I look at my reflection, tears already filling my eyes.
"Will you stop crying?" George sighs as he enters the room.
I walk over to straighten his tie. "My best friends are getting married!" I exclaim. "I have every right to cry."
He smiles at me and puts my hair behind my ear.
We hear a car horn outside. "It's time." he slowly breathes out, excitement already filling his lungs.
We lock hands, walk downstairs through the door and get into the car that is decorated with sunflowers all over.
George smiles at me one last time before starting the engine and driving towards the big gate that Frank opened for us.
The drive is short and none of us says a word. George is probably concentrating on the road as it's harder to see because of all the flowers that are plastered on the car. And I shift between arranging the flowers in my hand and the flowers on the back of my seat.
"They look fine." He sighs and I know that they do, but I can't stop myself from rearranging them. Everything needs to be perfect and I don't know how to get there.
When George drives through the gate and towards the house my nerves go to an all time high. He stops the car and takes my hand.
"You can't be more excited than the bride." He laughs. "You know Anna, she's gonna flip out if you don't calm her down."
"Well-" I sigh dramatically. "Who is gonna calm me down?"
A quick peck on my lips assures me of exactly who is gonna do that. "Right." I smile. "Let's go."
We get out of the car and walk inside the house that is already filled with all kinds of people who are frantically running around. Some of them carrying make up, some carrying water from the kitchen to the bedrooms.
"Looks like the crazy part of the day already started." George states. "I'm gonna look for Macca. Good luck with Anna." He turns his back to me and walks through the door on the left that leads to the stairs for the bedrooms on that part of the house.
"Right." I sigh. "Okay, I can do this." I walk through the door on the right, take the steps and walk down the hall. People walk out and inside the bedrooms, giving me a close look to who is getting ready in each of them. I see Anna's mother getting her hair done in one room and smile, she looks as beautiful as always.
And then I'm standing infront of the big brown door that I'm so familiar with. I take one last deep breath and knock.
"Luna!" I hear her frantic scream and burst out laughing.
"Is it Luna?" She shouts. "Somebody check if that is her!"
A moment later the door opens and I step inside. The flowers tight in my hands.
"Luna!" She calls.
"Anna." I smile, careful to sound as calm as possible.
She is sitting infront of a huge mirror in her morning grown, surrounded by women. One is doing her hair, one is painting her nails and one is doing her make up.
I walk over but find it hard to reach her so I just look at her trough the mirror.
"Exited?" I ask matter of factly.
"Oh no." She waves a dismissive hand. "You know me, my second name is calm."
"I thought your second name was Mae." I reply with a smile.
"You look gorgeous." She says instead.
"Oh-" I say, taken aback. "Thank you."
The blonde woman who was doing Anna's hair turns around to me at that. "Do you have the flower crown?"
"Yes!" I reply, take the crown out from the flower bouquet and hand it over.
She takes it out of my hands and puts it on top of Anna's braided hair. The colour of the flowers look beautiful in her red hair.
"And this-" I say pointing to my hand. "Is your bouquet. George hand-made it with flowers he planted."
The smile on her face reaches her eyes as she looks at my hands through the mirror. "This looks amazing, thank you so much."
"Don't mention it." I say as I put them down on the table infront of her.
"Did you see Paul?" She asks.
"No, George and I split up in the entrance and I came right here."
"Okay." She breathes, looking down at her trembling hands.
"Do you need anything?" I ask.
"No-" she says with a shaking voice.
"Anna, you have to calm down." I sigh. "Everything will be perfect, I promise."
She just looks at me, while guilt is eating me alive. Perfect is such a big word, I don't know how I can keep this promise.
"All done." Her hairstylist cheers a moment later.
We both look at Anna's reflection, really taking it all in for the first time. Her make up was done a few seconds ago and her nails only need to dry now.
"You look gorgeous." I whisper, not trusting my voice to get any louder without breaking.
She sends a warm smile my way, her eyes already watering. "You will ruin your make up and mine as well!" I say. "Stop before we both start crying."
She just shrugs at me as if saying 'when was I ever able to not get emotional'
I shake my head and look away to go trough my check list in my head again. "Your dress." I say. "Come on, let's get you into your dress."
She stands up and with the help of her hair stylist I put her into her long white dress. Her shoulders are free and only covered by her braided hair that falls lightly on her back.
"Okay-" I breath, blinking desperately so I won't start crying. Altough I was there when she bought the dress and I saw her wear it a thousand times already while rehearsals, this was different. This was final.
