Chapter 25
The day of the wedding dawned bright and clear, and Rosalie was doing her best to keep her nerves and jitters under control. Vanessa had barged in first thing in the morning with a little tray of breakfast, saying that this was their last day together as single women. It had cheered her up that Vanessa cared so much, but the fact that she was going to change her life drastically today sobered her. The wedding was in three hours, and as far as Vanessa was concerned, that wasn’t enough time.
“Come on out into the living room and don’t freak out, ok?” That made her heart start pounding, and Rosalie got a little nervous. She got up and dressed in a zip up hoodie and some sweatpants, making sure she was comfortable until she put her dress on, and went into the living room. Blaze stood behind the couch, a wide assortment of hair accessories and tools spread out on the coffee table. The look on her face could have curdled milk, but the fact that she was there had to mean something.
“Get over here and sit down, I don’t have all day.” The bossy tone in her voice was just to hide the pain of losing the man she fancied herself in love with, but Rosalie couldn’t spare much time to think about that.
“Thank you for coming to do my hair. I really appreciate it.” Rosalie’s attempt at civility was met with a grunt as Blaze pushed hard on her shoulders to get her to sit down. Rosalie obeyed and sat in silence while Blaze went to work. Vanessa was bustling around, making sure that they had everything for when they went over to the church. Both Rosalie’s and Vanessa’s dresses were hanging in bags from the top of the door so they wouldn’t drag on the ground. There was a duffle bag with the folded veil and both of their shoes, plus an assortment of things to use to fix minor problems that Vanessa had lovingly dubbed the ‘oh shit kit’. Blaze was yanking and pulling on her hair, but Rosalie understood that she was trying to work with a sense of purpose, but she could understand and appreciate that. It took forty-five minutes to get done, and Vanessa was bundling her up and shoving her out the door as quickly as possible. Rosalie thanked her as she was pushed out, then went to the little mirror on the back of her bedroom door. Her mouth fell open. Blaze had combed and curled all of her hair, leaving it in cascades of shining waves. It looked so beautiful. She’d even pulled a few strands together around the crown of her head, leaving it painfully obvious as to where the headband and veil should go. She teared up a little, but Vanessa rushed her out the door before she could really break down.
The whole trip to the church, Vanessa was cussing up a storm at anyone who got in the way. Rosalie couldn’t help it, she giggled. She was caught up in a fit of giggles, and nothing she did could make her stop. When they arrived, Vanessa put the dresses in the women’s powder room, then the two of them went out the back door to check on everything. Chairs had been brought outside, the flowers made the aisle, and a beautiful archway was covered in them to the point that it looked like it had grown there naturally, completely made of flowers. Everything looked perfect. She went outside to check on the cake and the food, and saw the pavilion that they had erected for the reception. It was beautifully set up, the food was set to be coming out of the hot racks as soon as the wedding let out, and everything looked great. Now it was just time for them to get changed and do the ceremony. Rosalie suddenly found her feet not able to move. Vanessa had to grab her arm and pull her back into the church, none too gently. In the powder room, Eric’s sister was waiting for them, and so was her mother. What caught Rosalie off guard, was that her own mom was in there, tears flowing down her cheeks
“Mom!” Rosalie ran to her, and the two embraced. They spent about a half hour talking, before both of the other two girls pulled Rosalie away to get changed. They were ready, and all they needed was the bride. Rosalie got changed, everyone made sure they were perfect, and then Eric’s mom came to talk to her.
“Rosalie.” Everyone in the dressing room froze, because they all knew the tension between the two. “I want to thank you for coming to talk to me that day. If I had missed this because of my stubborn attitude, then I would have ruined the day for the both of you. I’m sorry. Maybe we can work on getting closer. What do you say?” Rosalie had tears in her eyes, and she had to dab a tissue at them to make sure she didn’t ruin her makeup.
“I’d like that very much. I’m sure he would, too.” She strode forward, taking a chance, and opened her arms. The other woman hesitated for a moment, then went into them.
