"Where the hell is the bride?!"
"Why on earth is she not ready?!"
"We have a delayed bride situation!"
"Kelly, get out now! It's getting late! KELLY!"
"Goodness, people!" Kelly exclaimed, flinging open the door to her bedroom. The action caused Katie to trip forward, her hand still in contact with the door where she had been tapping incessantly while everybody was yelling outside. Speaking of everybody, while Katie caught her balance with the help of the doorframe, Lisa and her mother stopped running around the corridor to look at her. Lucy, standing in the doorway diagonally opposite to Kelly's, had been watching the whole episode unfold with amused eyes, but she too now was looking at her older sister. Kelly stepped out into the hallway, pulled the door shut behind her, the noise echoing off the walls, and glared from one to the other of the three shouting culprits. She was dripping wet from head to toe and her bathrobe was sticking to her skin, irritating her more.
"Could a bride not finish a shower in peace? For God's sake, what's the rush?!" she demanded in a stern voice. Lisa and Amelia pointedly turned to stare at Katie, who in turn nodded at the wall clock at the end of the hallway.
"It's already 10.30, Pig. We had to be at the venue an hour before that," she accused blatantly.
Kelly groaned and buried her face in her palms to recollect her senses before she looked up and said calmly, "That clock has been stuck on that time since the last fifteen days." As the three loud ones took in the fact of the matter, what with the seconds hand not budging at all, Kelly yelled out, "It's only half past eight, you morons! Go check your phones and wrist watches and any other wall clocks we may have! Turn on the news, for crying out loud, if you need the correct time, but LET ME HAVE MY SHOWER IN PEACE!"
With that, she disappeared into her room, slamming the door once again.
"She is unusually sensitive today," Lucy observed after all the noise had settled down.
"Hear, hear," Lisa mumbled, turning on her heels and heading down the stairs. "Ma, breakfast!" she called over her shoulder.
"In a minute, sweetie," Amelia replied, following her downstairs. Katie beckoned Lucy to join them all in the kitchen and prattled off her desired menu for the breakfast while descending the stairs.
Allison was already present at the venue and was ordering the staff to get the decorations right. Carl stood to one corner of the open area, Duke asleep against his chest, as a silent observer because he knew better than to interrupt his wife at her best friend's wedding preparations. He greeted the Sloane family first as they tumbled out of the only car they owned.
"Oh, Brett, how could you forget to bring the car from repairs?" Katie could be heard complaining while the other sisters and family members stretched out their muscles. Brett did not have the privilege to do so under his wife's glower and baby Ruth's struggle in his arms to go to her mother.
"I see Al dragged you out early in the morning, Carrie," Kelly remarked as he walked to her with a broad smile and she leaned in to give him a quick hug without ruffling the asleep baby's invisible feathers.
"I'm surprised she even slept last night! I had a feeling she would set up camp here after dinner yesterday," he replied with a wink. Kelly laughed and held out her arms. Carl promptly passed Duke to her and even as she adjusted his head over her shoulder, he did not stir from his slumber.
Carl helped unload the boot of the car as some of the more nervous staff members joined him if only to escape the tyrannous rule of Allison.
"Keep it straight! Straight means not bent, or is that something they no longer teach in schools?" Allison barked and Kelly did not bother to look at the poor soul receiving the scolding. If Allison wanted it done one way, it had to be that way, no questions asked.
Her creased forehead turned smooth the moment Kelly overtook her vision and she grabbed her friend in a tight hug with one arm, once again avoiding the calamity of waking up her own son. "Kel! I almost thought you would not show up!"
"Hard for it to be a wedding if the bride isn't there, is it?"
"Look who's talking!"
"Well, to be a 'runaway bride', you have to be a bride first!"
"Damn it! I need to find another thing to tease you with now! What on earth could be as solid as a 'runaway bride'?" Allison stuck out her lower lip in a frown and Kelly laughed.
"Better give up on that quest unless you want me to wake your little bundle of joy."
The colour quite literally drained from Allison's face and she shook her head fervently. She quickly slapped on a sweet smile and stroked Kelly's arm gently. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"
"I thought so," Kelly replied with a smirk. "Come on now, help me get ready. Katie can take over."
Katie saluted at them with her forefinger and turned on the staff busy arranging the chairs. A combined sigh of relief had escaped their lips the moment Kelly reassigned the person in charge, which soon turned into grimace when Katie began to hurl orders with no words minced and they realized they would rather have Allison as the commander!
"Ready with your vows?" Allison asked once it was just the two of them in the bedroom assigned for Kelly to get ready in. Duke was happily snoring away in a makeshift pram of pillows on the bed. Kelly had changed out of her jeans and t-shirt into a bathrobe and was busy untangling her slightly wet hair.
