Chapter 51
Iloved listening to my parents” recollections of their own wedding ceremony and everything that had gone wrong. I had heard it multiple times over the past few years since I was a kid, but they loved to repeat it, and I had to listen. I had minimal complaints now anyway because I was just so grateful that rather than mourning at her bedside this evening, she was back on her feet and talking to us. They had given her a few months left to live, but I was praying to extend that out for as long as possible and determined to cherish every moment, regardless of how it could possibly be the last. If she didn”t live with my dad, and he didn”t need her more than anyone else for companionship, then I would have moved her in with me.
This was why I had been so looking forward to this trip. The time away from work, and from being constantly called on or stuck in meetings, and the time to spend with her and family. What I hadn’t expected whatsoever to gain was one more especially intimate interest. I tried to ignore it for the time being so that she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. My parents were watching my every move, I was aware, curious out of their minds as usual, but of course, I couldn”t control myself. I watched as she took our pictures from time to time and as she went around the small church taking pictures. Then eventually, she disappeared up the wooden steps to the small space above. There were only a few pews there, but I could see who it was for, what she was doing. It was to give her the view of the entire hall that she wanted. It was all truly heart-wrenchingly beautiful. The candles were all flickering; the space was warm and cool, and the flowers were just divine. They had truly spared no expense on it, and I was in a moment I wanted to remember.
“Anyone we want to invite over?” I asked as I pulled out my phone to check up with our bride and groom of the hour, who were now severely late and making us all wait unnecessarily long.
“Nope, this is just as Aurora wanted: immediate family and friends.”
”Her friends have arrived,” I informed them as I placed the call to my ears. I didn”t want to text him any longer in case Aurora just happened to be in the vicinity of his phone. She was sure to see perhaps what she shouldn”t and mess up the whole thing. It was the last thing I wanted, so I wasn”t taking any chances.
David picked up, and at the sigh he sent me, rather than a hello, I was sure there were already problems. Before it slipped my mind, I asked about additional guests.
“Are Rory’s friends in now?” I asked.
“A few arrived today, but they’re not very close. The closest ones will be here tomorrow.”
“Oh, I guess they’ll miss tonight”s festivities then,”
“It’s okay,” he replied, and I nodded.
“Where are you both now? The candles are dying out. They’ve been burning for the last half an hour.”
“They are endless?” he asked and I nodded.
“Hundreds. Please hurry up.”
“She’s in the bathroom. She doesn’t feel very well. I think she might have eaten something that made her nauseous or it’s the baby. I really don’t know, and if I rush her too much, she knows me too much. She’ll suspect that something is wrong.”
I sighed.
“At this point, I really don”t mind if she suspects that something is wrong. I just really need you to get cleaned up. Say you’re running late for a special date or something and that you have reservations.”
“We’ll be there,” he said. “I’ll get her there now.”
“Please do,” I replied, and the call came to an end.
I kept covering then, waiting for his message and wishing that I could also take the time to converse with Evelyn. But she was in work mode now, and I knew that she wouldn’t allow any distractions whatsoever. My parents, however, I had something to discuss with.
I eyed them for a little while, wondering if this was even necessary to say at all. But we had time to kill, and since Evelyn was here as well, I really didn”t want to hold back.
“What do you both think about me finally getting a girlfriend?” I asked.
They had been conversing heartily about a few friends from the past that they had met again because of this event, but as soon as the words left my mouth, they both turned to give me peculiar looks.
“Just a girlfriend?” my mom asked, and I was truly perplexed by her words. “What do you mean by just a girlfriend? It better be more than just a girlfriend this time around,” she said, and I smiled.
”Girlfriend is always a safe start, Mom, trust me.”
“I approve,” my dad said. “She seems lovely.”
“She is,” I replied and tried to search for said lovely woman, but once again she was nowhere to be found.
“Have you told her yet?” my mom asked. “That you’d like to take this little fling of yours further?”