"If you cry, I cry." Anna mumbles.
"Then we both don't cry." I say, trying my best to control my emotions.
I walk over and stand behind her so we can look at each other through the mirror. "You are the most beautiful bride I ever saw." I whisper.
"What about my mother?" She asks with tears in her eyes and a weak smile plastered on her lips. "What about your mom?"
"You are the most beautiful bride I ever saw." I repeat, emphasizing my words more this time.
"You're a liar." She smiles.
"I can't believe you're getting married today." I say. "You're my Anna, when did you grow up?"
"While you were busy falling in love with George." She replies smugly.
A soft knock on the door interrupts us.
I walk over and open the door just enough that I can look out with one eye.
"Oh-" he laughs lightly. "Is it safe for me to speak to you ma'am? I didn't realize you had the president in there."
"What do you want?" I ask pretending to be unimpressed by his sarcasm.
"What's with the secrecy?" George asks instead.
"It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."
"I'm not the groom." George laughs now.
"George-" I sigh. "What.do.you.want?"
"He's ready." He says finally.
"Oh god!" I exclaim. "Okay give us five."
"Right." He smiles as he walks away.
"Who was that?" Anna asks, slowly turning around with her dress in her hands.
"Geo." I reply. "Macca is ready."
"Oh god I think I'm gonna puke." She says.
"Calm down!" I walk over, squeeze her hand and give over her bouquet. "You look breathtakingly beautiful, I'm sure McCharmly looks amazing, everything will be perfect." I assure her.
She takes a few deep breaths and finally nods lightly at me. "I'm ready."
I turn around and open the door, the walk down the hall feels like a life time. All the doors are open now, everybody is ready and waiting downstairs. I stop at the top of the stairs so that Anna can walk infront of me and I can take her veil.
She takes slow, unsteady steps down, I can't tell if it's because the dress is heavy and she's not used to walk around in high heels or if it's her nerves getting the best of her. I decide that it must be both things and walk one step closer, my hands reached out but not touching, waiting for a 'just in case'.
"Thank you." Her father says, to show me that he can take it from there. I nod and walk out of the heavy, two framed door making sure to close it behind me so that nobody can sneak a glance at the bride. The door leads into the main entrance where the guests are waiting to the left in the big garden already.
I walk over to the open door that leads into the garden and stand by the frame to watch the guests.
A shadow on my right tells me that somebody is standing next to me, I don't have to look to know who it is- I feel his aura. "So many people." I whisper. My eyes fixed on a woman who is frantically trying to calm her two sons down. The feather on her blue hat is bouncing every time she speaks. I almost expect it to fly away.
"So many flowers." He replies smugly after a while.
My eyes dart from the feather to the location at once. I knew what their garden would look like from the very beginning and I still am amazed. There are roughly one hundred people, divided into two. Fifty white chairs decorated with flowers, are located on one side and the remaining fifty on the right side.
The two sides are divided by a white carpet that is surprisingly still clean, I can only imagine what the staff must have gone through to stop people from stepping all over it. A few rose petals are scattered alongside the way. I follow the carpet with my eyes till the end where a big wall of flowers is standing infront of a round wooden floor.
The priest, who is also dressed in white is all ready and waiting for us. I send a small nod his way to which he instantly reacts with putting his hands up and demanding silence from the crowd. I step away from the door frame and turn around. Paul is standing a few feet behind me and talking to his brother. "It's time." I announce.
Paul's smile widens. "Let's go lads."
And they leave without turning back.
Paul first, closely followed by George and Mike.
I watch them walk down the isle and bite on my lips to keep myself from crying already.
"Luna?" A voice calls from behind, I turn around and see that Anna's father is standing by the door unsure if it's okay to step inside. "Can we walk in?"
"Yes." I say. "They are outside you can come here."
He turns around but keeps the door open and then they both walk in. Our eyes meet instantly and she flashes me a small smile, which I gladly return.
"Ready?" I ask.
Anna doesn't reply, instead she takes a deep breath and finally nods at me.
I turn around to Angela, wave her over and then we both leave as well. The band plays a soft tune as we walk down the isle and throw rose petals on the floor. This time they are a soft red, perfectly harmonizing with Anna's hair.
When we come to an halt on our position I spot Anna's mother in the front on my left and right infront of me on the right side I see John and his second shadow in the front row.
I take a deep breath as the music starts to get louder, announcing the arrival of the bride and her father.
They step outside but then Anna stops.
