Out of the Flames

Chapter IX. The Beginning

Chapter IX

At 6:30 am my alarm sounded and I jumped out of bed.

Today was the day. I ran to the shower and washed my hair as quick as possible. As I was drying off I heard the front door of my hotel room open and the little giggles coming for my bridesmaids as they snuck into my room. I smiled and slipped into the silk robe hanging o the back of the door. I wrapped my long dark hair in a towel and stepped out of the bathroom with the most bored look on my face.

They jumped out at me all screaming 'boo' at the same time. I just stood there much to their disappointment.

"You girls ready to make me pretty?" I asked.

Their disappointed faces flipped upside-down to show the happy anticipation they had built up over the last six months since Edi and I had gotten engaged, known only to our closest friends.

They shoved me into a chair and within a second had all their beauty products set up around the room. They took my hair out of the towel and started combing and drying it.

I squeaked as a drop of cool liquid touched my face.

"It's sunscreen, we don't need you getting sunburnt at you wedding and looking terrible for pictures." Mariana said. She had been one of Edi's closest friends growing up and I had gotten to know her very well over the past couple of months. I had chosen her as a bridesmaid after Edi had asked, but now that I knew her as such a smily and caring person, I was glad to have her by my side.

She rubbed the cool lotion all over my face and down my jaw. After she finished she grabbed a make-up bag and started dabbing a bit of foundation under my eyes. I closed my eyes and relaxed. I started doing a mental checklist of everything I would need to do before and after the wedding. After what seemed like two minutes they all stopped.

"Chris! You look so good." Blaire squeaked. I had gotten in touch with her when Edi and I went on a short trip back to the city where we met. She had been teaching dance at our old studio and immediately recognized us.

I opened my eyes and peered into the mirror in front of me inspecting their work.

I looked perfect. My make-up was simple with a needle thin line of eyeliner on my top eyelid. There was a light coating of pale sparkly pink eyeshadow that contrasted with the blue-green color of my eyes. My lips were the soft color of fresh pink roses. My skin was a light cream that would contrast Edi's bronzed complexion. My hair was shaped into soft and subtle waves that looked natural, yet it would hide any frizz the humidity caused. Overall, I looked perfect. I turned my gaze to my bridesmaids.

"You guys are the best friends I could ever hope for. Mariana, you have been a great friend, you helped Edi and I through many problems and always emphasized the good in him even when I was mad and didn't want to hear it. I hope that we stay in touch even once Edi and I move back to Canada.

"Virginia, you have been a great friend and after Marisa..." I trailed off, "you have been the best sister I could have hoped for. I can't wait to be able to officially call you my sister.

"And Blaire, you have been one of my dearest friends since high school and without your stubborn insistence at the beginning this wedding might not be happening. I love all three of you so much and I hope I never loose contact with you guys." I stood up and pulled them all into a big hug. "That being said, I have a gift for each of you!"

They all started squealing again and I danced over to the small closet I pulled my dress out and handed it to Mariana, she whisked it over to the bed and rushed back to me. I pulled three small gift bags from the back of the closet and handed one to each of them. I watched as they opened them. Blaire was the first to get her's open and clasped a hand over her mouth when she opened up the jewelry box. Inside each of the three boxes was a delicate silver chain with a small diamond heart on it. Mariana gasped with wide eyes when opened hers and Virginia just smiled. For Blaire and Mariana this was probably one of the more expensive gifts they had received. For Virginia, she had probably started her diamond collection when she was born and had her ears pierced with diamond earrings.