(A wedding that was never meant to be…)
She tried hard to talk him out of it. She used every argument she could think of. They were perfectly happy as they were — why ruin it with a wedding? By nature, she was fiercely independent. For as long as she could remember, she loved fun, laughter, and going out. Commitments, however, were not for her. It was her choice, therefore, not to marry and not to have children. She wasn’t cut out for that.
That was why she had also chosen the frequent — very frequent, to tell the truth — changing of lovers. She tolerated no nonsense. If something smelled fishy, she wouldn’t hesitate to kick over the milk pail without a second thought, even if sometimes that milk was precious to her.
The best guys had passed through her hands. Some of them certainly had their ways. And she had enjoyed her life with them wildly. But when the moment arrived that every woman supposedly waits for with bated breath, and they whipped out a diamond ring before her eyes, she left them stunned, rejecting their proposals flat.
This time, however, it was different. She hadn’t just fallen for him. She was in love with him! She didn’t feel simple interest or curiosity. She was in love. Yet, she feared the step. She knew her moods and feelings changed easily, just as the weather changes. If she took the big step and then regretted it, the consequences would be disastrous. Both for her and for him, who she understood loved her deeply.
So when he started showing her brochures with vacations in dream destinations, trying to guess her dream for the honeymoon trip, she discouraged him.
And when, after much persistence, she failed to avoid the proposal she didn’t even want to think about, she tried to change his mind with all her might. She spoke to him of their shaky finances, of the commitment she wasn’t ready to accept, of her parents who supposedly disagreed (in this she lied, but the end justifies the means, they say), and of many other things.
However, he was unyielding. And the more she insisted on her “no,” the more he insisted on his. Until he declared bluntly: “Either marriage and us being together, or we break up. I want you as my wife, to spend our whole lives together and grow old together. And I want to have children with you.”
How that phrase terrified her — “spend our whole lives together.” But the dilemma was huge. She neither wanted to marry him nor wanted to lose him. So she was forced to put into operation all her feminine cunning. “Okay, let’s get married,” she replied. And from then on, she engaged in a desperate struggle, putting obstacles in his way. She staged indispositions, professional problems, illnesses of her relatives. But he stood his ground, and the arguments began. He wasn’t stupid, you see. In love, certainly — but stupid, no.
She managed to buy some time. But things couldn’t go on like that. So she was forced to agree to setting a date and a church. And as the days progressed, her soul grew stormy and her mind darkened. She was standing on the edge of a cliff and couldn’t stop the fall that was coming.
The wedding day was approaching, and while he sailed in seas of happiness, she sank into despair. She had no way to stop the wedding and at the same time keep him in her life. Unable to manage her defeat, she began to hate him! But why did everyone want, not what she was, but what they themselves wanted her to be? Why did no one accept her as she was, but dreamed of her as a faithful wife with an apron and curlers in her hair? No, she would not allow this! And especially to him, who forced her to feel this way, she would teach a good lesson!
So, she put into action a crazy plan born in her mind. If after this he still accepted to marry her, well then, he was completely mad!
The wedding day arrived. From the previous day, the wedding dress, the favors, and all the rest had arrived at her house. She didn’t deign to give them even a glance. And her relatives looked at her with bewilderment and curiosity. Before the time came when she had to wear the dress, she asked her parents to go to the church first and wait for her. It seemed strange to everyone, but because they knew her, they didn’t raise major objections.
And when she was left alone, she went to her closet, lifted boxes and bags, searched deep inside, opened a package she had procured days earlier, and began to get ready.
A short while later, she was descending from the limousine in front of the church. And everyone was left speechless! If they had seen brides before, they had never seen one like this! She climbed the stairs with bravado, ignoring the looks full of reproach and the commotion that broke out, and stood there, haughty and proud. She had made sure to arrive before the groom.
It didn’t take long for him to arrive either. And as soon as he got out of the car and saw her, he nearly had a heart attack! This wasn’t the woman he knew, the one he fell in love with and wanted to marry! There must have been a mistake, they went to the wrong place, the wrong church, or perhaps he was asleep and seeing a bad dream, a nightmare to be precise.
And indeed, what he saw looked like a nightmare. She wore a wedding dress with a plunging neckline so deep that her nipples were barely covered. On one leg, which peeked out from a high slit, she wore a white garter with a red rose at the top! And in her hand, she held a cigarette with a long holder… And as he approached her, he realized that her entire back was exposed…
Speechless, he stood before her. “How… how are you like this?” he managed to stammer.
Only to receive the disarming answer: “You came, my little boy? Come on then, let’s put the ring on you, since you want it so much!”
Truly, he managed to restrain himself with difficulty so as not to beat her. He clenched his hands into fists, huffed and puffed, and heavy with anger, he turned his back, got into the car, and drove away.
