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melissabik

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Planning your own wedding is a little easier than planning someone else’s.  You don’t have to second guess what the bride wants, and nothing is too much to ask for.  I was excited; I had never done this before.  I was finally planning the perfect wedding.  It was going to be on the beach at sunset, and the reception would be there too.  I was going to wear a beautiful strapless dress and I was going to carry, of course, white orchids.  Time seemed to rush by as I planned my wonderful wedding.  I saw Aiden less and less, and fought with Vince more and more.  Apparently we didn’t like the same things.  He hated the china I picked out, I hated the curtains he picked out; it was a nightmare.  But in the end, he always gave in to my demands.  He said that “I knew best.”

April ended; I met Vince’s whole family, including his dog, Sparks.  I had a great time getting to know them, and they all loved me.  In the middle of May, Vince got to meet my family…  We had a barbeque at my uncle’s house one Sunday afternoon…  “How is our little girl treating you?” asked my mom, Suzy.  Vince smiled as he was interrogated by my whole family tree.  “She’s a wonderful woman who I truly don’t deserve,” he replied as he put his arm around me.  My grandparents were probably the pickiest about him.  “Do you go to church, young man?” my grandfather asked.  Vince nodded.  “I do,” he replied.  That seemed to satisfy him.  “Have you ever been married before?” my grandmother asked.  I laughed at that question.  “No, ma’am, I have never been married.  I’ll only do that once,” he stated.  That made her happy.  Over all, Vince was a hit.

I HATE wedding rehearsals…  They always take so much time because no one shows up when you ask them to.  “Where is your brother?” I asked Vince in annoyance as we waited for the best man to arrive.  People walked all around us as if my wedding rehearsal wasn’t important enough to them.  Vince shrugged his shoulders.  “I’ve been trying to call his cell phone since we reached the beach.”  I began to hyperventilate.  That’s when my maid of honor came to the rescue.  “Aiden is here,” she muttered.  I froze.  She was supposed to be making the situation easier; not harder.  “What are you talking about?” I asked.  Lindsay pointed up the sand dune.  “He’s up there; he said he really needs to talk to you,” she explained.  I shook my head.  “I’m busy,” I muttered as I turned my attention back to finding Vince’s brother, Max.  “Just talk to him; what is it going to hurt?” Lindsay suggested.

I let out a sigh as I tugged on Vince’s sleeve.  “I’ll be right back; I have some unfinished business…” I exclaimed.  Vince nodded because he was too engrossed in his conversation with his brother over the phone.  I made my way up the dune in my white peasant skirt and pink t-shirt.  As my eyes found Aiden, I saw him wearing khaki shorts and a white polo.  He was pacing the dune and making a circle in the sand.  He heard me walking, so he turned around.  “Anne…” he stated as he came closer.  I put my hand up.  “What are you doing here?” I asked.  All I wanted was for him to just go away and never come back.  The breeze from the ocean began to whip up as my hair began to blow in my face.  “I had to see you; I told Lindsay that… and here you are,” Aiden stated happily.  I shook my head.  He was getting the wrong idea about this.  “I only came because I want you to leave,” I muttered.

Aiden’s facial expression changed to sadness.  “Look how far apart we’ve grown…” he stated, almost ashamed.  I was numb to it all.  “Anne… I need to talk to you about Maria,” Aiden added as he inched closer to me.  I shook my head.  “I really don’t want to hear about the two of you anymore,” I replied as I began to walk down the sand dune.  “I’m not marrying her,” he stated quickly.  I stopped in my tracks and turned back around.  “What do you mean you’re not marrying her?” I asked, wondering if this was some sort of trick.  “I never was going to marry her,” Aiden explained.  I shook my head; it was a trick.  “No; I SAW you giving her the ring,” I countered.  The wind picked up a bit as more and more of my hair was getting in my face.  I grabbed it all in my hand and held onto it.

