Saved (48 page)

We both laughed as I hugged her tighter. She
pulled away and gave me a smile that melted my heart.

I turned back to the window and saw Jenny
talking to Jeff. He looked up at me. We both waved at each other,
and my heart started pounding. I put my hands to my stomach and
closed my eyes.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been standing at
the window. When I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned around only
to have my mother take me into her arms as she hugged the living
shit out of me.

“Oh my goodness, my baby girl is getting
married. I just can’t believe it, Arianna. It seems like it was
just yesterday when you were ten years old, and you came back from
your first bike ride in the new neighborhood. You walked into the
kitchen, and your father and I were unpacking dishes, so we could
make dinner. You hopped up on the kitchen counter and made an
announcement that almost had your father heading to the
hospital.”

“I don’t remember this. What did I say?”

“You looked at us both, and as serious as all
get out, you said, ‘I found the boy I’m gonna marry someday. So
Daddy, you better start saving ‘cause I want a big wedding when I
marry Ellie’s brother.’”

Oh my god, I totally
forgotten all about that.
I let out a
laugh. “Mom, I so remember that now! Daddy told me to dream on, and
then he asked what Ellie’s brother’s name was because he was going
to start having him watched.” We both busted out
laughing.

“Mom, Jeff swears that Daddy has someone
following him.”

My mother winked at me, and for one brief
second, I thought it might actually be true.

“Alright, since you wouldn’t put any quotes
from the great Katharine Hepburn in your wedding vows, I’m going to
give you before we go and take a look at everything.”

“Mom, really, you’ve been told this obsession
with KH is not healthy right? I mean, I’ve told you, and I know
Daddy has. And our marathon Katharine Hepburn movie night last
night…was that really necessary? I’ve never seen Heather fall
asleep so fast in my life.”

“Psssh, that girl is exhausted from too much
school. At any rate, do you want to hear the quote or not?”

“Fine, I’m sure I’ve heard it before
though.”

“Maybe, but you’re going to hear it again.
‘Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get only
with what you are expecting to give which is everything.’ Always
love each other with everything you’ve got, Arianna. And never,
ever, go to bed mad because I swear you wake up even more pissed
off than you were when you went to sleep.”

“Mom, that is beautiful…the quote, I mean. I
already know about the whole going-to-bed mad and don’t worry. Jeff
and I have great make-up se...”

“Oh, for the love of all things good in this
world, child, stop your mouth right there!”

***

I was in total awe as Ells, Heather, Amanda
and I walked around the courtyard. The decorations were kept very
simple out here. White chairs were all I wanted. Each row had a
simple silver bow tied onto the end chair. Beautiful branch trees
that Jeff, Josh, Brad, and Gunner spray-painted with white glitter
paint were placed in buckets and covered up with decorative snow.
Somehow, Jenny had placed lights at the base of the trees, and the
way the lights shined through the trees were breath-taking. The
arbor was simply covered in white lights, and it looked amazing. I
smiled, thinking about how I would be under that thing in just a
few hours.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“We have an hour and a half. Let’s keep
moving,” Jenny said.

When we made our way into the ballroom, I let
out a gasp.

“Holy hell Jen. It’s…it’s...”

“Magical!” Heather, Amanda, and Ellie all
said at once.

I turned, looking at them all, and
smiled.

“Oh. My. God. That’s what I was going to
say!” I said as I jumped up and down.

Ellie gave me a wink as she walked farther
in. I saw the center piece decorations and smiled. The square glass
candle holders were perfect. We had filled them up with fake snow
and placed small branches in them. Cotton branches with the cotton
still on the branch surrounded each center piece, and I absolutely
loved that Josh had come up with the idea to place them on the
tables. His uncle had a cotton farm, and he’d sent us a ton of them
to use. The glowing votive candles that were lit added just the
right touch. It was perfect.

My mother had insisted we use glass china.
The white plates with the sliver-edged lining looked stunning on
the table. I was so glad that I let her win that battle. The silver
napkins even looked amazing.

