One Journey, the Final

Chapter 33:

I slid into a seat next to my mother, Harry next to me, and his mother on the other side of him. All our close relatives sat at this table. It included: me, Harry, our parents, Gemma, the bridesmaides, and the groomsmen. Lyla was a few seats down, sitting right next to Niall. I could see her flirting. She would bat her eyelashes, flip her hair, nod all excited like she could actually understand what he was saying, and then giggle sweetly. I rolled my eyes. Niall had to be lost by the time the hair flip happened. No boy ever could get past that stage. Lyla was so likeable. I teasingly grabbed a napkin, rolled it up, and threw it towards her, hitting her right in the face. I got her just in time as she was going to nod.  I smiled, and waved my fingers at her. Her lips were in a thin line, and she didn't look very happy. But I knew she would cool off five minutes later when Niall would ask for her phone number.

"They're pretty cute together," Harry whispered in my ear, motioning to Lyla and Niall. I nodded, even batting my eyelashes. He noticed right away that I was flirting. I'm not very good at it, and not nearly as good as Lyla. He bent down to kiss my nose. I smiled. Right now they were having a cocktail hour, though I knew I was not going to have any alcohol. I had secretly vowed to myself after the "incident" that I would never pick up another glass of any type of alcohol, excepting a sip of wine like once a year. I couldn't even smell beer without nearly vomiting. So I stood far away from the table where they were serving all of these fruity drinks. So during this hour, I decided to socialize with the guests. I passed by and shook hands with nearly everyone, talked to a few relatives that I hadn't seen in ages, and caught up with a few friends from college. I felt a tap on my shoulder just as I was about to grab a sugary snack on the hor d'oeurves table.

"You know they are all noticing how you haven't grabbed a drink yet," Lyla whispered in my ear. I turned around with chocolate frosting on my upper lip, confused.

"What?"

"You haven't had a drink yet. That only means one thing in their eyes. You're pregnant," Lyla said plainly. I gulped my bite of brownie and said,

"But I'm not. Really. I'm not. I just don't want any drinks." She pursed her lips and went, "m-hm," flipping her head and making it back to the drinks.

"Hey just an announcement that waiters will be coming around each table in about three minutes. So if you could please start to make your way back to your seats, that would be great! Thanks!" the DJ said. I brushed my hands together, blowing away any other crumbs, and walked back to the table.

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                “Alright everybody, let’s let the newlyweds have their first dance. We’re going to bring it down a notch,” the DJ said. He then started playing a familiar slow song, At Last by Etta James. I had always dreamed of dancing to this song at my wedding. And now it was finally coming true. We slowly walked to the dance floor, and then came into a close embrace as each step matched with the rhythm. I closed my eyes and let the enchantment of it all set in. Harry was humming along to the song, it made me smile. I figured since the both of us were so happy in the moment, he might be gullible enough to tell me where we were going on the honeymoon. Slowly and secretively I set the trap.

                “So, what time is our flight tonight? Are we even going on a plane? Maybe a boat?” I asked casually.

                “Well we have to leave for the airport at nine tonight,” he said. Score!  I screamed in my mind. That ruled out the chances of going on a cruise. Maybe we’d go somewhere in Europe. Italy? France?

                “And what time will we be landing?”

                “Around 11:00 in the morning,” he said, unaware of the precious information he just gave me. Around thirty seconds later he let out a sigh and said sadly,