Chapter 19
Mirela knew about the proposal. Allison didn't want to tell Mirela about any more shenanigans, as her wildness already led to Mirela being where she is now. Mirela wasn't resentful though because aside from being rid of any financial difficulty, she loved Ally with all her heart. The Brodys were avid NHL fans. It was a family tradition to watch every Stanley Cup Finals each year. Because they were caretakers of Ally, Mirela was invited to their watch parties. Mirela sat huddled on the living room carpet in front of the TV, as her in-laws were watching from the couch. Ally was fast sleep upstairs in her crib and Jeremy was on campus busy with a midterm. Therefore, they were sure to watch Game 1. No doubt that they paid attention to the scene caused by the anthem singer and her fiancΓ©.
'That girl really is something,' snarked Mr. Brody.
Mirela set her hands on her knees and rested her chin on her hands. She frowned, filled with envy that Allison and Joe had such a beautiful proposal moment while she and Jeremy were begrudgingly forced to marriage.
That fall, Ally was able to start taking baby steps. Mirela thought she was finally old enough to take to the park. They went down to Riverdale Park one Sunday November afternoon. She sat down with her legs crossed as Ally joyfully took a few baby steps on the grass and laughed whenever she fell over. Nearby, Mirela saw a group of people filming a 'congratulations' for a couple overseas who got engaged. This made her depressed as she felt even more deprived of a proper wedding celebration than ever.
She hadn't really talked to Allison recently but felt like she needed someone to talk to now. She messaged her asking if they can talk on Skype that night. When they chatted, Allison was very sad to hear how emotional she was. She knew that Mirela would be filled with emotions after the hectic year and a half in her life, but she was too guilty to voluntarily reach out to her. Allison wouldn't have known what to say. But now that she sees that Mirela really needs comfort, she tried to console her as best as she can.
'We can bring you over and have a second wedding for you here,' Allison offered. 'One that's way more fun than you can imagine.'
Mirela stopped crying, the last of her sniffles easing up. She'd love that. The following spring would be perfect when she can get Ally a passport and everything.
Meanwhile, Allison moved up to a star role. One of her agents was watching the live broadcast of the Knights game. He looked closely way at that Allison pointed to Joe to propose to him. He noticed that her facial expressions and body language at that particular instance looked like that of Lara Croft. The casting was still open for the lead role of an upcoming Tomb Raider movie. The agent knew that Allison was wild and she'd definitely enjoy a role where she would sport a prop gun.
Joe on the other hand, had fun being a background dancer. So many partying scenes that he was part of. His favourite was the karaoke scene of 'Isn't It Romantic', the movie set to be released the following winter. Rebel Wilson's character was singing Whitney Houston's 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody'. Joe liked her cover of the song a lot and had no problem jamming to it in the scene where the whole bar broke into dance. It was much more fun that holding a giant beach ball around in place or being a sex worker at a strip club.
This made for a fruitful wedding. Joe and Allison decided to attend the NHL awards at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and then follow it up shortly by having their wedding at the same venue. Their wedding was very informal. No pews like church, but rather just fold up chairs. A lot of Vegas Golden Knights players and coaching staff stuck around after the awards show to be their guests. Near the front, there was a cardboard cut out of Allison in her Lara Croft role. After completing their vows, everyone went to the room with the open bar. Then, the DJ played Rebel Wilson's cover of 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' and everyone broke out dancing. They even stood on the tables and danced to mimic the scene in the movie. It was a blast seeing Golden Knights coach (and NHL coach of the year) Gerard Gallant rocking it as well. He didn't know the actual dance moves in the movie's scene, as he obviously hasn't seen it yet, so he decided just to go for Gru's dance moves from Despicable Me. When Rebel Wilson's high note came at the end of the song, Allison was on the table and sung the high note herself, holding her fist in the air like Rebel Wilson's character does in the movie. Everyone applauded. To be this big and partying among the presence of NHL players and coaches is how she knew she made it.
Chapter 20
Allison showed Mirela video footage of her own wedding during their Skype call and promised that her second wedding would be even better than that. Mirela was still being financially supported by Allison and Joe. With the bigger roles they landed, the money arrived in larger quantities.