Together

Chapter 2

My heart pounds in my chest after breakfast. I'm nervous for the wedding. At midnight tonight, I'm going to be forced out of the house and into my parents house. When they found out we were moving to Maine, everyone moved with us, except Mrs. Marshall and Mrs. Lawrence. Brody is being extra clingy today. He won't let go of me. My phone start ringing.

"Hello?"

We're watching a movie.

"Hi, is this the bride, Danielle Riley?"

"Yes." I say.

"This is Anna, I work at the bridal shop you ordered the flowers from. I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"Okay..." I trail off.

"I'm afraid that the flowers didn't come in. We're not going to be able to have them ready for you. We're sending you a full refund."

"What?" I ask.

"I'm sorry."

Oh, my god.

I pinch the bridge of my nose.

"Uh...okay."

Brody's Grandma pauses the movie.

"I do apologize."

I take a deep breath.

"It's not your fault. Bye."

"Bye."

I hang up, slam my phone onto the coffee table, and bury my head in my hands.

Brody puts his hand on my back.

"Who was that?" he asks.

Am I even allowed to tell him.

I shake my head.

"I can't tell you."

I get up, pissed off, and storm out of the room.

It's hilarious. My bridal party is so good. Jules, my sister and maid of honor follows, followed by Madison, and then Courtney, and my mother and Nana and my grandma.

"Who was on the phone?" Mom asks.

"The fucking-" We're in the kitchen, and I bury my head in my hands and just start crying.

"Don't cry. No stress." Jules says.

"Who was on the phone?" Brody asks.

I know the second he found out I was crying that he was going to come in.

I take a deep breath.

I never cry in front of people. The only person that sees my tears is the man I'm marrying tomorrow.

I sigh.

"It was the flower lady." I mumble.

"And?" Mom cringes.

"She fucking cancelled! There's no way we're going to get five hundred flowers by tomorrow!"

He hugs me, kissing my temple.

"Do they have to be real?" he asks.

"I don't want fake flowers." I mumble.

"What if they're fake, but not the kind you buy at the craft store." He says.

"What are you talking about?" I mumble.

"I'll be back." He kisses me, and grabs his keys and walks out the door.

"You need a drink." Jules says.

"No, drinking will make it worse."

"Okay, let's just see what Brody comes back with." Madison says.

We go back into the living room. Everyone obviously heard what happened. I start searching for florists, stressed.

In an hour or so, Brody comes back with a ton of roses and a giant bag from the craft store.

I start to protest, but he silences me with a kiss.

"Wait." He says.

He's very private about his art. It's rare that he shows me what he's working on.

I'm frustrated. He grabs scissors from the bag, and a piece of paper and glue.

We all sit and watch him as he takes a piece of paper, turns it into a beautiful flower, and makes an entire bouquet out of it.

He sets it on the table.

I hesitate.

"Well?" he asks.

"It's beautiful."

"But you don't like it." He says.

"No, I-"

"I'm not mad." He says. "You like it, but not for the wedding. I understand."

"You just spent all this money-"

"I'm not mad. I'll keep the paper for me, and you can have the roses." He shrugs.

<><>

It was a miracle, but I found a florist with everything we need, and they agreed to do it. I planted the roses using an idea I found on pinterest.

"Are you sure you're not mad at me?" I ask Brody for the millionth time.

He just kept saying, I'm sure, but I think I'm starting to annoy him. He grabs me and pulls me onto his lap.

"I swear on my life, and yours, and our future children's lives that I am not mad at you. I'm not mad. I never was. I had a backup plan anyways, and I have plans for those planted roses. Please stop worry about me being mad at you."

It's 11:48.

I rest my forehead against his.

"It's almost midnight." I whisper.

He opens his mouth to tell everyone, but I kiss him.

"Don't tell them."

He smiles.

His hands slide up and down my back.

"Oh goodness, it's time to go!" Mom sheirks."

I sigh.

I don't want to leave his arms.

I tightens my grip on Brody's hand.

He stands up, setting me down, and pull me outside.

"You have one minute to say goodbye!" Mom says.

We stand on the porch in the darkness. I hug him.

"I'm excited for you to be my wife." He whispers.

"I'm excited for you to be my husband. I can't wait."

He kisses my face all over.

Mom comes outside.

"Time to go!"

The bridal party gets in the car.

I give him a long kiss.

"I love you." I whisper. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." He kisses me again.

"Bye." I whisper.

"Bye." He kisses me. I start to walk away, holding onto his hand until he's out of reach.

I open the car door and look back at him. He's leaning against the post with his hands in his pockets.

He smiles at me.

"I'll see you at the altar!" he calls.

"I'll be the one in white." I smile, and then I force myself to get in the car, and watch his figure in the window until he's out of sight.