Yay! Free Write Friday is back this week. I missed it last week, but I understand that people get busy doing other stuff in their lives that sometimes your blog becomes second, but when you’re allowed to breathe and come back with something like this, then it makes the whole thing worth it. I have decided to do a part two of a different writing challenge I did on Sunday. I did my first one of the week for Ermiliablog for their challenge called “Picture It & Write” and I titled it Bridezilla Has A Breakdown. I thought since Kellie has shared one of the pictures she took last week to do for the prompt, I thought I’d continue on with that keep the humor and characters. So I hope you enjoy it!
The ceremony is finally over. Now we are waiting for the reception to begin, and everything has me on pens and needles. I am such a perfectionist and not being able to make sure everything is in place for the after party, is freaking me out! I’m surprised my hair hasn’t poufed up from the stress floating around inside my brain. While my bridesmaids and groomsmen go into the reception hall with our other 180 guests we invited over two months ago. I have already been told by my mother that a lot of people loved the space in the church and the decorations. They were so elegant and simple! It was the one piece of the wedding where I actually got to control. After my maid-of-honor and sister Claire walks out with my now brother-in-law Levi, things start to get a little more exciting! Hank isn’t showing any emotions. I think crying when we were doing our vows was enough emotion for him. I think we can both agree that we’re happy it’s over and we can finally drink! I hope I don’t get sloppy drunk around my folks or none of my family members get wasted either. If they do, I can just think that at 2am Hank and I will be heading to the airport for our honeymoon. It’s 6:05pm, is it okay to countdown now?
I’m not much of a country girl and both Hank and I were born and raised in the city, but we both agreed to have Taylor Swift’s “Our Song” as our walk-in song to our reception. The introduction starts playing and everybody was clapping their hands to the beat, plus I can hear my little sister Claire singing along. Luckily, she was born was a semi good voice to make it sound perfect even without a microphone. As the DJ does his introduction and he turns down the volume slightly.
“Give it up for the newlyweds, Mr and Mrs. Cohen!
We walked out from behind the curtain and we both had fake smiles, because all we wanted to do was ditch the reception and go straight to Hawaii, but our mothers insisted on having it to meet each other’s families fully. And leave it to both sides to persuade each family member to come to the wedding. Hank said that he swears he’s mother Sophie invited people he has never even heard of or much less seen before. My older sister Brenda said my mom had went out of her way to invite every family member she knew could make it. Sad part was, every person she asked, is actually in the very room we’re standing in. We look like a pack of hungry wolves that are only here to dance, take pictures and eat all the gorgeous food. We could care less about everybody around us and if we’re truly related to them or not. We hired a good friend of ours to do our wedding pictures and she was very lovely, but after the tens of millions of flashing lights, it was getting rather annoying fast. Our families wanted a picture with all ten of us sitting at our table. Somebody was nice enough to put all of the girls purses underneath the tables and as soon as we were allowed to sit down, I immediately grabbed my phone.
My phone had over 20 text messages and four voice mails, plus seven missed calls. One of the messages was from my dad, he said he couldn’t make it. Which was surprising, he has said that line for most of my life that’s why it was just better to have John walk me down the aisle instead. We sit down at our beautiful decorated table, but all of us were too concerned about who had been texting us for the last two hours. My little sister sits besides me and I can easily glance over to see her phone and read an interesting text message from her boyfriend Matt, saying he couldn’t make it either. Seems to happen in the family; our dad swears the real reason why he never comes to see us is because the haunting of our mother chasing him away and pushed him out of our lives. Since I was 14 at the time of the separation, I remember very clearly of who broke off the marriage and who walked away to be with a woman who couldn’t take care of herself, much less anybody else. Within four years after the divorce, my dad calls my older sister Brenda and says that his new wife gave birth to a baby boy, they named Bryce. He always wanted a boy and I guess after the three failing attempts and getting beautiful little girls wasn’t enough for him. I laid down my phone back into my purse and put my head on the back of Claire’s back and she turned to me and gave me a smile.
We decided that once the reception started, that we would sit down for a breather and then when we felt like it then we’d go around and greeted everybody that came to see us get married. In other words, we went on each side separately and gave hugs and received creepy kisses from our aunts and uncles. Hank was the first one that decided to get up first. I had just gotten my champagne cocktail, I was content on getting a few gulps before walking around with my mother and get complaints that my husband should be walking around with me. That was we were comfortable with, because we have met with the majority of the guests before. What was the big deal? My drink came to the table as everybody started getting up and head to their family tables and whatnot. My little sister was still attached to her phone and looked like on the verge of tears. “Why do guys have to be such jerks?” Claire says with a sigh. I swallowed a big gulp of my drink and finish it, and hollered for another for two more. “You’re just now figuring this out?” I say back to her as my drinks finally arrive. “I don’t know why I’m asking you, since you and Hank were on and off for the last six years.” I take another sip before turning my head again with a puzzled look. “We weren’t on and off for six years.” I say, but she turned back with a grin and says, “oh yeah, you weren’t dating you were something else–what was that sis?” I roll my eyes, “All right, you made your point. You’ll never forget that day, will you?” She picks up her phone again and says, “not until you push out a baby.” When she said those words, I finished my second drink in a hurry.
After having a lovely chat with my baby sister, I stand up and head over to Brenda and her husband’s table, where all four of my nieces: Ava, Gracie, Tatum, and Ivy are all sitting so adorable. I went up to each one and hugged and kissed them. I completely ignore my brother-in-law Justin because he has been keeping one hell of a secret from my sister and I am already too drunk to be around his stupid ass right now. Brenda gives me this confused look when I walk over from little two-year old Ivy’s high chair to hers, without hugging Justin. When the time is right, she’ll find out and so will my step dad John. Anyways, I continue to walk around to each table on my family’s side and finally manage to rearrange to get this show on the road again. I wanted food and I wanted it now. I didn’t bother to eat lunch because I was so nervous. Now I regret not even eating something small or chocolate. That alone, could have calm down my nerves in a heartbeat. I make it back to the table along with everybody else. We look like zombies just stumbling around to get to our table. As soon as we get to our table, our servants bring out the plates of our dinner and it was so difficult to not dig into it right away, but my new brother-in-law Levi had to make his announcement.
“Here we are at my older brother’s first wedding…honestly, I didn’t think nobody would actually fall for him. He has his tendencies of occasionally lying off the top of his head. Which is the reason why Chloe is so in love with him, because he tells her she’s so beautiful when she looks like total shit. I guess if you really want that relationship to work apparently you’ll do anything to keep it, ain’t that right Hank? Anyways, I just wanted to say I give nothing but the best to my brother Hank and his decent looking bride Chloe on a long and happy marriage. I just hope she doesn’t kill you Hank when you piss her off in the next five months.”
I want to kill him! In all honestly, I expected this from Levi, but not at MY wedding! I mean, our, our wedding. I am completely horrified that he started off with “my older brother’s FIRST wedding…” What the hell is that?!?!?! I can’t even turn my head over to my family’s side. Some of my family has a good ounce of humor, but the rest has hardly any and take everything seriously. I could literally see my sister Brenda putting her hands on the side of her head at the sight of his speech. As all of Hank’s family was still grinning and it looked like the majority of them enjoyed it, but surprising Hank even looked like he wanted to kill him too. Claire sits besides me still giggling to herself. I get the last bit of her laughter before turning her way, she doesn’t stop right away, but instead gives me a smile that speaks many words. I sit back in my chair with my third drink in head and try to ignored the loud voices that surround me. I started off being extremely hungry to feeling like I could get sick. I ask the waiter to bring me back a tall glass of water this time around.
To be continued.
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