"Mm-hmm."
"The one you googled?"
"No! It was just a backup!"
"Wait, you actually wrote one after all the drama you did about writing it?"
Kelly chuckled, remembering her over-exaggerated exhaustion when she had first been asked to work on it fifteen days back. Allison had been pacing her bedroom, suggesting ideas of what she could and could not say, and Kelly had responded by sliding off her bed and slumping on the floor, accepting the cold tiles as a comfort. Allison had blasted her ears with a gong, which she had brought in anticipation of this exact situation apparently, and Kelly had jumped up and out of the room, her heart going crazy in her ribcage. "Bloody hell, Al!" she exclaimed, holding her chest for dear life and staring in disbelief at her best friend from the doorway.
Allison had smirked, as she always was inclined to, and replied calmly, "Now, let's continue."
"I wrote it this morning," Kelly clarified before Al could launch into a vivid description of her "drama". "My parents' story helped, as did the words of one Jeff Gibbs."
"One who now?" Allison immediately asked and a moment later, she whistled. "That guy! What did he have to say?"
"Well, my alledgedly googled vows had me talking about how interesting I find him, how enchanted I was with him, which is such a fake thing to say. But I did not realize that until Jeff told me."
Allison made her sit down in front of the wall length mirror and brushed out the tangled mess, making her squeal now and again. "Interesting. More so that I was never intimated on what happened on that 'date' of yours."
"Did I not call you?" Kelly asked innocently and winced a second later when Allison roughly brushed through her locks.
"Oh, did that hurt?"
Kelly massaged her scalp, tears at the edge of her eyes. "You're so mean, Al."
*****
"So, what are you saying, Jeff?"
Jeff smiled, a smile that was forever polite. "I am glad you walked out on me that day, Kelly. I was mildly fascinated by you when we first met, and at the time, your sudden departure did annoy me. However, I became more and more intrigued about you the more I saw you at the office."
He paused to drink his milkshake and Kelly did not attempt to say anything in the ensuing silence.
"But you can only find a person amusing for so long. In time, it becomes a habit, a common thing, and I do not think I can settle for that. Neither can I find anybody amusing for life, so, thanks in a large part to you, I could convince my family to give up on setting me up for any more dates."
He added with a hint of amusement, "You spoiled me for good; I harbour very high expectations for my life partner now."
*****
"Ryan must have had a field day hearing that!" Allison commented through gritted teeth which were busy holding on to hairclips while the hairbrush smoothed out the last of the tangles.
"He did get annoyed for a second, but you know how he is. He began teasing me about it a second later!"
"Sounds about right. Now, to pin up your annoying hair..."
"Hey, a little respect for them at least today!"
"Yeah, yeah, don't use the "being a bride" excuse with me. I am not above kicking you in the shins no matter which day."
Kelly grumbled, but kept her peace, quite well aware of the truth in her friend's words. They heard honks through the windows, followed by a sudden outburst of activity on the other side of the door. Guests had begun to arrive.
"Don't worry, your parents will take care of them. Even Carl is down there," Allison said, the hairclips now out of her mouth and into the hair they were meant for.
Kelly smiled. This must have been the millionth conversation where one of them had answered questions slash worries slash dilemmas before the other one voiced it out loud. They were quite used to it after twenty-five years, so much that it hardly seemed out of place anymore.
"All right, your make up is done, your hair is done. Need me to get you dressed as well?"
"No, Ma said she'll be up here soon so it's fine. Besides, it's nearing Duke's feeding time."
Allison rearranged the combs and extra hairpins into an open box on the dressing table beside the mirror. "I know, I know. The hungry, little brat will eat your head off if you don't feed him on time. Damn it! I forgot his bottles!"
As if on cue, a knock came on the door. Moments later, Amelia came inside with a baby bag. She handed it to Allison with a voice note, "Carl told to give it to you immediately unless I wanted the building to collapse."
Allison smiled faintly at the dramatic implication and spoke quickly, "Oh, he will explode if given the chance!"
"Well, you should be glad he inherited something from you, even if it is temper," Kelly commented, taking off the dress enveloped in its plastic case off the hanger on the other side of the room.
"Kel, seriously, don't tempt me."
"For?" Amelia asked in confusion.
"She's willing to kick me even today," Kelly clarified, unzipping the plastic.
Duke woke up and sat up straight in his pram, his large eyes narrowed and looking cross. Allison quickly handed him one of his bottles and his face broke out into a grin almost instantly. He tumbled over, backwards, the bottle caught between his chubby fingers and booted feet.
"The day is saved for now," Allison said with a sigh and Amelia chuckled in amusement, patting her arm in sympathy.
"Kelly used to be just as demanding at that age, so I understand."
"I was not!" Kelly exclaimed indignantly.
