"I'm so glad you changed your mind, Reese," Mrs. Smith said as they walked towards her office door. "I know you're not a fan of public speaking, but you could be such a terrific role model for some of the kids here, especially the young girls."
"Thank you," Reese said shyly.
As Mrs. Smith started to lock the door behind her, Reese gasped.
"Is something wrong?"
"I-I think I dropped my keys in your office. Do you mind if I go back in and look for them before we go?"
"Not at all." As Mrs. Smith opened the door for Reese, one of the employees came up to her calling out her name. "Go ahead, Reese. I'll just be one moment."
Reese walked into the office and pretended to search the area around the chair where she had been seated a moment before. She cast a glance at the filing cabinets behind the desk, wondering if she had time to take a quick look at her records, but it seemed too risky. Instead she waited anxiously for another moment before walking back towards the door.
As Reese joined Mrs. Smith the hallway, she closed the door quietly behind her.
"Did you find them?"
"Yes, they must have fallen out of my pocket when I sat down." As she spoke, Reese stood in front of the door, hoping that by blocking the doorknob, Mrs. Smith would forget about locking up.
"Good, then let's go."
Reese hesitated a moment, afraid that Mrs. Smith would try to lock the door again. When she started to walk away instead, Reese breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to catch up with her before she could realize her mistake.
As they stood at the top of the courthouse steps, Vanessa stepped up to hug the newlyweds in turn. "Congratulations. I'm so happy for the both of you!"
When Vanessa moved aside, Andrew shook Ed's hand while Amanda congratulated Alma.
"I can't believe you're actually married. I just can't believe it," Amanda gushed.
"Thanks," Alma replied, too shocked herself to react to the backhanded compliment.
"I just wish you'd told me about the wedding yourself," Amanda said with a glance towards Vanessa. "I would have loved to help you get ready."
"It wasn't a big deal," Alma insisted. "I didn't want to make a fuss."
The group walked down the courthouse steps towards the street, where Vanessa, Amanda, and Andrew saw Edward and Alma to his car. They cheered and waved as the new couple drove away.
As soon as they were out of sight, Amanda turned to Andrew, ignoring Vanessa. "We should get back to the office, shouldn't we?"
Andrew glanced at his watch. "I guess so."
"Wait, before you go," Vanessa interrupted. "I wanted to let you know that my play is this weekend if you are still interested in going."
"I don't think we can make it," Amanda said as she urged Andrew towards the car.
"If you find out that you can, I've reserved extra tickets, just give them my name."
Amanda just nodded and dragged Andrew along to the car.
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