All of the characters in this work of fiction are above the age of 18.
This story, which starts slowly, contains descriptions of violence including detailed descriptions of rape. Constructive criticism is always welcome.
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Marie was doing her best not to be a "bridezilla". She wanted to have a beautiful wedding, of course, but knew that it was the marriage that would be important. If anything did go wrong today, she thought, it would be something to chuckle about in twenty years. Marie looked at herself in the mirror as she finished her makeup. Her long black hair was up in a beautiful bun with the veil pinned into it with a lovely jeweled comb. Her grandmother's dress was altered to reflect a more modern look and to accommodate her C cup chest.
At 5'9", Marie was tall but not terrifyingly so. Her bare arms looked slender but toned. Marie's entire body in the dress seemed toned but she looked as though she had enough curves to look like a very beautiful woman. She felt gorgeous for perhaps the first time in her life. At age 26, Marie was still a virgin. She had saved herself for her handsome fiancΓ©, Trent. She had saved herself for today.
As Maid of Honor, Marie's younger sister, Jenn, was doing a marvelous job of reining in the chaos. Flowers that had arrived late were set up on the sanctuary of the church. All the bridesmaids were accounted for and looked wonderful in their lilac dresses. Jenn had even gone to the sacristy to make sure Trent and his ushers were here. Jenn walked up behind Marie, who was still admiring herself in the mirror, and gingerly placed her hands on her older sister's shoulders.
"So," Jenn asked, "are you ready for Mom and Dad to come back here?"
Marie's eyes did not leave the mirror but rose so that they met the reflection of Jenn's eyes. A smile appeared on Marie's face. Jenn was being so delicate with Marie, well, with everything. From the way she gently touched the white dress at the shoulders so as not to smudge it, to how she wrangled their parents as a rancher might handle a pair of bulls. Marie smiled as she looked at the reflections in the mirror. Jenn was a few inches taller than Marie, perhaps two inches. Where Marie had the hazel eyes of their mother, Jenn had their father's blue eyes. Jenn's breasts had been steadily creeping up on reaching a D cup, but other than that the two sisters were nearly identical and had often been mistaken for the other one. Jenn, who had just turned 21 last month, was still in college and was running this wedding like she ran her overfilled course load. She ran it like a tight ship.
"Yes," Marie said finally after letting out a sigh, "I guess it's time to get this started."
Jenn opened the doors to the "dressing room" that was detached from the main alcove of the church and allowed her parents, Catherine and Harry to step in. Catherine placed a hand on Jenn's chin and gazed at her in a silent gesture that said how proud she was of the arrangements Jenn had made. Harry smiled pleasantly at his "baby girl" and Jenn escorted them to Marie. Both Catherine and Harry were tall and thin and the way they held hands so naturally showed the love they had for each other. Although each was sporting gray hair these days, Catherine and Harry still appeared very active and vital. When Catherine finally saw her oldest daughter wearing her own mother's wedding gown, altered as it was, a tear trickled down her cheek.
"I knew she was going to cry," Jenn said.
"Yeah," said Marie as she turned to face her family. "I owe you a dollar."
"You girls really bet on whether your mother would cry?" asked Harry.
"No, of course not," said Jenn. "That was a foregone conclusion. We bet she would cry before Marie was actually facing her."
The sound of the church's organ alerted everyone in the dressing room that there was five minutes before the service started. Jenn clapped her hands loudly to get everyone's attention and got everyone in their place. Catherine gave Marie a kiss and Jenn had her escorted to her seat by Frank, Trent's brother. Jenn did a final check that everyone was ready and when she heard Pachelbel's Canon she pointed to Cindy, one of Marie's friends, to open the door for Katie the flower girl and Ben the ring bearer to begin their journey down the aisle. Jenn had arranged for Katie and Ben to proceed together so they wouldn't be as nervous about walking that long path. From the "ooo's" and "ahhh's" and the camera flashes, Marie and Jenn both knew the kids were doing just fine. One by one, the bridesmaids took their turns walking down the aisle until it was Jenn's turn. She gave Marie a quick peck on the cheek.
