You've come a long way baby...
The week before the wedding, we all made sure we were in town – we all took time off work, everyone who needed to, flew in and we kicked her husband-to-be out of the house and spent the last week together – all the girls, as we haven’t been since finishing high school – just hanging out, laughing, spending every waking moment of the day together… this time the alcohol was legal and we didn’t have to hide the pot.
It was very important to us to have that week together – she was the first of us to get married and although we all had our reservations, we had asked her several times if she was sure that this was what she wanted and if she wanted to change her mind, she was to let us know immediately and we would take care of everything. After that week, we all knew that there was no going back, even if the marriage ended, it was simply going to be impossible to rewind the clock.
On the day of the wedding, we ll got up and headed to B’s mother’s house – Mrs B had offered to let us all get ready there as it was near to the wedding venue and Mrs B knew us all very well from highschool, she was also appalled that C’s parents had refused to attend and felt that if C’s mother wouldn’t help her get ready, then someone had to stand in her place and she was happy to take the role on.
She needn’t have worried though, this was C’s wedding day and in a way, it was our day too. SA did up her corset, B made sure her stockings were both perfectly even and snapped the suspenders on, A laced up the back of her dress and I tied the bow in the laces as SA helped her put her shoes on. I did up the necklace as B handed her her earrings and I smoothed stray tendrils of hair back into place.
When we finally turned her around to look in the mirror, we were all crying. It was hard to believe that this beautiful, elegant, poised and glossy woman was the same ungainly, uncoordinated and shy teenager that we had first met all those years ago.
After the pictures, she cleared everyone out of the room and sent them on ahead except for us, we all gathered and wrapped our arms around each others waists and rested our foreheads against each others, facing in, we all took a deep breath and just relaxed against each other in silence. After a few moments, she raised her head and we all looked at each other, smiled and stood back to let her lead us from the room.
That afternoon she married a man who would ultimately break her heart and reduce her to a shadow of herself. A man who went out drinking with the last of their money while she sat at home with a 3 week old baby and nothing in the cupboard but half a loaf of stale bread. A man who never actually became one – he was still a boy.
Yesterday could not have been more different – the dress was black, not cream, the flowers were hot pink not red, there was no veil, no reception, no bridesmaids and no friends – SA is on a ship in the middle of the ocean (we don’t even know which one), B is in China, A is out bush and I am here. Yesterday, she married a man who loves her, who made her realise that sex is not a chore, who puts her first, who treats her with respect and who is an amazing father to her son.
I wish I could have been there.
It was very important to us to have that week together – she was the first of us to get married and although we all had our reservations, we had asked her several times if she was sure that this was what she wanted and if she wanted to change her mind, she was to let us know immediately and we would take care of everything. After that week, we all knew that there was no going back, even if the marriage ended, it was simply going to be impossible to rewind the clock.
On the day of the wedding, we ll got up and headed to B’s mother’s house – Mrs B had offered to let us all get ready there as it was near to the wedding venue and Mrs B knew us all very well from highschool, she was also appalled that C’s parents had refused to attend and felt that if C’s mother wouldn’t help her get ready, then someone had to stand in her place and she was happy to take the role on.
She needn’t have worried though, this was C’s wedding day and in a way, it was our day too. SA did up her corset, B made sure her stockings were both perfectly even and snapped the suspenders on, A laced up the back of her dress and I tied the bow in the laces as SA helped her put her shoes on. I did up the necklace as B handed her her earrings and I smoothed stray tendrils of hair back into place.
When we finally turned her around to look in the mirror, we were all crying. It was hard to believe that this beautiful, elegant, poised and glossy woman was the same ungainly, uncoordinated and shy teenager that we had first met all those years ago.
After the pictures, she cleared everyone out of the room and sent them on ahead except for us, we all gathered and wrapped our arms around each others waists and rested our foreheads against each others, facing in, we all took a deep breath and just relaxed against each other in silence. After a few moments, she raised her head and we all looked at each other, smiled and stood back to let her lead us from the room.
That afternoon she married a man who would ultimately break her heart and reduce her to a shadow of herself. A man who went out drinking with the last of their money while she sat at home with a 3 week old baby and nothing in the cupboard but half a loaf of stale bread. A man who never actually became one – he was still a boy.
Yesterday could not have been more different – the dress was black, not cream, the flowers were hot pink not red, there was no veil, no reception, no bridesmaids and no friends – SA is on a ship in the middle of the ocean (we don’t even know which one), B is in China, A is out bush and I am here. Yesterday, she married a man who loves her, who made her realise that sex is not a chore, who puts her first, who treats her with respect and who is an amazing father to her son.
I wish I could have been there.
posted by Giggleworthy @ 11:55 PM
4 Comments:
At 2:55 AM, August 03, 2006,
Steph said…
Good for her! I bet she feels the loving vibes you're sending her.
At 3:35 AM, August 03, 2006,
Giggleworthy said…
And if not, the silk lingerie I sent her to wear on the day as her (and sort of his) wedding present sure as hell will make sure she's feeling SOMETHING when he sees it !
hah
At 11:34 PM, August 03, 2006,
Dusty Admin said…
Not there? I'll bet you were.... not physically but you were still there.
At 11:54 PM, August 03, 2006,
Giggleworthy said…
Aww - yeah, I was in spirit but damnit, how was I going to mke nasty comments to her mum about how she decided to turn up this time around if I couldn't actually be there???
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