Gemotions

The band struck up a jaunty tune, and the room erupted in applause. David, the self-proclaimed cynic, stood frozen, the speech clutched in his sweaty palm. He'd never been one for sentimentality, and this felt… wrong. He’d argued, of course, that someone else should do it. But his sister had insisted, his mother had *expected* it. He looked at the printed page. His carefully crafted words, suddenly meaningless. He felt a deep, unfamiliar ache somewhere in his chest, a sensation he couldn’t quite place. He closed his eyes for a brief, desperate moment.