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Mom, Trish, and Jess return in their ceremonial attire

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Mom, Trish, and Jess return in their ceremonial attire. Mom looks straight out of the 80s with her red puffy dress. The ruched waist, sharp silhouette and shiny hem is giving Pretty in Pink vibes. Her blonde hair is curled under to appear as a bob. Jess is in the peach bridesmaid gown. My aunt is in a dark purple formal gown with silver heels. They look incredible! My jaw drops.

"Wowza!" Lil catcalls. "Watch out, Maddy, they're gonna steal your shine.

"You can say that again! Miss model squad." I snap my fingers to add flavor to the compliment.

"I'm not sure about your mom..." Trisha snickers, humorously. "She looks like cotton candy."

"As the kids say these days, don't be a hater." Mom claps back. We all can't help but guffaw this. Not just the new age phrase, but her boomer way of delivering it. My gut is at risk of killing me on my wedding day. I'll die of laughter. "There's the first healthy dose of joy." My mom beams at me. "There are loads more to come."

"Yep." Aunt Trish nods.

Jess brings over an iPad. It must be the latest edition from Apple. It's gigantic. "Until then, you can tune in to the live stream. 5.8 billion watchers." They accompany me and Lil on the windowsill. It's large enough to fit us all comfortably. I'm glad I can be a part of the beach time, despite not being able to join in on the fun. My eyes scan for Jace...I'd love to see him in beach wear like everyone else.

But I don't see him. Where is he? Is my fiancé fed up with the cameras? I doubt it. He's been filmed forever, it seems. He's used to audiences and the media. Maybe what the press said annoyed him. I saw the news networks interrogating him. I'm sure they've said horrible things as usual. That's probably why he departed.

My peeps survey the iPad screen, enjoying volleyball, tennis, and racing games, playing out both on land and in the water.

I text: I live you.

I realize that autocorrect has misspelled love. I roll my eyes.

Me: I meant love 🙄 stupid autocorrect

Jace: don't worry I live you too 🤍

I smile hard and reply: 🤍

"We totally underestimated the guest list." Lil chuckles.

"Yeah...well, this isn't your typical wedding. I should've never compared it to mine." Mom says, astonished. "There has to be thousands!"

"Good thing the arena isn't small." I add.

The comments on the live stream catch my attention:

CAN'T WAIT 😩😩😩

How long is this going on for? I'm just here to see a wedding 🙄

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