Journey’s End

by A. E. Radley

  “You should.” Olivia looked at her watch. “In thirty-six hours.”

  Emily crossed the room slowly, her eyes fixed on Olivia.

  “I’m bored of laundry,” she announced.

  Olivia placed her wine glass on the coffee table. “I’ll take over,” she offered.

  Emily took her wrist and spun her around so they were facing each other.

  “I’m bored of laundry,” Emily repeated, slower this time.

  Olivia considered the eyes of her love. Something was up, and she couldn’t quite tell what it was.

  Suddenly, the penny dropped.

  “Oh! Yes, well, the laundry can wait,” Olivia agreed.

  Emily smiled and gently tugged on Olivia’s wrist. She led her through the living room. Olivia reached out and turned off the downstairs lights as she was steered upstairs.

  3

  Emily critically eyed her reflection in the floor-length mirror. She ran her hands over the front of her white wedding dress, brushing out non-existent creases. Her heart fluttered nervously in her chest.

  After weeks of planning, the day was finally here. She was marrying Olivia Lewis. Months ago, when she was working as cabin crew in the first-class compartment of a transatlantic flight, she would never have dreamed that Olivia would become the love of her life. Now, she couldn’t imagine life without Olivia.

  That thought did little to quell the butterflies racing through her stomach.

  Emily had always been pragmatic. She’d always let her head lead her heart, never the other way around. She knew that she hadn’t known Olivia that long. Their relationship had gone from dating to moving in together in record time, and the notion of marriage had quickly followed.

  But she’d fallen head over heels in love. She knew that Olivia was the one. She’d never experienced the sensation before. Knowing without a shadow of a doubt that you had found your perfect partner. Understanding with heart and soul that looking any further would be utterly pointless.

  Sadly, such understanding didn’t stop wedding day jitters.

  “Mommy, Olivia looks like a princess!” Henry exclaimed as he came bursting into her room.

  Emily chuckled and put her hands on her hips as she looked down at her son.

  “Don’t I look like a princess?” she asked.

  Henry looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders.

  Emily turned away from him and looked at herself in the mirror again.

  “You’re not helping Mommy’s nerves,” she told him with a sigh.

  Henry softly elbowed his way in between her and the mirror to see his own reflection.

  “Are you nervous?” he giggled as if the thought were ridiculous.

  “I am.”

  Henry made an amused face and then started to reach for his gelled hair. Emily took his hand and shook her head.

  “Leave your hair alone, at least until after the photographs have been taken.”

  Henry nodded and lowered his hand. He looked at his reflection and sighed.

  “Why do I have to wear a suit, Mommy? It’s tight. And heavy.”

  She smirked. Henry had recently discovered the art of lying to get his way, and while it worked well with Olivia, she knew when Henry was being liberal with the truth.

  “Oh, then I suppose you should go home. We’ll go on the honeymoon without you,” she suggested lightly.

  Henry’s eyebrows rose in shock. “I want to go on the honeymoon, Mommy,” he argued.

  When the idea of a honeymoon had been brought up, Emily had been hesitant. Yes, she wanted to go on a honeymoon and spend time with Olivia, but the timing of the wedding was difficult. It was only a short time before Henry started school, which happened to be the same time that Emily started her new job as a scriptwriter in London. Emily didn’t want to spend time away from Henry right before they were both embarking on new adventures in their lives.

  Olivia had quickly solved the problem: Henry would join them on their honeymoon. It was just another reason Emily adored her soon-to-be wife. Some people would have taken a while to settle into the role of stepparent. But Olivia loved Henry and would do anything for him. Honeymoon plans were quickly changed to include things suitable for a five-year-old boy. And now, Henry was more excited about the honeymoon than anyone else.

  “But we’re going straight from the reception to the honeymoon, if your suit is too tight and too heavy then you’ll need to go home,” Emily explained.

  Henry’s shoulders slumped. “I’ll be okay,” he promised as if making a great sacrifice on her behalf.

