Forgive or Forget

Chapter 13

-Cheryl-

The day that we've been waiting for is finally here. Today, I marry the man who came into my life like a whirlwind. Little did I know that night almost a year ago, when I walked into Max's Taphouse, I would meet the man of my dreams.

My mom enters the room where I'm getting ready to marry Reed. "You look beautiful, Cheryl."

I smile at my mom. "Thank you, Mom."

"You know it's not too late to back out." My mom says to me as I'm minutes away from getting married.

"Mom, you need to stop," I demand

Mom replies, "I'm saying that maybe you should wait. How well do you know this man?"

I turn towards her. "This man has a name, Mom."

"I know, dear," she snips.

Now, I'm getting irritated. "The problem here is not that I don't know Reed. It's that you don't know Reed. Can't you please trust that I know what I'm doing? I know my feelings for Reed are powerful. I love him with every part of me. He makes me feel cherished and adored. I would think that you would want that for me. We are not Dad and you!"

I know that the underlying cause for my mom's feelings is that she was hurt so badly by my father and didn't want me to go through the same pain that she had experienced.

Mom sighs, "I know, Sweetheart. I'm not saying I don't want you to marry Reed. I'm just saying not to marry him so soon after meeting him."

"How long did you date Dad before getting married?" I asked with an attitude.

Her eyes show that she knows where I'm going with this question.

"Three years," she whispers.

"Exactly. You knew Dad for three years before you got married and had no clue that a couple of years later, he would leave us both behind."

I soften my tone.

"Mom, Reed, and I love each other. He wants me to be his forever, and I want that too. I'm not saying we won't have challenges down the road, but our lives and love are ours to grow together. I refuse to make decisions based on someone else's life mistakes."

I see tears in my mother's eyes. I walk over to her and take her into my arms.

Mom cries, "I'm sorry, Cheryl. I hope that Reed and you have a wonderful life together. I love you and want you to be happy."

I hug her tight. "I love you, too, Mom. Reed makes me very happy."

**Knock, Knock**

"Come in," I call out.

Kandie walks in and sees my mom crying. "Hello, ladies. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Kandie looks between my mom and me. "Not at all, Dear. Please come in," Mom sniffs.

Kandie comes in with her makeup bag. "I just wanted to touch up your makeup before you walk down the aisle."

Kandie makes a few adjustments to my hair. I have half of it up twisted from side to side into a loose French braid crown. She touches up my smokey eye eyeshadow and lightly brushes bronzer on my cheeks. She places a pale pink lipgloss on my lips. When she finished, she turned me around to look at my image in the mirror. The simple knee-length, off-of-the-shoulders, white lacy-fitted dress is perfect with my cascading curls down the back.

Kandie places baby's breath flowers throughout my crown of braids. "Finished. You look stunning, Cheryl. You're going to knock Reed on his ass!"

Kandie looked at her watch. She looks beautiful as well in her satin, spaghetti-strapped sage green dress. "It's time. Are you two ready?"