Because I Love You

Epilogue: Engaged

One year later...

Alana couldn’t help the wide smile that spread across her face when Tyler’s fiancée Taryn stepped into the dressing room with the elaborate wedding dress.  Seeing her try on dresses made Alana think of her own marriage with Gino, which was now set at a tentative next year.  She patiently waited nearby on a squishy chair while Taryn’s mother, and her other friends Stephanie, Daniela and Jessica gushed over the samples of wedding and bridesmaid dresses surrounding them.

Within the year, everyone else had practically gotten engaged and married as well.  Kai and his girlfriend Elise were already married and had an adorable daughter together; the child was usually at the center of attention whenever Kai invited his friends over to his home for dinners and social gatherings. 

“Hey, mom?”

“Yes, honey?”  Taryn’s mom whirled around and streaked over to stand in front of the dressing room with such speed that Alana would have doubted the woman’s age if it weren’t for her greying hair.  “Are you ready?”

Alana stood up and Stephanie, Daniela and Jessica wandered over as well, looking excited.

“Yes…”

“Does it fit nicely?” Taryn’s mother called to her daughter.

“Yeah, it’s perfect.”

There was a moment’s silence, and Taryn still didn’t emerge from the dressing room.

“You’re not going to show us what it looks like?” her mother asked as everyone else waited with bated breath.

“Are you going to cry?” Taryn asked back to her.

The mother raised her eyebrows.  “No, why?”

Taryn suddenly pulled back the curtain.  “Because you’ve never seen me in a wedding dress.”

“Oh, it’s beautiful!”  Alana heard the mother’s voice crack, but she was speechless as well.  It was absolutely gorgeous.

The shoulder straps held up a long, flowing dress of creamy white satin and silk.  The hem was made of lace and emblazoned with floral designs made of silver thread.  The length only seemed to emphasize Taryn’s long legs and height.

"It’s the first dress, but I love this one,” Alana gushed, admiring the train trailing behind Taryn, and her friends unanimously agreed.

“So do I,” Taryn admitted, her cheeks pink, and she did a small twirl in the dress.  The soft whoosh sound and the gentle grazing of the expensive fabric against Alana’s ankle heightened her excitement at the prospect of marrying Gino.

A couple hours later, everyone was gathered around a table at Seoul Grill House, a Korean barbecue restaurant.  Eating Korean barbecue was one of the few times Alana would eat more than she usually did since she had cut down her meat intake.  Gino had worried over this, but she had only cut down on beef and pork for health reasons.

Alana giggled when she saw Taryn’s face fall comically once again.  She had just failed to pick up some galbi for the fifth time in a row.  Once again, Tyler took up his own chopsticks and tried to demonstrate how to properly use them.  She had to admire his tenacity, though.

She turned to Gino and whispered, “Happy I taught you how to use them?”

He nodded and smiled, kissing her on the nose.  “Your parents were very impressed,” he whispered back.  It was true, though.  Using chopsticks properly was one of the most important aspects of her culture and her fiancée had succeeded.