[at the beach, 20 min later]
The setup was beautiful, like a snapshot
from the movies. The chairs were in perfect rows, ordained with yellow, white,
and purple ribbons. There was an archway facing the ocean, under which
the priest stood waiting. The wedding party, all ten of them, were lined
up on either side after walking down the aisle in pairs; the guys complete
with their yellow vests, bow-ties, and boutonnieres, the girls with their
purple bridesmaids dresses and white lily bouquets. AJ stood nervously by
the priest, fidgeting, alternating between playing with his bow-tie, his
glasses, and the friendship ring on his finger. Chin's two younger sisters
made adorable flower girls. Little Zack stood patiently in front of Kevin,
holding the rings. Everyone looked towards the horizon as Chin appeared at
the end of the aisle with her father, a huge bouquet of purple, white, and
yellow flowers in her hand. Her hair was beautifully adorned with white flowers
and diamond pins; her silk dress had layers of sheer white fabric fluttering
in the light breeze. Her father winked at her as she took AJ's arm and faced
the priest. She looked at AJ's face for a moment, as if waiting for something.
It finally dawned on him; he took off his sunglasses and chucked them to
Kevin to pocket (there was a chuckle from the audience). They faced one another
and took each other's hands when it time came to read the vows. Each stuttered
and stumbled over their words, too caught up in emotion to say anything clearly.
Chin went first, releasing one of her hands to read from a worn piece of
paper that Sarah handed to her.
"Alex...I never thought this day would
come, but here we are, standing in front of our friends and family, vowing
to be with each other for forever. My mind can't comprehend what's happening.
As I write this I cannot imagine what this day will be like. There is so
much happiness and fear flowing through my body that I don't know where to
start...I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am
with you. As corny as it may sound, I don't care: You're my day, you're my
night. You're my strength when I need support. You're my shoulder to cry
on. You're the one I can run to. You're the one who'll always understand
and will always care no matter what happens. You're my happiness. You know
my fears and respect them. You know my joys and somehow expand them. Just
as I promised to wear our friendship ring, I vow to wear my wedding ring
forever. I always wanted a happily-ever-after ending, but didn't think there
was such a thing. You're my everything, and I can't think of a better happily-ever-after
ending than to spend the rest of my life with you."
The audience was silent. All that AJ
could hear was Chin's soft breath and the breaking of the tide on the shore.
He smiled as he saw a tear cascading down her cheek. He rubbed his thumbs
over her hands and took his turn, ignoring Kevin when the Best Man tried
to hand the groom the paper; being so nervous, he had memorized his vows.
"Chin...It's so hard to find the right
words to even begin to tell you how much you mean to me...To be your friend
was all I ever wanted; to be the love of your life was all I ever dreamed.
I don't know what would have happened had I never met your friends that fateful
day in the Happiest Place on Earth. I don't know what would have happened
had I let the situation over the last few years get to me. But I do know
what did happen and what will happen in the future. I will always be your
friend. And from now on, I will always be your husband. I will always be
there when you need me. Forever isn't just a word to me, it's a promise;
one I've meant to keep since the day you gave me that ring. I cannot predict
the future or fix the past, but I can vow to continue to love you as I always
have. You're the one girl who can turn me inside out and back again without
a scratch. You're the one woman who can even come close to having the type
of deep connection that I have with my mom. You're the one pretty lady who
stole my heart and has had it locked away in your safekeeping for forever.
Since I met you it's been a dream, and from this day forth, I'm lucky to
say that my eternal life with you will become a reality."
With the words said, silence settled over
everything. The priest finally smiled and stated the final words:
"You may now kiss the bride."
[1 hour later--5pm--the reception]
After heartfelt and amusing speeches
from all of the wedding party, not just the Maid of Honor and the Best Man,
AJ and Chin were ready to cut the cake. As they took the knife in both their
hands, Chin noticed something different about the plastic figures on the
top. Someone had taken a sharpie and drawn glasses and a goatee on the groom.
AJ noticed it too and was trying not to ruin the moment by laughing. Chin
looked up and noticed that Nick and Brian were positioned strategically behind
their girls, as if protecting themselves. They caught her gaze and grinned
innocently.
[1 and a half hours later]
"Ready?" Chin yelled, turning around, a
small bouquet in hand. All the single women (minus Sarah, who had refused
to budge, much to Kevin's amusement) had formed a group behind the bride.
