Watching Monica walk down the aisle brought me so much joy. I felt like every breath I took matched every step she took - shaky in nerves and deep in strides. In that moment, it felt unreal. I kept asking how did we get here?
Monica's face was an expression of rain on a sunny day. If my heart was pounding, I could only imagine what her heart was doing.
At the end of the aisle, her dad kissed her cheek before giving her to Zeke.
Inside this banquet hall of about 60 people, there were several teary eyes as everyone took their seats.
Before I knew it, I heard "you may now kiss your bride." I don't even remember how we got here. Oh, yeah! It was a rollercoaster ride.
12 hours ago, Monica and I were in our hotel room having a hard time going to sleep.
"It's one in the morning, Monica," I told her. "Just find anything to put on so we can go to sleep."
Monica scrolled through the channels on the TV. "I won't be able to fall asleep watching anything. It has to be good but not too good. You know?"
I rolled over onto my stomach. "You do know that we have to wake up in five hours?"
Monica sighed, "Five hours?" Monica pushed the covers off her body before getting out the hotel bed.
Nope! I'm not playing games with her. I am going to get my rest. I closed my eyes. Seconds later, I heard sniffing.
I took a deep breath before thinking about getting out the bed. After two more heavy sniffs, I kicked the covers off my body and got out the bed. I walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Moni, you okay?"
"Y-yeah!"
I twisted the knob and opened the door to see her standing in front of the mirror, wiping her eyes.
"Moni, stop. You're going to have puffy eyes on your wedding day."
She slightly smiled at me.
I rubbed her back. "Why are you crying?"
Monica quickly shrugged her shoulders as she patted the corners of her eyes with tissue.
I asked her, "Are you scared? Nervous?"
Monica smiled and immediately the tears fell. "I know this is w-what I want. I'm... I just... Like, this is my life or this is about to be m-my life or whatever. It feels like it-it's happening so fast." She wiped her wet face.
I walked over to the toilet to grab more tissue. I handed fresh toilet paper to her.
"I really love E, but my entire life is gonna change."
I wish I knew what to say to make her stop crying, but I'm not married and all the old married people are asleep.
"I'll be back." I walked out the bathroom over to the nightstand. I grabbed my phone and called Zeke.
"Hmm?"
I kept it short and to the point. "Monica is crying, because she's scared. Can you talk to her, please?"
Zeke mumbled, "Baby, don't cry--"
I interrupted him. "Hold on. Let me give her the phone."
I skipped to the bathroom and put my phone on speaker. "Talk now."
Monica looked at me before looking at my phone.
"Baby, don't cry. If you cry, I'm gonna cry."
Monica giggled.
Zeke asked, "Do you want to get married?"
Monica rolled her eyes, "E!"
"Huh?"
"You know I want to marry you," she told him. "I just got cold feet..." Monica asked, "Do you want to get married?"
Zeke was quiet.
I tapped my phone to make sure it didn't hang up.
"Zeke!" I shouted.
"Yeah, I'm here," he spoke.
I said, "Cousin, your husband-to-be is tired."
"I'm up," Zeke yawned. "I'm up. Baby, I love you. Okay?"
Monica nodded her head. "Okay."
"Okay?" Zeke was wide awake now. "I said I love you."
Monica glanced at me before laughing. "I'll see you at the wedding."
"Monica Monday, I love you."
This was too cute. I think I need to leave the room.
My cousin was blushing like it was the first time he told her that.
"If I have to go to your room, you won't be getting any sleep on our wedding night."
I almost dropped my phone. "Ay! I'm an unvoluntar-er-ly third-party," I stated.
Monica grabbed my phone and took it off speaker as I gladly left the bathroom. Somehow, I was able to sleep without having any nightmares.
And just like an annoying alarm, it was loud and unwelcomed. "Turn it off!" I shouted.
Monica mumbled, "How many times did you set your alarm?"
"Twice," I replied.
My cousin said, "That's the fifth time I heard it."
I popped my eyes opened and quickly picked up my phone. It was quiet. I turned to look at the sleeping beauty. Her phone was singing like rent was due.
"Monica!" I shouted as I crawled over her to snatch up her phone. After turning off the alarm, I saw that it was 7:15 am. "What time is the make-up artist supposed to get here?"
