Banana Girl: a thatcherjoe love story

Chapter 35- Wedding under the stars

A month later, Joe had almost completely recovered from his time in prison. Even so, he wasn't really ready for any major social occasions or drama. Especially not for the major social occasion and buckets of drama that were beginning at the dinner that night.
Around 7:00, Joe, Tanya, Zoe, Alfie, Caspar, Louise and I were all sat around a posh table in a posh restaurant, sipping wine. Or Cranberry juice in Zoe's case.
I was wearing a short navy blue dress with lace sleeves, navy T-strap heels and blue eyeshadow with dark lipstick. Tanya was wearing a yellow dress with a white clutch and bolero, Zoe wore a black maxi dress and tote and Louise was wearing a knee-length white dress with baby pink cardigan and clutch, and all the guys had skinny jeans and a shirt.
"So." Said Zoe, gathering all our attention, "Alfie and I wanted you all here to tell you... Well... We've decided to have the wedding ASAP."
A gasp travelled around the circle as we all remembered Zo and Alfie's engagement; with all the stuff going on recently, we'd completely forgotten!
"In fact... We'll be having it tomorrow evening."
Everyone sat in total, shocked, silence until Zoe spoke again.
"Yeah... Just something small before Baby comes," she rubbed her stomach and smiled, "only immediate family and you guys; quiet, but how we want it."
After she'd spoken, we all sort of relaxed, and the conversation flowed easy once more.
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"Joe, I will not let us be late again! It happened the last time, I will not let it happen again!" I yelled as the clock struck 8:20pm. I'd opted to wear the blue Isabelle gown by Erin Fetherston, a very expensive dress that's been hiding away in my wardrobe for over a year. It was a dark blue at the top, ranging from navy to light to completely white down at the bottom.
Joe appeared from the bedroom with his shirt undone and his tie in his hands, staring at me while I used the mascara wand to apply it to my lashes, Bruno Mars' Just The Way You Are playing from his iPhone that he'd shoved in his pocket.
"What 'last time?' There wasn't a last time." He said quizzically.
"Still."
He walked up behind me, gently taking the mascara wand from me and placing it on the table, before taking his hands and placing them on my hips, gently making them sway to the sound of the music on his phone.
"We're gonna be late at this rate..." I whispered in his ear.
"I don't care; any time with you is time well spent."
Suddenly, the phone started to ring, sending me hurtling to the floor as he jumped in shock.
"Fuck! Sorry, Vi!" He apologised, picking me up before picking up the phone.
"That's Alfie," he said, once he'd put the phone down, "wondering where the hell we are."
"Better get our shit together, then!"
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We arrived at a small park by 8:45pm in the evening. Most of the sky was a dark blue, the edges weaved with pink and purple as the sun set, with stars scattered like flowers in a field. Picking up my dress, I walked across a mossy path to a small group of chairs with a gap down the middle, as a makeshift aisle, lit by an array of fairy lights, illuminating the night with a soft glow. White and cream bunting was strung from the trunks of a few nearby trees and a junior choir and orchestra were sat at the end where the vicar stood.
"Wow!" Muttered Joe, gazing at the stars through the open canopy of tree branches and leaves.
"Yeah." I agreed, lifting up my skirts to take a seat. As I did so, Louise and Tanya came rushing up the pathway, Louise in a pink and white floral gown and Tanya in an electric blue chiffon dress.
"Violet!" They said.
"What? What is it?" I asked, their worried expressions forcing me to assume the worst.
"It's Zoe," they explained, grabbing me by the hand and dragging me to a small rustic cabin about 300 metres to our left, "she has cold feet."
"Well then give her a hot water bottle!" I sighed.
"Violet! Haven't you heard the expression, cold feet?" I shook my head.
"It basically means she's nervous. She isn't sure about marrying Alfie."
"What?!" I snapped, not believing their outburst: only yesterday she was dead-set on the idea and now she didn't even want to?
By this time they had shoved me into a small bedroom in the upstairs of the cabin. It was lightly furnished, just a bed, a wardrobe, a bookshelf and an armchair with a coffee table.
"Zoe!" I sighed, looking at her as she paced the floor wearing a gorgeous white lace wedding dress with black flowers embroidered onto the hem. She had white carnations in her hair, which was in a messy bun, and had thrown her bouquet of matching carnations and red roses on the bed, along with her garter and veil.
"Vi! Thank god you're here! What am I going to do?"
"Zoe?" I asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you love him?"
"Yes! Of course!"
"Then for fuck sake, isn't it obvious?! You love him. You're happy. You're having a baby together. You are guaranteed a life of happiness and love! And love- and I know this is going to sound very very cheesy- is the single most painful, yet beautiful, thing in the world. And without it? Without it, we are reduced to death and hopelessness. You want to be happy, you do what it takes to make yourself happy, even if it means sacrificing your life before him. Will you do that?"
A moment of quiet, then, "yes."
"Then I don't know what the fuck you sissies are waiting for, let's get you married!"
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The service was beautiful, and Joe and I, Louise, Tanya, Jim, Caspar, Tyler, Oli, Marcus, and everyone else could not be happier for the couple. Especially when, a few months later, Zoe and Alfie produced a gorgeous baby girl, whom they named Poppy Louise Tanya Deyes. My name wasn't included, but I had the pleasure of being Godmother, along with Joe and Caspar as Godfathers.
And, though Joe and I weren't the ones experiencing all of this, we knew that one day we would, and just knowing that, made us the happiest people alive.

And who would've thought it? We were brought together whilst shopping.
For bananas.

тнє єи∂.