Riley's ring and dress.
Riley was stressing on an Autumn day in the late afternoon. She had so much going on. It had been two years since she received her engagement ring but it took that long to plan and put together the wedding of her dreams.
The stress of moving to another state was also heavy on her mind. Moving out of Seattle was long overdue. Mercer Island would be their new home. It was out of the city and crime, a place where homes sat by the water and were miles apart. They could always drive the few hours back to visit. She'd spent months searching for the perfect house and found it.
Along with her first real job, she had started going back to school to get her masters in Psychology and she was excited when she got an offer at an internship at a children's mental hospital. She couldn't wait to start when she got there. Her man insisted she didn't need to work, and he didn't want her to, but whatever made her happy he was fine with.
Only ten minutes remained before the wedding would start and Riley stared into the vanity in front of her, feeling the nervous jitters deep in the pit of her belly. "Okay... okay.. you have everything? You ready?" One of her bridesmaids Carla asked.
"My hair! Is my hair okay?" She snapped, looking around for someone to answer her question.
"You look beautiful Ri. Calm down." Ray complimented, walking up behind her and grabbing both of her shoulders. "I'm so happy for you. I love you, baby."
Riley turned and smiled at her mother. "I love you too mama."
Ray fixed a stray curl in Riley's hair before complimenting her makeup. "It's almost time. I'll get everyone rounded up."
Standing up, Riley ran her hand down the elegant dress, looking down at her hand, her engagement ring glistened, providing a shine throughout the whole room. They had brought the ring back to add the rest of the diamonds which bumped the price up from 16k to 26k. She would be stupid to lose it, she wanted to get it branded to her skin. But she also knew she would be rich if they ever split and she decided to pawn the ring.
She scanned the room to make sure her whole female wedding party was there and ready. The wedding party was pretty small but the guest list was huge. Her mother, her bridesmaids Carla and Ahlex, her junior bridesmaids Asia and Carolyn, her flowergirls Kailani and Jasmine. And on the other side of the building the groomsmen Malakai and Darius, the junior groomsmen Carmelo and Chris, the handsome ring bearers Caius and Julius.
"It's about to start. Come on. In position, like we practiced!" Ray shouted.
Riley panicked a bit. Checked her make up again. "Auntie Ri. My tummy hurts." Kailani cried, the tears filling her eyes. No, not now. Riley thought.
Carla had already walked out to where she would meet up with Darius. Riley picked up Kailani making sure not to wrinkle her dress or Lani's. She smoothed out Lani's perfected bun and kissed her forehead. "I told your uncle not to feed you those sweets this morning.. Be a big girl for me and do your special job then I'll give you the medicine okay?"
Lani nodded and Riley placed her down on her own feet. At six, Lani had stolen the Hawkins' family's hearts. She was the only piece of Chandler that they had left and Cassius was very protective of her. He treated her as if she was Asia or Jasmine, like one of his own.
The wedding was moving smoothly and soon it was time. The setting was outdoors, facing the breathtaking sunset. At the end of each aisle, jasmine scented candles hung from leaveless tree branches. Spread down the aisle, white leaves laid. On either side of the aisle, the wedding party of over five hundred sat in white chairs set up for them on the sand. Two flat screen television sat above the priest and wedding party, giving the faraway people clear vision of what was happening. A mircophone for them to hear what was being said.