  Emily smothered a smile and walked back towards her dressing table. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that Olivia would have raced around, seeking out a new suit for him. And the determined woman would probably manage it, too. She smiled at the mental image of Olivia rushing into the local mall in her wedding dress, demanding that a child’s suit of impossibly light material be produced immediately.

  She looked at her hair, wondering if the complicated up-style was worth the sensation of a hundred hair clips digging into her skull.

  “Mommy? Mommy?” Henry stood beside her and tugged on her cap sleeve excitedly.

  She turned and took his head in her hands, staring at him intently and responding to his enthusiasm in kind. “Yes, Henry?”

  He giggled at her behaviour but quickly put on a serious expression.

  “Mommy, I need a kitten.”

  Emily laughed. She continued to cup his face as she shook her head. “You don’t need a kitten, Henry. You certainly don’t need a kitten. On. My. Wedding. Day.” She kissed his forehead and let him go. “We’ll talk about it later, I promise.”

  “Okay,” he said reluctantly. He looked at her seriously for a moment. “You’re very pretty.”

  Emily narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying that because you want a kitten or because you actually think I’m pretty?”

  “Because you’re pretty!” Henry told her with a wide grin.

  Emily chuckled. “I’m not sure I believe you. I mean, I don’t look like a princess like Olivia.” She pretended to be hurt and turned away to look at her reflection again.

  “But you always look like a princess, Mommy,” Henry argued sincerely.

  Emily looked at his reflection in the mirror and smiled. “Henry?”

  “Mommy?” He met her eyes in the glass.

  “I love you very much.”

  Henry frowned, clearly confused as to why the subject was being brought up. He was starting to grow out of the never-ending kisses and declarations of love phase.

  “Can you go and get Lucy for me?” Emily asked.

  Happy to have a task, Henry turned away and started to run from the room.

  “Remember to knock!” Emily called after him, hoping that he’d heard and would in his excitement.

  She looked at her reflection again, wondering where the sudden doubt over her appearance had come from. She’d never been one to particularly worry about her looks, figuring that she couldn’t do much to change them, so why worry?

  But now she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the mirrors in the hotel room. And there were a lot of them. Apparently, when you were getting married, the hotel wheeled out every mirror in New York so you could see parts of your appearance never seen before and start to worry about them.

  “Knock knock!”

  “Come in, Nicole!” Emily called out.

  Nicole walked in and stopped dead in the middle of the room. She put her hand over her heart and smiled.

  “Darling, you look incredible.”

  Emily could feel herself blush. “Do I? Are you sure? I’m really nervous.”

  “Oh, you’re supposed to be nervous, I’d be worried if you weren’t. Olivia’s a basket case.”

  “Is she?” Emily felt happier knowing that Olivia was also feeling the nerves. Something about her strong and put-together fiancée also being terrified helped to centre her. Strength in numbers, she assumed.


  “She is,” Nicole confirmed. She took a few steps forward and twirled her finger in the air. “Come on, give me a spin for the full effect.”

  Emily laughed and took a self-conscious spin.

  “Gorgeous,” Nicole decided. “Absolutely gorgeous. Olivia’s a lucky woman.”

  “I bet she looks amazing, doesn’t she?” Emily asked. She hated being separated from her. Olivia’s insistence that they not see each other before the wedding was ridiculous, superstition be damned. She wanted nothing more than to get into the elevator and go down a couple of floors to where Olivia was presumably pacing a hotel room in much the same way she was.

  “You both look gorgeous,” Nicole replied diplomatically.

  Emily frowned. “She’s not on her own, is she?”

  “No, Sophie’s with her,” Nicole said. She sat in an armchair in front of the large window and let out a sigh. “Young Sophie who’s glowing with pregnancy and also looking gorgeous.”

  Emily chuckled. “Nicole, you look fantastic.”

  “Do I?” Nicole perked up. “How nice of you to say.”

