Our Game

27

Third P.O.V:

The wedding ceremony was to be held in one of Alejandro's many estates throughout New York, elaborate silk curtains and banners of gold, white and light green draped inside the halls of the estate blanketed the off white walls laced with gold lined details. Bouquets of ranging from an assortment of lillies to camellias to peonies and cherry blossoms in ceramic vases complimented by wisteria which hung elusively from the ceiling.

The invite list was exclusive, but of course for those associated with the mafia you would expect a party of over 200 people to show at a wedding as relevant of the matrimony of Nicholas Rodriguez and Tanya Kimero (soon to be Tanya Rodriguez).

The wedding begins on the second floor of the estate, rows of seats set out in the formation of a church before the stairs on top of which was going to be a priest who would marry the couple.  Emerging from the stairs which connect the second and first floor with Antonio Santiago by her side (a childhood with an absent Father led to Antonio having to walk her down the aisle) is Tanya, clothed in an elegant wedding dress of expensive fabrics and a wedding veil extending from her head to toe.

A small orchestra perhaps of fifteen or twenty people hush those waiting amongst the hundreds sitting in the pews with their instrumental version of "Tears In Heaven" filling the air as Tanya gracefully walks down the aisle, mere steps before her husband to be. Soft whimpers of muted tears of happiness are heard along with the audiable awe of Tanya as she continues to walk with Antonio. A small group of bridesmaids, ordained with mint green silk dresses await her on the stairs leading to the altar, Nicholas' band of men dressed in matching green suites and white ties stand opposite them.

Athena Rodriguez, similarily dressed as her bridesmaid counterparts stands subtly amongst them, her re-emergence in the Spanish mafia has been as secretive as it has been quiet. Her figure is known but her appearance today is not as commemorated (given Tanya takes the spotlight of course ), Athena was occasionally mentioned as guests arrived to the function but nontheless was disregarded as a brief topic of interest- too interesting to talk about at a wedding but not relevant enough that enough was known about her.

"The first look is considered to be one of the most magical events of the marriage ceremony- to put it shortly. There's no words that can perfectly describe the thoughts and expressions felt by Nicholas as he took his first glance of the woman he'd go to hell and back for, their history with each other as complicated and romantic as it was defies and rewrites the way love has been portrayed throughout centuries of literature and art.

Usually when you hear about people who are considered to be 'unable to love' you'd think that it was just a figure of speech and for some time I thought Nicholas would have no chance of ever expressing and loving somebody- but I was proven wrong. From the moment Tanya came crashing down into his life (which she quite literally did considering she tried to kill him with pepper spray when on a morning jog) to this very moment where the newly wed sit next to each before me, I've never had so much confidence in a couple and hoped only good things for them."

"Are you sure you're confidence doesn't derive from the fact that I'm your employer?" Nicholas chuckles and earns a playful smack on the wrist from Tanya.

Antonio laughs back, "And best friend, I'd watch what you say if you want me to continue this speech and our friendship", earning more induced laughter from the crowd, Antonio soaks in the praise and waits for the laughter to die down to continue speaking.

"I'll say as much as I can without Nicholas suspecting that I'm crushing on his wife but she truly is a spectacle of wonder. My relationship with women over the years has been difficult as it has been scarce but truly I am proud to call Tanya a friend or better a sister. Nicholas on the contrary is a bigger fish to fry in terms of what exactly he is. And although I am still trying to figure out what he is and what our frienship is, I am certain that there is nothing he wouldn't do to keep those he loves protected.