Disease

Oliver woke up early and glanced over at the light shining in from the blinds. He let out a quiet groan and peered over at the clock behind Afton’s head. It was only a quarter past eight, so he figured he’d get up and go talk to his mum about the coffee stain he’d gotten all over Afton’s dress. He didn’t mind so much that Afton couldn’t wear it now, because he’d planned on returning it anyhow, but how was he supposed to return it with that nasty coffee stain on it? Quickly, he removed himself from the bed and dressed in some clothes. He left Afton's room quietly and made his way out to the living room, where he grabbed the keys, put on his shoes and jammed a beanie over his head. He left the house and locked the door behind him, making no audible noise until he started the car in the parking lot. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed his mum's phone while unrolling the window, trying to fight away the stench of coffee inside the car.

"'Ello?" His mum answered the phone as if she'd just woken up.

"Allo Mum." Oli smiled warmly into the phone, "what're yeh doin'?"

"I was sleppin', love. What are yeh doin'?"

"Well I was callin' teh ask yeh if I could come over and plan the weddin' with yeh today and maybe yeh could 'elp meh get this coffee stain out of Afton's dress."

Carol sighed loudly, a slight smile coming over her tired mouth. "All right Love. I'll see yeh soon."
"Right Mum."

Oliver hung up the phone and pulled out of his parking spot, starting towards his mum's house. Ever since yesterday, he'd been feeling a little nostalgic. He missed the days were him and Afton could argue over stupid things and he would eventually win her over. But yesterday, he could tell that she'd wanted that dress, that she almost needed that dress. But she'd refused to let Oliver buy it for her. And he wasn't exactly sure why. He knew that she was going to be difficult, just because that's the way Afton is. He tried to be sensitive of her feelings, but he knew she was just doing it because she wanted to. She wanted that god damn dress, and if she wanted it bad enough to stare at it, yearning for it, and wanting it so badly, she could have stolen it right off the shelf, then he was going to go back and buy it himself. He could have cared less how much it cost him. He just wanted Afton to be happy. It'd been a long time since she was happy.

And so, as he pulled up outside his mum's house and glanced at the dress in the back seat, his stomach jumped a little bit. He knew he was ready to marry Afton. He'd been ready to marry her for years. Even before he'd fucked around with SJ, he knew that Afton was going to be that girl for him. That girl that he never wanted to lose, and if he did, he'd ultimately die inside. Which, he knew he almost did with SJ. And he was slowly losing her now. But now that she was taking her medication and now that they had finally got their lives sorted out, he knew things were going to get better. If he had to, he'd watch her constantly, he'd sit there and watch her swallow, checking her cheeks and underneath her tongue for the pills she was supposed to be taking. That was it.

He got out of his car and walked up to his mum's door with Afton's coffee stained dress slung over his shoulder. He didn't bother ringing the bell, he figured that both is dad and Tom were still asleep, as he'd woken up his mum. Pressing against the handle, he went inside the unlocked house and came upon his mother pouring tea into two cups sitting on the counter. He stood there, waiting for her to put the pot down so that he didn't startle her by saying anything. But she startled him when her smooth voice came out of her mouth in a slight whimper.

"So yeh and Af 'er really gettin' married, Ols? Yer really gonna do it this time?"

Oliver nodded. "Yes Mum."

She set the tea pot on the counter and looked over at her eldest son. His hair was encased in a beanie, leaving only strands of it hanging in his hazel green eyes. Bags made the spot underneath his eyes a dark purple color. His lips were chapped and slightly cracked, his cheeks red from the cold. But underneath all of that, she could see that he'd finally grown up. He was finally maturing. Asking a girl to marry him, dedicating himself to her for the rest of his life, giving half of everything he owns to this girl, making a point to show her that she was his, that he was her's, that they belonged to one another and nothing could ever come between them again. He'd finally grown up.

Carol's eyes became full of tears, but she wiped them away with her sleeve as she reached for the dress in Oliver's hands. She held it out in front of her, and soon a soft chuckle came from her mouth. "Oh Ols. Yeh really messed this one up. How'd yeh manage teh do that?"

