EMMA's POV :
- - - Three Months Later - - -
"This is so crazy! You're getting married tomorrow!" Tiff squealed on her massage bed.
"I still can't believe my best friend is getting married," Carrie added, shaking her head from side to side as she received a back massage. "I still remember when we were in middle school and had sleepovers and we talked about boys all night long,"
"I know. It still feels unreal," I admitted. I was lying on my stomach and Anita, my lovely masseuse, was giving me a much needed back rub.
"You two are the best couple ever, though. Relationship goals, for sure," Sophie said. She was on the massage bed next to ours, also getting a back rub.
"My brother's so lucky to have you," Hailey chimed in.
Today was the day before the wedding, so my bridesmaids and I were getting a little spa treatment to prepare for the big day. Tiff and Carrie were actually my maids of honor, and Sophie and Hailey were my bridesmaids. Not only that they were the closest girlfriends I had, but they also contributed a lot to the success of my relationship. I couldn't think of four better people to stand next to me at the aisle.
As the girls and I were getting a spa day, Ian and his groomsmen were somewhere in the hotel bar, drinking whiskey and playing poker. We decided on this lovely historic boutique hotel in Amagansett as our wedding venue. The place was bordered by pristine farmland and white sand beaches, offering al fresco celebrations on the manicured grounds and cozy accommodations in the restored cottages suites. On top of all that, they also had a 100 year old rustic barn that would be transformed into our wedding ballroom.
It was a dream wedding come true.
"How are you feeling? Are you nervous?" Sophie asked.
"Kind of, but the good kind," I smiled in response.
"I'm so glad you didn't turn into one of those bridezillas who'd go crazy on her wedding day," Tiff snorted.
"Nah," I shrugged. "Everything's gonna be great. This is Ian and me you're talking about. After everything we've been through, this wedding's gonna be a cakewalk,"
"Amen to that," the girls agreed.
Ian and I had been through so much for the past six years. We had a secret relationship, we went through a miscarriage, we went through break ups, long distance relationship, conniving friends, and more break ups, but today we were stronger than ever.
Nothing's gonna stop us now.
"Emma and girls, there you all are!" suddenly, Annie, our wedding planner popped into the massage room. We all turned our heads to her. She carried around a clipboard in her hand and a Bluetooth earphone was stuck to her ear. "You all should be getting ready soon. The rehearsal dinner starts in three hours,"
"Okay, Annie. Thanks for letting us know," I told her.
"Of course," Annie nodded at me. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find your parents. Last I heard, they went out to check out the beach. I hope they didn't wander too far because these Manolos were not made for the sand,"
And with that, Annie excused herself from the room.
"Wow, that's some wedding planner you got," Carrie said as she got up. The other girls followed suit.
"I don't know what I'll do without Annie," I said as I got up and thanked the masseuse. "She keeps everything moving and on track,"
"Speaking of keeping things on track, come on, girls we got a rehearsal dinner to get to," Tiff squeaked and pulled my hand in excitement, leading me back to my room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The evening before my wedding was a blur. I blamed it on the bottle of champagne they put in my room. After the massage, the girls stayed in my room and helped me get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Tiff thought it'd be a great idea to get ready while breaking out the champagne, so that was what we did.
By the time the rehearsal dinner rolled around, I was a laughing and giggling mess. Ian thought it was cute, though. He said I looked absolutely over the moon, and I was. He held my hand the entire night as we sat at the long table and heard our family and friends' toasts.
Dad kicked off the toast for the night. He stood tall in his suit and tie, holding a glass of champagne in his hand, and he said, "Good evening everyone. For those of you that don't already know me, I'm Bill Sinclair, and this is my wife Joanna, and we're the parents of the bride. We'd like to thank everyone for joining us on the eve of Ian and Emma's wedding,"
Everyone in the room clapped and cheered. Looking around the room, I realized that it wasn't a big rehearsal dinner. We invited about twenty to twenty five of our closest family and friends. The wedding reception itself had a guest list of about sixty people in total.
