The honeymoon

           “I do,” the words burn my throat. They feel unreal, as if they didn’t belong to me. Through my many protests, boycotts, and one signature petitions, mother had arranged this wedding. I am basically plan B for money. Smiling like a fool I look towards mother. This wedding is like playing house, and I’m the going to be wife, who is supposedly happy and joyous of all occasions. My future will most likely include baking cakes, meeting his coworkers, throwing parties that I will never enjoy, and having little rascals like my brother’s. I would rather travel the world, go to new places I have never been, meet people, and most of all actually have fun.

                In a couple hours the wedding is over. Everyone was just cleaning up now. The only thing I did was smile and wave as if I was the queen standing on a parade float. Mother talks to Ted’s parents Theodore and Wanda. Beethoven played in the background. I close my eyes hoping to get some peace out of this crazy day. That won’t happen though. Ted sneaks up behind me and puts his arms around me. “Hello Mrs. Letterman,” he says. It’s so cheesy it makes me want to throw up. Married couples who say that disgust me. “Hi,” I say simply. Standing up I step on my puffy white laced dress. “Come here,” mother yells across the ballroom. She points to the floor. I walk over there tripping every five seconds.

                “Lindy, I was just telling Wanda here where you will have your honeymoon,” she informs me. Mother hasn’t told me where my own honeymoon will be yet. “How does it feel to be married to our son?” Theodore asks me. My father in law looks like a tower compared to me, and Ted has taken that lovely trait. “Delightful,” I say with a smile. I truthfully wouldn’t know how to answer his question because it has only been a few hours and not years. “Guess where you’re going?” Wanda asks. I would have guessed, but both of my biological and mother in law give out the answer. They say in sync, “The grand canyon!”

The next day

                Ted and I are in his red Ferrari named Fred. It is odd how he named his car, but even so I wanted to name it Bloody Mary. His car smells like a mix of wax and plastic. My short blonde hair blows in the wind. We weren’t that far from the Grand Canyon anymore. Ben, my brother, would meet us there with his two daughters and wife. Ted turns on the radio and I immediately change it. His radio is usually on rap or hip hop, which are one of my most hated types of music. ‘House of Gold’ stops playing in the middle making a screeching sound. “Excuse the interruption, but there is a prison break. Five men broke out. The men missing are River West, a murderer, Henry Sancavest, a thief, David Reanders, a terrorist, and John Stevens, a murderer,” the man is cut off. Ted switches the station to rap. “It’s our honeymoon we don’t need false insecurity,” he tells me. I slide down in my seat. Closing my eyes I fall asleep.

                Something shakes me awake. I flutter my eyes open to see Ted standing outside the car. The sunlight finds my eyes. Ted helps me out. “I love you,” he tells me. I gulp not knowing what to respond with. Marriage starting with lies end up even worse. I honestly don’t believe in love. Love is just a simple four lettered word that people use to manipulate other’s feelings. If love was actually real then it would be indescribable and no word can take its meaning. “Okay,” I say awkwardly. Changing the subject I say, “Look how beautiful it is!” I didn’t have to lie to say that. The sunset met at the horizon making the canyon walls glow an orange color. The water glistened at the very bottom. The only thing that made my mind think other than that was the deep death drop; falling over the railing equals a 6,000 feet fall. Many others were astonished by the view. “I’m going to the bathroom,” Ted says in disappointment. I nod my head and say, “Be back soon.” He walks away leaving me with the sunset. The colors were warm and vibrant. There weren’t as many people as I expected.

 I sit down on a wooden bench. A man in an orange jumpsuit sits next to me. He holds a box in his hand. “Hello,” he has an accent. I smile. “It’s amazing isn’t it?” he asks me. I shake my head with a yes. “It’s a shame what will happen,” he whispers under his breathe. Was I meant to hear that or not? “What?” I ask him. “Oh, nothing,” he gives me a twisted smile. Gold replaced his front left tooth. “This will be it,” he whispers again sicker than before. What the heck is he talking about? The man looked ill. “Are you okay?” I scoot closer to him. He starts to laugh. His voice becomes scratchy. I should just leave this crazy old bat. I get up trying to leave. “Hold on little missy!” he grabs my arm. He pulls my arm towards his self. “Goodbye,” he whispers in my ear. He lets go making me fall. I stand back up and wait by the railing for Ted, forgetting whatever happened in the last five minutues.

There’s a feminine scream near the bathrooms. Getting worried I walk over. Half way in between my walk a man in a black trench coat appears, he looks liek the man before. His hands are held behind his back. A smile creeps on his face, but I don't see a gold tooth.A man from behind him steps to his side. Both their smiles had the same expression, but this one had the golden tooth. He whistles to get the crowd's attention that he didn’t have before. His right hand slowly rises over his head. Then his left hand rose. The right held nothing but the air that we breathed. Then the object in his left hand was so surreal, it left like I just jumped off the canyon landing face first into the dusty ground. The man held Ted’s bodiless, decapitated head like it was nothing. Ted’s brown hair was wet with his own blood. His eyes were torn from their own sockets. One eye just dangled barely attached. The man starts to swing it around as if it was a bowling ball. I guess I am the pin he wants to knock down, he wants me to fall. Ted’s head rolls landing at my feet. I throw up onto him. His empty sockets now filled with his wife’s vomit. Chunks of the peanut butter and jellies we had thrown over him. The man smiles at me. “Goodbye.”