"Like you would remember," Allison replied on Amelia's behalf with a smirk.
Twenty minutes later, Evelyn and Ben came in. One look at her dress and Ben commented without missing a beat, "Really, Kelly, I did not peg you for being cliché."
Kelly laughed. "I think I am excused for today."
Ben shook his head in disapproval. "You look beautiful, don't get me wrong. But, well."
"You do realize you will have to address me as 'Aunt Kelly' by the time the ceremony is through, right? At least, officially," she added with a wink.
"You too?! Isn't it bad enough I have to call Darian 'Uncle'?" Ben threw up his hands and walked out of the room, muttering under his breath, "I'll be downstairs if anybody needs me. Not that anybody ever does."
Evelyn walked over to her and hugged her. "Of all the things I look forward to, I would love to watch you bring Ben down a peg or two. It would do the kid some good," she said, separating from her and patting her arm. She greeted Amelia and Allison, who waved over her shoulder while trying to put on her earrings, before she too left. Amelia had changed into a different dress as had Allison, soon as they were finished with getting Kelly ready.
"Katie, Lisa and Lucy are all near the altar as is your father. Everybody's ready and it's time to go," Amelia said in hurried tones as if speaking slower would make her forget what she had to say.
Two things stood out more than anything as she walked down the aisle. The look of surprise followed instantly by immense happiness that captured Darian's feature was the first one as he watched her move towards her in the maroon full-length gown with netted fabric for shoulder straps. She could not help but giggle when he winked and gave her two thumbs up.
The second was the sight of Grant, Gwen's brother, beside her fiancé. He smiled at her genuinely and bowed his head slightly, she smiled back in response, catching Darian do a little "I got you good!" bit right then and there.
As they stood before each other, Darian indicated towards his shoes, which really were black painted sneakers. Kelly grinned and pulled up her skirt just a little, enough to stick her own foot out and show him the maroon wedge heeled running shoe adorning it.
"Planning to run, eh?" he whispered in a conspiratorial tone and she unabashedly nodded her head.
"Anytime now."
By the time the evening reception came into existence though, Kelly had officially shrugged off her "runaway bride" reputation. The floor was called for the father-daughter dance and Ted, sniffling, led his third daughter onto the dance floor inside the reception hall.
"Oh, Papa, have you run them dry of tissue papers already?" Kelly asked softly as they began to move slowly with the music.
Ted smiled, his red nose glowing, and Kelly was almost tempted to sing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. "Getting older is making me more emotional. Your mother will never make me forget it, I'm sure."
"That's true. Speaking of which, I have to ask, did you ever find and read that letter Ma had been writing you?"
"I did. At least the pages I had nicked."
"Really? When? You said you had misplaced them."
"After you mother and I reconciled, we spent quite some time to get acquainted with each other. During that, we still slept in separate rooms until the day we didn't. While moving my things to the main bedroom, I found those papers tucked, creased and half torn under my mattress."
"And?"
"And what?"
"And what did they say?"
Ted chuckled and shook his head. "That, my dear, will remain a secret I will carry to my grave. Some things are best left unsaid."
Kelly pouted for a second and Ted pinched her cheek to bring out a smile again. "Does Ma know you read them?"
"No. Like I said, some things are best left unsaid."
Kelly was about to question more when she heard Lisa exclaim from one corner of the room, "Oh my God! Julia!"
The music stopped, the dancing stopped and the Sloane family, married or otherwise, turned their undivided attention to the double doors, which were half open now and which served as a backdrop to the eldest of the sisters, dishevelled, panting and smiling brightly.
"I don't understand love. I don't understand it; I thought I did back in my younger days but I was wrong. When I first sat down to write down my vows, I did not know what to say and then I'd remember you and your silly jokes, and I'd laugh. Ma, Papa, Al and even Katie tried giving suggestions and all it did was make me laugh more or give up on it entirely. So I googled it. Worst decision ever because it made me gag. Remember that first date of ours? Cheesier lines than that came up in that. Anyway, this morning I finally got it. Even though I do not understand love in its entirety, I do know I love you, Darian Summers, my Luke Anderson. And I promise you I will love you even tomorrow, because for me, my tomorrow is my forever."
"Kelly 'Girl in Maroon' Sloane, I will run with you wherever you will take me whenever you want to. I love that we both took our time to come to love each other because nothing else is as sure in my life as the bond that exists between us. Whatever doubts, whatever arguments, fights we may have in the future, I promise you I will find you no matter where you run away. I always have and I always will."
"Even though you hate the third part of Matrix, which I think is absolutely absurd, I believe we can make our peace with Lord of the Rings trilogy."
"Or The Hobbit."
"Definitely."
*****
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Only one chapter left! Just a heads up!!!
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