“That ring wasn’t for Maria… it was for you,” Aiden explained.  I froze; what the hell does that mean?  I just stood there in silence, trying to remember the day.  Maria was happy, but had I looked at Aiden’s face?  He wasn’t smiling, as I could recall.  “But…” I protested.  Aiden shook his head.  “When you told me that you love me at the wedding, I knew I had to stop the relationship with Maria.  I never wanted to be with her… but that night you came over, Maria came over, and she was trying to patch things up; I didn’t want that.  I wanted to be with you, Anne,” he exclaimed as he inched even closer to me.  I was still so confused.  “You pulled away because of Maria, and I felt as though I couldn’t fight for you.  Maria wanted to get back together, so she insisted on lunch dates so that we had a chance to talk.  I was done talking with her; but you were done with me…  We began to date, but all I could think of was you.  I decided that if you ever told me you loved me again, I wouldn’t sit back…

“I would buy a ring and ask you to marry me.  That day you saw me propose to Maria…  I wasn’t proposing.  She saw the ring because it fell out of my pocket, and she thought I was asking her to marry me again.  I quickly explained things to her and ended it.  Then I found out you were marrying Vince…” Suddenly he became quiet.  I still didn’t understand.  “Why didn’t you tell me this when I accused you of it in the first place?” I asked.  Aiden shrugged his shoulders.  “I thought you wouldn’t believe me,” he replied.  I rolled my eyes as I threw my hands up in the air.  “How am I supposed to believe you now?  What am I supposed to think?  I’m getting married tomorrow, Aiden…  Tomorrow…  And you show up and tell me that the ring you DIDN’T give Maria was actually for me…” I spat.  I was so furious.  He had no right to do this; it just wasn’t fair.  I didn’t have a fair fight…  Aiden moved closer to me again; this time, he was just inches away.  “Please, Anne…  I can’t bear to see you marry Vince; I love you.  I can’t live without you; I don’t want to live without you…  Maria is gone; she left for London two days ago.  I only want you, Anne…  You still have a chance to call this wedding off…”

I shook my head.  I couldn’t just back out now; just because Aiden was saying all of the right things didn’t mean I was going to call of my wedding.  “Don’t be a hypocrite, Anne… You do remember Carrie and Graham’s wedding…  What you said then applies now.  Please…” Aiden pleaded as he inched closer towards me.  I could feel myself moving towards him as I smelled his intoxicating scent.  It had been so long since I smelled him; so long since I touched him; so long since he touched me…  “I love you, Anne Tanner… please don’t leave me…” Aiden whispered as he put his arms around me.  I couldn’t bring myself to pull away.  I just wanted to stay in his arms forever.  It felt so right to be there…  I fit in that spot so perfectly.  “Aiden,” I whispered as my lips drew nearer and nearer to his.  My eyes began to close as we finally touched.  I could feel the longing in Aiden’s lips as he kissed me.  I could feel my longing as I grabbed the back of his neck.

It was all overwhelming.  I didn’t even want to come up for air…  I just wanted to stay in that moment forever…  I wanted the whole world to just leave us alone.  This was a perfect moment…  “Anne?” I heard from the back of my mind.  I pulled my lips away from Aiden’s and turned around to see a poor soul I never wanted to hurt.  “Vince,” I muttered as I pushed Aiden away and turned towards him.  “What is going on?” Vince asked in astonishment as he looked from Aiden to me.  “Vince, I am so sorry you had to see that…” was all I could reply.  What could I say?  I didn’t know myself…  Suddenly Vince became angry.  “I knew it; I knew something was going on between the two of you…  All the fighting, all the tension…  He’s in love with you, isn’t he?” Vince asked as his hands balled up into fists.  What was I going to do?  “Vince, I am so sorry…  I don’t know how it happened.  I didn’t mean for anything to happen,” I stated as I put my hands on Vince’s arms.

