A Christian Romance

Chapter 38 - Compassion and Self-love

Adam shook his head. "Why?"

"This Saturday morning, Debora and I are getting married in Melbourne," he explained. "And I would, Debora would love to have you there. Or is it too much to ask given the circumstances?"

Adam put a hand on his friend's shoulder and replied:

"I'll be there, mate." He assured him.

Joel grabbed Adam's hand in love and compassion. "Mate!" And then wrapped his friend in a loving embrace.

Adam departed from his embrace and looked in his eyes:
"I'm sorry that I got in your way."

"Let's start over, yes?" Joel smiled. "Alright," he removed a bill from his wallet and put it on the counter. "I have to go. If you need a place in Melbourne to overnight just tell me. I'll arrange for it."

"Thanks, mate! I don't think it'll be necessary."
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Debora chose Miriam to be her bridesmaid and Chloe to be her maid of honor. She had appointed a morning to search for a wedding gown. After looking at many unconventional ideas online that frustrated her, she decided to visit a wedding store in person. Chloe and Miriam went along.

After three hours of trying dresses, Debora was cranky, hungry, and, most of all worried. She had already decided on a wedding bouquet and a hairstyle, but the main thing that would distinguish her as the bride was still to be settled. Plus, her wedding was only a few days away.

She sat on the brown leather couch between her maids, looking hopeless.

"Come on, Debora! You're overreacting. At least you got the groom! That's the hardest thing to find." Pragmatic Miriam with a reply at the tip of her tongue.

Chloe looked at Mim with reproach, reckoning however that she was right.

"I feel so ridiculous in a wedding dress!" Debora confessed.

"How can you?" Mim was startled by that comment. "If I were in your place," She looked starry-eyed. "With a handsome groom, I'd buy the most glamorous dress and be his princess." She smiled and her eyes shone.

Chloe and Debora simultaneously looked at Mim, surprised at her approach to wedding dresses, since she was a tomboy.

"Looks like you already have a groom in mind...!" Debora tried. "Is that someone we know?"

"Come on, Debora! Everybody knows I have a crush on Adam." Maybe she didn't do it on purpose, but sometimes her irony just sounded louder than anything else. "By the way, is he coming to this wedding?" Mim looked at Chloe intending to hint that she should have invited Adam to their wedding as well.

Debora picked up on the hint, and to protect her friend, she replied: "Of course, Joel's best friend is coming."

"Is his mother coming too?"

"We invited the Larking family, but I don't know whether Molly or David will come." Debora stood up, and looked for the shop assistant, for she had suddenly been struck by a thought. "Ladies, I think I know what to wear if they have it here."

There was no denying that the shopping experience left everybody exhausted. Chloe and Mim just waited on the bride to arrive with - hopefully - the final decision in hands. Something like ten minutes later, Debora arrived wearing a bridal skirt and top; part of her abdomen was showing. The girls were dumbstruck.

Mim was the first to break the silence. "What's that?" She didn't like it.

"A two-piece wedding dress."

"I like it." Chloe assumed. "A little unconventional."

"Is this the one?" The shop assistant asked fearfully.