  It was true, Nicole looked great. But Emily always thought that Nicole looked great. Like Olivia, the woman just seemed to effortlessly look incredible.

  Emily was no stranger to looking impeccable, but that was when she worked cabin crew. When she knew that immaculate nail polish and not a hair out of place was fundamental to keeping her job. On an average day, Emily pulled her long, blonde hair into a ponytail and was content to wear whatever fell out of the wardrobe first.

  Nicole and Olivia were professional adults, sometimes even wearing suits and heels on days off.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Come in, Luce,” Emily called.

  “Oh, it’s turning into a party! I should have brought some wine,” Nicole said.

  Lucy hurried into the room. Once she caught sight of Emily, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She let out a little scream before rushing towards Emily and wrapping her in a hug.

  No sooner had she hugged Emily, she stood back and started walking around her, looking her up and down.

  “You look amazing!” Lucy squeaked. “Oh my god, you look so amazing.”

  Lucy spun to look at Nicole. “How’s Olivia? Does she look amazing?”

  “Everyone looks amazing,” Nicole assured her. “And Olivia is fine. Anxious to get on with the show, but fine.”

  “Tom is walking Henry through their roles again,” Lucy explained. “Just another thirty minutes!”

  Emily flopped into the chair at the dressing table. “Thirty minutes? It was thirty-five minutes about an hour ago!”

  “It’s wedding time, wedding time doesn’t follow the rules of normal time,” Lucy told her. “If you’re running late, then every minute you spend is actually ten minutes. If you’re ready early, then it’s the reverse.”

  “It’s the same as theatre time,” Nicole said. “If everyone is ready to go ten minutes before curtain up, then those ten minutes take about an hour.”

  The comment about work jogged Emily’s memory. “Oh yes, I may need to change my flight time arriving in London…”

  Nicole raised an eyebrow. “If you talk about work now, I’ll pull the fire alarm.”

  Emily laughed and held up her hands. “Okay, okay, no work talk.”

  “Is everyone decent?”

  “Come in, Simon,” Emily called out.

  “You’re going to need more chairs. Maybe have the wedding here and save on the venue hire,” Nicole suggested.

  Olivia’s former assistant entered the room. Once he saw Emily he fell to his knees dramatically, his arms outstretched and his face one of awe. “Wow!”

  “Oh, shut up,” Emily told him. She laughed at his overreaction.

  He smiled and stood up again. “You look incredible. Seriously.”

  Emily walked over to him and adjusted his tie slightly. “You look very handsome. Are you wearing foundation?”

  Simon nodded excitedly. “I stole some of Sophie’s, my skin looks great!”

  “It does,” Emily agreed. She held onto Simon’s tie. “So, apropos of nothing, what happened at Olivia’s bachelorette party last night?”

  Simon’s eyes flicked down to where Emily was slowly tightening his tie.

  “Nothing,” he quickly said. He looked to Nicole. “Why don’t you ask her? She was there, too!”

  “She’s kind of my boss now, I can’t threaten my boss,” Emily told him with a wink. “And if anyone would be stupid enough to organise something silly… like strippers, it would be you, not Nicole.”

  “No strippers, nothing like that. Promise,” Simon said.

  Emily readjusted his tie and patted it down. “Good, good.” She winked at him again.

  “What did you girls get up to anyway? Sophie won’t say a word,” Simon asked.

  Lucy laughed. “What happens at a bachelorette party, stays at a bachelorette party.”

  “When it suits you,” Simon pointed out. “And remember that Sophie isn’t drinking, so she remembers everything. She’ll be blackmailing you for her silence any day now.”

  “No, you’re confusing your lovely girlfriend with yourself,” Lucy told him.

  Their playful bickering blended into the background as Emily started to panic. In under half an hour she’d be getting married. Something she desperately wanted, but something that terrified her nonetheless. Why was she so nervous?

  Nicole appeared by her side. “Do you want to raid the minibar?” she whispered.

