4.10.2022
Just found out the concert I was gonna go to tonight was cancelled so I'm kinda sad buuuut I'm still in AZ in the sunshine so I'm okay haha:) Hope y'all are having a wonderful Sunday!
*also this is a pic i took last night at the restaurant we went to and i thought it was cute:)*
"Aspen!" I hear Rylie's voice and turn quickly, pausing my conversation with Jensen and Devon, her boyfriend. She'd told me about him a little over a year ago when I was at camp. The funny thing about their relationship is that when she met him, she had sworn off dating someone seriously for at least a year, and had friend zoned him twice. They hadn't defined their relationship for months, only becoming official eight months later. Now, a year and nearly 5 months later, they were finally 'serious'. Jensen's words, not mine.
"What's wrong?" I ask Rylie quickly, worry rising in my chest at Rylie's anxious face. Jensen and Devon excuse themselves and head towards the other relatives, and I give them a quick wave.
"We didn't check in for our flights." Rylie says in a distressed whisper.
"Oh." I say with a laugh, pulling back my mind that had begun to jump to the worst possible conclusions.
"Oh?" Rylie says in disbelief, raising her eyebrows. "This is bad, Aspen! All you have to say is 'oh'?"
"Hey, come here." I pat the couch next to me, and Rylie hesitates only a moment before collapsing beside me. "When was the last time you were on an airplane?" I ask as I slip one of my hands into hers, and pull out my phone with the other.
"I haven't ever been on one..." Rylie says quietly, and I hear embarrassment in her voice.
"Hey, that's okay! Y'all just drove everywhere for vacation, right?" I ask while opening the flight app for our airline.
"Yeah..." Rylie trails off.
"I wish we had driven for some of our vacations." I reply, rubbing gentle circles into the back of her hand. "Don't get me wrong, I love flying. But one year, we drove to Utah to see some cousins on my mom's side, and for some reason, I loved the drive even though it was a total of nearly 38 hours."
"That makes sense, actually. That's how I felt about most of our road trips." Rylie says, watching a group of people talk across the room. "Except when Spencer was being annoying. He would always hog the back seat."
I glance at Rylie briefly, smiling at the way her eyes light up with a forgotten memory. I focus back on my phone as she continues. "One time, he had his back against the window and his stinky feet pushed against my hip, mashing me into my door. I was just trying to read, but he wouldn't leave me alone! Then suddenly, I smelled a skunk, and it was so strong. A car must've hit it or something, letting all the stink out. My dad suddenly said, 'Ooh, get a whiff of that!' and blasted the air, pulling in the air from outside the car. I already had my nose plugged, but Spencer, being the idiot 12 year old he was, let out all of his air before taking a massive breath in. I turned just in time to watch the horror and regret wash over his face, and he started gagging so hard he almost barfed. I couldn't stop laughing for the next hour, and when my dad winked at me in the rearview mirror, I knew he'd done it on purpose."
"That's disgusting." I laugh as I click the final buttons to check Rylie and I in for our flight. It was still seven hours until take off, so we weren't cutting it too close. "But he definitely deserved that. Did he keep his feet to himself after that?"
"He did!" I think every time he thought of kicking me again, he would get a whiff of the smell and back off." Rylie laughs. She is so adorable in that moment that I can't help but lean in and kiss her.
"Hey," She says after a moment. "Stop trying to distract me. We need to make sure we won't miss our flight!"
"We won't, baby. See?" I hold out my phone, the screen reading: Thanks! Rylie Hansen and Aspen Hart check in successfully.
"How did you..."
"I've flown quite a bit... My mom taught me how to check in on the flight app." I say with a warm smile. "But if you hadn't reminded me, I would've totally spaced!"
"Oh, I didn't know you could do that!" Rylie says, letting out a relieved breath. "Thank you." She says as she leans in to kiss me. Since Jensen and Devon had left us alone, I was tempted to kiss her for much, much longer. But the reminder that other people still mingled around the room deterred me.
"You look absolutely stunning in this dress," I say, trailing a finger along the exposed skin between her collarbone and the dress. A simple, diamond necklace rests on her skin above her collarbone, and I brush my fingers against it before continuing. "But I can't wait to get you out of it."