I look at her in confusion, Anna is standing still, barely breathing, her eyes fixed on something or someone as I realize when I follow her gaze. Her eyes are fixed on Paul who's jaw dropped at the sight of her. He looks like a fish fighting for water as he opens and closes his mouth over and over again, as if the right words are just slipping away before he can voice them.
He doesn't need the right words anyways, his tear filled eyes say a thousand things and far more than his trembling lips could ever dare.
Almost automatically my eyes search for the comfort of a pair of dark brown eyes, when I find them my lips widen into a smile and George smiles right back at me.
A second, minute, life time later Anna starts moving again. Her white dress makes her shine, the bouquet in her hands a welcomed distraction from all the white. The sun dances on her flaming hair and the colorful flowers on top of it.
Finally Anna and Paul are able to connect their hands and with that the ceremony starts.
It would be an understatement to say that I was emotional, I am a sobbing mess by the time they say their vows.
After the small ceremony everybody is invited inside to the big hall for a drink while the staff clears out the chairs and puts them around round tables.
I stand close to George who is happily chatting with a man I don't recognize, when I spot the newly wedded couple they are in the middle of hugging some guests.
"George-" I say softly and that is all it takes for him to understand what I mean. He excuses himself from the man and we walk hand in hand over to our friends.
"Anna." I say as soon as we are close enough. She immediately let's go of the woman and looks at me.
Her eyes are already filled with tears and excitement.
I walk up and embrace her in a tight hug, when I let go I take her hands in mine. "Happy birthday." I say while completely letting go.
Anna's confused eyes say that this isn't the kind of congratulations she was expecting, she doesn't reply but instead looks at her hands which are holding a small box now.
"What is this?" She asks confused.
"Open it." Paul whispers.
And so she does, when she sees the keys inside of the box her eyes widen so much I'm afraid they will fall out any moment.
"What-" she breaths. "No-" she tries again but her lips refuse to form a sentence.
I take her hand, not wasting any words or time and lead her outside. Halfway through the door she stops walking and just stares at the car that is parked infront of the entrance.
Her mouth opens but no words leave her lips.
"It's from all of us." I grin.
She looks at me and then at George and Paul who stand close to me.
And then she finally walks up to the faint yellow VW Bus that is covered in sunflowers. We used to have one that looked just like this when we first moved to London. We traveled around a bit but then life happend. I met George, she met Paul. We both had our responsibilities and finally gave the Bus away. But we never got over it, having loved it so much. I figured that since this was a very special day and she would now be able to travel with her husband, this would be the perfect gift. And that's when Paul and George joined in on the gift.
It takes her a lot of time till she is finally able to touch it, almost as if she is afraid it will vanish and this will all be a dream when she gets too close.
"Thank you." She starts but then she shakes her head, unsatisfied with those words. "In all my life, I never received a more meaningful gift." She finally says.
"Yes," George replies. "Our friendship is the best gift anybody could ask for." Despite his sarcasm his eyes are filled with tears that he just can't hide, he walks over and hugs Anna.
It takes Paul and me no time to join in.
"Sir?" A voice calls from the door. We let go and let Paul handle whatever has happened.
"Let's go." He calls to us after a while, it's time for the couple's first dance.
Back in the garden, George walks up to the stage immediately and waits for the band to start playing, Anna's eyes widen when she realizes it's George who will sing.
She starts crying before a word leaves George's lips and starts to sob when she realizes what song he will be singing. They hug closely as they slow dance along.
"Remember, now, be here now
And it's not like it was before.
The past, was, be here now
As it's not like it was before - it was."
I nod, wiping away my tears. Because in the end, this is all that matters. Living in the now, and right now we are celebrating love.
Even people who I never thought I would see here joined us to do the same. I can't stop the smile that is forming in my eyes and to my surprise George smiles back at me.
I didn't realize I was looking at him but that doesn't matter because in this moment, while the music plays and my best friends are dancing and whispering secret promises into each other's ears, in this very moment while mine and George's eyes are locked - everything finally is perfect.
—————>
You know the drill, turn the page
**********************
Liebste Anna,
Ich wollte dir an diesem besonderen Tag etwas schenken das eine Bedeutung hat.
Ich bin mir nicht sicher ob diese Geschichte
gelungen ist, ich hoffe einfach sie ist genügend.
Vielen Dank das du meine Freundin, Seelenverwandte und Emotionale Muse bist.
Ich weiß nicht mehr was ich ohne dich machen soll.
Ich liebe dich,
Luna xo
