All I know is that this week is going to be hell. The wedding is Sunday, giving us only seven days to be all prepared. I guess I feel bad because everyone is doing everything and I’m not even helping. Like tonight, my mother, soon-to-be mother-in-law, soon-to-be sisters-in-laws, and my brothers’ wives are all working on decorations.
Sadly, the wedding is very small only about one hundred and fifty are expected to show. The way the wedding is planned is not what I wanted. I’ve always wanted to be married in the summer, in a rose garden, with tons of people there, it’s completely opposite of what’s going to happen.
Thankfully, tonight I get to go to a party and relax. A friend of mine is throwing his fiancée a birthday party. I’ve never met her, but I’m sure she’s nice.
I got off the bed and brushed my hair. I put on a pair of jeans and a gold spaghetti strap shirt. I walked downstairs and got something to eat and watched some tv until it was time to go.
*********************************************
“Chris, come on. Get out of bed, they are going to be people here, maybe you could meet someone,” Chrissy said to her cousin, trying to persuade him to get out of bed.
“Why?” he questioned, “it’s my fault she left. No one else would like me, how would they put up with me?”
“Come on Chris, just get dressed and come down stairs. Please, I’m begging you.”
“Fine,” he mumbled.
“Good,” she said and gave him a hug; “I’ll be waiting. If you’re not down there in fifteen minutes, I’m coming after you.”
“Okay,” he said with a laugh.
*******************************************
“Jenny Jen!” yelled my friend Joey, calling me my nickname from our New Kids On The Block days.
“Hey Joey Joe,” I said smiling as he gave me a hug.
“Long time, no see girlfriend,” he said, “you look great.”
“Thanks, so do you.”
“Congrats on getting engaged, I’m coming to the wedding,” he said with a smile.
“That’s cool. I’m coming to yours when you set the date,” I said with a laugh.
“Ha ha, so funny,” he said with a silly grin.
“I know, I’m just so funny aren’t I?” I said sarcastically.
“Hilarious.”
I smiled at him as I walked near the kitchen.
“You must be Jen,” someone said behind.
“Yes I am. Who are you?”
“I’m Chrissy, Joey’s fiancée.”
“Oh hi, he’s told me so much about you.”
“Likewise.”
“Happy birthday.”
“Thank you.”
After that, the conversation kind of died, so I walked into the kitchen and got a wine cooler. I sat down on the couch in the living room, next to some guy who turned out to very quite interesting.
“Hey Jen,” Joey called as he stood in the doorway.
“Yes?”
“Phones for you. You can take it in the office,” he said.
I stood up and walked out into the hallway.
“Last door on the left,” he said, as if reading my mind.
“Thanks,” I said as I ventured down the hall.
I opened the door and walked in. I turned on the lights and picked up the phone, “Hello?”
“Hey baby, I miss you,” Austin said.
“But I haven’t been gone that long.”
“I know, but its lonely without you by my side,” he whined.
“Actually, I’m kinda of enjoying being here by myself,” I said jokingly.
“Uh, I’m crushed.”
“I’m just kidding, I miss you too.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later. I just wanted to tell you that I was thinking of you.”
“That was very thoughtful Austin, you just earned some more brownie points.”
“That’s all?” he asked.
“And a kiss when I get home.”
“That sounds better. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said.
“Bye.”
“Bye,” I said as I hung up the phone. I reached out to open the door when I noticed someone out of the corner of my eye. I turned around slowly until I painfully became aware of who was there. “Chris? What are you doing here?” I asked as I looked at him.
When he failed to respond, I walked closer and it appeared that he was in some sort of trance. “Chris,” I said, “are you okay?” He seemed truly broken in a sense, didn’t look like the Chris I used to know. He had six empty beer bottles scattered around him as he sat on the floor, knees bent slightly. I pushed some bottles aside and sat down next to him.
He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and stress, and stumble from days of not shaving. He once had a spark in his eyes that was replaced with a look of sorrow. I cautiously set my hand on his knee, unsure of how he would react.
“She left me,” he whispered.
“Oh,” I said, immediately knowing what he was talking about, “that must be tough, loosing someone you love.”
“Yeah,” he agreed.
“When did this happen?”
“A week ago.”
Silence then hit the room; it seemed like hours passed before he spoke again, “Congratulations on getting engaged.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you love him?”
“Not as much as I would like to or hoped to.”
“Then why are you marrying him?”
“I don’t know. It’s just that everyone wants me to marry him. I mean, my parents already have my whole wedding planned and I’m getting married this Sunday.”
“Where?”
“St. John’s Church on Third Street.”
“Don’t you think that they’re rushing it?”
“Yeah, I don’t even know if I want to marry Austin. I did a few years ago, but we’ve so different now, its sickening. I can’t even tell him about my problems because he doesn’t want to hear them.”
“Then just call off the wedding.”
“I can’t, I’ll disappoint everyone again. For the first time in my live, no one thinks that I’m a screw up.”
“I do,” he said as his eyes darted across the room.
“Why do you say that?”
“You say do don’t want to marry him, but you are. Your just screwing up you life, that’s all. Your marriage is going to be doomed from the beginning with all this negativity.”
“Too bad you don’t use your own advise,” I said, not even realizing I said it until moments later, “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
“No, I deserved that.”
“No you didn’t, I’m sorry. You were just telling me the truth, I shouldn't have...”
“And so were you,” he said, cutting me off.
“I still shouldn’t have said it.”
“Jen, do you wanna get out of here?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Sure,” I said and stood up. We walked out of the room and as we were nearing the front door, Chrissy said, “See Chris, I told you that you’d find a woman.”
“Shut up Chrissy,” he said as we were heading out the door. We walked in silence for a few minutes until a light rain began to pour. “Jen, thank you,” he said.
“For what?”
“For being nice to me, for caring. You didn’t have to and if I were you, I wouldn’t have.”
“It’s called having a heart. I’m sure that you have one...somewhere, deep down inside.”
“I deserved that too,” he said. He then grabbed my arm, pulling me to him, “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. There are a lot of things that I’ve done that were uncalled for and just plain stupid. Do you forgive me?”
“I’m not sure if I can Chris,” I said as his lips neared mine, softly pressing against mine in a nice, sweet motion. I could feel different emotions running through my veins. Some feelings that I’ve managed to keep bottled up have just been released in this short kiss.
“I am truly sorry,” he said after we broke apart, leaving me with this wanting of more.
I smiled a little, but mostly taken back by his actions. What did it all mean?
Chapter Seven
Chapter Five
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