How To Plan A Disaster Wedding

Fall in-love with your bestfriend

Outside, the snow fell heavily. A woman was wearing a long white gown with a plunging neckline and serving cookies at the table. She seemed preoccupied with the action of arranging them in no particular order. So distracted that she didn’t notice the presence of the blonde young man standing behind her until she smelled the smoke wafting from his cigarette.

“How did you get in?” she asked as she walked towards the door he was leaning against.

“I pushed open the door and walked in,” he replied, attempted to smile roguishly as he was obviously accustomed to doing, but changed his mind.

“I told you not to come back to my house, so what are you doing here?” The young woman asked wringing her hands.

“I can’t leave you, Molly. I’ve tried but it doesn’t work out. I want you and I am prepared to stay with you at all cost”

“That’s what you said the last time! Why can’t you just go away and get on with you life!?” The young woman asked.

“You are my life! You are my everything!” The young man said. he tried to reach for her but she evaded his grasp.

“Liar.” The young woman said quietly

“I’m not lying to you this time. Can’t you see?” He reached for her, knowing he had won.

Suddenly the sound went off and Sarah looked up from the pillow to see Drew standing in front of the TV set.

“I’ve told you to stop watching these junk but you never listen to me” he said looking affronted.

Sarah got up from the sofa, popcorn spilling from her front onto the floor. She put one feet on the floor and tittered so dangerously Drew ran to catch her.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” she said.

“Shut up. God, I don’t know why I hate seeing you like this. I should let you suffer sometimes since you always bring it on yourself” Drew grumbled.

“Cos you love me.” Sarah said.

“NO. I don’t, I can’t love you when you do this to yourself”

“Say you love me” Sarah commanded, her eyes were brimming with tears.

“What are you doing?” Drew asked confused.

“Say that you lo-ve me Dr-ew, I ne-ed to he-ar it!” Sarah stammered as tears poured down her cheeks.

“Oh God! I love you. I love you so much! Just stop crying please” Drew begged.

“OK” Sarah said.

“I hate that pig right now” Drew swore. “Come on. we’re going for a swim.”

***

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The water was so blue and cold. The exact reflection of Sarah’s heart and she could not help wanting to sink lower and lower into it.

“Is this how you wanna drown yourself?” He asked.

“I’m not trying” she breathed into his neck.

“It is not obvious” Drew said and his cheek smiled against her neck “ Tell me what he did again”.

“I caught him sleeping with Karen” Sarah said.

“The bastard. He is so horrible.” Drew said

“Yeah” Sarah replied.

“Yeah? It doesn’t matter what he does, does it? you’ll still go back to him. Sometimes I wonder what he gives you” Drew said, he sounded so sad that Sarah reflexively hugged him tighter.

“I’ve loved him forever Drew, I can’t stop now.” Sarah said.

“Of Course. Go on. Nice habit by the way.” Drew retorted.

“Drew!”

“I wish you luck babe, really.” he said.

“Thank you.” Sarah replied.

“Always welcome”.

“I’m going to change the playing field now though.” Sarah said with a smug look on her face.

“What you gonna do?” Drew asked.

“You’ll see” she said, and she grinned. Drew was momentarily blinded and totally confused.

“Could you not go home tonight?” Sarah asked Drew.

“Fine. I’ll stay with you so you don’t hurt yourself” Drew said.

“So funny” Sarag said, and she put the car in drive.

***

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“My oh My. Heartbreak does make you cook tastier meals” Drew said rubbing his swollen belly in wonder. Sarah threw the cleaning rag at him and he dodged.

“Shut up.” Sarah said, chuckling as she cleared the table.

“Come on. I’ll help you with the dishes. what kind of best friend will I be if I don’t at least pretend to be nice?” Drew asked taking the dishes from her.

“You’ll be Drew” Sarah answered.

“Woah!” Drew held his chest in his hand as if it was going to fall “You sure know how to break my heart” He said.

Sarah walked out of the kitchen. “I’ll be outside” she called from the living room.

Fireflies danced in the grass around the patio and the wind whistled, blowing strands of Sarah’s hair into her eyes. Drew pushed them away, his fingers were cold from holding the cold glass of wine in his hands.

“See a shooting star?” he asked. Sarah turned her eyes away from his face and towards the sky.

“Not yet.” she answered.

