The wedding included only the couple, two witnesses, and the groom's father, who insisted he would not cry. Irena held her friend's bag. Denis guarded the ring box, checking his pocket every few minutes. They met half an hour before the ceremony and exchanged all the sentences people consider polite when they have no idea what to say to each other.
Afterwards they had lunch at a small restaurant. The newlyweds were hurrying to catch a bus for their trip, while the father kept repeating that they still had time. Ten years earlier Irena had had a large wedding and a marriage that ended quietly, without any of the hundred guests nearby. Denis had never married. He did not explain why, and she did not ask him to justify it.
After seeing the bus off, they remained at the station with a bouquet her friend did not want to carry on the journey. Irena said her apartment now seemed too quiet to return to. Denis suggested a walk, then immediately added that she did not have to accept out of politeness merely because they had just attended a wedding. That unnecessarily considerate sentence was the first thing she particularly liked about him.
They walked without a destination. They discussed their departing friends, the quick decision to marry, and everyone who had expected a larger celebration. Then Denis asked what an ordinary Tuesday looked like for Irena. The question made her laugh. She said it mostly involved laundry, work, and rushing to reach an open shop. That sounded familiar enough for him to continue the conversation.
In the park the bouquet began losing petals. Irena separated it and gave Denis half because she did not want to carry all of someone else's romance home alone. He sat beside her holding several roses, looking slightly ridiculous in his formal suit. She asked whether he would have coffee on an entirely ordinary day as well. He said he would, promising to arrive without responsibility for any rings.
They met the following Thursday. Irena was late because she could not find parking, while Denis had a lunch stain on his sleeve. Talking was much easier that way. They did not mention a future wedding or joke that their friends could replace them as witnesses. For a beginning, it was enough to discover that both wanted to remain at the table after the coffee grew cold.