Destined

Twenty Five

Aunt Sharon has always been the life of a party, and her birthday was no exception. She was the youngest of my mother's four siblings. The oldest three in the family were boys, Uncles Zack, Max and Collins. Then came my mum, Diana and at last, Sharon. I had a pretty big family on my mum's side, all my uncles had kids, so despite being an only child, I had enough cousins to fill my void.

Anyway, Aunt Sharon was bubbly and loud all through her party. She was mingling with all her siblings and nieces and nephews and just being a fun aunt. Talia and I were watching her, laughing every time she did something silly or embarrassing. I thought she was a little drunk.

The party was great. Talia had outdone herself once more. We had a happy birthday banner hanging outside at the entrance of the house. The food was plenty and good. Most of my male cousins were out at the grill showcasing their barbecue skills. So they called it.

All in all, the day went by quickly, the sun had already set and more alcohol had come out, and the grown-ups were starting to get even more frisky. We had music, there was dancing, it was a typical backyard barbecue.

The highlight of the party happened when a black car pulled up to the curb and out came a good looking man, dressed in jeans and a white polo shirt. I noticed amidst all the chaos because his car looked like Vince's. Of course I knew it wasn't Vince but my eyes stuck to it. The man that came out looked like him too. Okay not really, unless you count their height, they were two different men.

This one was older, his hair streaked with a bit of grey but perfectly well kept and combed back. I was watching him from the front yard, unaware that I was staring until I heard an excited shrill scream and suddenly, I saw Aunt Sharon running towards the man.

He smiled at her and opened his arms out to her as she practically threw herself at him. He caught her in a warm tight embrace and laughed heartily at her ministrations. They were both laughing, and she kissed him and I looked away because...well, yeah. I didn't know she'd been seeing someone. I was about go back to the rest of the party to give them some privacy when she called to me.

"Krissy, come here, you can be the first to know," she said to me.

I walked over to where they stood, arms wrapped around each other.

"Honey," she said to the man. "This is Krissy, Krissy, this is Luke, my husband,"

I gasped in shock. Husband? Luke smiled at me warmly. And then offered his hand.

"Krissy, I've heard so much about you. It's nice to finally meet you,"
I shook his hand, "Wonderful to meet you too," I said still shocked. "You're married?" I asked my aunt.
They both laughed, "Yes, I...We eloped, last month," she explained. "Come, I can only tell this story once today, let's tell everyone,"

I followed slowly behind them as they went to the rest of the party. To say people were surprised is an understatement. But after the initial shock wore off, the congratulatory remarks started flying so did a few 'let me see the ring'.

"I can't believe she's married," Talia said to me later when we were cleaning up, the party having ended.
"Me neither," I said. "She was always so against marriage for herself,"
"She's in love,"

I stopped what I was doing and just stood there in shock. Love. Love? Love! And it hit me so hard that I had to move to sit down at the kitchen table. I could hear Talia calling me, asking if I was alright but I couldn't answer. The realization had completely fried my brain. I was in love with Vince. I was in love with Vince. I was in love, with him, with Vince. I couldn't stop repeating it in my head.

"Kristina!" Talia shook me.
I laughed, "Sorry, I just...I got lost in my head for a moment,"
"Clearly, where did you go?"
"I need to make a phone call," I said and went outside.