Many people asked us why we wanted a small wedding and we always said because we wanted it to be intimate. But there was another reason why we had to limit the guest list. First of all, we couldn't invite anyone from our high school except Tiff, Carrie, Mark, and Tyler. If people from our high school found out about this, a scandal might break out. Tiff, Carrie, Mark, and Tyler promised they would keep this to themselves and there would be no social media posts involved.
Second of all, I didn't feel like inviting a lot of people from my office for obvious reasons, so I only invited a few people I really liked, and of course I had to invite Diana out of respect. Ian also only invited a few of his colleagues, his closest friends, and the family members he liked, and there weren't a lot of people there.
The next person to give a toast was Kristen, Ian's mom. She also had a bit too much champagne in her system too, so she was laughing a lot, but I liked it. I wanted everyone here to be high and happy.
"Hi everyone, I'm Kristen and I'm the groom's mother," she said into the mic, introducing herself. "As I look at these two beautiful people tonight, I think back to when Ian first introduced us to Emma a couple of years ago. She was kind of quiet and shy, and I wasn't sure she'd last long with a rowdy family like ours. But once we got to know her, though, we could see why Ian fell in love with her and why they fit together so well. Now, it's hard to imagine our family without her, and after tomorrow, she'll officially become a Hayes. Emma, we love you, and we couldn't be happier that you're marrying our son. Ian, even though your father isn't here, please know that he and I are very proud of you, and we love you,"
I looked over at Ian who was staring at his mom. His eyes glistened at the mention of his dad and I squeezed his hand tighter.
The next person to give a speech was A.J. After his mother's speech, Ian was on the verge of tears, but as soon A.J. took the stage, Ian couldn't stop laughing.
"Hi everyone, my name is A.J. and I'm Ian's best man!" A.J. shouted in excitement and everyone clapped and cheered. "Ian and I have been friends for over sixteen years now. We've been through puberty together, so yes, I know a lot of his deep dark secrets!"
A.J. gave such a fun speech. He talked about Ian's childhood days and how they used to get in trouble together. "...Careful Emma, Ian's full of trouble," A.J. warned me playfully and I laughed. "But in all seriousness, Ian also has the biggest heart. He loves you so damn much and I know that for a fact. You two are very lucky to have each other and I'm so proud of you, brother," A.J. continued and raised his glass. Everyone else raised their glasses with him and we all cheered.
Sophie was next. She gave such a beautiful speech too, she talked about how much she adored our love story.
"...Emma, Ian, I just wanna say that your love story inspires me beyond measure. You fought through all the hardships that life throws at you and your love for one another is as strong as ever. If I didn't know what true love was like before, I do now..."
After Sophie, Hailey, Tiff, Carrie, and several other friends of Ian also came forward to give a speech. They were all beautiful and lovely. And I especially enjoyed listening to Ian's friends talk about how happy they were to see Ian found someone like me. This was the happiest that Ian's ever been, they said. And it was all because of me.
How can my heart not melt at that?
Finally, after everyone was done, it was Ian's time to give a speech. Standing in his gorgeous suit and tie, my soon-to-be husband raised a glass of champagne in his hand as he started his speech.
"Hello everyone. On behalf of Emma and myself, I want to thank you all for attending the rehearsal dinner tonight. I want to thank my mom, as well, not just for hosting the dinner, but for everything they've done to support Emma and I on this journey. And I also want to thank Emma's parents, Bill and Joanna, who've been behind us all the way. When you see the beautiful wedding they helped us put together, you'll know what Emma and I already know; they are awesome,"
I glanced at Kristen, and then to my mom and dad. They were all smiling and crying tears of joy. Yes, even my dad was crying tears of joy. They must know how happy Ian and I were and they must feel happy because of that.
