"I did read in your message that your fiancé is leaving the country later today. I know not everything can be organized in one afternoon, but I'm able to come out there now, and we can at least get started while he is still here.”
"That would be amazing. I am so glad you will get to meet him. That helps put my mind at ease.”
“Fantastic, I’ll see you in an hour?"
"Yes. Thank you so much, Cynthia."
The second I hang up the phone, I begin to panic. “We need to pick a date before she arrives,” I tell Tristan.
As soon as the date is set, there's a knock at the door. The moment my eyes land on her, I know we are going to get along just fine.
Cynthia has shortish, platinum-blonde hair that is spiked and moving in all different directions, but it looks amazing on her. She’s wearing bulky, silver chains around her neck, black cuffs, and she looks as if she goes to the gym regularly.
“Hello, you must be Cynthia.” I shake her hand as she enters the house.
"Yes, I am.” Her smile is wide and infectious.
“Can I help you carry anything?” I ask. She has a bundle of paperwork in her arms, and a large bag at her feet.
Before she has a chance to respond, I lean down, pick up the heavy bag, and carry it over to the dining table for her.
“Thank you.” She takes a seat at the table.
Tristan comes walking into the room, and over to where Cynthia is seated. “Hi. I’m, Tristan. It’s nice to meet you.” They shake hands.
Cynthia still has her grip on him as she turns to face me. “Oh, you are one lucky lady. I would kill to have a partner with an accent,” she swoons, and Tristan laughs. “Oh, even his laugh is sexy. Hold on tight to this one.” She’s looking at me, but her free hand is directed at Tristan.
The sides of my mouth rise with amusement. “You don’t have to tell me. I’ll be spending the rest of my life fighting off the dirty skanks that are going to continuously throw themselves at my husband,” I snort-laugh, which only makes everyone laugh harder.
When the laughter dies down, we take our seats at the table. As soon as she looks semi-organized, I hand her the notepad which has the date we have chosen and the color scheme.
“Fantastic. We'll need to have a few key things worked out today to ensure that what you want at your wedding, can be there on your wedding day.”
I nod in acceptance. I know that because we have left everything until the last minute, we may have to not have a handful of things at our wedding due to our lack of organization, but I’ve made a promise to myself that no matter what happens, I will not become upset. The only thing that truly matters to me is that my man will be waiting for me at the altar. “We don’t have an exact number of guests as yet, but I did jot down a rough idea on the notepad I just handed you."
“Would you like a coffee?” Tristan offers.
“That would be great. White, two sugars.” Her focus shifts back to me. “Do you know where you'd like to hold the wedding?” she asks.
“We do,” and I go on to tell her how Tristan and I would like to hold the wedding and the reception here on the property. I explained how the house had belonged to my late father and how he wouldn’t have wanted it to be held anywhere else. Cynthia made a promise to us, she said she'd pull every string in the industry to make sure I have the wedding of my dreams.
Tristan places our mugs down in front of us then takes the seat beside me, his arm now draped across my shoulders. “Cynthia,” he says, getting her attention.
She looks up from her planner, “Yes?”
“I’m not normally vocal when it comes to money, I never like to come off as being a snob or a show-off, but the fact is, we’re loaded, and I don’t care if you have to bribe, beg, or steal when it comes to our wedding.” He cups my shoulder and pulls me closer to him. “There isn't a wedding budget. Cassie's had a rough year. Her father passed away a few weeks ago. She had to fight for custody of her sister, and on top of all that, she’s had to uproot from where she grew up and start fresh. If a perfect wedding is what will make her happy, then that is what she will get.” He then leans in and kisses my temple, and my eyes closed.
I love that he wants me to be happy, and if I'm honest, it would be a nice change not having to settle for less than I wish for. Think what you will, but I know deep down in my heart, that this will be my only wedding. Tristan will be the only man I love for the rest of my life.