"YES!' They all screamed. Chin closed her
eyes and chucked the flowers over her head. It sailed over the group, and
most of the guests immediately expected it to land in the sand. As if the
wind had other plans, the bouquet didn't land where it was supposed to...it
landed right smack in Jenny's lap. The girls from the crowd whined that she
wasn't single, but Chin grinned and refused to throw it again. Jenny thought
nothing of it and placed the flowers by her plate.
"Garter belt time!" the single men howled,
gathering where the single women had been. AJ rolled his eyes and grabbed
a chair. Chin laughed, put her leg up, and pulled her dress back to find
it. Some of the guys whistled, prompting AJ to take it off her leg with his
teeth. Before Chin could smack him, it was in his hand and she was an adorable
shade of red. He turned around and threw it over his shoulder.
The tricky wind worked its magic again...the
garter belt landed on Brian's head. Jenny burst out laughing as he attempted
to calmly placed it by his plate. The guys complained like the girls had,
but AJ, like his bride, refused to throw it again. To shut up the whiners,
he winked at the DJ to start some music and shimmied into the beach house
patio and started dancing with Chin. A crowd soon followed the lead.
Jenny laughed and clapped her hands to the
music, not getting up because she wasn't done with her dessert yet. Brian
slowly took a drink of water and studied her. His free hand felt the familiar
object that had been in his pocket for a few weeks now...was it time?
Clinking sounds of forks on glasses
echoed in the air, disturbing Brian's thoughts. He quickly got up to complete
the task at hand. It was close to sunset.
Chin, just returning to the head table with
her husband, raised an eyebrow as Lance, Howie, Nick, Kevin, and Brian walked
towards the couple. Brian and Nick made a beckoning motion and AJ reluctantly
got up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for a serenade,"
Lance's deep voice announced to the audience from the microphone he had grabbed.
AJ looked at Chin, acting surprised, and shrugged his shoulders. He was nudged
down the line of guys towards the awaiting mic. He seemed hesitant. Once
it was in his hand, he feebly looked around. When he caught Chin's eye, a
confident smile appeared on his face and he began to sing what he had heard
a few months ago on one of the girl's CD's; a song that he and the guys had
been practicing for weeks.
"Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh....Yeah, yeah, yeah,
" the guys began, a cappella.
"I'm telling the world--here and now...that
I'm gonna love you and love you...I take this vow, yeah," AJ began, his eye
locked with Chin's. The guys ooh-ed in the background. "You captured my heart
so long ago...still there are some critical things that you should know."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the guys continued.
"Do I give all I am to be now and forever
your man? Do I take you to be, without question, the woman for me? Do I promise
you? I do...Do I promise you? I do...I do," they sang together.
"This love has been worth, worth waiting
for...This love doesn't matter to me if it's not yours." AJ smiled at his
wife. "As we become one, through and through...I dedicate all of my life
to loving you." Chin was motionless out of shock.
"Yeah, yeah yeah," the guys sang.
"Shoobydoop, doo-doop, doop, doo-doop..."
Jenny jokingly crooned quietly behind them as the guys continued back-up
for AJ during the chorus. She was mimicking the beginning tune of their old
song "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming." Brian grinned at her a bit before motioning
for her to stop. Nick, standing nearby his table, attempted to grab a handful
of leftover cake (he only got some crumbs) and chuck the food in her direction
as discreetly as he could. Everyone noticed but Chin and AJ; they were off
in their own world.
"To have and to hold--" the guys sang.
"While passions unfold...I promise
a life you won't regret," AJ sang.
"For better or worse--"
"No one can reverse the way that I've
felt..."
"...since we met--"
"--and you ain't--"
"And you ain't seen nothing yet," they
sang together. "Do I give all I am to be now and forever your man? Do I take
you to be, without question, the woman for me? Do I swear on my life we'll
be happy as husband and wife?" They continued into the chorus, the guys keeping
steady back-up while AJ ad-libbed like he never had before. By the end of
the song, he had slowly made his way to the head table.
"Do I promise you? I do...I do...I
do.*" He was kneeling before her, her hand in his. Everyone erupted with
applause. Chin bent down and hugged him with all her might, falling off the
chair and knocking him backwards into the sand, leaving kisses all over his
face.
[half an hour later]
Taking a breather, AJ and Chin calmly
returned to their table. The dance floor was another story...
"Move," Nick growled jokingly. Brian
bumped Nick with his butt.
"Take that!" Brian laughed evilly.
