It's So Much More Than That (A Selection Story)

Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

The ride to the cathedral is quite a spectacle. There are people everywhere, cheering and waving in the streets, all trying to get a glimpse of me, probably. I’m kind of jealous of Maxon, actually. All he has to do is show up and look nice. Meanwhile, I’m stuck having to try to get through the city. Even though the cathedral isn’t that far away, it still takes us a solid half hour to get there. There’s cameras everywhere. I can tell through the windows of the car that there must be reporters here from just about every country. Good thing the windows are tinted, so they can’t tell that I’m in this one. Of course, our security has put up barricades all around. I notice along the ride many guards monitoring every aspect of the wedding train.

I let my maids get ready shortly after I was done. I knew that they’d be in one of the many other cars that were following us to the cathedral. Some of my family members were in other cars as well. My mom, May, and Marlee all shared this one with me. I’m sitting in the back, knowing that I’ll be the last one to step out. I had seen the Angeles cathedral before from the outside, but after yesterday’s practice, I knew it was just as ethereal on the inside. Every single row would be filled, along with some of the lucky cameramen who were allowed inside to broadcast the ceremony. The closer we got, the more nervous I was. Knowing that there were uncountable eyes watching us today really didn’t help much at all.

“We’re here.” My mom finally says. I was told not to worry about everyone else getting there; they were all assigned cars. We stopped right outside the entrance. A hundred reporters were already lined up on the sides, flashing their cameras as other people in the wedding party came out. In the hour before the wedding, there had been dignitaries from all over the world entering the cathedral as well. I’m sure that all of them would be thoroughly covered in the press tomorrow as well.

“America, it’s our turn, we’ll see you in there! Don’t worry, Silvia and us will be waiting for you.” My mom and May step out of the car and are greeted by a ton of flashes and cheers from the crowd. Then it’s Marlee’s turn. She gives me a small hug, and gets out gracefully when the guard opens her door. I can hear the crowd getting even louder. Marlee looks stunning today, really. I try to calm down, trying to tell myself that it’s just a short walk to the entrance.

I can do this.

Suddenly, on the other side of the glass, I glimpse a familiar face. Aspen. He’s here to escort me to the front, and to walk me down the aisle. I'd asked him because there really wasn’t any other person to ask. I really wished that my father was here to share this day with me.

“Are you ready, Mer?” Aspen’s voice sounded over the radio in the car. He leans down and look through the window. I nodded, and then he opened the door…

The first thing I saw were the blinding lights. Somehow, I managed to get out of there without tripping on my own skirt. With Aspen’s help I was able to stand. Marlee came over and helped straighten out my train for me. I finally looked up at all the people who were waiting to see me.

“We have a wedding to get to Mer.” I let Aspen’s arm steady me and we started to head towards down the red carpet they had laid down for everyone. During our short procession, I try to smile, and just focus on the pressure of Aspen’s arm. This would be the first impression the world would see of me today, and I hope it was okay. I gave a quick wave to the people in general and finally made it to the entrance. Phew. Once inside, we were escorted along with my family to a space off to the side. Just a few more minutes, and the ceremony would begin…

Right then I thought about my father. There was an ache in my heart because he wasn’t there. I knew that at that moment, he was probably looking down at me, telling me how much he loved me. He would say how proud he was and how beautiful I looked today. I could almost pick out the words he would’ve said if he were here.