Page 13 of Dear Bookworm Beauty
GRANT
Our plans to have a small, quiet wedding with only close family and friends have grown wildly out of our control thanks to our parents. The list grew from ten to fifty to a hundred and is currently at one hundred and eighty.
“It’s like it’s not even our wedding anymore,” Laurel cried into my shoulder last night.
I felt helpless, not knowing what I could do to stop this wedding train, but it’s like it’s blown past the station landing I'm standing at, and I can't do anything to stop it.
“Let’s elope,” I offer, knowing full well this isn’t really an option but willing to do anything for my future bride.
"We can't. Everything is already paid for. We can't back out now. Our parents would never forgive us."
“I don’t care.” I cup her face in my hands and use my thumbs to wipe the tears in her eyes. “This is our day, and I want to do whatever you want to do. I want you to be happy."
Laurel sniffles and puts on a brave face. “As much as I love you for saying that, in one week from today, I get to walk down the aisle to you. I will be happy.”
I know she is trying to be strong, but this isn’t what she wants. And suddenly that’s when I get an idea.
LAUREL
“Babe, wake up,” Grant whispers softly into my ear.
He woke me up late last night and told me to get dressed. He wouldn’t say where we were going but guided a sleepy me to the car.
Planning this wedding has taken up so much of my time on top of my fellowship. I was too exhausted to question him and proceeded to fall instantly asleep once I’d buckled myself in.
“Where are we?” I ask, blinking a few times to try and clear the sleep away from my eyes.
“Happy wedding day,” he says.
I instantly become more alert, panicked that I'd somehow lost a week of last-minute prep for the occasion.
“What?”
“Not that wedding day,” he assures me. “Everything got so out of control that it didn’t feel like it was our day anymore, so I made other plans.”
I look outside the window and see the dark sky of the early morning start to lighten. We are parked in front of the La Monte house.
"What are we doing here?" I ask, thinking I already have a good idea but need confirmation.
“I called Evangeline last night,” he smiles and leans in for a quick kiss. “I told her about what was happening and asked her for a favor. She’s letting us get married today—”
“By the tree?” I ask, my voice squeaking with excitement.
“Yes,” he chuckles. “By the tree. Mr. Waters will officiate, and Evangeline will be our witness.”
"I love it," I squeak again before crushing my lips against his. "And I love you.
“I’m sorry I let things get so out of hand. I should have spoken up sooner.”
Laurel cups my face in her hands. “We didn’t want to disappoint anyone and forgot that we were going to disappoint ourselves in the process. This way we get our day we wanted, and our parents get the day they wanted too.”
“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Josephine and Gideon may not have had their happily ever after, but if there is anything we learned from them is that life is too short to wait for happiness to come find us, we have to seize it.”
“I’m ready when you are,” Grant smiles and he kisses me for the last time as a single woman.