The tables had white linen on them, but a
beautiful silver lace fabric that Ellie had picked out was laid
over it. The chairs were all covered in white fabric with silver
sashes tied on them, and all I could think about was how long it
would take before some drunken idiot spilled something on them.

The wedding party table was unreal. They had
placed bigger birch trees in the middle and surrounded the base
with white roses and stargazers. I could smell the flowers. I
looked up and saw clear ornaments hanging from the trees. They were
catching all the light from the candles and chandeliers.

“I can’t believe how incredibly beautiful
this all looks, y’all. I’m beyond words right now,” I said as I
started to feel the tears well up in my eyes.

“Don’t cry, we’ll have to touch up your
makeup even more,” Amanda said as she took my hand and led me over
to the dance floor.

Gunner’s dad was talking to the DJ as he
handed him a list. I’d left all that up to Jeff. I didn’t care what
we had as far as music went. My dad had wanted a band, and Jeff had
wanted a DJ. I saw that Jeff won that fight.

Then, I saw the table with the cakes. I
smiled when I saw Jeff’s cake. It was a chocolate cake with a Ford
truck on it. As I got closer, I really started laughing. I looked
at Ellie, who was frowning.

“Are you kidding me? You let him put that on
his cake?” Ellie said as she placed her hands on her hips.

Amanda and Heather busted out laughing.

“I did, Ellie, it’s his cake. He wanted a
truck on it with the words ‘Truck Yeah.’ Who am I to say no?” I
said while trying to hold back my laughter.

Ellie turned to face at me. “You’re all
crazy. I hope you know that.”

I gave her a wink and walked over to the
bride’s cake. It was breath-taking. It was a four- tiered white
cake with silver accents along the edge and a few crystal
snowflakes carefully placed around it. I loved it.

“Ari, are you happy with everything?” Jen
asked as she put her arm around me.

“Oh my gosh, Jen, I’m beyond happy. You’ve
really outdone yourself this time. I mean, this is like a
fairy-tale wedding.”

“Good,” Jen said, smiling.

I turned around to see my dad leaning up
against the wall. I smiled at how handsome he looked and how happy
he seemed to be.

“Oh, Daddy.” I ran into his arms and held him
tight. “You’ve made all my dreams come true with this wedding. It
must have cost you a small fortune!”

“You, my baby girl, are worth every single
dime. After all, you gave me a pretty good advanced notice when you
announced your marriage to your mother and me at age ten.”

I let out a giggle. “Mom brought that up to
me a little bit ago.”

“He’s a good man, Ari, and he loves you very
much.”

Oh shit.
I was going to cry. I was so going to
cry.

“Daddy….”

As my voice cracked, he held out his arms. I
walked into his arms, and he held me so tight.

“Always know this, Arianna.
No man will
ever
love you like I love you. He will never worry about you like
I’ll worry about you. He will never be able to hurt anyone who
hurts you like I will.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “Thank you,
Daddy. Thank you so much for everything. I know you like Jeff,
Daddy. So why do you give him such a hard time?”

“The same reason why he’ll do it to some poor
sap when he wants to marry your daughter.”

“Fair enough, but can I ask you
something?”

“Anything.”

“You’ve never had Jeff followed, have
you?”

Daddy gave me his Cheshire Cat smile, winked
at me, and then turned, walking away.

Oh shit.

“Ari, we really need to get you back
up-stairs, so you can get ready.” Jenny said.

She practically pulled me away from my stance
as I watched my father retreating and laughing.

***

Missy, who was Jenny’s new makeup girl,
touched up my makeup. She was a quiet little thing. I guessed my
threat of any pink anywhere on my face might have scared her just a
bit.

Ellie curled a few strands of hair that had
lost their curl and then sprayed the shit out of them with hair
spray.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, can you please
stop, Ellie? I seem to remember you bitching about the hair spray
on your wedding day.”

“That is true. I was upset about it, but hey,
my hair looked beautiful all night, even after my passionate love
making on my wedding night.”

I turned and looked at her. “Really? You had
to go there? I’d be more than happy to tell you about the night
before last with your big brother in the living room of the
cottage, then in the hallway, then in the shower.”

