A Beautiful Fate

by Cat Mann

  ****

  By six forty-five that evening, I was in my dress, makeup done with nowhere to go and nothing to do for fifteen very long minutes. All of the guests and wedding party had moved out to the little white chairs set up on the beach, leaving me alone with Andy.

  “Oh, my goodness, Ava, you are so beautiful,” Andy said, as he walked through the back door into the kitchen. I grabbed the empty garbage can at the end of the counter and threw up.

  “Oh no, please don’t do this to me,” Andy said with nervous laughter. I ignored his plea and threw up again, then grabbed my toothbrush from next to the kitchen sink for the tenth time that day, scrubbed my mouth clean and used the last bit of my mouthwash as a chaser. I was a complete nervous wreck.

  Andy came up to me and looped my arm through his, steadying me.

  “Just stand with me like this for a minute, Ava.” I did as he said. My racing heart slowed and my breathing began to return to normal.

  “Ari is out there waiting for you. He loves you and I know that you love him,” Andy said as he took a few slow steps towards the back door. “You look astonishing tonight, and I know you can handle anything that’s out there,” he said, and we took a few more steps through the door and out to the deck.

  “All this is, is a wedding. The most important part about today is that when it’s over and the guests are gone, you will start on a road with Ari that will last the rest of your life.”

  He had talked me down the deck, right up to the aisle. I focused on what he was saying and squeezed his arm with all of my strength. Through the fog that had wrapped itself around my mind, I could hear the music playing and I could see faces turned in my direction, but I ignored them and just listened to Andy, still talking and leading each step we took. When we were at the home stretch, he said over and over again, “It’s just Ari, don’t worry; it’s just Ari.”

  Andy took my hand and held it in his at the end of the aisle; he squeezed it, and then kissed me on the cheek.

  “There, see?” he said looking up at the man before me – “it’s just Ari.” I nodded my head and smiled at Andy. He had done it. I was there, in front of our gathered friends and family, and there was just the two of us – Ari and myself. Andy placed my hand into his son’s hand and all my nervousness immediately drifted away.

  A small gasp escaped my lips when our minister began to conduct the ceremony in French. August translated the most important parts so as not to exclude our guests, but for the most part our ceremony was incredibly private and beautiful. Ari had clearly been behind this detail because he knew exactly what to say and when to say it. When it was finally time, Ari wrapped his arms around me, held my body tight, and kissed me the way a husband kisses his wife. The crowd erupted into cheers and applause and my cheeks turned pink.

  Aggie and Andy found us after the ceremony and I threw my arms around Andy’s neck and thanked him. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye.

  “Are you going to be okay?” His voice was full of concern.

  “Yes, thank you, Andy.” I then hugged Aggie and thanked her again for the support and love she had given me in the morning. Once his parents walked away to join the other guests, Ari turned and looked at me perplexed.

  “What was that all about?”

  “Nothing,” I replied. “Just that I was in desperate need of a mom and dad today and yours were there for me.”

  Ari kissed me on the temple.

  “We will always be here for you, Ava.”

  We greeted our wedding guests with hugs and kisses on the cheeks. Emily, Viola and Sophie had come, along with several of Ari’s friends from DPI. Margaux and a few of her respected colleagues and close friends were in attendance. Collin, Nick’s friend, had come and congratulated Ari. In all the time since I first saw him, he had never spoken to me, and he didn’t say anything at the wedding either.

  Karen, Mia’s mom, had made the journey from Chicago and seeing her brought on a fleet of emotions. I hugged her tightly, thanked her for coming and somehow managed not to break down and weep at the thought of my dear friend, Mia. The evening passed by in a blink, August and Rory both gave speeches and I am pretty sure they were trying to outdo one another in the number of laughs they received, but in the end they each had very sweet things to say.

  Ari had been put in charge of picking our wedding song. It may be possible that he loves music just as much, if not more than I do. I knew that our song had been a very important detail for him to consider. He took my hand, there under the canopy of twinkling lights, and led me onto the wooden dance floor. He held me close and we were greeted by a live acoustic performance of “Pink Moon,” the very same people we had seen perform the song together the fall before.

  “Oh Ari, this couldn’t be more perfect. I love you.”

  “I love you more.”

  Ari held me in his arms all night and we swayed back and forth to the music; kissing softly more than dancing, really. The stars were shining bright above us when Ari took me by the hand and began gradually weaving us in and out of the crowd of wedding guests. When he finally found a clearing, he picked me up, cradled me in his arms, and started down the strip of beach towards our home. I peeked behind him and saw a gathering of smiling faces, some giggling at our departure and I buried my face shyly into Ari’s shoulder.

  The butterflies in my stomach were beating their wings restlessly while Ari carried me up the steps and through the door. I closed my eyes to suppress the nerves. He carried me through our home, down the hall and finally set me down again in front of our bedroom door. We stopped there and kissed. Our kisses were delicate and soft. I could feel his hands run up my bare back and my stomach did somersaults. His fingers stopped at the top of my wispy straps, the only thing keeping my dress tied to the rest of my body.

  Our kisses became deeper and more frantic and I moved my fingers to the buttons on his shirt. I let out a breath and my nerves vanished. They were quickly replaced with desire. Ari grabbed the door handle, pushed the door open, and pulled me in with him. I pulled his shirt off his shoulders and ran my fingers down his chest, towards the button on his pants. His eyes fluttered closed at my touch and when they opened, they were dark and full of need.

  Ari slid the tiny straps of my dress from my shoulders and the dress rippled down into a puddle of silk at my feet.

  “Oh, my God, Ava, you are so beautiful,” he said, and his voice was rough and deep. The eagerness became overwhelming. Ari pulled me onto the bed and climbed on top of me, his hands settled on either side of my head. He stopped kissing me for a moment and looked me in the eyes and suddenly I was filled with surprise, pain and pleasure all at once. I gasped and Ari stilled.

  “Are you okay, Baby?”

  “Yes,” I whispered. I was more than okay. We whispered, “I love you” to each other in between breathless gasps. Ari grabbed my body tight and held me close so I could feel his heartbeat. I ran my hands down his back. He was sweet, gentle and loving. My body melted with the desire. We were covered in a sultry sheen. His hands were knotted fists in my hair. My lips were pressed firmly against his. When I felt like I was going to explode with the pleasure, I dug my fingernails into his bare back and bit down on the corner of his bottom lip to keep myself from screaming out. Ari made a muffled moan into my mouth.

  Our breathing slowed and he tucked me into his side, his arms wrapped around me. Ari wiped a tiny amount of blood from his bottom lip and kissed me softly on my forehead. I was completely drained. I felt my consciousness begin to fade.

  “Goodnight, Mrs. Alexander.”

  “Mmm,” I mused and fell asleep.