"We're on the same page, then." Rylie responds, slipping her hand to the back of my neck. "I want my lips against your soft skin, the parts that only I know." Her words are low, her voice husky, and they bring a blush to my cheeks. I swallow hard and bring a hand to my cheek, willing the heat to vanish. "You're adorable when you blush." Rylie teases.
"I'm adorable all the time." I counter, laughing at her raised eyebrow.
"No arguments there." Rylie grins before pulling me up to stand. "Let's go see my cousins. They're nowhere near as cool and fun as yours, and they definitely can't surf, but maybe they can give us financial advice."
Last I checked, Rylie and I were pretty good with our money, and it helped that we both had well paying jobs and scholarships, meaning more money to save. "Do we need fi...?" I start, but she cuts me off.
"No. But they're all either accountants or have other money related jobs, so that's what they like to talk about, even if it makes no sense to the person they're talking to." Rylie explains.
"Well okay, then." I laugh before letting Rylie pull me towards her cousins. I'd met some of her cousins at our engagement party, and I thought they were all nice. There were definitely some strong, noticeable differences between Rylie's cousins, and my cousins, that's for sure. While mine were fun and adventurous and outgoing, most of Rylie's were older than her, and grew up in bigger cities, so they didn't have as much time to be children and have fun. Or surf.
I could tell that it made her sad sometimes, when we would spend time with my cousins, and she would see how we interacted with each other. I knew she wished she had that relationship with her cousins, and that they wanted to do the kinds of things we did. When I brought it up with her once, I made sure to let her know that my cousins were her cousins. Or they would be soon, anyway. I would always remember the look of happiness and excitement that crossed her face when she realized that I meant that, and that my cousins enjoyed having her around as much as she enjoyed being around.
I was excited to get to know her cousins more, though. They might not be fun and adventurous in the ways my cousins were, but I could tell they meant a lot to Rylie, and that they each had their own great individual qualities, and that's all that mattered to me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When we enter the reception hall a while later, my jaw drops at the transformation of the place. The trees around the room are strung with small lanterns for light, replacing the candles that had lined the aisle during the wedding. Those would've probably been more of a hazard for the reception.
Due to the open far wall, a warm, salty breeze flows through the room. A few tall heat lamps are placed around the room, ready for use the moment the chilled autumn air begins creeping in. Tables and chairs are spaced out evenly along the floor, while the space near the open wall is left open for dancing. That leads out onto the patio, where small, round gas fire pits are ready to go for those wanting more fresh air, but wanting to stay warm at the same time. There isn't a roof over the patio, but string lights are strung between some tall posts at the corners of the deck, and I know it'll cast a warm glow once the sun sets.
We'd decided to forgo the greeting line, since most of our guests were close family and friends. Instead, Rylie and I would just mingle like everyone else. I was happy about that, it meant less standing.
A white cloth covers a long table set against one wall, and it's filled with different finger foods and desserts. My mother had chosen the foods for the reception, and she stands in front of the table, seeming to double check everything. Jay stands a few feet away from her, sneaking a cream puff into his mouth each time my mother looked away.
Jay hadn't made it to the wedding since he'd been pulled into an emergency surgery late last night. I'd told my mom he didn't need to worry about coming once he finished the surgery, because he was probably exhausted. But he had come anyway. I was secretly happy he'd made it. I liked Jay. He was kind and thoughtful, and he treated my mother like she was the most important person in the world.
Sometimes, seeing them together still hurts my heart. I remember how happy my parents had been before my father died, and it was sometimes hard to see my mother happy with someone other than him. But I knew that my father would only want my mother to be happy. And that's all I wanted, too. So liking Jay wasn't too hard for me when I thought about it that way.
He and my mother looked good together, too. My mom was only 41, and Jay was 50, but they both looked years younger. Jay is dressed in a black suit with the same grey/teal tie as the other guys, and his dark hair that was maybe neat earlier in the day is now a slight mess. He was handsome enough that it worked for him. My mothers dress matched his tie, fitting snugly against her body and stopping just above her knees.
