Starry Nights

Chapter 12: Alex and Natalie

December 18, 2011

Alex

30 hours before the wedding

One year. It had already been one year.

He honestly couldn't believe it himself. He looked at the date and saw that tomorrow would be a year since he had asked her to marry him. He thought for a second that the past year and a half may have all  been a really good dream, and that any second now he would wake up and he wouldn't even remember any of this, and Natalie would just be a hidden memory locked away in the depths of his mind. But when he rolled over in bed, looked in her eyes and placed his lips on hers, he knew it wasn't a dream. Even dreams wern't this good, and he knew he wasn't dead, so this must be reality. 

Their wedding was tomorrow as well. Alex had started to feel the butterflies form in his stomach the previous night. He was so nervous, but he didn't know why. He knew a wedding was just a more formal way of declaring your love for another person, and that whether or not you got married didn't change how much you loved a person. But even still, he was so nervous for tomorrow. 

He looked into her eyes, and he started smiling without realizing it. 

"What?" she asked. "Do I look funny or something?"

"No, you're just so beautiful. I can't help but smile at how lucky I am to have met you."

She smiled and giggled a little. "I love you, Alex."

"Love you too."

She got up and walked over to the bathroom door, turned and said, "You need to get ready, darling. Denny should be here to pick you up soon, shouldn't he?"

"Yeah, but part of me doesn't want to leave."

"It'll be okay, it will only be for one day."

"One hour away from you is an eternity", he said.

She walked over to him and gently kissed him on the cheek. "It will be fine, I promise."

She turned around and walked into the bathroom. When he heard the shower start, he walked into the closet. He changed into jeans and a flannel, grabbed his bags, and walked into the living room. As soon as he got to the living room he heard a knock at the door. He picked his bags back up and walked to the door, knowing it must be Denny. When he opened the door, he was surprised when Lauren said, "Goin' somewhere lover boy?"

"My God, I thought you were Denny. Sorry, Lauren."

"Why are you apologizing?" she said laughing. "You couldn't have had any idea who it was, the door was closed. Anywho, where is Natalie, I got her Starbucks, and you too." She handed him a Vanilla Iced White Chocolate Mocha, his favorite. 

"She's just got in the shower, she'll be a while."

"Her drink is going to get cold." She turned around and put Natalie's drink on the counter.

Alex heard another knock on the door, and he knew it must be Denny this time. "See you tomorrow lover boy", Lauren said.

"Bye, Lauren."

Alex walked out the door and saw that Denny had literally just woken up. He was still in his pajamas, his hair was a mess, and there were bags under his eyes. Denny turned around without saying anything and started walking downstairs. Denny had offered to come pick Alex up so he didn't have to ride on a subway or in a taxi, but now Denny was looking like he regretted that offer.

On the way back to Denny's apartment they didn't say a word to each other. Alex could tell that Denny was extremely tired, and figured it was best Denny used all of his energy to focus on driving. When they got back to Denny's apartment, Denny still didn't talk and instead went to his room and went back to bed. Alex threw himself on the couch and set his phone alarm to go off at 12 o'clock. He felt himself drift into sleep easily. 

Natalie

24 hours before the wedding

"So, how nervous are you?"

Natalie looked up at Lauren with a blank expression. "What did you ask?" she said even more blankly.

"I'll take the confused look on your face as you said, 'Help me Lauren I'm super nervous'", Lauren said. "Listen, there's no reason to be nervous, kid. I mean, you've known him for a year and a half, it's not like he's suddenly not going to like you or something. He loves you, and you're going to get married, and have beautiful babies, an--"

"Woah Lauren! Let's slow down real quick", Natalie said laughing. "Let's just leave it at he loves me and we're getting married, for now."

"You got it, kid. See? Nothing to be worried about."

"I guess your right," Natalie said, "but I'm still nervous for some reason."

"Well, every girl is nervous before her wedding. I'm pretty sure none of them ever know why though."

As she sat there talking to Lauren, Natalie began to drift off into a daydream. She found herself thinking of tomorrow. She would be standing there in the lighthouse, and Alex would be next to her, and they'd be reading their written vows. She pictured their first kiss as husband and wife. She thought about all of the things they'd do after they got married. She pictured them traveling the world together, seeing everything there was to see. She pictured them living anywhere they desired, whether it be China, Oregon, or just staying in Manhattan. 

"Earth to Natalie? You there girl?"

Natalie looked up and saw Lauren laughing. "Sorry, I kind of spaced out."

"Well duh, you sat there for like 5 minutes staring blankly", Lauren said. "Why don't you go take a shower? Try to relax for a while."

Natalie stood up without saying a word and went into her room, closing the door behind her. She opened her closet and stared at her wedding dress. She began to feel the butterflies in her stomach again, and she closed the closet and walked into her bathroom. She started a hot bath, and added a new type of bath bubbles that Lauren had given her. She stripped off her clothes and slid into the bath, submerging her body under the steaming water.

She began to feel her eyes closing, and her thoughts once again drifted to Alex, as they usually did. She felt herself begin to relax, and her worries drifted away with the butterflies in her stomach. She knew that she loved Alex, and she wanted to spend forever with him.