Today was that day.
June 15th.
Kimora relaxed into the surprisingly comfortable jet seat, and sipped the glass of Scribe red wine that had been housed in her hands right after the pilot had announced their take off.
She let the wine slid down her throat gracefully and shut her eyes, savoring the hot, raw and awakening feeling of alcohol meeting the body system.
She felt like she was floating in clouds, excuse the pun, because literally,she was. She chuckled lightly. Nothing could describe the joy and satisfaction she felt right now.
Oh!How relaxed she was today.
Everything seemed perfect. The perfect cozy atmosphere of the private jet her dad had lent her and Alan, its perfect air conditioning, the perfect subtle buzz of what she knew nothing about, the perfect blue two toned theme of the jet's interior design. The perfect view of the perfect sky.
And most importantly, the Perfect Husband.
She'd finally succeeded.
She'd done it, just as she'd promised her late mother five years ago.
She'd turned June 15th into a happy day.
A day of satisfying and joyful memories. A day of hope and peace. A day that marked the beginning of a blissful and happy lifetime.
Her finger circled the diamond ring on her wedding finger as her eyes wandered off towards the other end of the jet where Alan stood, chatting with his young assistant, Gil,a twenty five year old scrawny guys that could pass off as a teenager.
He looked all round magnificent, glittering even, just like he'd been on the first day she set her eyes on him.
It was on her father's hotel's golden jubilee party.
His low black hair had stood out, giving him a military,powerful look that had seemed too manly and too sexy to resist,his brown eyes had held a confident,daring look that made you assume that every one in the room were his subordinates and the way his navy blue tuxedo had hugged his well built body was capable of giving most women a considerable amount of dirty thoughts.
The moment her eyes had met his from where she stood beside her father in the spacious and relatively crowded hall, exchanging pleasantries with some of his acquaintances, she'd known she wanted this man.
And she'd made him hers.
Alan turned and caught sight of her watching him. A sly smile crept up his lips and he dismissed Gil with a pat on his shoulder. Gil gave him a nod, his auburn hair swaying in the process, before disappearing to the other part of the cabin.
He walked towards where she sat and sank in the chair beside her, his arms sliding on her shoulder in habit. Kim snuggled in closer, leaning her head on his shoulder which he offered gladly.
"So how does it feel to be Mrs Rodriguez?"he asked, tilting to plant a kiss on her pale pink lips. His voice had a deep, drunk ring to it that always tingled.
She smiled loosely, feeling the pleasure she always felt when Alan even as much as touched her,like her entire being had been lit up.
"Well,I can't say for sure what it feels like, considering I just got that title an hour ago," she dropped her wine glass on the tray and pouted, "It depends solely on how well you behave."
He used his index finger and thumb to raise her jaw to him, causing their faces to be barely an inch apart. His brown eyes washed over her, desire and adoration etched in them , "I got married to the most renowned actress in the entire state,the only daughter of business tycoon , Homer Jones. I would be a fool to misbehave."
She blushed visibly, "Alan!I'm only a start up actress, I like being flattered, but this is just too much."
"My wife's the best actress there is,I don't care what anyone else thinks."his eyes looked proud as said those words and she could feel her heart swell with love.
His lips crashed into hers,and she parted it slightly, accepting him. His tongue entwined with hers and his hands dug into her silky brown hair as he deepened the kiss,savoring her in the most pleasing way possible.
She lifted her left leg over the armrest and onto his laps as her hands crawled over his neck in a tight desperate attempt to snuggle.
She wanted to be closer to him, to feel every bit of him against every bit of her. Alan made her want things, things that could only be done in a nice,warm
and cosy room in the suite she'd chosen for their honeymoon and how she looked forward to that.
It would only take about five hours max, and she'd be in her suite, ripping her legal husband off this plain tee and jean trousers, and having her way with him.
He pulled his lips away from hers and she looked up at him expectantly, her eyes questioning. He smiled, a smile that always had her heart dancing to sweet tunes, and lifted her, away from her seat entirely and onto his lap.
"I'm sure our pilot wouldn't want us doing exactly what's going on in our heads," he pushed her hair off her face, gently tucking them behind her ears, "so we better both behave ourselves till we land."
Kimora nodded and giggled as she let her head rest on his chest,hugging him tightly.
She still couldn't believe that today was her wedding
day. She could recall exactly how it had been for Bella, her manager and best friend on the day she married her actor husband, Richard.
Bella had been a total wreck,mostly due her strong adamance to hire an event planner, her excuse being something about how her perfect wedding had always been in her head and how no event planner could ever plan her dream wedding. She hadn't really thought it through though as her day hadn't turned out as perfect. The number of times she'd had to leave her husband's side and go handle, in her words, 'minor' issues couldn't be tracked.
She'd tried her best to help out considering she was the chief bridesmaid but lighting malfunctions and putting up fallen banners weren't exactly something a pampered 23 year old lady like her could handle.
She'd helped with putting the photographer in check, the young man had gone off to get a meal, and almost didn't capture the important moments.
The wedding had had a series of disaster, Bella had fallen sick right after and she'd made a mental note to never let hers turn out the same way,which was why when Alan had suggested a simple and private court wedding on the night he'd proposed to her after a candlelight dinner on the roof top of "Holmelin Hotel and Suites", she agreed at once, with a condition of setting the wedding date.
