I have no idea why the girls are giving me a hard time for wanting to go to bed. At eight o’clock at night. On a Friday. Sure, it’s early. Yeah, we’re just having dinner. Okay, we’ve had a little wine and are being sappy while we tell stories about our first loves. Lucky for me, my first love is the man I’m marrying tomorrow. Which, is why I want to go to sleep. The earlier I go to sleep, the earlier I wake up. On my wedding day!
Sure, internally there’s a marching band celebration taking place. In twenty hours, I will be Mrs. Bentley James Sullivan. All the notebooks and diaries I doodled that name on as a kid will finally become my reality.
“There she is again, in the bride haze.”
I toss a carrot at Ashton in response and then bite into another with gusto before responding. “Yes, I’m in a bride haze. I’m also exhausted after waking up every day this week nauseous. Being sick has worn me out.”
“You’re not kidding. I didn’t realize how much anxiety I’ve had until last night after the rehearsal dinner. J had to carry me in the house from the truck. At least I haven’t had a panic attack but I’ve been exhausted. It’s like my brain just shut down. And I’m really glad my dress isn’t clingy. I’m so bloated.”
Minnie and I exchange a look before laughing. Of course, she’s bloated, Ashton has been dipping her cheesy chips in sour cream all night. Stress eating is no joke. I should know. I think if I hadn’t caught that bug or gotten food poisoning, whatever the culprit was, my dress would barely fit.
“What about you, Min?” Ashton asks while dipping another chip in her sour cream.
“What about me? I didn’t catch whatever Piper did and don’t have much anxiety. I am tired from moving and my body feels like I was run over by a Mack truck. And I don’t care what you guys say, my boobs are bigger.”
We all laugh and decide we should put the food away and begin our nighttime routine. Earlier today, we were all perfectly tweezed, waxed, and bronzed in preparation for the wedding tomorrow. So, tonight we’re applying a teeth-whitening serum and some hair wrap process Ashton wants for her hair. I have no clue what it is or what it does, but she saw it on Pinterest and insisted it was a must for her maid-of-honor hair. By the time we’re done it should be a respectable hour for me to go to bed.
I’m standing at the sink, applying the last of the foul-tasting product that promises to give me pearly white teeth when Minnie comes in the bathroom holding my ringing phone in her hand. I look at her horrified because I know it’s Ben attempting to video chat. My eyes go wide as Minnie smiles and slides the accept button. Brat.
“Hey, groom to be!” I will kill her.
“Oh, hey,” I hear Ben say while standing with my mouth wide open because I need this crap to dry and can’t touch my tongue to my teeth. In the background, I hear the guys razzing Ben for calling me, but it only makes me smile. If I could smile, but I can’t.
“Your blushing bride is just finishing in the bathroom, but I didn’t want her to miss your call. Hold on and I’ll get her. Tell Owen if he wants to talk to me to call my phone,” Minnie says while handing me my phone and turning to walk out.
I quickly finish my serum process before accepting my phone from Minnie. “Thanks, Min,” I say sarcastically. Instead of responding, she waves her hand in the air and walks away. Really, we’re all blessed to have Minnie in our lives and she knows my sarcasm is in jest. Minnie is the kindest person I know plus, she puts up with Owen’s bull. Basically, she’s a saint.
“Hey, handsome. Whatcha up to?” I ask, sitting on the toilet.
“Did you just sit on the toilet?”
“Uh, yeah?” Ben looks at me quizzically, and I sigh. “I have some crap on my teeth and need to rinse my mouth but want it to kind of work so I need to stay put,” I confess.
“Got it. Well, I only have a few minutes to talk myself. The guys and I are going to check all the lights in the tent and along the pathways before we hit the sack. How’re you holding up?”
“Me? I’m fine. I’m more worried about your sister. She ate an entire bag of chips.”
“So? She always does shit like that.” Ben laughs as I watch him move around our kitchen. He’s holding the phone in one hand while opening the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water with the other.
“No, this was different. It was like she couldn’t get enough. And, I’ll be honest. I played it off, but it was making me nauseous.” I watch as a concern blankets his face. I hate that he’s been so worried about me all week. I think planning my own wedding and binging on a buffet of homemade sushi and nachos was not my best idea. Stress is no joke. I attempt to lighten the mood. “Then there was the crying. It about did me in.”
“You’re still not feeling well? Babe, you should’ve gone to the doctor. Do you want me to come take you in to the clinic?”
“Oh stop. If you’d seen her eating you’d gag too. It’s fine. I feel fine. It’s in waves, which means it’s probably me getting my period. Sorry about that. No comment about Ashton crying?”
