33. Ivy Jade #2
The wedding guests took their seats on whichever side they chose.
Tallulah refused to separate by family. She believed they were conjoining in their marriage; therefore, the family started before the wedding kiss.
Trust me, I heard my mami put up a fight because there were still “bride” and “groom” signs on either aisle.
Hollie and Jasmine stood in front of the signs as they welcomed everyone in, letting them know to sit where they’d like and to meet their new family.
I loved Tallulah’s fierceness and how she never compromised her stance on who she was.
She brought that intensity out of my brother, making him fearless, kind of how Romeo and High Jynx brought me out of my bubble.
I missed both of them. All day I’d been crushed over my conversation with High Jynx, feeling sick to my stomach.
Did I make a mistake? And with Ro, did I scare him away?
Did he know I'd eventually let him down by being the same materialistic brat he knew me to be? I couldn’t stand that I hurt two men I really liked. It ate at me.
As the entire bridal party formed an orderly line, our grandparents went out together—they were so adorable in their old age. Then Gustav and Mami walked out, and Gustav looked stern with her. We all lined up with our partners we’d be walking down the aisle with.
Romeo had to be here. Everyone already had their partners. Was Romeo avoiding me?
“Coming!” I heard a deep voice say across the room. A flutter rippled through my belly.
Finally, it was—
“Hi, gorgeous,” Leo said, opening his arm up to link with his.
“You? Seriously? Where’s Romeo?” I whispered, sighing. All the hope that settled in my chest disappeared.
Leo looked befuddled. “I’m doing well, thank you. How are you, gorgeous?”
“I’m serious, Leo. Where’s Romeo? We were supposed to be walking together.”
The bridal lineup started moving up. Each bridesmaid and groomsman began to fill the front of the altar, starting from the end of it, all the way to where the bride and groom would be together in the middle.
“No, the maid of honor and best man walk together,” he argued.
“But Ro is the best man.” I stopped whispering. I never liked Leo. He was such a pompous, shameless man. The type of realtor scum you’d expect. And he’d hit on me on countless occasions; the man was married with five children.
“Was. We swapped out earlier. I was feeling a lot better, and I assumed the honor I was given,” Leo said, fixing his cufflinks as his shoulders dropped.
There were only three more pairs in front of us before it was our turn.
I kept peeking my head over to see if Romeo was around here somewhere. I still hadn’t seen him since I was in his bedroom last.
“Okay. Whatever. Isn’t he supposed to be a groomsman then?” I asked, panicking.
Leo shrugged without a care.
I didn’t know what to think. Why wouldn’t Romeo come talk to me?
The sun was starting to set, and Tallulah was tucked away in the corner, ready to come out after the flower girl and ring bearer made their debut.
The beautiful candle-lit pumpkins everyone worked on were staged up and down the aisle.
It truly gave it the perfect Halloween vibe.
One of the pumpkins caught my eye; it looked like a sad clown.
My thoughts immediately went to High Jynx, and I felt so numb everywhere.
“We’re almost up,” Leo said, petting my hand that was on his arm.
Leo and I were next in line to walk down the aisle.
From here, I saw my brother Gustav. He looked like a ball of nerves up there, balancing between his heel and toes anxiously.
The thing about my brother was… he never showed this type of emotion.
The man was always a total goofball, the life of the party.
But nervous? Nah, that wasn’t him. Only Tallulah could bring that out in him.
She may have brought Gustav out of his shell, but they both brought out the best in each other.
All week long, I’d been hearing Mami complain about putting this wedding together or be upset that my brother chose Tallulah over his family.
The thing was, though, he didn’t choose Tallulah over his family because Tallulah was his family.
He put the love of his life first, and that’s how it should be.
We put those we love before us, and keep them there, always.
Love shouldn’t be contractual; getting married shouldn't be an obligation or an arrangement.
Picking your life partner should matter; it should feel easy, effortless, it should feel like love, and not a chore to check off your list. It should feel as simple as Tallulah and Gustav made it.
Maybe High Jynx did have a point; I spent so much time reading about love that I hadn’t realized it was standing in front of me all along.
I looked out and saw Antonio sitting with Mami.
He looked miserable, forcing a smile, sweating.
He didn’t want this. I didn’t want this.
Yet here we were, shaping our lives to the whims of our parents.
I had allowed my own mother to bully me into her conservative views, to marry who she thought would be best for our family, meaning her and my papi.
But I had to learn to live my own life; I had to dive off the cliff and discover the unknown world, even if it cost me everything. It was now or never.
“Excuse me, Leo,” I said, unhooking my arm from his to go to Tallulah.
“Where are you going?” he yelled. “We’re up next!”
“Tallulah,” I said, coming up to her, holding her hand. Her dad kind of looked at me like I was crazy. She looked so stunning in her black and red ombre wedding dress. She was the literal Gothic queen of this chateau. “Would you hate me if I left? I need to do something. I swear it’s important!”
She shook her head, her smile growing big. “I had a feeling you’d say that! Hollie is my backup. She’ll take care of my flowers and dress while you’re away. Go get your man!”
Dressed in black from head to toe, heels included, I left as fast as I could, before Mami could notice something was wrong. I needed to talk to High Jynx.