As Sean sat in his Aunt and Uncle's Living Room, listening to the family gossip about wedding guests and coo about how dashing the bride would be on her first and last walk down the aisle, he felt himself laughing in a bittersweet whisper. He had always loathed the institution of marriage, not because of the commitment two people were making - but because he knew the statistics of a marriage surviving in this day and age. The fact was, as much as people professed to loving each other unconditionally, til death do them part, death often came after a lengthy and painful divorce. The best one could pray for was a quick annulment, and the chance to move on.
After the heights of honeymoon sex, everything seemed mundane - Sean should know, being a divorcee, it wasn't easy living sexless. Now, about to leave to attend his cousin Jacinta's wedding, he thought he'd finally see a marriage actually work. Jacinta and Bronx had appeared to be a match made in coastal heaven. With Bronx working as a builder during the day and surfing of an evening, Jacinta partook in both ventures, working as his secretary and surfing with him in the twilight hours. The pair were inseparable, and it appeared a marriage was the ultimate climax to their courtship.
Now sitting in the church, surrounded my family and extended family, Sean spoke in hushed tones with his Aunt, the mother of the bride. 'I just can't wait Sean, Jacinta will be the happiest girl alive and she'll look so beautiful, Bronx won't know what to say!'.
'I'm sure she's going to look absolutely mesmerising!' Sean exclaimed, in a genuine way. He'd always held a deep affection for his cousin, ever since she stayed with his family as teen having run away from home. She'd been like a sister to him in those few months when her parents tried desperately to make amends with her. Eventually Jacinta did mature, and decided living back with her parents was where she truly belonged. She and Sean had become extremely fond of one another, but the thought of crossing the line never occurred to either of them, or at least never manifested itself.
Finally, with Bronx and his groomsmen standing in expectation, 'Here Comes The Bride' began to ring from the joyous keys of the church organ, its player an excited old lady distantly related to the family, yet nobody seemed to know how. Frantic women searched for their cameras, and the married men stared at the groom, hoping to transmit some last messages of 'Escape!' and 'Save Yourself!' to the groom, but to no avail. Bronx smiled uncontrollably as his best man laid encouraging elbows into his rib cage, pumping him up for the big occasion, the moment where he'd have to repeat 'I do'.
The organ player broke into a refrain after playing through 'Here Comes The Bride' once through, and people giggled amongst themselves, with everyone knowing Jacinta to be late to almost every event, even one as important as her own nuptials. Troubled and worried expressions soon crept onto the faces of guests, and trembling lips emerged onto the faces of previously jubilant guests. Where was the bride? Sean made a joke about Jacinta possibly tripping on the massive train she'd had attached to her gown, but realised no one else laughed. Jacinta would have, had she heard it, yet she did not emerge. Soon his Aunt rose, and made her way quietly and quickly out the church over to the rectory where Jacinta had been preparing. Minutes past, and minutes became ten, ten became half an hour, guests stood and filed out of the church in anticipation. What had gone wrong?
As usual, Sean had forgotten to put his phone on silent mode, and the chorus of Nine Inch Nails' 'Closer' rang out through the empty holy place. Making a quick shuffle out the door and into the garden, Sean took the call. His Aunt's panicked and upset voice hit his ear drum. 'Sean, I..I can't find Jacinta anywhere. The dress is gone, but her bridesmaids say she never came out of her room. I..I can't believe this..I don't know what to do!' she said, her words descending into incoherent pleas. Sean responded in his usual business like fashion, 'Calm down for Christ's sake! Prattling on won't find Jacinta! I'll come over and help you search! I'll be five minutes!'.
Four and a half minutes later Sean found his Aunt sitting in the room where Jacinta had been preparing. Her things were strewn about the room, but there was no note and no lead on where to find her. She had just taken off. 'I can't understand it!' his Aunt was sobbing, 'they were perfect, she couldn't wait for this day. I don't know what's happened..' she simply kept repeating. Angered by his Aunt's inaction, Sean left the room and searched the surrounding rooms of the rectory. Then, in a quiet corner, behind a locked door, Sean heard sobs. Sobs that the voice was trying to suppress, but to no avail. He knocked insistently. The voice stopped crying. She'd been found. 'Jacinta..it's me, Sean. Are you ok? Let me in'. With little resistance, the lock clicked and the door swung slightly ajar. Sean slid in and locked the door behind him. Jacinta was in quite a state.
Her dress was stained with mascara that had run down her face and dripped onto the white fabric. Her hair was tousled and unkempt. Her lips were wet from tears, and her nose had flushed red. Sean dropped to her side and threw an arm around her. 'Oh Sean I don't know what I was thinking. I can't marry Bronx. I love him, but I can't spend my life with someone doing the same thing day in and day out. I can't be a housewife. Do you think he'd just let us live together, unmarried?' she asked, her expectant green eyes meeting mine in hope.
