"Ready to be my wife today?"
"I'm already your wife."
"And don't you forget it."
"Shouldn't I be the one telling you this? After all, the love of your life is literally two doors away."
"The love of my love is currently sleeping next to me, vehemently doubting my love for her. Maybe I should do it right this time and marry a different girl," Derek teased.
"Don't even think about it, buddy! You're stuck with me for life." Alicia curled up against her husband.
"And I wouldn't want it any other way."
Wrapped in each other, the bride and groom-to-be took in the silence around them. They were scheduled to exchange vows at 4 0'clock that evening, and pretty soon, the family would be banging down their bedroom door, claiming it was bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before their wedding.
The influx of additional guests and the shortage of rooms in an already crowded house had saved Alicia and Derek the agony of sleeping apart from each other. That was something which hadn't happened since the pair fell in love all those years ago, and they weren't about to stop now.
By the time the Blake siblings got back home, it had been too late for a rehearsal, but they hadn't skipped the dinner part. The Blakes and their guests were up till almost 2 in the morning, eating, catching up and forming new acquaintances.
Everyone had gotten along well enough, but they hadn't spent enough time nor had any of them enough energy to engage in any further drama. Therefore, unlike the usual circumstance, the Blake household had the rare fortune of a quiet, civilized and enjoyable evening.
Today was a new day and a big event. So, everyone needed double the energy and enthusiasm to get through the day. There were a lot of things that could go wrong today, but in that moment, in her husband's arms, all Alicia could think was, "I'm getting married today!"
Right on cue, there was banging and yelling coming from the other side of their bedroom door. The pair knew that their time together, in their little bubble, was over.
Alicia quickly got out of bed before the family could break down the door. Turning to watch her husband curl back into the blanket and sleep, she envied him his gender. All he had to do was put on his tuxedo 20 minutes before the ceremony and meet her at the alter on time. She, on the other hand, was going to be subjected to "bridal torture" for the next god knows how many hours.
With a deep sigh, she followed her husband's sisters into the kitchen for some coffee before surrendering herself to her bridesmaids.
At 2 o'clock that afternoon, after countless hours of hair, makeup and several other treatments on her body, Alicia sat in front of the mirror watching as Diana added the veil and the final touches to her wedding dress.
Alicia had no regrets about the way she and Derek had gotten married five years ago. But the thought of standing at the alter in this beautiful gown, proclaiming to the world just how much she loved her husband had her feeling as giddy as a schoolgirl on her first date. So help her if anything went wrong today, heads were going to roll.
But if there was one thing she had learnt in her time in California, it was that drama was synonymous with the Blake family.
***
An envelope made its way to the Blake household just as Diana had finished working her magic on Alicia.
MR. DEREK BLAKE
Make sure he gets it today
It said.
Unclear of where to head between the throngs of people flittering about the house, preparing for the ceremony later that day, the bearer of the envelope pawned it off to the first person he saw, without saying a word.
YOU ARE READING
Surviving Home | Completed
General Fiction"There is great power in being the calm at the centre of a storm." These were words that Declan Blake lived by, when he was bullied as a child and when he was shipped off to live with his brother on the other side of the country. Now, seven years l...