  Emily chuckled and shook her head. “No, I’m just really nervous. I want it to be done. I just want to be married. All this waiting around is killing me.”

  Nicole handed Emily her iPhone. “Angry Birds. It’s gotten me through my niece’s school nativity, a three-hour flight delay, and a nightmare wait for hospital results.”

  Emily felt Olivia’s lips on hers and almost let out a sigh of relief.

  It was done.

  They were married.

  She was glad that Olivia had thought to hire a videographer because she was already struggling to remember any details of the wedding aside from sheer panic.

  From the moment she had seen Olivia standing beneath the flowered archway in the hotel gardens, everything had gone blank. The crowd of people had merged into the background, the violinist’s music had become white static in her ears.

  She was thankful for Tom agreeing to take on the role of father of the bride and guiding her down the aisle. Without his support, she was sure she would have remained glued to her spot, unable to move. Olivia, being a problem-solver, would have eventually moved the archway to where Emily stood, immobile.

  Now, she felt Olivia’s warm and soft lips on hers. Everything was returning to normal. She could hear the violins, the sound of the crowd applauding, and Simon wolf-whistling above everyone else. She could feel Henry’s hand touching her leg, Olivia’s hand on her arm. Soft gestures of comfort that reminded her of the little family they had managed to create.

  Olivia ended the kiss and leaned back a little. She looked amazing. Her makeup and hair were perfection, as always, but the passion in her brown eyes took Emily’s breath away.

  “Are you okay?” Olivia whispered.

  “Very okay, especially now that it’s over.”

  “It’s not over.” Olivia frowned. “There’s still the photos, the cake cutting, the meal, speeches, party—”

  “Olivia,” Emily warned.

  Olivia was still working on identifying when her fastidious attention to detail stressed Emily out. Clearly this was a time when she needed a little guidance.

  “Oh.” Olivia’s eyes widened. “It… will all be fine. I’m here.”

  Emily smiled. “Thank you, that’s just what I needed to hear.”

  Olivia beamed with satisfaction. They turned to face the guests, who were still cheering and clapping loudly. They started to walk down the centre aisle, but Emily felt Henry’s hand tugging on her dress and
paused.

  “Mommy?” Henry asked. “About the kitten…”

  “Henry, maybe later?” Emily suggested.

  “We need sperm.”

  Emily nearly choked on her food. She turned to regard Olivia with a look that she hoped conveyed now was not the time for such a conversation.

  Unfortunately, Olivia took the look as confusion and decided to explain further.

  “To make the baby. If I’m going to have a baby, then we need sperm,” Olivia explained as if Emily was unsure of the finer workings of baby production. Despite already having had a child.

  She quickly swallowed her food and looked around the large dining room, hoping that none of the guests were able to overhear Olivia’s words. Being at the head table meant that many people were occasionally glancing at them and raising a wine glass in salutation.

  “Not now,” Emily whispered as she smiled at Olivia’s uncle who was smiling at the happy couple. She raised her own glass in thanks.

  “Well, I have to ask Simon tonight, we won’t see him again before he flies home,” Olivia explained.

  Emily spun her head to face Olivia. “Simon?”

  “Yes. He’s a friend, he’d be happy to do it. And we know he’s already made a baby, so he’s obviously fertile.” Olivia picked up her wine glass and took a sip.

  Emily’s mouth opened and closed. This was not something they’d discussed. Not something she’d expected to discuss. And certainly not at her wedding reception.

  “We need to talk about this in more detail before we make any rash decisions. And, I don’t mean talk about it right now,” Emily said firmly, hoping to end Olivia’s interest in the conversation quickly.

  Olivia slowly nodded and returned to her own meal. Emily watched her process the exchange. She knew it would go one of two ways, either Olivia would understand that now was not the right time, or—

  “I’m not suggesting I sleep with him, just that he provides his sperm. Not tonight, that would be odd,” she reassured. “But we need to speak with him. To sow the seed, so to speak. He’ll put it in a little plastic pot—”