Not Today | ✔️

Chapter Twenty Eight.

"Sleeping's so tough, you're burning up my mind
What would it feel like if you tore me apart?
Come on, chew on my heart..."

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"How do I look?"

Those were the first words to leave the mouth of Evelyn's brother's fiancé, Ana.

Honestly, Evelyn thought the words were quite stupid, because that question, that small seed of doubt in her mind that she looked anything less than absolute perfection, was unfathomable to Evelyn.

Her soon-to-be sister in law looked breathtaking, clothed in a white dress, that flowed like smoke, or maybe cirrus clouds, cascading downward in whispy, beautiful waves of white a purer color than snow.

"You look beautiful," Evelyn's mom, Anette, replied to Ana, squeezing her hand, tears gathering in her eyes.

"So do you, Mrs. Sable," Ana replied, and it was true.

Evelyn's mom was clad in the same exact dress Evelyn was, a bridesmaid one. It was a simple, elegant baby blue dress. The length of the dress coupled with the long sleeves made it modest, but there was a high split up the leg of their dresses that added a slightly more bold way about the dresses. Evelyn's mom did look beautiful with her willowy figure.

Evelyn, on the other hand, looked like she was drowning in light blue frosting.

She did approve of the color choice, at least. Not only was it lucky that light blue happened to be her favorite color, but it was a subtle enough color to not draw too much attention, but different enough from white to not be too close to the shade of Ana's dress.

The part Evelyn liked the most, though, was her hair. Originally, the wedding was supposed to be a spring wedding, so Ana insisted on keeping her idea of updos, with flower crowns. Evelyn's hair was in an elegant braid, a couple wispy hairs pulled forward and curled, a far cry from her usually pin-straight hair.

"You look beautiful, too, Evie," Ana told her with a smile. "Blue is definitely your color."

Evelyn smiled at the compliment.

"Are you ready for this?" Evelyn asked with a smile, linking her arm in Ana's.

"Not at all, but I've never been more ready for anything in my life," she said, taking a deep breath.

"I have something for you," Evelyn said shyly, placing something in the palm of Ana's hand.

She looked down at it inquisitively, looking very confused.

"Well, I don't know if you know, but elephants have emotions, and they make lifelong bonds, so when we were kids, we bought a pack of elephant necklaces. I kept one and he kept one. We made a pact that, when one of us knew the other had found their lifelong partner, we'd give them the necklace. It's old, it's worn, but there's no doubt in my mind that it's yours," Evelyn explained with a soft smile on her face.

Ana looked up at Evelyn, her eyes shiny with unshed tears, and then back at the necklace in her hand, a tiny elephant pendant on it, and she clutched it in her palm like it was the most meaningful possession she had, pulling Evelyn into a surprise bear hug.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Evelyn patted her back awkwardly. "Ah, you're welcome."

Their hug was interrupted by a sound that, ironically enough, reminded Evelyn of an elephant trumpeting. As she looked to where the noise came from, she realized it was just her mom blowing her nose.