Jenny and Julie exchanged funny glances but ended up laughing with Brian.
"Oh yeah?" Nick shifted his slow dancing
position with Julie and tried to trip Brian.
"Hey!" Jenny whined and kicked Nick.
"Ow!" Nick whimpered and Julie giggled.
"My poor baby..." Julie squeezed his
waist and kissed his nose. "Feel any better?" she cooed.
"A little," Nick grinned.
"Oh gross..." Brian and Jenny rolled
their eyes.
"Look who's talking!" Julie retorted.
"What?" Jenny grinned innocently and
kissed Brian. "I have no idea what you are talking about..." She glanced
at Brian and they broke out in a fit of laughter.
Sarah shifted uncomfortably in her
seat, picking at the remains of dessert on her plate. Besides the newlyweds
and a few scattered guests, everyone else was on the floor, but she still
had her hatred for dancing. Kevin showed up out of nowhere, only heightening
her sense of discomfort. Dancing with him--she didn't think she could handle
it...
Kevin glanced to the dance floor and
back to Sarah evilly, reaching for her hand. "Can I interest you in--"
"Hell no." Sarah pulled away and slumped
down in her seat.
"Oh come on! This is AJ and Chin's
wedding reception," Kevin gestured to the crew dancing the night away. "Come
on..." he pleaded. Sarah glanced at Kevin and sighed.
"Okay... But not for the entire night..."
Sarah accepted Kevin's hand, not really knowing why she had given in.
"We'll see..." he grinned innocently
and whisked her away before she could protest any more
"I knew I loved you..." Howie sang
softly with the music.
"You know what?" Cathy spoke up. She
had been buried into his shirt, but was now looking up at him.
"What?" Howie looked down at her and
kissed her gently. When he pulled away, she was smiling.
"I love you..." Cathy pulled Howie
down to her again.
"I love you, too..." Howie smiled and
kissed her.
"Thank you for being here." Hannah
smiled up at Lance. "I know you had to move around a lot of stuff for this,
but it means a lot to Chin...and me."
"Anything for you," Lance tightened
his hold on her. "And anyway, I wouldn't want you being seduced by all of
the single men here," he joked.
"Oh... well maybe I shouldn't be so
glad you're here then," Hannah giggled. "Missing out on some major guy-action."
"And what am I? Chopped liver?" Lance
exclaimed. "I can give you action!" Hannah burst out laughing at Lance's
reply.
"You can, eh?" she snickered, wiggling
her eyebrows. Lance blushed and kissed her.
"Like I said: Anything for you..."
"Why do you have such an evil smile on your
face?" Brian questioned Jenny as she returned to his embrace.
"Oh, nothing...I just made a suggestion
to the DJ, tis all," she grinned innocently.
"Do I even want to know?" He laughed.
"You'll find out soon enough."
"I swear, the next fast dance, I'll let
you go, ok?" Kevin bargained. Sarah rolled her eyes.
"Fine, Richardson..." she sighed. More Than
That floated in the background.
"You know how weird it is to dance to your
own music and not sing it?" he laughed.
"Who says you don't have to sing it?" Sarah
grinned at him. He made a face.
"Aww, c'mon, don't make me sing it!"
"But you know the harmony part! C'mon, you
know you wanna!" she joked. As they continued to bicker, the music changed
to another slow song.
Nobody wants to be lonely
Nobody wants to cry
My body's longing to hold you
So bad it hurts inside
Time is precious and it's slipping away
and I've been waiting for you all of my life
Nobody wants to be lonely, so why,
Why don't you let me love you?*
"You're evil, you know that?" Brian
muttered, noticing Sarah and Kevin get noticeably stiffer as they danced
to the song. Jenny shrugged.
"Someone's gotta knock some sense into them...I'm
resorting to subliminal messages."
"But maybe it isn't as easy as that, you
know?" Brian pointed out. Jenny frowned.
"Why does it have to be so complicated?"
"I don't know...but it is. It's gonna take
more than a song to make anything happen between those two, missy."
[an hour later]
"Sarah, what's the matter?" Chin asked
her Maid of Honor as the two stood in front of the mirror in the beach house
bathroom. Sarah's eyes darted up from where they had been examining her shoes
for the millionth time that evening and looked at Chin through the mirror.
"Nothing."
"Don't 'nothing' me--OW!" Chin yelped,
trying to readjust a bobby pin.
"Lemme get that for you." Sarah stepped
behind her and tried to fix Chin's hair.
