Evermore, Nevermore Forget Me Not

It's A Barry & Bailey World

*At the beginning with you: Anastasia 1997*

Setting: Mid June; Barry & Bailey's wedding day, early in the morning...

"Pick up, pick up," Bailey whispers to herself as she waits for the person on the other end

"Hewwo?" Comes a tired voice

"Y'all better be outta bed and gettin' ready fur taday," she tells them as she holds the phone to her ear with one shoulder while she gets undressed, "cause I ain't waitin' round and reschedulin' this shit if ya don't show up."

"It's six am," the tired voice tells her

"And the ceremony's in nine hours-What's yer point?" She asks as she starts the shower

"Mmm," the groan

"Just start gettin' ready," she tells him, "Georgie, Billy, Sheldon and the boys will be over round either one or two-pendin' on when Billy and Missy get in and pick up 'er kids from bein' with Mom and MeeMaw," she adds in, "I gotta go get in the shower, the girls'll be 'ere soon ta get ready."

      She hangs up before he has a chance to answer, and hops in the shower; singing and dancing to the loud country music blasting, she continues as she dries off as a knock comes to the hotel door...

"MOM! MEEMAW! THE GIRLS ARE HERE!" She screams as she turns off the music, finishes drying her self off and starts drying her hair

     She works on blow drying her hair that now reaches halfway down her back as she is soon joined by the other eight women and three kids getting ready. They talk and share stories as they do their hair, makeup and get into their dresses; by the time they're all finished and: Hyla, Halley and Matilda are ready to go, Bailey takes a moment to really look at herself in the mirror. A giant flowing white dress that covers her five months pregnant baby bump, white heels that are killing her feet, her hair in a half up, half down fashion-the old family wedding veil secured to her head by the tiara Amy let her borrow. Her guarder belt is blue beneath her dress and blood red lipstick bought new; she blinks at herself a couple of times, shocked speechless by her own appearance. Her nerves all a flutter as she stands there, ready to cry because she had never thought she could look half as beautiful as they had managed to make her.

"Everything Ok in 'ere?"

"Just," Bailey sighs as she looks at her grandmother threw the mirror, "never knew I could look half this good-"

"Bay, baby," Connie tells her quietly, "yer gorgeous-always have been, always will be, and yer pop-pop and I thought that the very moment we first layer eyes on ya...wasn't sure I'd live ta see this day-"

"And I never thought this day would come after that night," she sniffles in reply to her

"Oh no," Connie chuckles, "don't cry."

"I-I can't help it," she starts to sob

"Yer makeup'll run," Connie tells her as she pulls tissues out of her sleeve

"I don't know if I can do this MeeMaw," she heaves

"Oh that's just yer cold feet talkin,' y'all'll be burstin' with pure bliss by the end of it all," she tells her with a chuckle, "and that youngin' of yer own is runnin' round drivin' ya crazy."

"All I've ever wanted was what y'all had with Pop-pop," Bailey whispers, "it wasn't perfect, but-ya made it work and y'all were happy...weren't ya?"

"We had our good days-and our bad," is all Connie replies with at first, "Huh, look Bay-" she sighs out, "there ain't no such thing as a perfect marriage-or a perfect life...both have: ups and downs, bumps and turns and both are only as: good-or bad, as y'all make it..."