A Part of My Memory

Elliot

The wedding was three months away, only three months away.

Jess had gone ahead and done everything without consulting me. She knew I would have wanted a later date, a cheaper location and invited fewer people. But it was also because she was insecure, afraid that I would change my mind about all of this, about her. To some extent, I understood her, but to another extent, I couldn't help but feel like she was being inconsiderate, considering the fact that the wedding would be our day, not just hers. And I had told her several times that I would rather have the wedding next year, but once again, she didn't listen to me, and that in itself was making me reconsider everything. But I couldn't just go backwards, not when everything had already been paid for.

And maybe things would change once all of this was official.

****

Jess had scheduled tasks to do together for the day in preparation for the wedding, but she had completely forgotten about an event she promised to attend at work and couldn't cancel last minute so I had to handle all of the tasks for the wedding.

"Let me come," Zara said after I told her where I was going. "I'll accompany you, it's not like I've got anything better to do." Before I could respond she quickly said, "give me five minutes," and ran upstairs to get ready.

She took less than five minutes, having changed into tights and a t-shirt and put on a beanie so she didn't have to tame her kinky hair.

"Let's go!" She announced as she skipped past me and out of the house, and I couldn't help the tug of my lips.

The first thing on the list was to collect the rings. Jess and I had already browsed through and chosen our rings already, but she wanted to add custom designs to them both so we had to wait an extra month before going to collect them.

Zara and I entered the jeweller shop, and she didn't even try to hide her awe. Her lips parted slightly and her breath caught at the sight of all of the jewellery. She did a full 360-degree turn as she took in her surroundings. I had to admit though, I was quite awestruck when I first entered the shop, what with all of the glass cabinets housing expensive jewellery, the way the light was tinted to a golden colour to bring out all of the jewels, the large mirrors integrated into the walls. Even the chandelier in the centre of the store looked like it cost a fortune. But Zara's reaction to the shop was over-the-top and amusing.

"Come on," I told Zara, placing my hands on her shoulders to stop her from spinning. I guided her to the counter, walking behind her, and she ogled the jewellery through the glass when an employee approached us.

"Hi, how may I help you?" The employee asked. I told her about the rings and gave her my name. "Give me a few minutes please, Mr Fraid," she said before going to the back.

I leaned forward to look at Zara who was still staring at the jewellery.

"You know," she began, sensing my attention on her, "I'm not even a fan of expensive jewellery. I don't like the flashy, large gemmed kind of jewellery, I like the simple basic kind. Like that one," she pointed to a thin plain silver ring with tiny gems. "And that one," she pointed to a thin plain gold ring. "And that one's cute too," she said, pointing to a silver adjustable leaf ring.

I looked away from the rings and at Zara, at the way she was admiring the simple rings, and I couldn't help but notice how completely different she was from Jess. Zara had left the house without makeup again, but Jess would never do that. Zara wasn't interested in the most expensive items, but Jess was. I didn't even know why I was comparing them, but I was.

Zara was the weirdest yet most intriguing person I knew. I always found myself learning new things about her, and admiring things about her. Like the way she didn't care what people thought of her so long as she felt comfortable. The way she resorted to telling jokes to make someone feel better. The way she got a burst of satisfaction whenever she made someone laugh.