"So what's up?"
"Why does something have to be 'up?'"
Sarah asked, fighting with the pins, not looking Chin in the eye. "I've been
dancing..." She sounded defensive.
"I know, I know, and I thank you for stepping
out of your comfort zone for my wedding, I really appreciate it...but I know
something is bugging you. You're acting weirder than normal." She tried to
get Sarah to smile. She didn't succeed.
"Don't worry about it. This is your day."
"Sarah," Chin reached up and grabbed her
hands, preventing her from pretending to concentrate on the now-perfect hair.
"Tell me."
"I don't want to worry you--"
"I'm already worried. Spill it."
"Chin, I'm ruining your day--"
"Will you shut up about my 'day' for a minute?"
Chin practically barked. Sarah pursed her lips. Chin calmed down. "Before
any of this, I am first and foremost your friend. Why can't you talk to me?
Tell me what's the matter."
Sarah sighed and looked up, her eyes
all of a sudden brimming with tears that she was afraid would over-spill
and mess up her stupid mascara and eyeliner.
"It's Kevin," she whispered. "...It's
stupid. Forget it."
"Sarah! No." Chin finally let go of
Sarah's hands and turned towards her friend. "I'm not gonna just forget it."
"I don't know..." Sarah muttered. Chin
stared her down and she gave in. "Why can't he just be my friend?"
"Why isn't he only that?" Chin questioned.
"Because...because...I don't know. He tries
to act normal, but I know it's bothering him," Sarah sighed. "I hate this
melodrama. I shouldn't be worked up over this...I mean, the fact that he's
already almost kissed me twice--"
"WHAT?" Sarah smiled a bit. "You didn't
tell me??" Chin continued to exclaim.
"It's not that big...I mean, the first was
when I shut down on him, that was part of our infamous big fight...and the
second, the second..." Sarah trailed off. Chin raised an eyebrow. "The second
was at Jenny's picnic."
"So why didn't you kiss him?"
"Third time's the charm?" Sarah tried to
joke. Chin wouldn't let it slide. "I...well...the first time, I stopped it.
I've never been kissed, you know? Maybe I was scared, maybe...I don't know.
I was so upset with him for telling me that he, that he..." Sarah couldn't
even say it. She continued. "And well, the second, I dunno, I guess I was
going to stop it, but Cathy came running through to tell us about cake and
kinda ruined it." Sarah shrugged.
"Remind me to hurt Kat," Chin grinned. "So
is that all? Are you not telling me something? It's only that it's awkward
between you two?"
"Maybe not on his side, and I feel so bad
about being weird around him if I am at all, though I'm seriously trying
not to...I'm just afraid of giving in, I guess," she whispered.
"Why?"
"Chin, I know nothing about love, why should
I start now? Maybe I'm afraid that because I've been so starved...I'll dive
in too quick and too deep and then end up miserable, I don't know..."
"Sarah," Chin sighed, giving her a hug.
"Don't think like that. Why can't you just experience it?"
"I don't want to lose him, his friendship.
You saw how we were after that stupid fight. I don't want that to happen
again, and by adding love into the equation, it just complicates things and
risks what we have..." Sarah tried to reason.
"But what do you have? Whatever friendship
you're trying to cherish is awkward already," Chin carefully pointed out.
"I don't think love is missing from the equation, hon. I think it's there...it's
just the acceptance of that love, that's all that's needed."
"'An owner of a lonely heart is much better
off than an owner of a broken heart,'" Sarah simply replied, as if convincing
herself.
"Nonsense. 'It is better to have loved and
lost than to have never loved at all,'" Chin threw a quote back at her. Sarah
sighed.
"We've taken too much time here. Your husband's
gonna wonder what happened." Sarah tried to crack a smile. "C'mon." She grabbed
Chin's hand.
"It's so weird, he's my husband..."
Chin got a dreamy look in her eyes and then snapped out of it, "Sarah, it's
not like we're finished with this. What are you gonna do once we're back
out there?"
"You are gonna go have a blast and I'll
just do what I was doing... I guess trying to avoid him if possible. He keeps
attempting to compliment me and asking me to dance and I can't take it."
She trailed off. Chin furrowed her brows.
"Sarah, seriously. Stop and think.