“My mother once told me the reason why shooting stars move so fast is because of the urgent wishes they carried” Drew said.

“Your mom is beautiful, I miss her” Sarah said.

“Beautiful like you.” he said and turned her face back towards him. When he kissed her, it was nice and slow and with so much gentle attention that Sarah knew she was in love with him. She held him closer to herself.

Get Back With Your Ex

The first thing Sarah saw were the text messages full of heart, crying and sad smileys. She didn’t even need to read them to know what they contained, after six years of putting up with the same man, his apologies had become as stale as his person was to her. She let them keep coming into her phone without the expected reply and two days later they stopped entirely.

When she told Drew she was going home, he looked at her and said nothing, just turned back to the book he was reading. She knew she was hurting him. In the two weeks they had spent together after her heartbreak she had discovered that she and Drew had a chemistry with a certain Je ne se quo. He was the kind of man she would have been with if her life wasn’t so miserable. Loving Drew was like taking Ice-cream, in contrast to the deep alcoholic taste of Damian’s love.

Damian, it had been a while since she had said his name aloud or even in her thoughts. Drew had kept her so busy she had forgotten her heart was broken. Besides Drew chose to call him He, That man, That bastard, all the time so Sarah had begun to think of him along the lines of those names.

Being an independent Artist, she had no Boss to defer to and inform of her intention to travel so it was easy to just pack her bags and be out of town a day after she decided it would be best to clear her head around her family. Her sister Jane and her Mother could not wait for her to return. Her Mom missed her but Jane just wanted to hear a one on one candid discussion of how Sarah discovered Damian was sleeping with another woman.

“I knew it when we were on a double date with Karen and her boyfriend Jamie” Sarah said. She had finally agreed to have the discussion with Jane after the latter had run a bubble bath for her. she now preened within its depths.

“What? that bitch has a boyfriend?” Jane exclaimed.

“Yes. One that loves her to death” Sarah replied.

“That’s so horrible”

“Happens all the time.” Sarah said. She was thinking about her own personal experience of loving someone who did not love her back and had no qualms about hurting her repeatedly.

“How are you?” Jane asked.

“Finally! You realize your precious sister is back” Sarah said sarcastically.

“Precious?” Jane scoffed. “Do I look like your mother?” She tossed her head and laughed then screamed when Sarah splashed bath water on her.

“What’s going on here ladies?” a woman’s voice came through the door. The woman opened the door and stepped inside the bathroom.

“Mommy!!” Sarah squealed spreading her hand to hug her mother who peppered her wet cheek with kisses, not minding that her expensive dress was getting wet really fast.

“I missed you, mom.” Sarah said.

“Missed you too my baby” Her mother replied. Jane cleared her throat.

***

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“What!?”

“Damian is in the living room with Dad” Jane told Sarah who looked dumbfounded.

“What is he doing here?” She asked.

“How the hell am I supposed to know? Just get dressed and go out to meet him. You know how Dad can be” Jane advised.

When Sarah got to the living room, she saw Damian sitting beside her Dad with very little space between them. She wasn’t surprised, her father had always liked the young man who he fondly called the son he had always wished he had. Damian sat there trying to catch her eye but she ignored him. Her father watched her as she walked over to sit.

“I heard that you are not picking his calls over a little argument you two had” Her father said. Sarah’s head whipped to the side and she stared in shock at Damian. Her Dad continued speaking.

“I have told you to try to tame you temper and make your relationship work” He said.

“Yes daddy” Sarah said.

To Damian he said “ Take her, she is a woman. They are proud creatures so apologize to her if need be.”

“Thank you, Dad” Damian said and Sarah watched her Dad smile. Damian took her hand and she led him as they walked out through the door tucked behind a pillar that lead to the side of the house.

“What the fuck are you doing!?” Sarah asked when they were alone.

“God, baby. I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you that way. Please forgive me” he begged.

“I’m done Damian. I don’t want your lies anymore” Sarah said, she started when he suddenly fell on his knees.

“No no. Please. I can’t live without you” He hurriedly dipped his hand in his pocket “Marry me” Sarah stared dumbfounded at the ring in the small blue box. The diamond pulsed and caught the light. She was about to say no, then she heard a squeal behind them. Her mother and Jane were standing at the door watching them. Sarah could see tangible joy on her mother’s face and she knew she had no choice.