“No, not yet,” I replied. “Hopefully, she doesn”t reject me.”
“Why would she?” my mom asked, genuinely confused. “Did you misbehave?”
“Oh, come on, Mom.”
“A man of your caliber,” she said. “I know women don”t expect much from you lots.”
“I haven”t dated anyone in years. Trust me, if I was that out of control, I would have.”
“You’re right,” she said. “Alright, I look forward to seeing more of her around then.”
“Hopefully,” I said as my gaze lowered to the message that had just arrived on my phone. “If she rejects me, I”ll send her to you for some winning over, so don”t let me down, alright?”
“Jesus, you must really like her if you”re even willing for me to talk her into it if she does reject you.”
I smiled at this but didn”t respond. My whole heart, however, radiated in its agreement to this statement because she was right. I was somewhat nervous because I deeply liked her a lot.
“Aurora’s here,” I announced, and my parents” faces instantly lit up.
“Thank God,” my father said. ‘Finally. The candles are dying out. It took forever to light them up.”
“Uh oh,” I said after I read the rest of the messages. “She”s angry. She refused to wear the dress.”
“Classic,” my mother smiled.
“Luckily, David brought it along, though.”
“Well, nothing in life is perfect. She”ll hurry to change. It”s her fault.”
I shrugged and then I called Evelyn.
“She”s here,” I replied.
“I know,” she smiled. “She”s in jeans. I”ll get some shots from the top, and then I”ll hurry down.”
“Alright,” I said and put the phone away.
I started out of the way, and a few seconds later, just as we had discussed, at my signal the huge double doors opened to reveal the ceremony. I watched as Aurora appeared with David’s hands over her eyes and then eventually, after whining, she stopped and doubled back.
“I”m not in the mood,” she said softly. “And this place smells funny.”
He removed his hands, and it took a while for her eyes to stop adjusting to all the light. And then the moment she realized what this was, she screamed.
We were meant to remain silent for a while longer, but we were all so startled that we froze in place for a while. And then we erupted into laughter. She was even more startled at the additional voices and screamed again as she turned to take us all in, hiding in the shadows.
“Oh my God!” Her hand slapped against her mouth. Slowly, and as my mom headed over to hug her, she began to understand what was going on, and just like that, tears fell down her eyes.
“Oh my God! Was this what you were planning all day?”
“Not exactly,” I thought to myself, but she didn’t need to know that.
“Evelyn put it all together,” I told her, and she turned to the opposite direction then to see the photographer clicking away.
“Oh my God!” she screamed and headed over to her. Evelyn, poor girl, took as many pictures of her approaching, coming for a hug, before she was ambushed and nearly sent to the floor.
“I”m sorry,” she said, and Evelyn shook her head, holding her tight.
“It’s alright.”
“Thank you so much!”
“For nothing.”
“Oh my God,” she stopped then and looked around, and the light in her eyes was like a thousand lights.
She turned toward her fiancé then and jumped into his arms.
They were like this, seemingly forever until he pulled away and said something to her.
She screamed once again, and together they hurried out. She was obviously going to change into her wedding dress, and at this, we all heaved a sigh of relief.
“She sure does scream a lot,” my dad”s finger went to his ears to scratch it, and we all shared a laugh.
Evelyn hurried out then to get more pictures, but just before she went past, my hand curved around her waist and stopped her. I kissed her once again, needing the taste of her tongue on mine and the camera nearly dropped from her hands. Thankfully, I caught it in time, much to the amusement of everyone else. She seemed so betrayed that I had made her so weak again, but then she seemed to realize something, and so she reached out and with her fingers, cleaned my lips.
“You’ve had red lipstick on them all evening,” she said, and my eyes widened in shock.
It was the perfect revenge after which she hurried away before I could hold her accountable for that crime.
I did, however, return to my parents then, who were equally responsible and unrepentant.
Sighing, I shook my head and joined them in waiting for Aurora”s arrival.