“How could you do this to me, Anne?” Vince asked as he turned to Aiden.  “I’m sorry; but she’s in love with me,” Aiden stated quietly.  I turned to him in shock.  What was he doing?  Did he want to make things worse?  My fiancé just found me kissing my partner and now he rubs love in his face?  Vince turned to me.  “You love him?” he asked.  He sounded as if his heart was tearing apart right there; I swear I could hear it…  “Vince, I’m so sorry…  I… I don’t know what to say,” I muttered as the tears began to flow down my cheeks.  “That’s it; no one makes me look like a fool,” Vince stated as he lunged at Aiden.  “No!” I yelled as I watched the two men begin to fight.  Lindsay and the other guests began to immerge to see what all the commotion was.  “Get off of me!” Aiden yelled as he was thrown to the ground.

The sand was kicked up into the air as the two men threw punches.  “Stop it!  Stop it right now!” I yelled as I tried to pull Vince off of Aiden.  The two men continued to fight as Aiden gained the upper hand and I finally managed to pull him off.   “Get out of here,” I stated in a harsh whisper.  Aiden looked at me as his nose bled.  “Anne…” he pleaded.  I shook my head.  “Just go,” I replied as I looked away.  “If this is what you want, and it makes you happy, then I give it to you fully…” I heard Aiden mutter as he walked away.   I turned back to Vince who was lying on the sand in pain.  I kneeled next to him as Lindsay ran to get a wet towel of some sort.  “Vince,” I called.  Vince slowly opened his eyes.  He had a gash on his forehead and his nose was bleeding.  He looked up at me and closed his eyes again.  “Vince, I am so sorry,” I whispered as I pulled his head onto my lap.  He began to rub his head when I pulled his hand away.  “Don’t; you’re in pain,” I stated as I massaged his hair.  “I’m not in pain from the fight…” Vince muttered.

Wedding 397…  I couldn’t believe I had done 397 weddings since I started my business…  I never thought one of those weddings would be mine.  But here I was, planning my own wedding, about to marry the man of my dreams…  Well, he wasn’t really the man of my dreams, but I had become so cynical that I didn’t care if Vince wasn’t the man of my dreams.  I sat in the limo staring at myself in the little mirror one last time.  I had put my hair up at the hair dresser and curled the ends; there was one spiral that had escaped and was in front of my face.  I had a veil attached to the back of my hair, and I was wearing the strapless dress I had been eyeing since I dreamed of getting married.  Altogether, I think I looked beautiful.  “Are you ready to do this?” Lindsay asked as she helped me out of the limo, holding onto the large parts of my dress.  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I stated as we stepped onto the sand.

Off in the distance were two horses that Vince and I would ride “off into the sunset” with.  It was a romantic idea I had…  I always pictured myself riding off in the sunset with my true love.  “Oh, honey… you look beautiful,” my mother gushed as she took thousands of snapshots of just my face, then of my dress, then my entire body.  I laughed at her happiness as I saw all of the guests waiting for the ceremony to begin.  Butterflies assaulted my stomach.  “I can’t believe my princess is finally getting married,” my father mused as he pulled me into an embrace.  “I am so proud of who you have become; you’re following your heart to true happiness…” he added.  True happiness…  “Dad?” I asked as we headed down the dune.  “Yeah, pumpkin?” he asked as I held onto his arm.  “Do you really think there is true happiness in marriage?” I inquired.

My father looked at me in puzzlement.  “Whole heartedly; it is possible…  I found it with your mother,” he answered.  I nodded as I stood, waiting for my song to play.  Lindsay walked in front of me as the bridesmaids and the flower girl walked in front of her.  “True happiness…  I screwed that up…  I’m sure Aiden is not going to be very happy when we get back to work…” I muttered.  Lindsay turned back around; I guess she heard what I said.  “Anne… he’s not coming back,” she stated.  I looked up at her in confusion.  “What are you talking about?” I asked.  “After the fight, I ran after Aiden…  I had to tell him I was on his side…” Lindsay exclaimed.  I suddenly felt furious.  “I know,” Lindsay replied, seeing my anger.  “But it’s how I feel…  Anyways, that’s when Aiden told me he was giving up.  He’s going back to England today, and he’s never coming back,” she explained.