“Yes. I’ll marry you” she said. Damian got up, laughing happily as he took her in his arms and spun on his feet, despite herself, she laughed too.

***

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“Which finger does a wedding ring go on?” Sarah asked Jane as she examined the simple wedding dress she was holding.

“I think the finger after the one your engagement ring is on” Jane replied.

“You think?” Sarah asked.

“Yes, I think. What? I’ve never been married before” Jane said.

“Jeez” Sarah swore, drawing a line through the middle of her forehead.

“Why are you so tense?” Jane asked.

“I’m trying to plan a wedding in three months. That’s why!” Sarah snapped.

“I have an idea. Here’s something we can do” Jane said with a smile.

“What is that?” Sarah asked.

“Let’s make a wedding planning checklist. It’ll help. Won’t it?” She asked when her sister did not seem pleased.

Sarah pounced on her and began to tickle her “ Yes it will! Einstein!”

“Since the timeline is short, I think you guys should have your Bridal shower and Bachelors party next month” Jane suggested when they had stopped laughing.

“I think it is a great idea. Thanks Jane. You’re the best” She squeezed the younger woman’s hand.

“Great. Now that all doubts have been cleared on how awesome I am, can we begin?” Jane asked. They both laughed.

Try To Call Off The Wedding

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“What do you mean you don’t want to marry me anymore?” Damian asked. They had been having dinner peacefully at the fancy dinner they frequented when Sarah suddenly felt the urgent need to speak her mind.

“Why must I marry you?” She whined. “You’re an ASSHOLE” she said loudly. people turned to look.

“Are you drunk?” Damian asked.

Sarah had an insane thought that if he had been a white man both of his ears would have been red from embarrassment and she would have loved the sight. He was a black like her and the only sign of his embarrassment was the expression on his face and his slightly red eyes.

“Who said Black people blush purple?” Sarah scoffed.

“Wait a minute. Did you just embarass me to see if I would blush?” Damain asked.

“Why would you think that? That’s so evil!” Sarah said looking affronted, then she burst into laughter. When she came up for air, Damian was looking at her in a certain way that she almost knew what he was thinking. After dinner he would surely run to her father and tell him of his daughter’s bad behavior. Her father would then call her and tell her how much he liked Damian as a son and how much he wanted them married.

It was so comical that lately Sarah had taken to embarassing Damian and getting him angry only to watch him scurry over to her father, his dear Father in-law. Last week, her wedding shower had been a blast and she had gotten to Damian’s apartment dead drunk.

The next morning she had received a call from her dad who advised her on the importance of being responsible now that she was getting married. She was so shocked at how fast news had travelled from her father’s living CCTV camera that she laughed till her belly hurt. Thinking about her predicament made her smile and she ate the rest of her dinner in silence.

“Where did you say you are?” Sarah asked.

“COMING INTO TOWN!” Drew shouted. Sarah took the phone far away from her precious ears.

“Can we meet?” We’ve got a lot of catching up to do” She said.

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Disappear

The dress fit like a second skin, the lace snug against her shoulders. Sarah looked out of the window at the wedding decorations outside on the grounds. Everything was so beautiful it made her smile.

“You ready?” Jane asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be” Sarah asked.

“We’ll be going out to get in the cars in five minutes,” Jane said. “You ready to say your vows?”

“I am trying to be” Sarah said nervously. Jane squeezed her sisters hand.

“I’m so proud and I love you Sarah” She said.

“I love you too baby” Sarah replied. They hugged each other tightly.

Outside, the cars pulled up and the drivers came out. The driver of the brides vehicle looked familiar but his dark glasses hid so much of his face that Jane couldn’t really tell.

“Wait. I’ll be out soon” Jane said. She kissed her sister and walked back into the house. Sarah entered the car and sat down gingerly.

“You look beautiful Ma’am” the driver said.

“Thank you. Your suit fits nicely too” Sarah said. Laughing eyes stared back at her from the rear-view mirror.

“Where are we going?” The young man asked driving into the road.

“Somewhere I can dance, Somewhere far away” Sarah said, closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat.

After a while, she opened her eyes and stared at the strong shoulders hidden beneath his suit.

“Drew?” She called.

“Yes?”

“Would you dance with me?” She asked.

“Always” he replied, smiling at her in the rear-view mirror.