"I love you, sis," Jenn said with a smile before stepping in time with the music down the aisle.
Once Jenn had completed her journey, the music changed. Harry looked to Marie as if asking if she were ready. She nodded with a smile and they began Marie's final walk as a single woman. Marie watched as the entire church stood and turned to face her. It was a little disappointing because just before they did that, Marie had caught a glimpse of Trent. Now she was unable to see him. She continued walking with her father and slowly she was, as she walked, revealing more and more of Trent. He looked amazing in his tux. He was clean shaven, which was unusual. Normally, he kept himself a little scruffy. His dark brown hair was neatly combed to the side and he had a beaming smile as he could finally see Marie clearly. Marie lost sight of everything other than Trent and before she knew it, Harry was turning her to face him, carefully lifting her veil and softly kissing her cheek. Harry took his seat and Marie took the last few steps to be at Trent's side.
Marie had hoped for a simple ceremony but to appease her parents agreed to a Wedding Mass. This meant that Communion would be served. It also meant there would be readings and a sermon. Marie wasn't looking forward to that. At the moment, after Jenn took Marie's bouquet, as she was holding Trent's hand and looking into his eyes she was in no rush for the ceremony to end.
During the sermon, Father Joe said something interesting. He said that most brides think of the wedding day as the happiest day of their lives. Father Joe said he thought it should be the opposite. Since every day of marriage should be better than the day before, he felt the wedding day should be the saddest day of a bride's life as her life got happier and happier from there. She understood what he was saying, of course, but it just seemed like a really stupid thing to say at a wedding. Did he really want this to be the saddest day of her life? Marie tried to put the sermon out of her head when Father Joe called her and Trent forward for her vows.
Trent stuttered just a little tiny bit during his vows and as Marie looked up into his eyes, she knew she would treasure that moment. Trent was 6'2 and his large hand on Marie's made her feel so safe. She did not feel nervous at all. She just felt loved. She felt the love from Trent. She felt the love from everyone gathered here. She was in a wonderful place. There was a moment of electricity in her heart when Trent placed the ring on Marie's finger. Marie's lips, when it was time for the kiss, melted into Trent's. She felt complete.
The rest of the service, Communion and all, rattled on without her as Marie took turns staring at her ring and at her handsome new husband. She was so happy she couldn't believe Father Joe had suggested this should be the saddest day of her life. All the attendants had been served and it was time to take her first walk as a married woman.
It was agonizing standing at the doors of the church, shaking the hands of people who were going to try to blow bubbles in her face in a few moments. She had a patient smile on her face as person after person congratulated her and Trent. When it was finally time to go to the limousine, Trent looked at her with a big grin on his face. He gripped her hand tightly and they ran to the limousine before they could be assaulted. The limo took them to Argyle Park in Babylon where the rest of the wedding party met them and they spent several hours having their pictures taken by the waterfall in the park. As tiring as the photo session was becoming, Marie knew there was no rest in sight. The reception was going to be just as draining, but at least there would be food there. When the photographer was finally satisfied, she told the wedding party she would meet them at the reception. Marie got a huge hug from Jenn and then she returned to Trent so they could go to the limousine. This time, there wouldn't be as much kissing because Jenn and Trent's older brother, Chris would be joining them in the limousine as part of their job as Maid of Honor and Best Man. That's not to say there wasn't any kissing going on during the drive to the reception.
The reception was loud and entirely too long but the food was good. Jenn made sure to quickly remedy anything that seemed to be detrimental to Marie's appearance. She straightened Marie's train any time it was needed. She brushed Marie's black hair out of her eyes with fingertips after any vigorous dancing affected the image of the beautiful bride. Jenn had two towels waiting when the cake was cut. She just knew there was going to be shoving instead of feeding and produced the towels the instant they were needed.
Marie spent even more time shaking people's hands as she and Trent walked around the reception hall to greet everyone and thank them for coming. Marie hugged all her fellow nurses from the hospital and Jenn was two steps behind with a box of tissues when the nurses made Marie cry tears of joy.