Changing Seasons

Sixty-Eight

****

The two woke up late in the morning, only mildly hungover. They showered together and sipped coffee on the balcony after.

Krist looked at Atira earnestly, "I'm still serious about what we talked about."

She smiled, took a small drink of coffee, and swallowed. "I'm serious, too."

His heart skipped a beat, "When should we do this?"

"I'm ready whenever you are."

****

Bill and Linda had been surprised, to say the least, to learn that Krist and Atira had planned on getting married quickly. And not just that, they were planning on a courthouse ceremony.

They both felt that everything was rushed but understood that nothing they would say could convince Krist otherwise when his mind was set on something.

To slow them down, Linda suggested they do a small ceremony with friends and family so Atira could experience a beautiful wedding. She offered to pay for Atira's dress, the venue, and flowers. Krist couldn't turn down the offer. Atira deserved a real wedding.

The two women would get together the following weekend to make plans and dress hunt. Atira was excited to share the moment with Linda since she had no intention of including her own mother.

It was wild to think that she would be Krist's wife. It was probably the craziest thing she had ever done, but she was eager to start her life with him.

Atira knew Cami would have a few things to say and that her girlfriends in Seattle would be floored when they found out. She'd already gotten a snarky message from Jillian that morning when she'd realized that Krist's new throat tattoo read her name.

"Girl, please tell me that psycho didn't put your name on him." Was what she'd told Atira.

Atira was not stoked about the tattoo, but she wouldn't tell Jillian. "I think it's sexy," Atira replied, adding the purple devil emoji to the end.

Jillian had made a few comments about how Krist looked like a criminal or a thug, which was hardly the case. If she thought that about Krist, god only knew what she'd think about if she'd seen Fernando.

"Was this a Krist idea or a mutual idea?" Linda asked quietly as she showed Atira some of the Christmas items she'd gotten on clearance from Target.

"I'd say it was mutual," Atira told her. "We were on that New Year's cruise last night, and he sort of randomly told me he wanted to marry me. I told him we should get married. So now, here we are."

"Atira, it's fine to take it slow. I know Krist rushes into things headfirst, but if he's moving too fast for you, it's okay to tell him that."

"He's not, though. I love Krist, and I want to marry him."

Linda smiled gently. She hoped that this marriage would be a good thing for her son and Atira, still, after all the toxicity she'd witnessed with his previous relationships. It was hard to feel positive.

****

"Dawg, Atira and I are getting married," Krist texted Jeordie on New Year's Day.

"Babe, Krist is getting married," he called to Cami from the couch.

Cami stopped cleaning dead in her tracks, "I'm sorry, but what."

"Yeah, he just texted me that now," Jeordie told her, insistently regretting that he had.

"That sounds really fucking stupid," Cami muttered, "Like, did Atira not hear a single thing I told her the other day?"