They say that funerals bring out the worst in people but most would contest that weddings are a close second. Family feuds can ensue, friends may be lost, shouting matches will take place, and many tears will be shed.
The end result is what every bride looks forward to; all eyes are on her as she gracefully is led down the aisle by a loved one. She finally makes it to the alter and gets to stand in front of the person whose love is undying and unwavering. It's an emotion that many get to experience and Cora thought that's exactly how her day was going to end.
She had wanted to get married since she was a little girl. Every play date would consist of her practicing her vows, what her dress would look like, and just how wonderful the day would be.
She was eighteen when her boyfriend and high school sweetheart asked her to marry him. Of course she said yes. How could she say no? Now she regretted, with all her heart, saying that one simple word. It turned out that her wedding planning, something that was supposed to be joyous and happy, was the worst experience of her life.
They decided to get married in August right before her fiancé, Mike, went to college. She applied for the same school and found out she was accepted. They would get married, live together, eventually graduate, and then start a family. It was perfect; almost too perfect.
It was the day before her wedding and Cora couldn't have been more excited. She had been driving around with Mike, making some last minute stops, when he decided to run a stop sign. Their town was small and that usually wasn't a big deal but that day it was different. The last thing Cora saw was a red truck barreling towards them. She screamed as the world went black around her.
Waking up and getting the first glimpse of her body was devastating. She was covered in bandages from head to toe and her lower half was in a huge cast.
They were hit by a driver going forty miles per hour and Cora was lucky to be alive. That's what everyone kept saying but she didn't feel lucky. In fact, she wished she had died. It was a morbid thought but the only way she knew to escape what had happened to her body and life.
The doctors said that her pelvis and right leg were shattered. They used over two dozen screws, and a few metal poles for her leg, and they still weren't sure if she would be able to use it again. If that wasn't hard enough to hear, they said there was a lot of internal damage and she may never have children.
Cora cried. She wanted nothing more than to be a mother. It was her dream to get married and have children. Now that was all taken from her by one stupid decision.
That wasn't even the worst part though.
The last words Mike said before he left was, "You've changed."
Cora didn't even have the energy to ask him why. It was so crushing that she felt like he had physically struck her.
And the thing that kept replaying over and over again in her mind was did her leave her because she had physically changed or because she was emotionally unavailable? Cora wasn't sure and she never had a chance to find out. Mike went off to college and her fairy tale was over.
***
There was a light tapping at Cora's bedroom door. She was about to shout a string of complaints when the door suddenly flew open. In ran a blur of pink and blonde. The furry thing jumped on her and began singing loudly.
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birth-
"Get off!" shouted Cora.
She threw her sister as hard as she could but the girl quickly bounced back. She was like a little rabid squirrel that just wouldn't quit.
Cora held up her boot and waved it at her sister. "Annie, if you don't quit jumping on me I'm going to throw this boot at your head until the flower designs are imprinted into your forehead."
The little girl stopped and frowned. "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday."
"Birthdays are not happy. All you do is get older and uglier."
Annie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Dad said he wants you to wake up. He has a surprise for you."
"Ugh," groaned Cora. "What time is it anyway?"
"One, so get up," answered Annie. She skipped out of the room and loudly shut the door behind her.
Cora mumbled a few choice words before carefully maneuvering herself out of bed. She placed her feet gently on the floor and braced herself. It took a lot of energy and willpower just to get out of bed.
She tugged on the metal bar next to her bed and groaned loudly as her knees bent. It was the same thing every day. She would sleep as long as possible until her dad forced her to get out of bed. It was the anticipation of pain that kept her there for so long. She was tired of aching but that was the price she paid for keeping her leg.
She grabbed a change of clothes and slowly made her way to the bathroom. Cora walked in and glared at the toilet. It was her biggest nemesis. She needed to use it but sitting down took forever.
"I hate you," whispered Cora as she pointed at the porcelain monster and fought the urge to kick it.