My head tilts back, and look up, meeting his gaze. “Baby, I appreciate all that you are trying to do for me, and I cannot express how much I love you, for that alone, but I honestly don’t want anything over the top. If I didn’t care so much about having our families here with us, I’d be more than happy to jump on a plane, take you to Vegas, find a cheesy chapel, and have Elvis marry us." Truth.
“I’m up for that. I don’t have any problem with eloping, baby girl.” He's deadly serious.
Reluctantly, I shake my head. It is something I’d love to do, but I can’t do that to his parents. Tristan, until recently, was a man that drank too much and slept with more women than you could count. And because of that, I know Brendan and Karan, would be devastated if we ran off and eloped. “We can’t do it to your mother.” I kiss him, I then turn my attention back to Cynthia. “So, with the information I’ve already given you, do you think we have a chance at pulling off a beautiful wedding in such a short space of time?” I ask, hopeful.
She flashes me a smile that immediately puts me at ease. “So far, I can’t see any problems with getting the things you want for the day. As long as you don’t want to add camels, tigers, and elephants, we may just be able to pull this off.”
I crack up laughing. “No, I don’t have any plans to have a safari at the wedding.”
She looks up at me. “You wouldn’t believe some of the ridiculous things people want at their wedding.” She shakes her head in disbelief.
“There is one request that may not be all that normal,” Tristan says as he takes a sip of his latte with one hand while the other is snaked around my waist.
Her eyes move up over her glasses as she lowers her head so she can see him. “Yes?” she questions with curiosity.
Tristan chuckles at her reaction. “Don’t stress out. I’m not going to ask you to get The Doctor to appear in the Tardis at the ceremony.” That’s when I roll my eyes. Tristan is a closet Syfy fan, something I’ll have to get used to. “Anyway, I would like there to be a bouncy castle on the wedding day. I want somewhere the kids can run off too when the wedding stuff becomes too boring. Oh, and I want them to have a Sunday bar, fairy floss stand, and a hot dog cart.” He then takes another sip of his coffee.
I turn my attention back to Cynthia. I love the idea of having a section for children, and from the smile on her face, I can tell that she loves it too. “I love it. I remember having to attend boring-ass weddings when I was a child, and by the end of the night, I'd be in so much freaking trouble because my boredom forced me to find interesting thing’s to do.” She laughs.
I chuckle along with her because I know exactly what she means. I went to a friend of my mother’s wedding’s when I was sixteen, and let me tell you, I was prepared to stick a fork in my eye for entertainment purposes. In the end, I, along with my partner in crime, Hamish, ended up getting so drunk, we puked in the playground area outside. I was berated the whole way home by my mother, and I did, however, manage to get myself grounded for two weeks after I snapped back at her with ‘if you weren’t such a man-hating, psycho, bitch, dad would have never left you.’ Over the line? Maybe, but it was worth having to spend the next two weeks doing nothing but read in my bungalow.
For the next two hours, we sat and planned. Cynthia, bless her, took my stress and turned it into hope. Even Courtney joined in and had some fantastic suggestions, but unfortunately, reality soon set in when Tristan had to leave the room so he could pack his belongings. He was going to leave me again shortly, and my heart begins to ache. I try my best to c
ontinue pressing on with the wedding plans, but the fact that he's leaving is all I could think about. I don’t want him to go. Sure, there's a lot, of planning to be done, and maybe I’ll be able to use that as a tool to keep myself occupied, but there's always the nights. Night’s without Tristan are the worst, that’s when I lay back and think about things, things I would never think about during the day because they really are stupid. Thing's like, ‘what if he finds someone else when he is away?’ Daytime me knows that’s ridiculous. However, nighttime me, believes it could happen.
Before long, I hear from above the blades of the chopper that was ordered to take my man away from me. “What is that sound?” Cynthia asks while her eyes frantically search the room.
“That, my dear. Is Tristan’s ride.” I lean in so she can hear me properly. The chopper is becoming louder and louder. “His family has more money than god. Helicopters are the norm for them.” Her eyes are wide, and I nod in return. I remember a time when I'd had that very same expression on my face. “It took me a little while to get used to the ways of the filthy rich.” I think she's now realized how much money Tristan has.
