Sweet Lantern

Chapter 23

Alice

My opens flutter open and see Darry leaned up on his side, looking at me. "Good morning, beautiful. Just twelve more hours and we'll be husband and wife", he tells me, reaching out to brush the hair away from my face.

I smile and stretch my arms, sitting up to kiss him on his cheek. "Mmmhmm", I agree.

When I lay back down, my t-shirt lifts, exposing my stomach. Darry bends down to kiss the skin that's showing, while he traces his fingers down my side, making goosebumps pop up all over me.

"You know we have to go separate ways after breakfast, right?" I remind him, hoping he will protest and say it's a silly and unnecessary tradition. I want him to say, "To heck with our parents' traditions, let's start making our own, right now!" But he doesn't. He agrees, nodding his head, even though I can see the sadness it brings to his eyes.

We take our time getting out of bed, neither of us really wanting to adhere to the "Groom can't see the Bride before the wedding" silliness but knowing how much traditions like this mean to our moms. We hold each other, talking about the ceremony and the reception; who we think will be there and who will be making toasts. We dream together about our house and how we will be sleeping in our own home tonight, alone.

When we know we can no longer stall time, Darry gets up and gets dressed in his jeans and white t-shirt. Pulling on his shoes, he turns to me, leaning in to kiss me and says, "I will see you tonight, darlin."

I smile at him and reply, "I'll be the one wearing the beautiful dress, standing by the Minister, down front", winking at him.

"You are so beautiful... to be such a dork." Darry says, teasing me. He gets up and leaves the room and I fall back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, unable to process that I'm about to be married... to my very best friend in the whole world.

When I know he has had time to get to his parents' house, I get up and get dressed too, pulling on a plain red t-shirt and some cut off jean shorts.

Downstairs I find my parents and Robby, sitting alone at the table eating breakfast. "Wow. No company? No noise in the house? What's happened? Who's died?" I ask, joking around with them.

"Good morning, sweetheart. How did you sleep? Are you feeling any better today?" My dad asks, worry in his voice. "I slept great, and I feel wonderful, daddy!" I assure him. "I'm getting married tonight!" I squeal and throw my arms up in the air dramatically.

"Oh, I'm so excited for you! Come sit with me, let's eat our last breakfast together... for a while anyway." Mom says, patting the chair next to her and reaching out for my hand.

Robby's next to me on his phone. I can see that he's texting Beth, but I don't pry long enough to read their messages. I smile at our baby siblings and their "secret" romance.

When breakfast is over and we've cleaned the kitchen, Mom tells me we need to go outside and walk around, making note of everything that's done and anything that still needs to be done. Outside, the tent is setup, with white chairs underneath, lined up neatly in rows on either side with a small walkway going down the center of the chairs. Down the walkway is a red-carpet runner that leads to the front. In the front center, is an archway lined with green vines and beautiful flowers and ribbons and bows, along with fairy lights. The whole ceiling of the tent is lined with fairy lights and white flowers on vines. It's breath-taking. Our moms have done an amazing job of bringing all of this together so quickly. I'm so thankful to them.

We walk around the tent and see that everything is ready to go over here, so she leaves me here and walks over to Darry's to make sure that everything is coming together for the reception. When she returns, she's very happy so I know that everything is going well over there too. For some reason, other than not being able to see Darry until the wedding, I am not allowed at the Williams' farm until it's time for the reception. And Darry has informed me that even if I ask everyone we know, he has threatened all their lives if they tell me anything, so no one will talk.

When the day is ending, guests start to arrive at our farm. I look out of my bedroom window and see the little white chairs filling up. The whole front yard is lit up with fairy lights and big bulb lights, like the ones from Christmas, but in white. I look to the right and I can see the tent lit up through the trees at the Williams' farm. I can't make out any details though, just little sparkling balls of light in the distance.

My stomach is a ball of nerves. I'm both excited and nervous, simultaneously. The next time we look into each other's eyes, it'll be because we are vowing in front of everyone we know and love, to love each other and only each other for the rest of our lives.

I hear a knock at my door and my dad pops his head in, "Your mom wanted me to tell you that it's time to get dressed, sweetheart. Twenty minutes til showtime."

He leaves and I pull my beautiful champagne colored dress over my head, letting it fall around me all the way down to the floor. I've already finished my hair and my makeup. I chose to braid my long hair down my back, leaving light wisps sticking out around my face. My makeup is simple and natural, nothing too dark or too much. I don't need shoes, as I have chosen to go it barefoot since the dress covers my feet anyway.

Daddy knocks on my door again, telling me it's time to go. I can hear the music playing outside and take one last peek out of my window to see more guests driving up the drive and parking, piling out of their cars and walking over to the tent. I wonder if Darry is still getting ready and if he is as nervous as I am.

I take one last look around the bedroom that has been the haven for mine and Darry's friendship first and then in these past few months, our romantic relationship. All the memories of our past together come flooding in. We've spent so much time here in this room together. Out on that roof, right outside my window is when I gave myself fully to Darry for the first time. It's where he proposed to me for the first time too. And how many nights before that did, we lay out there, watching and trying to count the stars?

Tonight, we will walk into our own home, as man and wife, and this life will be a distant memory. We will make new memories and start new traditions, together.