Oli laughed slightly. "Well. Yeh see, I let Af pick out 'er own weddin' dress, and I picked out meh tux the same day. 'Cause we aren't gonna do the whole traditional thing. Figured it's not necessarily for us. But anyways, she wanted this green dress up on the wall. With these pretty ruffles, this emerald color and it had all these jewels on it and what not. She'd look amazin' in it, Mum--"

"Then what are yeh doin' with this cheap thing?" She interrupted.

"Afton didn't want the other one because it was too expensive. But see, I accidentally spilled coffee on it when I went teh get them out of the car last night. And so I was gonna take it back and get the other one for 'er anyway, but I can't do that because I spilled fuckin' coffee all over it an' ruined it. So I was thinkin' yeh might be able teh get it out and then I could take it back and get the one she wanted."

"All right Love, I'll see what I can do. Let meh go get some things teh scrub the stain out and then we'll talk weddin' plans while I'm workin' on that. Fill up the sink with some hot water and lay the dress in it. Yeh shouldn't 'ave let it dry, Love. What 'ave I always told yeh?"

"Keep the stain wet." Oli repeated from his child hood, taking the dress from his mum, "it's easier to get out that way."

"Right Love." She smiled. "Be right back."

As Oliver filled up the sink, he looked out the window into the back yard. The snow was falling softly against the ground, and Oliver's mood was unaffected by the shit weather outside. The weather in Sheffield was always shit, so he'd gotten used to nonetheless, but things were finally coming together for him and he was excited. He dipped the dress into the running water and pushed his hand down on top of it, the water searing his skin.

"Fuck!" He yelled loudly, cradling his hand.

Quickly, he spun the faucet to the other side of the sink and turned the water cold, letting it run over his now burning hand. His Mum came into the room with a bucket of stain removers and a sponge.
"Yeh all right, Oli?"

"Yeah. Just burned mehself is all." He paused. "Yeh ain't puttin' that dress in the wash, right? Can't take it back if yeh do."

"Won't put it in the wash. Plan on scrubbin' the stain out. Yeh kept the tag out of the water, yeah?"
"Oh shit!" Oli mumbled. He looked over at the counter, and only the tip of the dress was sitting on the edge. He sighed and leaned his head up against the cabinet. "It doesn't even matter now, Mum. Can't take it back with a wet tag."

She smirked, picking up the still dry tag from the bottom of the dress. "Yer all right, Dear. The tag's right 'ere."

"Aye." Oliver sighed, standing up right now. "'m all over the place Mum."

"Yeh just need teh relax. Go sit down and drink yer tea, I'll work on this."

Oli made his way over to the table he used to eat dinner at every night and sat down. He picked up his mug of tea and took a cautious sip of it. Deciding it wasn't too hot, he took a gulp from the cup and leaned back in his chair, looking at his mum standing in the kitchen, her sleeves pulled up, a sponge in her hand, and her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth, just like Tom had always done when he was working on his school work or trying to get a good shot.

"So I was thinkin' Mum, I wanna 'ave the weddin' 'ere."

"Dear, why would yeh wanna do that?"

"Afton loves yer 'ouse Mum. The backyard is fit for a weddin', and then we could 'ave Tom take out pictures. It ain't gonna be a big one, I swear. No partyin'. It ain't like it's someone's birthday, we're gettin' married."

"Who are yeh thinkin' of invitin'?"

"Yeh, Dad, Tom, Nan, Pa, and I'm gonna invite Matt, Vegan, Lee, an' Jona. Afton won't mind the guys."
"What 'bout 'er family?"

"Her mum's dead, and her nan is too old teh even leave 'er 'ouse. Guess I could try teh get 'old of 'er Dad, but I dunno if she wants 'im there. Don't think she's talked to him in ages."

"Well yeh at least need teh try gettin' a 'old of him Oli. Think she needs someone from her own family, don't yeh?"

"Guess so."

"Well, why don't yeh start makin' a list then? What the time is, what we're 'aving teh eat. Invitations, who's comin'. Yeh know. Decorations. All that stuff. And we'll need teh find someone teh make Afton all pretty and what not."

"Mum, I think she'll look fine."

"Dear, 'm not sayin' she won't. But every girl wants a reason teh 'ave other women fawn over 'er and do 'er make up and 'air all right?"

"All right."

"Well quit lookin' at me like yer dumb. Get up, get a pen and paper and start makin' yer list, Oliver."