Ellie held up her hands to ears and started
to stomp her feet. “Stop! Okay, I’m sorry….eww….don’t talk about
Jefferson that way. I think I just threw up in my mouth some, you
bitch.”

“Ari, it’s time to put on your dress,”
Heather said as she stood next to my wedding gown.

I took off the robe I was wearing and looked
in the mirror. I was wearing a beautiful vintage silver corset that
Ellie and Heather had bought for me. The matching garter belt was a
gift from Amanda.

I sat down in the chair, and Ellie helped me
put on the blue garter that my mother had worn wore in her wedding
from her mother that had worn it in hers.

Then I slipped on the silver Manolo Blahnik
shoes my mother had insisted I buy.

Finally, I looked in the mirror and smiled.
Jeff was going to faint when he saw me in this.

Ellie bumped my shoulder.

“I don’t even want to know what you’re
thinking about right now.”

I let out a laugh. “No, you don’t.

“Ugh, gesh, Ari.” Ellie rolled her eyes.

When we walked over to the wedding dress, I
stopped and stared at it. It was intoxicating, and I knew Jeff was
going to love it. Designed by Matthew Christopher, it was a
strapless A-line dress with a sweetheart neckline and fitted corset
that descended into a flared, full chapel-length train. Two
different kinds of lace were appliquéd over the silk shantung.

“Are you ready, Ari?” Jenny asked.

As she took down the dress, Ellie grabbed my
hands and turned me toward her.

“You’re beautiful, and by far, you are the
strongest person I know. You’re the only person I can say ‘fuck
you’ to, and you laugh. You’ve got this, baby.”

I smiled at her as I nodded my head.

After listening to all four of them yell at
each other for two long-ass minutes about watching out for my hair
and makeup, the dress was finally on.

I turned and looked into the
mirror as Ellie and Heather put on my veil.
Oh my god, I was getting married.

“Do you think the baby will ask about us
getting married after I got pregnant?”

Ellie looked at me. “Umm, that’s random as
hell, Ari, but no. Even if she does, it doesn’t matter. Y’all loved
each other when she was made.”

I turned to face Ellie. “She?”

“Or he. It doesn’t matter as long as she is
healthy,” Ellie said with a smile.

I turned around and looked
at my three best friends. They were all so beautiful. Amanda had
her spit-and-fire attitude and that red hair of hers. Sweet
Heather, was blessed with her caring heart and soul, beautiful
blonde hair and blue eyes, and those boobs.
Lucky bitch.
Then there was Ellie….my
soul sister…my other half. With her beautiful blue eyes and brown
hair, she was just breath-taking.

They were each dressed in a fitted strapless
silver taffeta dress that flared just at the bottom. The beading on
the bodice was amazing, and I loved the corset back. The light from
all the candles would reflect off their dresses, and I knew it was
going to be so damn pretty.

We all just stared at each other.

My mother had brought Matt in to see me
before the wedding.

“Ari, you are most beautiful!” Matt said as
he smiled up at me.

“I love you, buddy.”

Then, I heard a knock on the door. Jenny
opened it and then slammed it shut.

“Holy fuck!”

I turned around to see she was white as a
ghost.

“What? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Holy fuck!”

We all turned and looked at
Matt.
Oh great, at least he won’t be
saying assmole anymore.

“I wanna be a mudder-fucking cowboy, just
like in Jeff’s song.”

I had to grab onto the wall, or I would have
went straight to the floor.

“I’m going to kill Jefferson for listening to
that song around him,” Ellie said.

She walked up to the door and opened it.

Then, she immediately slammed it shut.

“Oh, um…shit.”

“Would someone please tell me why y’all keep
slamming the door shut?” I asked.

“It’s Jeff,” Ellie and Jenny said at the same
time.

“Wait... what?”

Ellie said, “I’ll see what he wants. Everyone
just needs to keep getting ready. Jen, the flowers?”

Jenny seemed shocked as hell and out of it
for a good minute or so. “Yes…right the flowers.”

I watched as Ellie opened the door and went
out into the hall. I just stared at the door.