WA-5 Wedding (Bride)

I sat tapping my foot, constantly glancing at the clock. Every time a minute ticked by another wad of money disappeared from my wallet. I needed to pick a floral arrangement and quick. My eyes scanned from one set to another and finally I picked an alluring Amaranth Pink color. We were on the final countdown and there was still so much to be done. I took a deep, stress relieving breath and counted to three.

So today was the day. I didn't really feel too special, instead I felt exhausted, tense and dithery. Well what could I do now? The calming sound of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March relaxed my racing heart. The church looked truly beautiful but instead of my eyes taking it all in appreciatively they wearily recognized all the hard work and effort put into it. At least soon I would be able to unwind on the beaches of Malpais and put some color back into my drained face. I searched in my jewelry bag to find Grandma Dottie's blue broach but it was nowhere to be found. I located a nearby chair and sat for a moment. I hadn’t seen him all day and I began to wonder what he might be doing, hopefully doing a last minute shave or ironing his shirt, at least something productive.

From my room in the back the steady noise of chatter began to increase in decibels and my heartbeat regained its dashing pace. Eloise entered the room short of breath and I asked her if she was almost ready. Nervously she answered yes. I picked up the small wicker basket that held the Amaranth Pink petals and placed it into her small fragile fingers. The organs began trumpeting their tune. The flower girl led the procession followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen. My father clutched my arm and we began our walk down the aisle. Instead of recognizing faces in the pews I saw each petal laying on the carpeted aisle. Many had been pierced by high heeled shoes and their blood stained the carpet. I went up and stood facing the man I loved but no matter how hard I tried to concentrate, my mind was pulled back to the petals. Each one came to signify a part of my life that I was going to leave behind as soon as I said the words “I do”. A petal with a pierced heart was my first love. There went some of my freedom. “Two shall become as one” and there went a piece of my identity. They were scattered on the floor distracting me so I lifted my head and instead I was able to see all of the people I loved. I looked to the right and there was the man that I was willing to sacrifice all of the things the petals represented for. I looked up to see Mother Mary watching from the stained glass window above and I could feel that our smiles were worn with identical happiness.