She'd chose June 15th, just as she'd promised her mom.
It had also been thrilling to keep the media in suspense, a strange but satisfying feeling of not letting them in on what was going on in her life. They were super annoying, the paparazzo and her lifestyle ever since she was a kid had been influenced by them.
"Kimora, don't go out dressed like this!, shorts with a shirt ? the paparazzo is watching!,"
"Kimora, Mum and Dad's going for a media round, you're tagging along and I need you to keep a smile on your face,not constantly though, just flash a smile each time you sight a camera." her mum had repeatedly reminded her during her childhood days.
The media had also influenced how she made friends in high school. She'd have students following her, flashing fake smiles and bringing up useless conversations, showing up at her house unexpectedly with hopes of appearing on the TV programs by chance. Thanks to them,she'd felt extremely lonely during high school, the knowledge that she had no genuine friend always eating her up.
Funny enough, the media also influenced her feelings and the way she was allowed s to show her pain.
"Never show them weakness Kimora!"
"Apply some make up to cover your swollen eyeballs,Kimora."
"Don't let anyone know or see you grieving.The paparazzo's watching!" her father had repeatedly told her weeks after her mum passed away.
She'd been angered, enraged at the fact that she wasn't allowed to be human just because the media was watching, that she couldn't just drive down to a club to dance and drink the night away,without having to worry about her dad's image. At times, she considered throwing everything to the wind, and just being that wild girl that could do whatever, but the thought of her dad, a man that prided himself in his business achievements, right next to her and her mother.
She couldn't let him down, so she chose to put up the act. The act of being tough and unwavering, cool and sophisticated, the stereotype of the perfect Homer Jones' daughter, well,until now.
Now, she wasn't just Homer Jones' daughter, she was Mrs Kimora Rodriguez , wife of Alan Rodriguez, a man who loved her so much and owned one of the biggest winery in the state. She didn't have to worry about those sort of things with Alan, he'd assured her that she could be herself anytime with him, he'd said he'd take all the blows for her, because that's what a husband does, protect his wife at all costs and take the blows.
She shut her eyes, and snuggled in closer on her husband's chest and as sleep slowly crept in, she welcomed it. Never in her life had she felt so carefree, so safe, so void of worry and so protected.
Surely,this was forever.
*************************************************
Her eyes flew open as she barely caught herself from falling, grasping Alan's arm in the process. She glanced around, then at Alan. He was holding her tightly to him, panic written all over his face.
The jet jerked, pushing them both to the left with force.
"A-Alan, what's happening?".
The jet jerked again, with even more force now,a bit back and then downwards. It seemed to be loosing balance, descending, ....CRASHING!
They were CRASHING!
Fear engulfed her eyes upon realization of this fact and she held on to him like her life depended on it.
She looked up at him again and saw him flash a wavering smile at her that he must've hoped was assuring enough.
"Every- Everything's going to be okay Kim. I- It's probably a malfunction,Pablo would have it under control in minutes."
She knew he was lying.
Since she'd started dating Alan, fell in love and finally married him, she never detected even as much as a strain of uncertainty in his voice when he spoke, but right now, the ever- confident, ever - certain voice of Alan Rodriguez sounded afraid and unsure. In as much as he had tried to pretend, he was afraid, he knew they were crashing, about to have a fatal plane accident, but he was more concerned about assuring her everything was fine.
How she loved this man.
The jet jerked again, flying them both off their seat and Kimora against the window with Alan above her.
"A-Alan, this—- we're— we're crashing! I know we're about to die! I know WE'RE CRASHING!"
He looked at her, and his eyes held feelings she couldn't really decipher. Helplessness? Resignation? Regret?
He hugged her tightly as the plane started a somersault, "Kim, I need you to be hopeful! We just got married today! Nothing's going to happen to you! To US! We have our lives ahead of us!"
He sounded like he was desperately trying to convince himself.
The pace of the somersault increased. They were probably about to hit land, about to end it all, about to die.
Where was Gil? Why hasn't Pablo said anything?Was there no parachute? What exactly was happening?
She knew the answer to her last question.
Tears rolled down her eyes, "we're about to die, Alan!"
He pushed her off him; shaking his head violently as soon as he saw her tears, "I'm not letting us die in here Kim!" He sounded determined.
Her eyes followed him as he staggered towards the door leading to the cockpit, grasping objects to stabilize himself, "I'm getting us out of here Kim, I need you to trust me," his eyes held a different kind of determination she didn't know he possessed, "I'll go check for a parachute. You will leave here alive, and I don't mind dying in the process."
He disappeared before she could say anything.
The plane was still on a somersault and she shut her eyes, holding on to an armrest.
What had she done to June 15th to deserve this? Why did the day have to come with so much trauma? So much Pain? So much death?
The jet tumbled, making her hands slip from balance. She felt her head hit something, or something hit her, causing a bang. Pain oozed through her system as her hand went to her head.
Waves, dark ones, hovered over her.
She was about to pass out, she knew. Evidently, she wasn't going to make it.
Maybe this was a divine intervention to ease the pain of death, to make it a bit easier, a bit bearable.
As her eyes slid shut gradually, she thought of two men, Alan, the man who loved her so much, he was willing to risk his life for her,the man who wanted nothing but a future with her, and Homer Jones, the man who was waiting for her to return.
Sadly, she couldn't say goodbye, just like her mum, five years ago.