WEDDING BELLS A-RINGING
Tired as Emily was from all the dancing and sheer madness of her Roce, it was only as the first light of the morning was beginning to stream through her open window that she finally fell asleep. When she woke up a few hours later, she ran to the mirror hoping that she didn’t look as tired as she felt. Fortunately, she looked perfectly ordinary.
Time seemed to move either in slow motion or hyper motion that day. One minute she was eating some breakfast and the next, Sheila was back, looking at her with her eyes narrowed, hoping that her wedding day would not be a repeat performance of the evening before. She had even brought two other girls from her beauty salon as reinforcements.
Emily smiled at Sheila holding up a steaming cup of masala tea as a peace-offering. Sheila hesitated briefly before returning a smile of her own and taking a big sip. “Come, Emily, let’s make you the most beautiful bride anyone has ever seen.”
Although Emily was sure that Sheila said that to all the brides she dressed up, she hoped Sheila would make good on her promise. She wanted Ethan to believe that he was marrying the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on and so she remained on her best behaviour for more than an hour while Sheila and her assistants worked their magic. When she was ready, Sheila stood Emily in front of the mirror. Emily looked at the bride staring back at her and couldn’t believe she was looking at her own reflection. Apart from the few instances when she had worn a dress, she had spent most of her life in pants – of various lengths and fabrics and even when she was dressed up she always thought she looked like anybody else. For the first time in her life, she thought that she looked beautiful. The makeup was light enough that she didn’t look unnatural and heavy enough that her skin looked flawless. Sheila had managed to set her hair in soft curls and they framed her face in a most becoming fashion. Her gown was inspired by the one her mother had worn on her wedding day and was flattering to the point that it made her look like a princess, straight out of a Disney fairy tale. She knew Sheila had done her job when she walked out of her room and her father, who was talking to her uncles and aunts, stopped mid-sentence and smiled. Tears shining bright in his eyes. It took all her strength to keep from crying. Apart from anything else, she was afraid that Sheila would have a fit if she had to do her make up again.
As the clock struck four thirty, Emily left her house for the last time as plain old Emily; the younger daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Vaz. She would never return home as that again. In a few hours, a gold band would adorn her finger and she would become Mrs. Mendonca. As she sat in the back seat of the elaborately decorated car, some of her doubts about marriage resurfaced and she began to get cold feet. Abbey, who was her matron of honour kept whispering reassurances on the way to the church and she began to calm down. But, nothing helped assail those fears as much as catching Ethan’s eye as she stepped out of the car. He gasped audibly, blushed and a goofy grin appeared on his face. Sheila had delivered on her promise.
The short ceremony was lovely. The old Vaz family church in which so many Vaz men and women had been baptised, married and buried, was decorated with white orchids and dull gold satin ribbons. Every pew, even the ones in the wings, was filled with family and friends. The priest gave a delightfully humorous homily about love, faithfulness, acceptance and understanding. Emily prayed that she would be able to keep what the priest called the ‘pillars of a happy marriage’ strong and upright. When the priest pronounced them Man and Wife, Ethan and Emily held hands and walked out of the church to the merry sounds of the church bells ringing. Never had there been a couple as happy as they were that evening.
******
Come back again to find out what happens next. To catch up on the previous chapters, please click here.
And I’ve managed to get to post #10! Only 21 left to complete the challenge! Can I do it? Come back everyday to find out!
Filed under: Fiction, novella, UBC October, Ultimate Blog Challenge Tagged: Emily, ethan, homily, love, Marriage, novella, story, UBC, UBC October, wedding, wedding bells 
