of the stack before taking another moment to study my surroundings. I could already tell Alice was going to be a hoot to live with. She was running her hands down the back of her skirt, trying to keep it from riding up when she bent over to get one thing or another out of the large Tupperware tub she had her things packed in.
I focused on the box in front of me again and laughed as I pulled out a container of home-made cookies. There were Bella's favorite, double chocolate peanut blossoms, and my absolute favorite, snicker doodles. As I got past the obscene amount of food my mother packed I found a large bottle of aspirin, a set of shot glasses and a bottle whiskey. I would have to remember to call my dad later and thank him. I held up the shot glasses and laughed at the expression of the stranger now standing in the door way while Bella and Alice stayed oblivious to the newcomer.
I came out of Jasper's memory of that day laughing at the realization of exactly how oblivious I had been that day. Alice smiled at me and I knew we were thinking the same thing. Edward broke our silent conversation when he started to tell us his side on the events.
"I heard yelling and something hard hit the floor above me as I signed in. I figured it was safe to walk up to my room when the yelling stopped and I heard boxes being moved. It only got worse when I heard Jasper ask if he could move from the corner; I thought I was going to end up living with a couple that was into some weird dominatrix shit. When I got to the door and saw the three of you unpacking boxes like normal human beings, I couldn't help the slack jawed expression that was on my face. The RA was behind me and took the picture. I can't help but think that I still ended up living with a bunch of crazies, but I wouldn't have had it any other way," Edward said before we all fell into a comfortable silence.
We danced as a group and as couples, making plans for Alice and Edward to come back to the apartment Jasper and I shared after the reunion so that we could continue to catch up in a more relaxed atmosphere. I certainly wasn't very comfortable in my heels and lace dress. Edward and I walked over to the double doors to get some air while Jasper and Alice glided across the make shift dance floor.
I was startled out of my thoughts when Edward put his arm around my shoulder.
"Do you ever wonder if you would be just as happy if things turned out differently?" he asked, never taking his eyes off of the clear night sky.
"Sometimes, but then I remember that if I had picked a different school Jasper would have come with me so my life wouldn't be extremely different," I answered truthfully. "Why, do you think you could be happier in another life?"
He became very quiet, even stopping the drumming of his fingers against the door frame, before answering. "Some days I do, and others I look around and realize everything I could ever want is right here. I have the perfect fiancée and two great friends."