MASH

Chapter 37: Big Day

~Grace's POV~ 

The sun is shinning, the sand is soft and white beneath my feet and the waves of the ocean cool against my bare skin. I turned around, tugging a stray strand of raven back hair behind my ear and looked back at the canopy which holds the wedding venue. The huge canopy covers twenty dinner tables, an average of a hundred chairs around them and avelvet carpet which leads to a podium stand at the very end. Tables and chairs were clothed pure white and vases of flowers sat atop every table, arranged professionally by some florist whom I have no idea who.

As I strolled back to the preparation tent, which is beside the canopy, I can't help but wow at the sight of the beautiful scene of the sea. Picking the beach as the site of the wedding was the best decision I had made! Further on the preparation tent was the bustling kitchen and further on it the toilets. I hope the wedding planner, Madame Francoise, had made sure that everything was needed. 

I opened the preparation tent and sat by the dressing table, taking a brush and dragging through my curly black hair. "Mrs Hathaway-soon-to-be?" 

I turned and smiled at Emily, my hairdresser, who had arrived to fix my hair. Emily is young in her fields, becoming known for her unique hair-styling at the age of eighteen. She set her styling-case on the dresser and turned to me. "Congratulations on the wedding," she smiled through the mirror as she gently moved my head in the right position. 

"Thank you," I smiled back. 

"Where's the groom?" she asked, taking out her equipment. She took a brush, hairdryer and some other stuffs which I do not recognize and started pulling my hair up into a perfect chignon. 

"Andre should be outside welcoming the guests," I replied, cringing slightly as she pulled, twisted and turn my hair upside down. I watched in fascination as Emily's expert fingers find their way through my thick hair, styling it up with hairspray. 

"You must have given the wedding planner a lot of stress to ask for a wedding in a week's time," she laughed softly. 

"I guess so. Madame Francoise flew all the way from Paris just to tend to my needs," I laughed weakly, feeling the heated blush spreading across my cheeks. "But hey, we did make it on time, didn't we?" 

"Haha," she laughed. All of a sudden, she dropped her head down to my ear level and whispered, "Though I highly doubt Madame Francoise is really French. That accent is so fake." 

"I know right?" 

And we burst out laughing. I was literally shaking with laughter that Emily had to calm me down to finish her work. And so I did. The tent was quiet for a while and just as I am about to fall asleep, Emily finished adjusting my hair with a final flourish of hairspray. She packed her equipment and congrats me once more before leaving the tent behind her. I rested my arm on the table and supported my head on my hand. My eyes were drooping slightly from the lack of sleep due to the last minute wedding preparations. Maybe just a snooze... 

"Darling!" 

I snapped right up and with the reflections of the mirror in front of me, I saw Dad walking stepping into the tent and Mum... she was rushing at me like some over-excited dog... "Hey Mum. Hey Dad," I smiled wearily, coming to my feet to give Mum a hug. Before I could say anything else, Mum rushed at me like a war-tog, knocking me off my feet. Thankfully, before I could break anything, Dad caught me from the back and steadied me on my feet again. I was about to thank him when he (surprise, surprise) bear-hugged me and Mum together, his arms closing around us. 

For a moment, we stayed there like that. And in a another, Mum and Dad pulled away, staying side-by-side looking at me with proud eyes. "Oh Grace, me and your father are so proud of you," Mum said, wiping a tear from her eyes. "Finally married..."