"I found her"

Ch. 20

A day or two later, we decided to tell our families. We gathered them all in our small hotel room. We were still mad at Grace's sister but she had to come since she was family now. "So, Dad...we have something to tell you." Grace said. "We...we're getting married!" Her dad pretended to be excited. "You already knew, didn't you?" Grace asked. "Andrew called and asked...yeah I knew." Her father said. She looked at her sister. "Did you know?" Grace asked. "Hey, not right now, honey." I said quietly. Her sister sat up and crossed her arms. "Yeah, I did." Her sister said. "And you know what? I didn't care." She added. "Claire-" "Not now, Dad." Grace walked to her Claire, her sister. "You're only here because you're my sister and whether I like it or not I still love you, so-" "Maybe you should shut up." "Don't talk to her like that." I interjected sternly. "Since when do you get authority?!" Claire yelled. "We didn't ask you here so that we could all get into a fight! We asked you here to give you this news that's super important to us and here you are, starting an argument!" I yelled. Grace's father put a hand on Grace. "I'll walk you down the aisle, I promise." He said. Grace smiled weakly. "Can I be your Maid Of Honor?" Claire asked. "Are you serious?! You kissed my fiancé, start this argument, and you think I'll let you be my Maid Of Honor?! No. I don't even want you at my wedding, Claire. Just...please, leave." Grace said boldly. I was so proud of her. Claire stared at us for a moment before she stormed out.
"What was that all about?!" Grace's father asked. Grace sighed. "She kissed me a few days ago...on the lips." I explained. We all fell silent. Grace's father cleared his throat. "Well, I'll talk to her and um I'll see you at the wedding." He said. Grace's dad walked out the door uneasily.
       "Well," I said as I sat on the bed. "That could've gone a lot worse." I said.  Grace sat next to me and let a tear roll down her face. I quickly noticed. "Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay. Look at me." I said, lifting up her chin. Her eyes locked with mine. "I'm not gonna let anything or anyone ruin our wedding, I promise." I kissed her hand. She laid her head on my shoulder with a sigh. "I hope so."
       The next day, we invited my father and Ben to the hotel to tell them the news.
        "Dad, Ben, we have some news." I said. Ben sat on a chair near the back of the small room. My father stiffened. "What'd you do?" He asked. Grace looked at me. "He asked me to marry him." She said. Ben got and started clapping. "That's my little brother!" I got red. "When's the wedding?" My dad asked. "Good question." I replied. "Well, congratulations! Anyone's lucky to even know this kid." Ben said. Grace smiled. "And...Ben...I wanted to ask you...will you be my Best Man?" I asked. "I'd be honored." Ben replied. I gave him a long hug. "Thank you." I whispered.
           "Well, the media's gonna eat this up. When should we tell the world?" Grace asked me a few hours later. She was laying on the bed and my arm was around her. "I don't know. This is a big deal and it's our lives, not the worlds. We shouldn't post about this or text any 'famous' people." I said. "Well I guess I can't tell my fiancé I'm marring him." Grace said. I looked at her. "I'm serious." I said. "Okay!" Grace said. I knew she wasn't serious. "Grace...this is important." I said. I turned off the tv. "Please, darling, just...be careful, okay?" I asked. She looked over at me. "You know I love you and if this is your wish...I won't tell anyone." Grace said. I kissed her hair. "Thank you." I said softly.