The Wedding Date

Violet accepted the suggestion, offered a tiny smile and gently patted his upper arm as he looked her way with pleading eyes that meant, in a number of ways, he desperately could not go alone. It would be one thing to attend on his arm, as his friend — but he was asking her to attend as his date and she wasn't entirely sure how well that might go down. Sure, they had never really tested boundaries as far as chemistry went, between the two of them, but in a last ditch effort to cast aside all of his worries and fears, she had opted out of saying no for once.

 "I'm only doing this because I love you and you know, I would hate to see you go alone to someone's wedding. I realise that would be incredibly awkward and hell, even I wouldn't be caught at a ceremony by myself," she stated.

 "Cheers, Vi. I dun know wha' I'd do without yer. An' I really should make it up to yer somehow, so it'll be my treat, wherever we go out for a meal next back 'ome," he said, knowing that she knew his promises were always kept.

As soon as her friend left after a cup of morning brew, she paced the narrow hallway of her home and almost yanked all of her hair out as she thought of what might be most suitable to wear for a wedding. She hadn't actually taken that into consideration before agreeing to his plan and thus, was now struggling to come to terms with the fact that she only had a very flowery dress, one that was always tucked away at the back of her wardrobe for a hot summer day. Even her friend didn't know she owned such a thing and as he had never seen her in anything but pants or shorts before, she was beginning to regret her decision. There were thoughts along the lines of him not liking how she looked when dressed as a proper lady.

Scoffing as she looked into the full length mirror across from her dressing table, she pouted at her reflection and hurriedly slipped on her blue satins, with the smallest of kitten heels. Heels were never a good idea for the girl, but she figured that for a wedding, it would give her that sophisticated look which her friend was probably hoping for. Letting him down was not an option and so, she bit back the urge to scream into her pillow and waltzed down the stairs and out of the house. He had mentioned prior that he would be outside as soon as the clock struck twelve and, as always, he was right on time. She did manage a small smile at having predicted his prompt arrival, as well as the look he gave her when his eyes rested on the dress.

 "If you say one word, I will march straight back inside and not leave the house for weeks," she warned.

The blonde rose his hands as if to say he had no intention of making any cruel or sarcastic remarks, for he understood well enough that she favoured clothing that was not necessarily feminine in nature. He was dying to compliment her on how lovely she looked and mention that she should dress that way more often, but knew he would end up with a few bruises if he so much as mentioned that the dress looked pretty on her and vice versa. Heaving a sigh, he pulled away from her house and they were well on their way, with the church being only a short drive toward the West shore and taking no more than fifteen minutes.

 "Yer look beautiful, Vi. Tha' is all I wanted to say — please dun kill me before we get there," he pleaded.

 "I'm sorry~ thank you for the compliment. I'll let you off just this once, seeing as you want everything to be perfect and without faults or slip-ups, which I'm assuming includes my un-ladylike self," she chuckled.

 "It is a very pretty dress, like. I would go as far as to say yer should wear stuff like tha' more often, but I know tha' would earn a few nasty looks from yer," he added, dodging her hand as it flew in his direction.

Unfortunately, she missed by a couple inches, yet the sour expression upon her face told him the mere mention was, as predicted, completely unacceptable and he fell silent once more. They drove along, listening to the sound of ocean waves and squawking seagulls, neither daring to look at one another, let alone try to strike up another conversation. He couldn't understand why it was such a sensitive subject and knew that the longer he continued to push it aside as though it was nothing, the less he would know about it. And that wasn't how he liked his friendships; he favoured knowing every last little detail about those he cared for, so that in the event of some dire emergency, he would know exactly how to handle the situation.

There was no point in dragging up old news now, nor was there a reason to flip the radio on, as they had reached the church in record time. Hundreds or cars were packed outside and her stomach tumbled at the thought of being around so many people she did not know, and just a small bundle of people she did. Having not met his extended family yet, her insides turned to mush and she began battling with her bodies natural reaction to uncomfortable scenarios~ resisting the urge to throw up all over her dress and shoes. Her friend looked toward her as soon as they stepped out of the car and he, being the gentleman he was, held his arm out for her, a beaming smile upon his face. That alone calmed her nerves a small amount, but he noticed the fear in her eyes with every step they took toward the opening of the church.

 "Oh god, oh god, breathe Vi... just breathe," she reminded herself.

 "Vi, yer'll be just fine, trust me. My family will love yer an' there are two people I'd like for yer to meet while we're 'ere, so yer need to stop stressin' before yer end up in a heap," he gently chided her.

All she could do was slowly nod her head in understanding, but continued to fight against the chaos in her stomach. He wanted her to meet some people~ but of course, why had she not prepared herself for that. Perhaps if she had been given a little more time to gather herself and collect her thoughts, it might have been a lot easier to face her phobia. Yet, it was a wedding and she should have put two and two together, even without his help on the matter. Although her fears ran deep and disrupted all normality on the inside, she was terribly clever when it came to hiding turmoil on the outside, as she smiled warmly at those they passed whilst walking up the aisle to find their seats.

A passing remark did not go unnoticed as they moved forward and she held back her desire to turn and run out of the church and down the street when she realised her friend had heard it, too. But all he was doing was smiling fondly at the idea, then proceeded to toss her a wink as she turned red as a tomato. Cheeks flushed, though lacking the grace to shield her embarrassment in a proper manner, she did not hide it at all and when he noticed, he simply lay his hand over hers and squeezed gently, reminding her that everything was going to be all right and that, if anything similar happened over the course of the day, he would handle it.