"At 10 am, but the hairstylist gets here at 8 am."
"Get up, Monica! She'll be here in 45 minutes. We gotta shower and--"
There was a knock on our hotel room door. I hopped out the bed and went to the door. I looked through the peephole to see my mom. I opened the door. "Good morning, Mama."
"Good morning! I'm glad y'all are up. We thought y'all were still sleeping. Have y'all showered and ate?" My mom asked me.
"Not exactly. Just been talking nonstop," I smiled at her.
My mom folded her arms. "Y'all better come downstairs and get some of this breakfast before it ends. I'll be back with Marcie and Zeke's mom in about half an hour."
I nodded my head. "Okay."
"Make sure you brush your teeth one more time." My mom walked away.
No, she didn't! I closed the door and ran back to the bed.
Monica was still sleeping. She better get up, because I'm not the welcome mat maid of honor. Before I could tell her about herself, there was another knock.
I answered the door. "Who is it?"
"Room service," the baritone spoke.
I rushed to the door and looked through the peephole to see a plate of food. I opened the door to see A.B. smiling with a tray of food in his hands. "Good morning, Jamie."
I smiled back. "Good morning. Uh, we didn't order any food."
"I figured y'all haven't ate yet." He handed the tray to me. "I'll be running errands until the wedding starts, but you can call me if you need anything."
I asked, "Can you call help, because Monica is trying to sleep like she was born yesterday."
A.B. said, "Let her sleep while you get ready. That way there's one and not two people running behind schedule."
Hearing those words suddenly cleared my mind. He's right. This is Monica's day not mine. As long as I do my part, I won't be the problem. #itaintmyfault
A.B. reached over and touched the end of my hair. Then, he caressed my cheek. "I'll see you at the wedding."
I blushed, "Okay."
A.B. put his hands in his pockets before walking away.
Yes, I watched him take each step to the elevator before getting on. I closed the door and turned around, nearly dropping the tray.
"You and A.B. are really cute together." Monica grabbed a strip of bacon from the tray and bit it.
"Girl-luh!" I walked over to the small table and sat the tray on top of it.
Monica followed me. "The hairstylist text me. She said she's twenty minutes away."
I shook my head. "I'm going to take a shower first, because I refuse to be stressed out on your wedding day."
Soon, we ended up with a full house - the hairstylist, the make-up artist, the wardrobe stylist, Cathy, my mom, Aunt Marcie, Monica, and me. Everyone was dressed up, hair done-up, and face made-up.
After a few photos, Aunt Marcie stood to say a few words. "My angel, my heart, my baby girl... my only daughter is getting married. Honestly, I didn't think Monica was even interested in getting married. I'm excited that I get to see you walk down the aisle and marry the person that you love. I've met Zeke a couple times, and he is such a gentleman. Mrs. Rivers, you raised a fantastic son."
"Thank you," Cathy smiled at Marcie.
Aunt Marcie looked at me. "You know you're my other baby. You and Monica grew up like y'all were sisters even though you two are cousins. Thank you for being close and supportive of one another. Believe it or not, Jammy, Monica looks up to you a lot."
I looked at Monica who winked at me.
"Even though, she'll be living in L.A. and you'll be living here, don't stop communicating and caring for one another. No matter who you marry, how many kids you have, how much success you have, you two are family. Okay? I love you girls."
"Love you too, Aunt Marcie."
"Love you too, Mama," Monica said.
Together, we left the hotel room and got on the elevator. Escorted by hotel staff, we were taken the back way to the banquet hall where the wedding is taking place.
Zeke and Monica didn't want a big wedding. They didn't want a traditional wedding. They wanted a small and fast-paced wedding. Once the guests were seated by 12:50 p.m., the marriage officiant took his place at the end of the aisle.
The DJ began to play music before making announcements, "Good afternoon, everybody! I am DJ Roll-o-Disc for your entertainment. Thank you for being here to celebrate this wonderful occasion on this beautiful day. Everybody clap your hands for the bride and groom Mr. Ezekiel Rivers and Miss Monica Monday!"
Everyone cheered.