“My sister is a nut, I gave up trying to figure her out. But, if you’re sure you’re okay, I won’t drive over and take you in.” I hear the guys yelling for him in the background and know I should let him go.
“I promise, it’s only stress. Go do what you need with the lights. If I haven’t said it yet, I love you, Bentley Sullivan.” The boyish grin I love so much appears and the little butterflies he gives me take over any nausea I may have had. “You are making all of my childhood dreams come true. I can never thank you for making our day so absolutely perfect.”
“I love you too, Piper. The day hasn’t happened. I could still blow a circuit and the lights not work.” He’s teasing, but I know the reality is, it’s a real possibility. We both laugh and agree maybe his dad should have the backup generator ready just in case.
“I’m going to go and help Minnie and Ash. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I stand from my perch on the very uncomfortable toilet seat as I prepare to say goodbye, but Ben stops me.
“Hey, Pipe?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for making me the luckiest man in the world. You are my dream come true, and I’m grateful you choose me to share your life with.”
“Oh, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” Minnie sighs from the doorway.
“And the corniest. Say goodbye brother, dear.”
I’m no longer alone in my conversation when both Minnie and Ashton appear.
“I guess that’s goodnight, Piper. Sleep well ladies, tomorrow we party!” Ben shouts and winks at the screen before it goes black.
I look at my blank screen and wish we’d said no to tradition, and I was at home with Ben. Still looking at the screen, I ask, “Why do we have to sleep apart anyway? That makes no sense. We’ve been sleeping side by side for months, why should one night matter?”
“Because, sister-to-be, it’s how it’s done,” Ashton responds, pulling my attention from my phone to her, but I don’t reply. I can’t.
Ashton is standing before me looking like a modern and sassy version of Medusa. Pieces of fabric are tied all through her hair, which make them look like little serpents. My face must give away the amusement because Ashton places one hand on her hip as she pops it out and her other hand is flipping me the middle finger.
“Do not make fun of me, Piper. You may be the bride and my best friend but I will kick your ass. Just you wait, my hair is going to be awesome tomorrow and everyone will be jealous.”
“Uh, Ashton, you know we’re wearing our hair in low loose fitted buns, right?” Minnie seems equally baffled by this hair situation.
“Yeah, I don’t think we discussed you going off the rails with hair. What kind of bridezilla would I be if I didn’t demand uniformity?” I laugh but Ashton doesn’t. Minnie looks at me quizzically, and I shrug in response.
“What’s next, Ashton? A different dress? Are you planning on showing up in white to show up the bride?” I tease because she’d never do anything remotely close to that. But then I see the tears and realize we may have taken our jabs a little too far.
“Oh, Ash, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Minnie looks absolutely horrified at the idea of making Ashton cry.
Reaching over to the toilet paper, I unroll a handful and thrust it toward Ashton. Once she’s blown her nose and let out a few huge sobs, she composes herself and looks at me.
“Sorry. I think I’m more stressed about this weekend than I thought. I know the hair is dumb, but I wanted to look pretty on your special day. I love you guys so much. Oh my God! Why am I crying again? It won’t stop. This is the worst period ever. If it would just start. Poor J, he’s been on pins and needles for weeks.”
“Oh hush, you wear your hair however you want, both of you. I don’t want this being a thing. I want you comfortable and happy. And, lucky me, I’m going to start too,” I sigh. “Poor Ben. This honeymoon is going to be less sexy and more about cramps and chocolate. How about you, Min? Are we synced up?”
“Probably, that would explain these big things,” she says pointing to her chest and we nod in agreement. We’re all a mess.
By midnight, we’re exhausted and I have no doubt I’ll fall asleep quickly. Minnie bid us goodnight and headed into the spare room. A few months ago, that was Ashton’s room, but it has now been returned to a guest room and Jameson’s niece’s home away from home. Hope is also our flower girl tomorrow. She’s feisty and, essentially, a small version of Ashton. We all love her.
I’m going to sleep with Ashton in her bed. This reminds me of when we were growing up and I spent most weekends at her house. We’d lie in our sleeping bags and tell stories about boys we liked and all the cool clothes we’d eventually buy when we were making our money. As models, obviously. I never told Ashton the boy I crushed on the most was her brother. She says she never knew, but I know that too is a lie. She knew. How could she not? I mean, I practiced signing my name as “Mrs. Bentley Sullivan” daily until high school. Then, I watched from afar as he became the most popular boy in school, dating the most popular girl.
The night he blew back into town and turned my world upside down with a single kiss, I knew my life would never be the same again.