I turn when I hear the wheels of a suitcase graze the floor. Tristan stands in the doorway, Courtney is next to him, looking depressed. “I’m going to miss you, Tristan,” she says with a sniff.
He takes her in his arms. “It won’t be for long, sweetheart. I’ll be back annoying the shit out of you soon enough.” She pulls out of the embrace and looks up at him. That's when my heart breaks in two. She’s going to miss him almost as much as I will.
Tristan then places his hands on her shoulders and ducks his face down so he can look her in the eyes. “If you need anything, you call me, okay?” She nods, and I can see she’s now crying.
I stand and make my way over to them, draping my arm over her shoulders, and pull her to me. “It’s okay, Court. It won’t be for long,” I whisper.
Her eyes meet mine. “I know that. It just feels as if everyone we know, is gone. I miss having people around all the time. I love that we’re here.” She waves her hand as if to mean that she loves living at dad’s house. “But I miss human contact. I miss Zoe, and I miss my school friends.” She cries, and my stomach is beginning to churn with guilt.
Fuck, I feel horrible. I was the one that took her away from where she grew up, from all the people she loves. Tears form in the corners of my eyes, and quickly, I try and wipe them away. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper.
Her head snaps around to look at me. “You didn’t do anything except keep me safe. I know that once I start school, things will get better, things will fall into place. I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad. I need to adjust, is all.” She leans in and hugs me again.
Tristan clears his throat, and I turn to face him. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I have to get going.” Those beautiful blue eyes are staring at me apologetically.
I give Court one last squeeze. “I’ll walk you out,” I tell him.
He says goodbye to Cynthia before taking my hand in his and leading me outside to where a pilot is waiting. He takes Tristan’s bags and turns back, walking toward the helicopter.
My eyes are on Tristan’s, I’m desperately trying not to cry, but fuck, it’s so hard. He cups my face in his hands and presses his lips to mine. When he pulls back, he smiles. “I love you,” he tells me as he rubs the tip of my nose with his.
“I love you, too.” I squeeze my eyes tightly together. I know that if I open them, I'll have to watch him walk away from me.
“Baby girl.” Fuck, he’s going to make me look at him. “Hey, baby girl,” he repeats.
I open my eyes. “What the hell am I going to do without you?” Yep, here go the tears. He can be such an asshole.
He sweeps me up in his arms and holds me close. “It isn’t for long. This will be the last time that we have to be apart. After I’ve finished with Uni, I’m all yours.” He leans in and sweeps his tongue along mine, and as he does, I groan with annoyance. Why the hell would he kiss me like that? He knows it will leave me wet and wanting more.
When he pulls away, I give him a pout. “Are you serious? You can’t kiss me like that and leave!”
I swear to god, the expression on his face tells me he knew exactly what he was doing. “I love you.” He smirks.
“I love you, too. Call me before you hop on the jet.” I lean in and kiss him.
He gives me one last squeeze. “I’ll speak to you soon. Remember." he rests his forehead against mine, our noses touching. “Our life, our love, our forever.” His lips quickly kiss mine before he turns and walks away from me. My tears blur my vision until they fall down my cheeks. I wipe them away as I watch the helicopter lift, taking the love of my life away with it.
I wait until I've dried my tears before returning to the house. I don’t want to upset Courtney further. When I walk inside, I see the pair of them are back to work on the wedding plans. As I approach, they shift their attention to me. “Are you okay?” Courtney asks as she drops her pen on the table.
I know she’ll try to get up and comfort me, so I hold my hand up and smile. “I’m fine. I just hate that he has to leave, but it won’t be for long, so I need to suck it up and get this wedding planned and ready for his return.” I drop into my seat and take a sip of my latte. “So, I know this may not be a normal request, although it still isn’t as out there as having camels, do you think Pizza Hut would do a special, late delivery the night of the wedding if I pay the driver a thousand dollars? I need to have Pizza Hut’s hot dog stuffed crust after a night on the booze,” I ask in all seriousness.
