When Bluebirds Fly | ✔

Part One : Chapter Nine

With our arms linked, Sam in his father's borrowed tuxedo which was too loose on him and I in my thrifted pastel blue dress marched in the open ground bustling with elegantly dressed people. My mother made a grand affair of her wedding by inviting the entire town that she resided in and the elaborate decoration that she vividly flaunted here. There was an unnecessary marble fountain in the middle of the grassland and all the tables surrounded it, forming a neat circle. The long tables with enormous quantities of food and fancy pastries that definitely tasted like muck were arranged parallel to the ground on either side as if one counter wasn't sufficient.

"I see her," I whispered to Sam who tightened his comforting hold. "I hope I screw up her entire wedding and take a satisfying revenge. I just want to make her cry. Eh, look at her phoney smile."

"You're a devil Mariana, but I don't blame you. When was the last time you two met?" Sam asked, consciously buttoning his collar for the thousandth time. It was a useless effort, that particular button always came undone. No matter how hard he tried.

"I don't know . . . Two years ago . . . Or was it three? It was Christmas and instead of sending her regular greeting cards, she shamelessly showed up at the door. Dad didn't let her in so she took me out to Mc Donalds and we talked. Rather she talked about her fantastic new life and how much she missed me. I was just stuffing the Big Mac which suddenly felt too dry and tasteless. I was hoping to go home." I recalled that day, it was the coldest day of my life. "She realized how uninterested I was and that I was a 'daddy's girl' so she never came after that. I still receive the occasional greeting cards with money on my birthdays and holidays. I guess we fell into that pattern where we're too busy or in my case, simply bored, to give a damn about each other."

"Well . . . Fuck, she's coming here." Sam nudged me as if I was blind and couldn't see her approaching us in her larger-than-life gown.

"Mariana, what a lovely surprise!" Her wide eyes gleamed, matching the diamonds on her necklace. Her gaze flickered between Sam and me, her arms outstretching to hug me. "You have grown up so beautiful . . . "

Without a mother.

"Yeah," I mumbled against her scented hair, they smelled pleasantly of vanilla. I pulled away and she proceeded to hug Sam whose eyes instantly flashed to me. "He's my friend, Sam."

"Nice to meet you, I'm glad Mariana got a friend with her. Enjoy yourself." She kept up with her pretence of being genuine. Suddenly, she grabbed my hand and placed it on her stomach. "There's something I wanted to tell---"

I withdrew my hand and staggered back. A clueless smile was frozen on her plump lips as if the most natural thing to do was invite your estranged daughter to your wedding and throw the news of your pregnancy. Point out how content you were with a husband and a brand new baby. I hated Dave and I felt a bubbling rage towards the innocent baby who wasn't prepared for what was to inevitably come- abandonment. But what if my mother never left its side? That thought irked me more.

"Congratulations," I managed to say softly, wanting to retort bitterly, but no words came out. Fortunately, she was distracted by a guest who dared to wear white on her wedding day and I grabbed Sam's arm, dragging him behind the flamboyant fountain. "I can't believe this shit."

He grinned, despite my humourless tone. "I thought you would be used to shit by now."

"Not of this kind!" I shouted, instantly lowering my voice to a hiss. "I came with the intention of wrecking this wedding, but I can't bring myself to. This is so complicated and frustrating . . . "

"Look at you having a pure heart," Sam mocked me, taking a glimpse of my mum who was with difficulty, trying to keep up her sweet façade in front of the reckless guest in white.