It took at least forty minutes to just pee, brush her teeth, get changed, and put her hair into a ponytail.
Cora looked in the mirror and growled loudly. She had always loved her thick, wavy auburn hair but after the accident it just became a nuisance. Now all she did was wear it up every single day. She was even contemplating chopping it off but that took too much effort.
She finally entered the kitchen and was greeted with a slow clap.
"Look who decided to finally grace us with her presence."
Cora rolled her eyes. "Very funny dad."
He stood up and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Happy birthday. Take a seat I have a surprise for you."
Cora sat down, staring at him with raised eyebrows. Her dad was an honest but simple man and he rarely ever kept secrets from them. Having a surprise for her was shocking. It was also very out of character.
"What kind of surprise dad?"
He smiled and slid her a cracked white mug. It was filled with her favorite liquid in the whole world, black coffee. She sipped it, smiling gratefully at him over the rim.
"Well at least you can make her smile," huffed Annie.
Cora took another long sip. "In all fairness it's the coffee that makes me smile."
Annie just rolled her eyes and started to pick at the old wooden table. Her dad had probably sanded and refinished it about thirty times but Annie always managed to find a way to destroy it.
"Anyway," said their dad as he waved his arms between them, "let's talk about your surprise."
Cora attempted to cross her legs and immediately regretted it. She winced, firmly placing both feet back on the floor.
"Everything alright?" asked her dad.
"Fine. Just get on with it."
He dug into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. Cora watched as excitement and anxiousness crossed his old, wrinkled features. He passed her the card, offering her a big smile.
Cora snatched it off the table and tore it open with one swipe. She frowned deeply at the contents.
"What is this?" she asked, dumping the gift onto the table. Out fell a single airline ticket. She stared at the piece of paper like it was going to attack her.
A sudden rush of emotions hit her all at once. She gripped the table tightly and tried to stop the room from spinning.
"Breathe Cora!" shouted her father.
"You want me gone just like everyone else does!" she screamed.
Her dad reached out and gently laid his hand on top of hers. "That's not it at all. I love having you around but I think you need a change."
"No," she said, trying to choke back tears. "You want me out of here because I'm a burden."
Cora's father slammed his fist down on the table, successfully snapping her out of her downward spiral of anger and self-loathing.
"Dammit Cora listen to me!" he shouted. "You are not going to spend two more years sitting up in that room and staring at the wall."
She wiped her eyes and glared at him. "I don't do that. I have therapy here, my friends, my family, and my career."
"Cora you don't even ride your horse anymore. You can't work on the farm if you can't ride your horse," said Annie. "And you only have one friend."
"Shut up," she snapped. "I'm still healing but one day I'll be able to ride again."
Her dad shook his head. "Not here Cora. There are too many bad memories in this place. You need to leave and start fresh."
Cora hadn't even seen where the ticket was to. She picked it up, squinting to see the tiny lettering.
"California?!" she exclaimed. "What the hell is in California?"
"Bill," answered her dad.
Cora got up from the chair faster than she had in the last two years. She quickly retreated to the doorway, putting as much distance between her and the ticket that she could.
"I am not going to Bill's!"
Annie cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong with Bill?"
"I am not staying with dad's best friend who I haven't seen for six years, across the U.S., in some town I'm not familiar with."
Her dad ran a hand down his face. "Cora..."
"No way, end of story."
She retreated to her room and slammed the door shut behind her. Maybe she was behaving childishly but she didn't care. Too much had happened and she wasn't ready to ruin everything she had worked so hard for.
Cora was contemplating on how to escape the house when her phone began to ring. She pulled it off her night stand and pressed the little green button eagerly.
"Please say that you are outside."
Her friend laughed. "I am outside."
Cora hung up the phone and pulled on her favorite shoes. The pain of bending her knees was still there but the urgency to leave was greater. She grabbed a thick coat and managed to escape without her dad or Annie saying anything.