“I have no idea, but I’ll call the one that is closest to the house and do some wheeling and dealing. You’re sure you want to pay a thousand dollars just to have it delivered?” Cynthia asks.
“Yes, because cliché or not, I only ever plan on having one wedding, so it's going to be perfect. Lucky for you, Cynthia, I’m a boring person, in general, and my biggest demand is that I have a shit load of pizza delivered at the end of the night so it can soak up the alcohol.” I shrug and take another sip of my latte.
A couple of hours later, Cynthia seems happy with the progress we’ve made and leaves to return to her office to start the endless phone calls she's going to have to make on my behalf.
Once she had left, I approach Courtney who is now lying on the sofa watching The Big Bang Theory. "Hey, Court,” she looks up at me. “Do you want to head into town and grab some dinner?” I was hoping to get her out of the house. I hadn’t realized how lonely she was. I have to try harder. She deserves that.
She looks exhausted. "Is it okay if we stay in? I feel like shit. I think I’ve got the flu coming on."
“Fine by me.” I shrug. “I’ll go and find us something to eat. We can have a Big Bang marathon, lay back, and do nothing for the rest of the night.” I walk to the cupboard in the corner of the dining/living room, take out a warm blanket, and throw it over her. “Do you need anything?” I ask.
She shakes her head and goes back to watching the television.
It’s the day before our wedding, and there is nothing but utter chaos surrounding me. I keep my cool the best I can, but there is one thing that's bothering me. The fact that my father won’t be walking me down the aisle, is hitting me. Sure, he’d been around to calm me and joke with me, but deep down, I know it's hurting him just as much as it's hurting me.
In the end, I decided that because my father can’t do it, then I wanted his father, my grandfather to walk with me. I called him one night, not long ago, and as soon as I asked him, he began to cry. Because of his age and bad health, granddad was unable to attend my father’s funeral, and for that, I think he feels as if he has to make it up to me somehow.
While in the middle of making my ninth coffee for the day, Tristan comes up behind me and snakes his arms around my waist. “Is there anything you need me to do, baby?” he asks.
I try to ignore how close he is to me. “Nope. Cynthia has everything cov
ered. And if we forget anything, well then fuck it. It couldn’t have been that important.” I shrug. With his hands on my waist, he turns me until I'm facing him.
His eyes are burning into mine. “Fuck, I love your attitude. How the hell did I get so lucky?” His lips crash down onto mine.
When he allows me to come up for air, I respond with, “I’m the lucky one.” And tighten my grip on him. “With everything that's going on around here, so far, I’ve been able to keep my promise to myself.”
He leans in until his nose is pressed to mine. “Oh yeah, what promise did you make?”
Quickly, I kiss him. “I promised that no matter what happens, I will not stress myself out. What will be, will be.” And I mean it. What's the point in spending so much money on one day and then not letting yourself enjoy what you created?
After lunch, I make my way into the local hairdressers to have my hair cut and dyed. I didn’t want to stay with my normal boring, dirty blonde hair for the ceremony, so I opted for a bright red. I’m talking Arlene from True Blood, red. I know what you’re thinking, you're thinking, ‘What kind of an idiot does something so drastic the day before the most important day of her life?’ That person would be the idiot everyone calls Cassie.
After the cut, color, and blow-dry, Heather, my hairdresser, asks if I’m ready to see the finished product. I take a deep breath and look up at her. “I’m ready.” As Heather turns me in the chair, she begins squealing with excitement.
“What do you think? Do you like it? Your face is full of shock and I’m not sure if it’s the good kind of shock or the bad kind of shock,” she asks as she begins to chew her nails.
I’m in shock, but it’s a good kind, and I stare at myself for a moment longer before answering, “I love it!” I squeal with delight.
Heather begins jumping up and down with joy. “Oh god, I was petrified for a second there. I thought I’d fucked up. I’d never have forgiven myself.” I can hear her relief as she takes the smock from around my neck off.
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