MOMMY ISSUES | Tamber

19

The humble interior of the small chapel was bathed in a warm, dusty glow from the stained glass windows. Amber and Tara stood facing each other at the altar, hands entwined as they beamed at one another, utterly transfixed.

A beaming officiant regarded them both before clearing his throat. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite this couple in the bonds of matrimony..."

Later, Amber and Tara emerged from the chapel, giggling and radiant like a pair of lovestruck teenagers as they hurried hand-in-hand through the doors and out into the brilliant sunlight. Amber tugged Tara into her arms, spinning them in a whirlwind of sequined skirts and windswept kisses as peals of laughter rang out unfettered.

"My wife...you're my incredible, beautiful wife!" Amber exclaimed, breathless.

"I love the sound of that - of being yours. Always," Tara beamed.

They swayed together, secure in the knowledge of their unbreakable bond and intimate haven. "Let's celebrate. Anywhere you want, my heart," Amber said.

"Hmm...how about...that little cafe in Prague you loved so much?" Tara replied playfully, and Amber's eyes danced as she realized Tara's meaning - their globe-trekking, carefree escapades of old. A trail of indulgent wanderlust awaited them now, no ensnaring complications to hold them earthbound. She sealed the promise with a loving kiss.

The front door of Sam's house slammed open to reveal Tara breezing through with a breezy grin, only to pull up short at the sight of Sam barreling into the foyer with thunder on her brow. Tara blinked at her sister's disheveled look of disarray and agitation.

"Sam? What's--" Tara began, but Sam cut her off with a scathing glare, posture radiating hostility as she approached.

"Where. Have. You. Been?" Sam demanded, deceptively low.

Tara, bewildered, tried to explain, "What? I...I went out for the day, Sam, I'm a fully grown--"

"Out?! Out where exactly, huh? Cuz I've got a sneaking suspicion about just where you disappeared to!" Sam exploded, crowding Tara's space in a menacing way that instantly made her shrink back a step.

"Don't play coy with me, sis. I know you went running back to that manipulative sadist!" Sam's venomous utterance made Tara blanch, and she shot her sister an imploring look, but it merely bounced off Sam's towering fury.

"You thought I wouldn't notice, is that it? That you could just up and leave after everything--" Sam steamrolled on.

"That's exactly what I did, Sam! I'm not a prisoner here!" Tara rallied, heated.

"You're not?! Well it sure seems that way, considering you've allowed yourself to get tangled up in Amber's toxic web -- again!" Sam retorted derisively.

"That's not fair! You have no idea what we--" Tara tried to protest, but Sam wouldn't let her.

"I have every idea! She's using you, messing with your head like always. Isolating and controlling you with empty platitudes that justify her selfish--" Sam ranted.

"We got married!" Tara shouted over her, dropping the bomb of confession into the deafening silence that followed.

Sam gaped at her kid sister, pallor draining from her face until splotches of crimson mottled flush across her cheeks. "Amber and I eloped today. She's my wife now," Tara said, quieter but impassioned. "And I love her with everything in me. You don't have to like it, but you do need to accept it."

Sam heaved air into her lungs as if physically winded from a blow, searching Tara's emboldened features with naked desperation to contradict the words ringing in her ears. When she finally summoned her voice, it cracked on the outrage lancing through. "No...oh, Tara, no. You can't be serious. She's poisoned you all over again--"

"That's where you're wrong," Tara cut in sharply, lifting her ringed hand meaningfully. "I did this completely and utterly for myself. For the first time." She gazed at Sam head-on, unwavering. "So why don't you save the accusations. I'm past caring."

With that, Tara gathered her skirts and swept past Sam like an ocean-liner parting waves, leaving her older sister gaping and unspooled in the wake of this seismic upheaval. Tara didn't look back as she mounted the stairs resolutely towards her bedroom. A new chapter was unfolding, one that even the fiercest tempest couldn't waylay any longer. She had reclaimed her rightful place as mistress of her truth.