Once Upon a Time...

Part Fourteen

I just realized that "NYAFA" sounds suspiciously like "NYADA," the performing arts school in New York City off of Glee. I didn't steal it or anything... in fact, I came up with NYAFA before I watched Season 3 of Glee. So please don't, I don't know, sue me or anything.

Amelia- 23

            The wedding was scheduled for June 15th, which gave me less than two months to prepare for it. Charlie didn’t help at all, which left my mother, Maria, and me obsessing over everything on our own.

            Getting married sucks. You have to make so many decisions, even the slightest, most tedious things.

            “Amelia? What color do you want the tablecloths to be?” Betty, the wedding planner, asked me one day.

            “I don’t know. White?”

            Betty looked at me like I was insane. “White?” she snarled with perfect diction.

            I stood there awkwardly for a minute. “Is something wrong?”

            She thrust five pieces of cloth at me, all of which looked the same to me.

            “Pick one.”

            It was my turn to look at her like she was stupid. “I want this one. The white one.”

            “That’s not white, dear.”

            “Yes it is. It’s not gray, is it?”           

            “Amelia…” my mother warned from across the room.

            “Mother, this is crazy. I think we picked a colorblind wedding planner,” I said under my breath.

            “Amelia, this is clearly eggshell. And this is pearl, and this is snow. Can’t you see the difference? You’d have to be blind as a bat not to,” Betty said sharply.

            I caught Maria smile into the table centerpiece she was putting together.

            “Fine. I want the eggshell.”

            Betty sniffed. “Are you sure that’s the one you want?”

            I sighed. “What you recommend, Betty?” I asked through clenched teeth.

            “Personally, I would go with the pearl. Simply because it isn’t as showy but is still classically modern. The eggshell is too demanding and distracting for the eye. But that’s just my opinion.” Then she swiveled on her heel and waked away.

            Do you see what I mean? The days leading up to the wedding were excruciatingly painful, and Charlie surely wasn’t making things any less complicated. He disappeared the week before the wedding for a “Bachelor’s Holiday,” and didn’t come back for days. This left me alone to pick all the people in the bridal party. Coming from someone with barely any friends, though, I only came up with about five people, and my mother rejected half of my suggestions.

            “Oh, not that Samantha. She’s much too trashy,” she said with her nose in the air.

            “Well, do you have a better idea for my wedding? Because apparently mine aren’t good enough for your high expectations!” I snapped one day and stormed out of the suite and out onto the golf course, where I walked around for hours before calming down long enough to return back home. I couldn’t get married… I didn’t want to get married… I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with Charlie… I couldn’t stay there forever… I had dreams, wishes….