"And if you haven't put the pieces of the puzzle together by now, I'm here to let you know that this won't be your average wedding. Oh, no! We are doing things the Rivers' way. Right now, I want to introduce you to some special people. To marry the bride and groom, give it up for Deacon Raymond Fleming!"
He raised his hand as everyone applauded.
"Coming down the aisle, are the parents of the groom - Mr. and Mrs. Rivers!"
Zell and Cathy held hands as they walked down the aisle and made their way to their seats.
"Next, we have the bride's parents - Mr. and Mrs. Monday!"
Monica's parents walked down the aisle doing the bump like it was a soul train line. Yep, that's where Monica gets all her antics from.
They finally made their way to their seats.
"And how can we give you a taste of what the groom looks like? Let's get his big brother Zachary out here!"
Zack strolled down the aisle like the superstar he was in the early 2000s. There were a lot of oohs and aahs from the women.
"And please put your hands together for the bride's beautiful cousin and maid of honor, Jamie!"
I walked out from behind the curtain and gave my best pageant wave. I heard a few people whistle. At the end of the aisle, I stood on the right side.
"Everybody, make some noise for the luckiest man in the room, Ezekiel!"
I chuckled as Zeke clapped for himself, walking down the aisle. I believe he had the loudest cheering. He stood next to the deacon.
"Y'all are doing a great job with this crowd participation. Right now, we're gonna switch it up for the bride." The DJ changed the song to a love ballad. "Now, I want everyone to stand up for the lovely bride... MONICA!"
Everyone stood up as the breath-taking flower of the hour strutted down the aisle. Her dad stood up and waited for her at the end of the aisle. When they met, he whispered in her eat before kissing her cheek. Then, he turned to Zeke and handed her over to him.
Zeke and Monica held each other's hands as they looked at one another.
As the deacon spoke, I looked around the room at the lovely faces that were in support of this marriage. From Monica's family to Zeke's family, there was more than enough love. I'm glad they kept it small. At the same time, the people that were here all signed an agreement not to discuss the wedding or share any wedding photos they take on social media. With a fine of $20,000, there was a reason why the guest list was short and sweet. I don't blame the Rivers at all.
Before I knew it, the couple said "I do." They exchanged rings and shared a kiss. Then, the DJ cranked up the music. "Give it up for the brand new husband and wife, The Rivers!"
Everyone stood up and clapped while the two hugged and waved at everyone. Soon, the photographer was ready and it was picture-taking time. While that was happening, the hotel staff was directing people to the food line while setting up tables. This hotel staff was doing a great job. After pictures, a table was setup for the bride and groom. I sat on the end, next to Monica. Zack sat on the other end, next to Zeke.
Monica looked at me and exhaled. "I don't think I was breathing the whole time."
I smiled, "You were, just not very easily."
We laughed together. After food, the banquet hall was turned into a dance floor. The DJ kept the music going for two hours before Zeke and Monica took the mic and thanked everyone for coming to their wedding. Due to privacy, they left before everyone else.
Finally, I was able to leave. When I got to the elevator, A.B. just so happened to be there as if he were waiting for me.
"Were you here the whole time?" I asked him.
"No. I get special privileges like leaving before the guests."
"You weren't in the wedding, sir," I told him.
The elevator door opened and I walked in first.
A.B. followed and pressed the close door button. "I did my part behind-the-scenes."
"Mmm-hmm." I reached for our floor number, but he stopped me. I glanced at him suspiciously.
"You look incredible in that dress," he whispered to me.
I arched my brow. "I do?"
A.B. admitted, "You almost out-shined the bride."
"The bride picked it," I blamed Monica.
He took a few steps forward and stopped when our faces were inches away from colliding.
My breathing got heavy.
A.B. looked at me from head to toe. His face came closer to mine. His lips were slightly parted.
I closed my eyes.
I closed my eyes...
I closed my eyes......
"What floor are we on?" A.B. asked me.
I opened my eyes and A.B. was looking at the buttons on the elevator. He pressed the floor number before turning around to smirk at me.
I crossed my arms. "Don't say anything to me."
A.B. smiled, "Anything."
I tried to be like a stone, but laughter refused to be suppressed. We laughed even after getting off the elevator. I can't wait to get to Yellow Sand Beach. I got plans for Mr. Bravos.