Turning his attention to me, Ian then said, "To my beautiful fiancée, soon to be my lovely bride, I want to thank you in front of all the wonderful people gathered here tonight for agreeing to join your life with mine. I know we have an amazing future ahead of us. The path may not always be smooth, but that's just part of life. I know that we can handle all the bumps along the way as long as we always have each other. I truly cannot wait to be on this journey with you," he paused for a moment and flashed me his mega-watt smile. Then he whispered lowly so that only I could hear him, saying, "I love you, baby girl,"
"I love you," I whispered back.
Smiling from ear to ear, Ian turned his eyes back to the people and said, "So, thank you again everyone. Eat, drink, and enjoy yourselves. Tomorrow we'll do it all again,"
"Hear, hear!" everyone erupted in cheers and claps, and they drank merrily. And right at that moment, fireworks roared and exploded in the night sky above us.
It was such a beautiful sight. I couldn't help but get teary eyed as I stared at the gorgeous flashing lights decorating the dark sky above us.
"Wow..." I found myself muttering as I stared at the fireworks. "It's so beautiful,"
"I know," Ian said in agreement. But for some reason, his eyes were fixed on me and not on the fireworks.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That was pretty much all that I remembered from the rehearsal dinner. I ate, I drank, and I heard lovely toasts. Once the dinner was over, Ian saw that I was a little too tipsy, so he decided to walk me to my hotel room. We got separate rooms for tonight because I heard that it would be back luck for the bride and groom to sleep in the same bed before the wedding.
"That was a lovely speech you did back there. And what a lovely dinner," I said as we arrived in front of my door.
"Yes, it was lovely, wasn't it?" he replied.
"He-he," I giggled and nodded. I was giggling at everything at this point.
"Okay, I think you should get some sleep and sober up," Ian smiled softly, cupping my cheek with his hand.
"I'm not drunk. I'm just really happy. They're kind of similar," I argued.
"All right," he rolled his eyes and sighed. Leaning closer, he planted a gentle kiss on my forehead and said, "Good night baby girl, I'll see you tomorrow,"
"I'll see you tomorrow," I replied.
Ian gave me one last smile before turning away. I thought about going into my bedroom too, but then I stopped myself and reached for him instead. I pulled him by the hand and turned his face to see mine. Not giving him a chance to say anything else, I stood on my tippy toes and captured his lips with mine. I kissed him as hard as I could, until my lungs gave out.
"Good night," I breathed as I pulled away. He looked at me in confusion, but I just smiled at him and went into my room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After I took a shower and dried my hair, I lay in bed and tried to get some beauty sleep, but for some reason I just couldn't fall asleep. My mind was racing with thoughts about the wedding reception tomorrow. I was going through all the things that I needed to do and I hoped to God I wouldn't miss a thing.
I ended up staying up until 1 AM that night. I had to be up at 6 to get my make up and hair ready. I knew I should go to bed, but I was too excited. Standing up from the bed, I ended up going through my bag and fished out my old diary. I brought it with me as my something old. I thought it was cute and meaningful. This book contained the story and me. And after tomorrow, it would finally get the ending it deserved.
Sitting on my bed, I flipped the diary to the next empty page and started scribbling.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
June 2nd 2021
Dear diary,
In just a couple of hours, I'm gonna be marrying the love of my life. It took us six years and a couple of break ups here and there, but we made it. I'm so in love with him, diary, it's crazy. We're gonna make such a great married couple, I could just tell.
In a few days, we'll also be leaving for Italy. Ian's gonna do a teaching fellowship for the whole summer, but I'll just be there with him for a month. Even though I couldn't be there with him for the entire summer, we're still gonna spend a great month together, that's for sure. I'll make sure of it.
Anyway, I'm kind of nervous about tomorrow. I hope everything will go smoothly. I can't wait to be married to him, diary. I can't wait to be called Mrs. Emma Hayes. It feels so right to hear that name out loud, like it was meant to be like that from the start.
Wish me luck tomorrow, diary.
Sincerely,
Emma Roselyn Hayes.
- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -