For Shits and Giggles [2024]

Chapter 42

Santiago and Gracie wanted to tell no one, they just wanted to be married.

He scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the operation room. He found the nearest window and they were off, leaving the bloodied mess behind for someone else to find and clean up.

Flying through the air, they giggled like school children.

"This is crazy, isn't it?" She asked, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He carried her bridle style, flying slowly to avoid the wind whipping her hair.

"I'm crazy, for you," Santiago said, unable to contain the smile taking over his face. She giggled again and leaned in, kissing his cheek. He turned his head, planted a kiss on her lips. She kissed him back on the nose, and then he kissed her jaw. They stood in mid-air this way, laughing, stealing kisses.

"I can't get married in hospital gowns," she said, keeping her lips pressed to his. "I have a white dress at home."

"White?" He raised an eyebrow, and Gracie blushed furiously.

"Shut up!" She punched his shoulder, then hugged him again as to not fall out of the sky. She cradled her face between his shoulder and his neck. Santiago held her tighter, reassuring her. He had one hand tucked firmly underneath her knees, the other wrapped around her back.

"Teasing! I'm teasing," He belly laughed, changing his course in the direction of her house. "I don't care what you wear, as long as I get to call you my wife."

His wife. I'm going to be his wife.

The words rang in her ears all the way home, leaving her heart feeling fuzzy, warm, and full. When they got there, Santiago set her down on the doorstep gently. She wasn't wearing any shoes, just the wooly hospital socks she'd recieved on her first night. She reached for the front doorknob, hesitating. She hadn't been home in over a month.

"Last time I was here..." she said, still holding the doorknob, still staring at her socks. "Camilo was upstairs. I don't know how he..."

She felt Santiago's warm hand slip into hers, and she realized her hand had been shaking.

"Hey," he said, smiling warmly. "I'm here." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and she nodded.

She turned the doorknob and walked inside. The living room was a mess. She noticed several things missing: her mother's vases, china she kept in a cabinet. The place looked like it had been ransacked, which it had. She tried to run back outside, bumping into Santiago who caught her easily.

"It's okay," he said. "It was just the twins. They saw you were gone and well..."

Gracie sighed a breath of relief. She hugged him until the beating went down inside her chest. Santiago didn't say anything, didn't rush her. He just held her, gave her all the time she needed to calm down. Hand in hand, they walked around the mess and up the stairs to her bedroom.

Santiago walked in first while she waited in the hallway. When the coast was clear, she stepped inside. Gracie looked around her bedroom, other than a couple missing items, like expensive perfumes and the gold jewelry she kept on top of her dresser, everything seemed fine.

"Okay," she took another deep breath, letting the thought of marrying her Santi bring a smile back to her face. "I'm okay. I know just the dress." With an excited hop and a giggle, she shimmied over to her closet.

The state of her home didn't matter, neither did any of the missing items. She could always make more money and buy more things. She could clean up the house, or sell it and move in with her soon-to-be husband. In fact, she preferred it that way. She wanted to leave this house in her past. Better yet, she wanted to break the curse and leave this entire town in her past. Except for her husband, of course.

Santiago sat on the bed, watching Gracie rummage through her closet excitedly. She tossed button-down blouses and pink sweaters all out of the way until finally emerging with a dainty, white dress. It came down just above her knees and had flowery lace for sleeves. She spun around to show how the dress twirled.

"It's no wedding dress," she said. "But isn't it gorgeous?"

Santiago never took his eyes off of her, "The most gorgeous I've ever seen."

She blushed, suddenly conscious of her messy, unwashed hair, her chapped lips and stained hospital gowns. In the hospital she hadn't been taking care of herself. She barely had enough energy to shower or to brush her teeth, and some nights she did neither, let alone moisturize or shave. She'd stopped eating again and her ribs poked out more than they should of. Her cheeks weren't plump or full, they were hollow and lifeless. When she thought she would never see Santiago again, everyday tasks felt heavy, laborious. But now that she was in front of him, Gracie felt unkempt and unattractive, ashamed.

But to Santiago she looked perfect.

He kept his eyes squarely on hers and got to his feet, standing directly in front of her. He leaned down to kiss her lips, very slowly, and she let him, his tongue slipping past her lips to find her own. She moaned softly into his mouth as his hands reached the hems of her gown, sliding them off of her shoulders. They dropped to the floor and Gracie pushed them away with her foot. She was standing naked with just her underwear, clutching the white dress to cover the front of her body. She gasped as his lips trailed her jaw, down to the nape of her neck; he kissed her collarbone and her shoulder tenderly.

Gracie closed her eyes tight, the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach aching. She felt his hands pry open her fingers, and the dress she had been holding fell to the floor. Now fully exposed, Santiago took a step back to admire her.

"I'm so lucky," he said, his voice low and raspy. Gracie felt vulnerable, like he was looking at more than just her naked body. He was looking through her, looking at her past and her present and her future, and choosing to love all of it. He kissed between her breasts, then her ribcage, and her heart raced. He got down onto one knee so that he could kiss lower and lower; first her stomach, then her hipbone, and then with one of her legs over his shoulder, he kissed the insides of her thighs. Her fingers gripped his hair for balance, and then suddenly he was standing up again, white dress in his hand.

Gracie let out a frustrated sigh, finally releasing the breath she'd been holding.

"Let me guess," she snatched the dress from him after regaining her composure, her cheeks flustered and red, "Just teasing?"

Santiago laughed his jaunty, boyish laugh, and it filled the entire room.

"Just teasing," he confirmed, her reaction having left a very satisfied and amused grin on his face.

They got ready for their wedding.

Santiago helped Gracie into the shower and waited for her in her bedroom. He poked around her belongings for anything that might help—he applied her deodorant, and slicked back his hair with some gel he'd found lying around. He indulged in the most androgynous of her remaining perfumes, double checked in the mirror that there was nothing in his teeth, and used a generous amount of chapstick. He wiped dry blood off of his sneakers, adjusted the mask covering his eyes, and smoothed the wrinkles on his blue jumpsuit. By the time Gracie exited the bathroom, he felt brand new.

Gracie stepped out feeling a lot more like herself again. Her hair had been washed and blow dried in the bathroom, her legs were shiny and smooth, and her white dress fell beautifully above her knees. She had applied subtle eye makeup and wore a glossy, red lip. Santiago couldn't contain the smile on his face when he saw her.

Gracie felt his eyes scanning her body, and she blushed, "All that's missing is a veil."

They both looked around, and Santiago spotted her curtains; white, sheer, and seven feet long.

"Perfect," she smiled. Santiago pulled one of them off the curtain pole and draped it over her body. It enveloped her entirely and dragged behind her. Gracie fastened it to her head with a red ribbon tied into a bow.

He scooped Gracie into his arms, and she hugged him tightly.

They headed to the Church.