 "Calm down, Vi. 'Am only jokin' — as nice as it would be to marry yer, as my Aunt said, she dun really know yer well enough an' if we did end up together, yer'd get the short end of the stick an' I couldn't do tha' to yer. I think yer deserve someone who cun give yer the world," he ranted, as they took their seats upfront.

 "Oh, come off it, you absolute buffoon. Who in their right mind wouldn't want to marry you? I don't think you fully comprehend how amazing you are. I've known you for years and never once have I believed you would be a terrible husband, or father for that matter," she chastised, offering a stern glance his way.

Noting the growing smirk on his face, she finally realised he had intentionally provoked her response and now, her cheeks were turning all the more red in tone. Those seated around them failed to notice, thankfully, but before she could add on to her little reprimand of his bitter words about himself, the wedding march began. Her eyes lit with wonder as she turned her head, following suit with everyone else and focused on the bride, as well as her groom who was waiting at the alter with a gleaming smile. Lips curled upward as she watched the exchange of facial expressions between bride and groom. They were a perfect match on looks alone and she found that she could not wait to meet the pair as soon as the ceremony was over. Not one for after parties, she had agreed to go through with everything this time around, so naturally, would be meeting with whomever he hoped to introduce her to by the end of the day.

Sitting upright throughout the marriage of two of her friends relatives, the girl was relieved as soon as it came to an end and she was able to slouch her shoulders again. Her friend noticed and chuckled softly to himself as he once again took her hand and pulled her gently out of the church, along with everyone else and walked a little ways down the road where others seemed to be heading. Hopefully, the party wouldn't last too long and they could be back on their way home again soon, but what she wanted most of the time, never did happen and as soon as they entered the building and climbed the stairs to the events area of the pub, several people came over to introduce themselves. Most of them hadn't seen her friend since he was a small boy and others, simply wanted to greet their relatives friend instead.

 "Emlyn — how many people are actually in your family?" she asked, forcing a smile as another came up.

 "Only half of these, everyone else is just a family friend or work colleague," he answered.

The woman who ventured toward the two of them as they finally took a seat at a table near the back, closest to the bar and a little to the left of the dance floor, smiled her biggest smile and embraced him as though she too hadn't seen him for years. Apparently, that was not the case, the two were just as close as close could be. Violet smiled adoringly at the light chatter between the two of them before she was dragged into the small circle and brought in for a teddy bear hug, as well as a load of gossip.

 "Vi, this is my Aunt Carys, the one tha' embarrassed yer before in the church," he nudged her gently.

 "Oh! oh.. did I? I'm sorry 'bout tha', love. Yer both make a lovely couple, either way," she smiled.

 "It's absolutely fine, no need to worry about that. I was just a little startled by the revelation is all. Besides, this one here thinks he isn't good enough to marry me and I disagree entirely~ very much the other way around, if he will allow me to say so," she shot him a look as if to say she had won that round.

 "Say, how 'bout us girls 'ave a good old chat an' let the fella's go 'bout their business for a little while?" his Aunt suggested, linking arms with the girl and tossing a small wink her nephews way.

 "Yer more than welcome to spend a bit of time with the light of my life, Auntie Carys," her friend answered for her and swiftly took his leave before she was able to offer up any excuses.

Violet turned a faint shade of pink at his words and noticed the knowing grin on his Aunts face soon after he had walked away and left them both alone. That could have been taken in so many different ways, but she hoped the Aunt would choose not to play on those words and indulge in a chat about how long the two had been together — seeing as they were purely best friends and nothing more. But it seemed she did want to go down that route and as they took a seat at another table, she was introduced to the Uncle, whom was just as nice as her and so, she deduced the evening wouldn't be such a bad one after all.

Their conversation died down some as the evening progressed and several couples took to the dance floor to have a little boogie before the day was up, including the two she had been getting to know a little better. A smile hung on her lips as she watched them waltz with ease around the floor, smiling beautifully at one another with every step and glide they took. Soon enough, she was swaying in her seat just listening to the music; it wasn't the usual pop or hip-hop people expected at a wedding. Rather, it was a mix of swing and something exotic, almost.

 "Care to dance?" a thickly accented voice spoke from behind her chair as she spun around.

 "Oh — you scared the life out of me!" she laughed a little, taking his hand and walking to the middle of the dance floor with him, a little on edge as she remembered she was wearing a dress and heels.

 "Yer cun do this, Vi, just breathe," he comforted, smiling down at her as they held one another close.

And as it went, it turned out that she could and before long, they were spinning effortlessly in small circles around and between other couples. Laughter rose as they realised they were actually having a ton of fun and as she glanced toward the tables of people still seated, she noticed his mother and his aunt both watching with intrigue when he finally dipped her low toward the floor. He lingered there, perhaps a while longer than was the norm, and all she could do was gaze up at him. The close proximity between them in that moment took her breath away, in a very literal sense and just as she opened her mouth to speak, he beat her to it.

 "'Am startin' to see somethin' in wha' my Aunt said earlier, yer know. I think we would make a lovely married couple one day. But we would 'ave to be together a while before tha' sort of thing came into it, dun yer think? So I was wonderin', Vi, will yer be my girl?" he asked, all trace of hilarity wiped from his expression.

 "I thought you'd never ask~" she replied, a slow, genuine smile lighting up her face as he leaned in for a kiss to seal the deal.