When she's satisfied with the food situation, she turns back to Jay just as his hand is traveling towards his mouth, a cream puff held firmly between his thumb and pointer finger.
"Jay!" She scolds him, but a laugh quickly follows. Jay bits half of the puff before popping the rest into my mothers mouth, followed by a quick kiss.
I shake my head and laugh before turning back to Rylie. "It looks perfect here. I don't think we could've chosen a better venue."
"I think you're right." She responds as she laces our fingers together. "It is pretty perfect." She kisses me once before pulling away as Hadley joins us, with Jack by her side.
"Hey, jack." I smile and he pulls me in for a quick hug. "Thank you for coming!"
"You bet." He grins. "I'm sorry I missed the wedding, I could only get the evening off."
"It's okay! We're just glad you could make it at all." I assure him. Hadley hugs me next, and I hold on for a moment longer. "Thank you for being here, and for being my maid of honor."
"You've always been there for me, I wouldn't have missed this for anything." She smiles as we pull apart.
"Here," I say, grabbing the small package from the table I'd set it on. "This is for you."
"Oh," Hadley's eyes widen and drop to the package in my hands before jumping back to my eyes. "You didn't have to get me anything!"
"Are you kidding? Yes I did!" I laugh. "You have done so much for me, and not just with the wedding. It's not much, but I hope it helps show how much I appreciate you."
Hadley pulls me into another hug, whispering a soft thank you. I had gotten her a matching necklace and earring set, as well as a handmade, leather-bound journal with intricate, black etched patterns on the front. It had a vintage look to it, and I knew she loved journals like this, so I hadn't hesitated in buying it.
Jack and Hadley stay and talk with us for a few more minutes before excusing themselves, and Rylie and I head over to a table near the open patio where our Salty Christian friends sit.
"Look, it's the newest married Salty Christian couple!" Sam says as we approach. "We were just taking bets on how long you'll be the place holders." Rylie and I share looks of confusion as we slide into the two empty chairs between Austin and Jeremy, and Sam hurries to explain.
"I mean, Emma and I made it almost four months, but today broke that."
"Well, unless Jeremy and Aval already chose a date, and it's before March, then I think we'll take the lead." Rylie says to Sam before turning to Jeremy. "Do y'all have a date?"
Jeremy laughs, taking Ava's hand. "No. And Sam's mad about that because for some reason, he doesn't want either of us holding the title longer than they did."
"Is it a special title or something?" I ask with a laugh. Sam glares at me, and I pull my lips into my mouth, holding in another laugh.
"No. Apparently not."
"Okay, I'm sorry. Maybe Jeremy and Ava will choose a spring date, therefore placing you back in first!" I try to backtrack and make Sam happy again.
"Well technically, Sam and Emma are still in first, since we've only been the 'newest married couple' for a few hours, and they were it for almost four months."
"Thank you!" Sam grins, slapping a hand on the table. "So Jeremy, a February wedding is what you want."
Jeremy's eyebrows shoot up, and he shares a quick look with Ava. "Well actually, we were thinking of a summer wedding..." Sam's eyes narrow, and Jeremy leans away from Sam before continuing. "Maybe lesbians do it different, but we can't plan a wedding in such a short amount of time and have it turn out this amazing." He finishes, gesturing around the room.
I can't help but grin. He was right, though. I don't know how we did it in such a short amount of time while still dealing with work and school too, but I was thankful it had turned out the way it did.
"So anyway," Sam says to change the conversation. "What are y'all doing for the honeymoon?"
Rylie squeezes my hand excitedly, and I let her answer. "A cruise!" I smile at the adorable look on her face.
"Wait, really? I've heard those are so fun! Derek comments from across the table.
"They are." I confirm with a grin. Rylie begins telling them all of the details, and I toy with her fingers as I take in the scene around us, committing it to memory.
The rain had started up again a few minutes ago, but it was much lighter than before. Our table was close to the opening leading onto the deck, letting in the smell of fresh rain and the sound of the drops hitting the wood. Beyond that, I can hear the waves crashing onto the beach just past the deck.
People walk and sit around the room, talking, eating and laughing, their happiness matching my own. There wasn't much I could imagine that could make this day better.