"Because the bride is crying!"
The laughter left the room like a cold breeze. Janice had a way of doing that.
Geoff brushed his hair. "She's your sister, Jan..."
"And she's your wife-to-be, Geoff!" Janice was close to crying, luckily she wasn't wearing makeup yet, she knew herself well. "Don't you care?"
Geoff sighed. "Enough to know when I'm not needed. Plus, it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding." That got some chuckles out of the groomsmen, but not much. Most sensed the vibes were not vibing right now.
The tears came. "I knew you were not right for her!" Janice slammed the door on her way out.
"Woah, dude." Tom, the best man, exhaled. "That was cold..."
"No, it wasn't Tommy." Geoff rolled his eyes. "Annie is fine. Janice is just overreacting."
"You sure? Cause that seemed pretty real... maybe you should check on her?" Tom prodded.
Geoff knew for a fact that nothing was wrong with Annie. She was stronger than any person he knew, including himself. He knew his girl. He knew she would want to handle this by herself. But... Janice was pretty convincing...
"Fine. I'll go." Geoff said. "You boys alright here without me?" A cheer erupted. "Don't drink all the booze, eh?" A jeer followed. Geoff left the salon where they were seated.
Janice was known for her outbursts. And the wedding jitters were getting to everyone. Annie might be mad, but it was Geoff's duty to check in on her at least... Regardless, this didn't feel right.
The wedding was taking place in the wedding house of Annie's dreams. Multiple salons all connected by hallways made of glass. Geoff just passed the main room where the coronation would take place - it was nearly packed. He masterfully dodged through the onlookers as he made his way to the bride's wing of the wedding house. Conveniently, on the other side of the groom's.
Janice stood in front of Annie's room. "Ha! So you came!"
"So I did." Geoff shrugged. "You really don't know your sister, eh?"
Janice looked ready to slap him, which was par for the course at this point. "You got some nerve, I -"
Annie's room opened, revealing Martia, their mother. "Geoff! What are you doing here?" She asked as she stepped out.
"Your daughter, Mother, insisted I calm down the other."
Maria turned to Janice. "What's wrong?"
"Not with me, Mother! I called him to talk to Annie?" Janice said red-faced.
Martia just shrugged and left without another word. She had better things to do than deal with young people's drama. Like downing her tenth margarita of the evening, for instance.
"Well?" Janice asked with a raised eyebrow.
Geoff exhaled deeply and entered the salon. The love of his life was on the other side, resplendent in her wedding dress, alone and crying. She didn't notice Geoff until he sat beside her.
"Honey! Why are you here?" Annie hurriedly blew her nose.
Geoff shrugged, an uneasy smile on his face. "Janice demanded I come and see you. I refused. But then she said I wasn't right for you all along. Or something like that."
"Hmn." Annie blew her nose again, giggling in-between blows. "That sister of mine..."
"You're not mad at me?" Geoff asked gingerly.
"Why would I be mad? Oh. No, no. I handled everything, of course. It's just... the stress of the day, you know?" Geoff nodded, holding her hand. "In other circumstances, yes. I might've chewed your head off. But.. I'm glad you came this time..."
Annie blushed and the world evaporated around her. How was she so beautiful? How was Geoff so lucky to have found her? He smiled and she smiled back.
"You wanna get out of here?" Geodd asked.
Annie cackled. "Honey!" She looked around conspiratorially. "And go where?"
He shrugged. "The amusement park?" Annie grinned, her tears long forgotten. Except for one that was clinging for its dear life on her eyelash, Geoff removed it with a finger. "You sure you're ok?"
She gave him the 'how dare you ask me that' look, but then squeezed his hand. "You know I'm a crybaby, love." She smiled a genuine, heartwarming smile. "This is the happiest day of my life. What could go wrong?"
"So the stuff Janice said..."
"Oh! Those skanks really tried to steal my purse in the reception hall! And then they had the nerve to deny it. I told them flat out that I -"
Annie proceeded to transcribe the events of the evening and Geoff listened with awe at his wife's ingenuity and perseverance. He loved just sitting and listening to her. When she was done he kissed her hand.
"You are amazing."
"Hmn! I know." She said, batting her eyelashes. "Thanks for coming, baby."
"Janice in the end was right to call me?"
"Yeah... thanks for resisting her though..." Annie shrugged. "She can be a lot I know."
"But she loves you nearly as much as I do, I know."
"You are very obsessive, so yes!" They laughed. "So, amusement park?"
"I mean. Do you know how much this place costs? After the coronation we can go."
"Hmn! I knew you'd chicken out."
Geoff realized that she would really run away from her own wedding to spend a special night with him. But Geoff also knew that that was not what she really wanted. But...
"If we go..." He started.
"Babyyy! I was joking! Come on, don't you wanna marry me?"
Geoff nodded. "I do."
This is my Entry for the a picture a thousand words contest in the Freewriters community.
I hope you enjoyed it. Peace and love.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day! ❤️
Title image by Nathan Dumlao
Follow me on my blog:
atyourservice