Don't be so stubborn. You know you both want to be more than friends, but
it seems like all you do is fight it while all he does is wait. Maybe he'll
wait forever, I don't know, but forever is just a word. And you guys don't
have forever; none of us do. Think about how you guys are together. For anyone
to be your first love, isn't he the best? For anyone to be your first kiss,
can you imagine someone other than him? And what if he is your LAST love
and LAST kiss? What if he's your ONE? Maybe you haven't thought about it
like that, but try. Don't look at it as a life and death situation. Nothing
ever turns out as planned or expected. You can't be in fear of it your whole
life, and you definitely can't push him away for an eternity. Why can't you
just give it a shot? Why can't you just 'give in' or whatever you want to
call it and maybe, just maybe, find some happiness with him? Why can't you
just--"
"In order to be happy with someone,
you have to learn how to be happy without someone, first," Sarah interrupted
Chin's monologue. Chin closed her mouth and looked at her friend.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't you see? I hate myself, Chin...I'm
not happy with myself. Not one bit... How the hell am I supposed to be happy
WITH someone else when I can't stand the thought of ME in the first place?"
Sarah sighed, trying her hardest to explain. Chin blinked--had she found
the root of the problem? Sarah shook her head and left through the door,
not wanting to talk about the subject even further, leaving a shocked Chin
alone in the room.
[10pm]
The group waved was the limo turned the
corner on its way to the airport. Instead of opting for the reception to
go well into the wee-hours of the morning, AJ and Chin had arranged a flight
for 11:30 to take them to Hawaii for their honeymoon, and had just left an
hour early to get to the ariport. The sleepy guests had already left the
beach house after about six hours of non-stop activities, but the facilities
had been rented out till the next day. Julie and Nick had gone back to their
apartment; Kevin had headed back to his house; Sarah had taken Lance, Hannah,
Cathy, and Howie back to the girls' house. There was a crew to clean up the
area. Brian and Jenny were sitting in one of the bedrooms of the beach house;
they had gone up there for some peace as the party had wound down, fallen
asleep, and now had just woken up.
"I think we have to walk home," Jenny whispered
groggily.
"Fine by me," Brian yawned, stretching.
"Then let's get a move on, mister," she
lightly smiled, grabbing his hand and leading him out of the room.
The couple took the long way back to the
girls' house; instead of waking on the sidewalk, they opted to stroll down
the beach for a while. For some time, all that could be heard were the crashing
of the waves. They held hands in silence; Brian had rolled up his pants and
was holding his shoes and socks in his free hand; Jenny held up her dress
and her shoes in hers. Brian was looking at the sky and Jenny was watching
her toes in the wet sand. Brian could have sworn he saw a shooting star;
he blinked and it was gone. Jenny's ear's pricked when she heard a clap of
thunder. All at once the two found themselves in a light shower. They both
laughed and didn't bother to change their pace. Brian began humming a tune
and unclasped his hand with Jenny's. He wrapped his free arm around her waist
and began to move to make her sway a bit. She giggled and complied; soon,
the two were waltzing down the beach. Jenny laughed when she dropped her
shoes and dress, causing Brian to drop his shoes and socks. Considering the
accessories were wet, they gave up and left the items in the sand for the
time being. They kept dancing around in a circle, Brian dipping Jenny or
twirling her around from time to time. He never stopped humming until she
tripped and fell backwards into the sand. She burst out laughing and pulled
him down with her. After a few moments, he stood up and pulled her up towards
him. The rain was getting heavier and he knew they should be heading back
soon. Her arms were draped around his neck, his right hand was on her side...his
left was in his pocket. She smiled and closed her eyes, tilting her face
skyward under the rain.
"Jenny?" Brian whispered.
"Yes?" she whispered back, keeping her position.
"Did you think about what happened today?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Her face was still to the sky.
"About the bouquet and the belt..."
"What about them?"
"Well, I was waiting for the right time...and, that happening
kinda made it all feel right...I know I don't have any special words planned
out...but considering how perfect the circumstances are...the memories that
come back every time I dance with you in the rain...I have something to ask
you..."
"What?" Jenny turned her face down as she felt his body
move; his hand left her side; her hands, though remaining on his shoulders,
were moving downward. She opened her eyes and looked where his face should
have been, but found no one. She looked down to see Brian on his knee. He
silently took her right hand in his and finally took his left hand out of
his pants pocket, holding a velvet box. Jenny's free left hand flew to her
mouth and she started to cry, her tears mixing with the rain on her face.
"Jenny...will you marry me?"
________________
* from "I Do" -- Boyz II Men
** from "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely" -- Ricky Martin & Christina Aguilera