The Office Curve

You Play Your Parts Well

If I ever get married, at least I have a wedding dress - sort of.

Lady Anympha wouldn't stop gushing at us once we returned backstage.  She had her assistance snap up all kinds of pictures of us, a prized memento and reminder of just how talented she is.  I didn't mind very much, I admit.  I was still riding the waves of that kiss Kaim and I shared on the runway.  As he wrapped his arms around me and looked into my eyes, I realized that I didn't mind playing bride a little while longer, especially if Kaim was the one playing my groom.

"Marvelous, marvelous, darlings!" she cooed.  "I'm going to send these to the designer who she can see what a masterpiece she's created!  You come find me when you get married for real, darling.  This dress will be waiting for you."

"Ah...okay," I mumbled, trying not to blush.  "I'll keep that in mind, though I don't think it'll happen for a while..."

"Never say never, Ms. Mercier."  The moment Kaim spoke those words, my heart stopped.  "You say that now, but for all you know, it could happen sooner than you think."

My legs were jelly all over again.  "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Not at all."  His calmness amazed and annoyed me.  "I'm just saying that one never knows what the future holds - at least that's what my mom says.  And the girls who say they'd never get married are the ones who marry first."

My lips rounded to form words, but no sounds came out.  You know - he might have had a point.  Case and point - I had a friend named Annie in high school who was a bit of a tease and sexy as hell.  All through high school, she vowed to never marry.  She believed herself to be a woman of the world, destined for bigger and better things, like designer purses and wild romps throughout Europe and Asia with beautiful foreign men...

One year later, she met the man of her dreams.  A year after that they were married and a year after that, they welcomed their first daughter into the world.  And while I'm quite certain she's been very happy over the years, I can't help but laugh when I think of how the once untamable wild cat settled down so easily.

But that could never happen to me!  It would be too soon - it was just a fashion show!  It wasn't real...

If only it were real... They were the words straight from Kaim's mouth.  The same words I thought over and over again but I couldn't speak aloud. 

It may have been too soon, yet it seemed to be on our minds nonetheless.

Such is the power of the Wedding Expo, I guess.

As the army of assistants helped me out of my wedding regalia, the disappointment caught me off-guard.  It was all over - I did my job, and now, I didn't need to pretend to be a bride anymore.  I could put my clothes back on and be myself again.  But it was nice while it lasted.  It was nice to put on the pretty gown with the demure veil and be blessed with the glow reserved for a blushing bride for a while.  With Kaim at my side, it made it even better, knowing that he loved me, knowing that he was my pretend groom, I felt like for once in my life, I knew happiness.  And with the crowd is awe of me, I finally knew of acceptance.

Yeah...it was nice, if only for a little while.

Rachael wouldn't stop gushing about the two of us on the ride home.  "Ohmigod, you guys were perfect up there - you were so beautiful!  Zara, you were totally rocking that dress, and Kaim, like you should wear a suit every day!  You two were just gorgeous up there!"

"Gee, Rach, tell us how you really fell," I teased.  "Next, you'll be going on about how all the fashion magazines will be calling us to do modelling shoots."