June
• Mae •
Mae sat in her room at her dads house doing her makeup. The whole house buzzed with excitement as last minute preparations for the wedding were made. Chris had sent her a SnapChat a little bit ago, showing off his suit that he was wearing.
The wedding was in Boston, so the pair had decided to ride the train into the city together. Chris had decided that he would ride up to Lowell to meet her and then they would ride in from her hometown together.
Mae checked the time. 2:14. The doorbell would ring anytime, and they would be on their way. Amanda was already in Boston, and her dad had left no more than 20 minutes ago. Leaving just her and the miscellaneous family members in the home. As she was pulling on her bridesmaid dress, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in." She called, unsure of who would be coming in.
It was her mother that opened the door. Her parents had kept a pretty good relationship following the divorce, but they rarely spoke about anything that wasn't related to Mae.
"Can you zip me up?" Mae asked, eyes meeting her mothers in the mirror.
Her mother nodded, standing behind her. "You look beautiful. I'm so proud of you."
It almost brought a tear to her eye, seeing the emotion behind her mothers eyes. She turned around and pulled her mom in for a hug, she was really trying to not cry because it would ruin her makeup that she had just finished. She was on a time crunch after all.
"I love you, mom."
The doorbell sounded, interrupting the moment. "Is that Chris?" Her mom asked, still holding her daughter. Mae nodded. "As your mother, I don't think that anyone is good enough for you. But you picked a good one."
"Thank you." Mae almost cried again, it was rare that her mom and her had conversations like this, so she tried to savor the moment.
Another knock sounded at the door, it was already left open from her mom, so Chris peeked in after a moment.
"Am I interrupting something?" He smiled at the pair.
"No, no. Come on in." Mae waved her hand, gesturing him further into the room.
"Hi, Evelyn." Her mom hugged him, and Mae's heart surged. She was really happy that her mother approved, especially after how nervous she was when they had first started seeing each other.
"You guys should probably get going soon. We all should, but you have to make the train." Mae hugged her mother quickly. "I'll see you guys there. Have a safe trip."
Evelyn left the room, leaving just Mae and Chris.
"You look amazing." Chris stared at her in awe, making her blush. He took her hand in his. "You ready to go?"
With a nod, the pair left the home and made their way to the train station. It felt surreal, going back to the place where they had first met on such an important day. They spent the ride doing what they always did, joking and laughing, just enjoying each other's company.
Everything had come full circle for the couple.
~~~
Mae could tell that Chris was nervous. The ceremony had just ended and as they made their way to the reception, she could feel his hand tighten in hers.
"You've already met most of these people, what's wrong?" Her expression was laced with concern.
"Nothing." She gave him a pointed look. "I just don't wanna mess this up, I have to talk to a lot of people."
"You won't. My whole family literally loves you. Even the ones who you haven't met know who you are because Amanda talks about how happy she is that we met." She could see his face soften a bit, but she could tell that there was still something bothering him. She let it go for now, knowing that if he wasn't telling her, he wasn't ready to.
When they entered the venue for the reception, it was packed with people, food, and music. Mae led Chris over to a table where some of her cousins sat, many of which Chris had already met so he didn't have to go through the awkward introductions. The group sat and chatted for a few minutes, killing time before the bride and groom arrived and the pair would move to sit at the table with them.
When they did arrive, the party quickly got started. The music was upbeat and hard to not dance to, so Chris dragged Mae onto the dance floor. Their eyes met as the song changed, and Mae felt nothing but love for the boy.
It was a slow song next, so Chris had pulled Mae into him, his hands on her waist and hers around his shoulders. They swayed softly, talking about how beautiful the day had been. Mae could still see some of the nerves from early in his face.
"Maisie." She met his eyes again, pulling hers away from her dad and Amanda across the room. She was puzzled at the use of her full name, but she didn't say it. "I love you. Like, I really love you."
"I love you too, Chris." She pulled him down for a kiss, there was much more emotion behind it than most of their kisses. It was perfect for them, probably incredibly awkward to anyone that was watching them, but that's just how the pair was.
When they pulled away, Mae leaned her head on Chris' shoulder, holding him tight. She never imagined that they would be here, especially after they spent so long refusing to acknowledge each other on the train, but she was proud of where they were.
She met her moms eyes across the room as she chatted with her grandma, Evelyn sending a small smile to her daughter. It meant the world to Mae that her mother not only approved, but was enthusiastic about her relationship. Chris placed a small kiss on the top of her head, causing Mae's face to burn red in the best way. She smiled to herself, she really was happy.
{note: we're done :) thanks for reading this, i spent a lot more time and energy on it so i really hope you enjoyed it. might write another book, who knows? but keep an eye out ig. okay, thanks again! peace out✌🏻}
