Rêveuse

Chapter 17.

Present

Wedding day. The happiest day in their lives. White, cake, music, dancing and so much love. The sun was shining when I opened my eyes after a sleepless night. Looking in the mirror made me realize I had to act quickly to get rid of my swollen eyes. So I was quick to get a bowl of cold water and two spoons that I could cool down in the water, and then I pressed them to my eyes.

Charles had been trying to talk to me through the door for a long time last night. He stood there, calling my name and knocking while I sat in my bathroom crying about what I had just lost. Eventually he gave up. I don't know if it was because Arthur came back or because he realized I wouldn't open the door. But I stayed in there thinking for a little while, and I was angry. I was angry that Charles laid something like that on me so suddenly during an event like this. I was angry that Arthur had given me an ultimatum like that.

I have only gotten a few hours of sleep, but I refuse to let that get in the way today. Charlotte deserves the best wedding day, with nothing coming in the way of it. She needs all of her bridesmaids in a good mood. I keep telling myself I'm having a good day, and I will keep doing it until I believe it myself.

Carla comes in, still dressed in her pajamas. Arthur and Charles are still sleeping, considering it doesn't take as much for the groom on the wedding day. She looks even more tired than I do. She has a big bottle of water in her hand and together we walk towards the house and up to Charlotte's bedroom. Lorenzo was staying somewhere else the night before the wedding.

Charlotte and Marine were sitting on the bed with a big tray of breakfast on the bed. Carla walks up and collapses on the bed next to Charlotte and she looks like she's about to fall alseep any second. So I just sit down on the edge of the bed and let Charlotte serve me some breakfast and a glass of champagne.

"Ho una domanda per te," I have a question for you, she says.

"Chiedimi qualunque cosa," Ask me anything, I reply.

"Oh, questo potrebbe farmi riconsiderare la mia domanda," Oh, that might make me rethink my question, she jokes and I just chuckle before taking a sip from my glass. "Stai bene camminando accanto a Charles lungo la navata?" Are you okay with walking next to Charles down the aisle?

I think about it for a little bit, chewing on some grapes to make it less suspicious, "Perché non dovrei esserlo? In ogni caso non può parlare mentre percorre la navata," Why wouldn't I be? He can't talk while walking down the aisle anyway, I chuckle.

"Sono andati d'accordo per tutta la settimana," They've been getting along all week, Carla points out with kind of a teasing undertone, which just makes me feel guilty. But it also means that Arthur didn't tell anyone when he walked out of there.

Charlotte lifts her eyebrows at me as she gives me a teasing look. Once again I just chuckle and force a smile as I shake my head, but my chest weighs me down so much. It seems like they're all working for this one thing that Charles and I can't make happen. We can't communicate, clearly, and I never thought I would be put in this situation and have Charles tell me that because of me he's just not going to get a family like he's always wanted.

We finished eating breakfast and then came the hair and the makeup artists along with the wedding planner. Charlotte was going to be last in the hair and makeup chairs, so while Carla was in the hair chair, I was in the makeup chair. Pascale came in while we got ready and asked Charlotte if she was nervous and then she just spent some time with us there. She sat in a chair between Carla and I, with a coffee mug in hand and just caught up with our lives.

At one point she mentioned that she can't wait to have grandbabies, but her sons seem to be taking their sweet time. Her youngest son is 25, and she's still not a grandma. As she said that I started feeling bad again, because Charles doesn't even want kids anymore and it's because of me. Charles just told me that Pascale's not having any grandkids on his side.