Unleash The Island

Chapter 24

It was a sunny day on the island on Lisa and Wayne's big day. The snow melted and the flowers began to reawaken. The leaves were bright green and small buds began to form on the bushes.

The wedding was going to be small and private. Only a few people were invited including Wayne's close family members, coworkers, their sons, and their caretaker, Claire. Lisa's friends were given invitations, but rejected the envelope before even opening it. To no surprise, they were siding with Ed, who did not get invited.

As Lisa got ready for the day she had always wanted, she sat in her dressing room by herself. Her gown was gorgeous and everything she had ever dreamed of. It was sleeveless and lacy with sequins trailing down. Even though she looked like a princess, she did not feel like one. She held her phone out, the one Wayne got her two months ago, trying to hold herself together. There was a lot of mascara on her eyelashes and did not have the time to fix her makeup an hour before she would walk down the aisle. With her thumb, she pressed the contact and the phone rang. It took three rings for them to pick up.

Neither of them spoke, so Lisa did. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Lisa," her mother said in a tone that nearly tore Lisa to shreds.

"I...um...I noticed you and Dad didn't RSVP-"

"We aren't coming," the woman said over the phone. "It's not right, Lisa. This is all against everything I stand for." Lisa fidgeted with the engagement ring on her finger to distract her from getting too emotional. "You have a child with another man. A man that loves you."

There was not a lot holding her back from letting a tear slip. "Mom, please. I don't want to get married without you here." She swiped it away before it left her cheek. "I want Dad to walk me down the aisle, not Wayne's."

Lisa heard her mother sigh and it only made her heart hurt more. "I don't support this, Lisa. I love you, but I can't be there to see you walk down the aisle with the wrong man."

There was a knock at the door and Lisa said, as happily as she could, "One second." Some part of her wanted to run out of there and to get swept in a car. The other part believed she was doing the right thing for her, and Leo. Her mother was waiting on the other line. "Wayne is a great person and I want you to meet him one day." She paused for a moment. "I have to go."

She did not get a response right away. Lisa hoped her mother would have changed her mind at that moment, but she did not. "Then, go, Lisa." Then, she hung up on her daughter and would not have spoken to her ever again after that day.

Lisa held her phone in her lap and felt herself hiccup, tears streaming down. With her still eyes blurry from the second round, she could see the trails of mascara down her face. Rushing herself, she grabbed a makeup wipe and rubbed it all over her face. Her cheeks grew a red, patchy color. With one last glance, her bare face was apparent as if nothing happened. Her eyes were still pink.

There was another knock and Lisa threw the wipe away as she said, "Come in." The door creaked open and a tall figure appeared. He was in his formal outfit, which was dress pants, a white shirt, and leather shoes his father gave him for graduation. "Ed, what are you doing here?"

"I'm not here to cause trouble, or anything," he said as he shut the door behind him. "Wayne invited me."

"Well, I didn't, so leave," Lisa shot out.

"I'll leave. I just have a gift. That's it."

He held out a box that had a white bow wrapped around it. It was the size of his hand. Hesitantly, she picked it out of his hand and placed it on the makeup table. "Okay, thanks."

Ed gave a small nod, then reopened the door. He took one last glance at her before he would leave. She looked beautiful in that dress. The way it hugged her torso and hips made his mind want to grab her, then bring her to their own wedding. But, he would not and, instead, darted out of the room and down the hallway. As he left the church altogether, Wayne watched from the stairs with a smile filled with relief.

Before Lisa put on her second face of makeup, she undid the silk bow. All she had to do was lift the lid up, but it took everything in her power. A detonator could not fit in it, even if Ed tried to. With her thumbs and pointer fingers, she lifted it up, slowly. It was a picture. Specifically, it was the sonogram from her first ultrasound. That day, after multiple pregnancy tests, Ed drove them to their doctor with such excitement. She was unsure about it all until she saw the little pebble inside of her. She flipped it and saw a handwritten note in pen on the back.

Take care of him for me.

There was a small bag with a string remaining. Lisa held it in front of the light. It was a bracelet or necklace. Realizing she was getting married soon, she quickly pulled the top in opposite directions and let the necklace fall into her hand. The golden chain had a charm attached. It was a glass tigerlily.

She placed both items back into the box and threw it into her purse. She did not need to see any of that, especially forty minutes away from getting married to somebody who was not Ed. With her brushes and makeup in front of her, she repeated the same steps.