“I’m glad that you two are making up, but the wedding march is starting! We’ve got to go!” Rosalie cleaned her face one last time and walked out to find her father waiting for her. He took her arm and they turned to face the door. They were opened by ushers, and everyone surged to their feet as they started to walk down the aisle. Rosalie’s eyes were fixed on Eric, waiting for her at the end. He was to take her the las few feet to the outdoor trellis, covered in flowers, while everyone followed behind. Her father handed her off to Eric, and she dared to look up into his eyes. As the outdoor sunlight hit them, they gleamed and sparkled at her in a way that she’d never seen before. It melted her heart. All around her, she could hear people coming out of the church and finding their seats, ready for the actual ceremony to start.
To Rosalie, no one else existed. The words she’d memorized were said at the right time, but the ceremony went by in a blur. The reception had started before she could even think of how, and now she had a ring on her finger, Eric was sitting next to her, and the food was being served. She focused on her eating, then did her part for the first dance. She couldn’t help it, but she felt like she was having an out of body experience. Part of her enjoyed herself, but another part of her still couldn’t believe that it was happening. Ever since she’d looked into Eric’s eyes, she’d been floating along, outside of her body, in the ethereal space between worlds that existed between the specks of green in his blue eyes. Toasts started, and she managed to smile as they were given wishes for long and happy lives together. It was all over before she realized it was, and Eric had her tucked in under his shoulder, waving goodbye to all of the guests.
“Well, I have a surprise for my beautiful wife, and I hope that you’ll like it.” Those words brought her back to her senses. It was over, and now they were husband and wife. It snapped her back to reality in a way nothing about the ceremony or reception had.
“You do? Can’t we just go to a hotel and sleep?” Eric shook his head and laughed, helping her into the passenger side of his car.
“Now why would I want to spend my wedding night with my amazing new wife in some flea bitten motel?” She wanted to ask where else they would go, because she didn’t really feel comfortable having their wedding night in his parents’ house, but she decided to trust him and let him do what he had intended on doing. He drove for a little while, then pulled up in front of a house. The lights were on, and it looked like someone lived there already. She bit her lip, not really looking forward to seeing anyone else tonight. “Come on, baby.” He opened the door for her and took her little overnight bag for her. She grabbed her dress and started to walk, but he came up behind her and scooped her up into his arms. She squealed with delight, grabbing on to his neck and hugging him close. He opened the door and she looked over her shoulder. Her mouth gaped open.
The house was empty. There were no people, and more importantly, no furniture. He kicked the door closed behind them, and turned down a hallway. She saw that the door at the end was open, and when she looked into the room, she saw that there was an air mattress laid out, with rose petals all over it and the floor. Candles were lit and placed around the air mattress, which was fully made up to look like a bed, and she smiled. It was adorable that he had done this for them.
“I love it! It’s so cute that you did this for us.” He set her down and handed her the bag she’d brought. She took it and immediately ducked into the bathroom that was just off the corner of the room.
“I’m glad you do. How do you feel about the house?” She was taking off the wedding dress and putting it back in its protective covering when his voice floated through the door.
“It’s a beautiful house, just a little bare,” she joked.
“Well, we can change that. This is our house now, and you can shop and get whatever furniture you want for it.” She dropped the bag. She was changing into the red lingerie that Vanessa had made her buy, and she felt self-conscious about it. She opened the door a crack, just enough to let her face peek out.
“What do you mean? This is really our house? We can shop for furniture together?” Eric grinned at her, already in his pajama pants and t-shirt. He looked so comfortable, and not like he was expecting anything from her but sleep. That gave her the confidence in herself that she needed.
“Yup. We can go tomorrow if you want.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but that was when Rosalie opened the door all the way and walked out in the little lacy nightie. His mouth hung open and she found that she loved that he looked at her in that way. “Wow. Maybe like late afternoon tomorrow.” She giggled at his implications and walked over to the air mattress. He pulled the blanket back for her to crawl in, then propped himself up on one arm while she lay down. He looked her over, and there was such love in his eyes that it made a lot of her fear dissipate. “You look so beautiful.” She leaned up and kissed him, pulling his head down with her as she lay back down. His hand went to her cheek, and he softly started to slide it down her neck.
“I love you, Eric. I want to give you everything you’ve always dreamed of and more. I’m going to spend the rest of my life, doing everything I can to make you happy.”
“I love you, too, Rosalie, and I’m going to make sure that I deserve your love, and show you just how important you are to me, each and every day from now on until forever.” He slid his hand lower and she didn’t stop him. That told him she was finally ready. “I’ll be as gentle as I can.”
“That’s all I can ask.”