"Thank you for saving me," breathed Cora as she slid into the car. She shut the door and immediately stuck her hands by the vents. She hated the cold weather. It felt like all the metal in her body was going to shatter. And to make it worse it was snowing.
"You're welcome," replied Jessie. "And happy birthday." She tossed Cora a medium sized box and held up her hand. "Let me make this easy for both of us. You hate your birthday, you don't want to celebrate it, and you said no gifts. Shut up, I'm your best friend, too bad."
Cora opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. She just shook her head and tore open the gift. Inside was a brand new metal coffee cup. It was green and looked like it could hold at least three cups of her favorite liquid.
She smiled, holding the cup up. "Thank you very much."
"No problem. I thought it was the least I could do since you break your cups all the time."
"You're very right. Anyway, where are we going?" asked Cora. She was hoping that they were driving into town because she wanted to be as far away from her family as possible.
Jessie turned the heat higher and glanced at her friend. "To your favorite restaurant. It's my treat."
"Good because I don't have any money."
Jessie chuckled. "You never do."
Cora just nodded. She wanted to tell her friend what happened but she would wait until lunch. It was better if she had some food in her stomach first. Then she could be more level headed.
It took them almost an hour to reach town and like usual it was packed. It was a Saturday and this was when most people did their shopping and some trading.
They pulled into the dirt parking lot and made their way to the busy restaurant.
"Good morning girls."
"Good morning Mr. Jackson," they said in unison. He smiled and held the door open for them.
Once inside the hostess seated them right away. It was busy but never enough for them to not have a booth or table available.
Before they were even seated the waitress was asking for their drink order.
"Coffee, black," grumbled Cora.
"I'll have a water," said Jessie, a bit more cheerfully than her friend.
The waitress blew her hair out of her face and twirled around like getting two drinks was the biggest inconvenience of her life.
"Did we really have to get Alicia?" whispered Cora.
Jessie leaned back in the bench and smiled sadly. "And who would you have preferred?"
"Dot."
"Dot works like two shifts a week. It's very rare that we would get her as our server and she's retiring next year."
Alicia came back and threw down Cora's coffee. Half of it spilled on the little saucer and a few drops landed on the table. She gently placed Jessie's cup down and pulled out her pen.
"What'll ya'll have?"
"Who's working the kitchen?" asked Cora.
Alicia snapped her gum. "Jeff."
"Then I'll have the chicken fried steak."
"Me too," answered Jessie.
Alicia loudly clicked her pad shut and walked away. The two girls watched her leave before speaking again.
Cora took a long gulp of her coffee. "You know," she said, staring out the window, "I've grown up with these people. Alicia knows it's my birthday. You'd think for one day she could loosen up that damn ponytail, let some oxygen get to that little brain of hers, and be nice."
Jessie nodded. "So why don't you say that to her?"
Cora laughed bitterly and finished the last of her coffee. "Because it's not worth it. They're not worth it," she said, waving her hand around the room.
Jessie nodded and decided that making small talk with Cora was best until the food came out. She knew the girl was a beast until she got some food in her.
"Here you go," said Alicia, her voice sickly sweet. She placed the food in front of them and to Cora's surprise, refilled her coffee cup.
"Thank you," mumbled Cora.
"No problem; you'll need it."
She was about to ask what Alicia meant when the girl spun around with a grin and walked off. Cora looked at her with raised eyebrows but not even that could keep her attention away from her food for very long. She dug in, savoring every bite.
"Jeff is the best," said Jessie, her mouth full of food.
Cora just nodded in agreement. She didn't actually speak again until every piece of food was gone from her plate.
"The cooking is always good when he's here," said Cora. She patted her stomach and smiled. "I need-"
The door opened and it felt like the life had been sucked out of her. There were two reasons she hated her birthday. First, because she was getting older and her life was going nowhere. Second, it was the day after school ended for winter break and Mike, her ex, always came home.