That Last Little Spark

Jess returned to Bam’s house later that night, leaving Kelsey to spend time with her parents. The picture was tucked safely away in her wallet. Only Kelsey had seen it, and tomorrow, Jess was going to her aunt’s to ask about it. If it was possible, she would wear the exact dress if she could find it. But after years of hearing rumors that it was ruined because it wasn’t packed away properly, or sold after the wedding, or lost during the moving process, she wasn’t sure anymore.

“So, find any ideas?” Bam asked when she descended the stairs to the Pirate Bar.

“Actually, I found the exact dress I want to wear.” she smiled back.

“Really? What’s it look like?” Bam asked eagerly.

“It’s...white.” Jess teased.

“Are you kidding me? Will I get to see it?” Bam whined.

“Of course not! You’re not going to see it before the wedding day!” Jess replied.

“Why?!” Bam continued whining.

“It’s a tradition!” Jess whined back. “But you’ll like it, I promise. My fashion sense isn’t as wild as Kelsey’s when it comes to wedding dresses. You should see the things she marked in those bride magazines. Talk about a circus.” Jess rolled her eyes.

“What did they look like?” Dico asked.

“Oh my God. You name it, it was on it: feathers, lace, beading, ruffles, pick-ups....the list goes on and on. I’ve never seen so many bizzare dresses.” Jess shook her head.

“Please just promise me that your dress won’t look like that.” Bam paled.

“I promise. I may be wild with my own fashion choices, but those were just insane.” she replied, thinking of the picture tucked away in her wallet, before letting out a yawn.

“Alright, I’m gonna go to bed.” Jess pressed her lips to Bam’s before pushing her chair back to stand up from the table, ignoring the whistles and catcalls that followed. Laughing, she ascended the stairs up to the first floor to pick up her shoulder bag, which contained her laptop. She carried that up to Bam’s bedroom and set it down on his bed, which had been previously made...most likely by April. Stripping off her shirt to reveal the tank top she wore underneath, she flopped down on the bed and opened it, looking around the room as it started up. The walls were a deep raspberry color, the furniture all dark cherry wood. A large mirror was attached to the dresser...which she found a little strange for a man’s room...even weirder were the three tall black candles toward the side of the mirror. A flat screen TV was mounted on the wall across from the bed, with speakers scattered throughout the room.

Her computer finally brought up her Internet page, and she let out a groan. A larger than life picture of Bam and herself locked in a passionate kiss was the main headline. She should’ve known that with all of the people around them today, pictures would be leaked to the Internet in no time.

‘Sparks Flying for Bam?’ the title read, and she saw it was an article from a familiar gossip website. Jess clicked on it, bracing for the story. The picture at the top of the page was of Bam kneeling in front of her in the theater.

‘Jackass star Bam Margera proposing to his city sweetheart, who has yet to be identified. The history of their relationship is unknown, and his fellow Jackass stars aren’t talking, leading some to believe that they also know Bam’s new fiancee. Details of the wedding and the couple’s whereabouts are unknown to us at this time, but will be released as we get the details.’ she read. The picture at the bottom was the same as the picture on the front page: Bam and herself kissing after she said yes.

Taking a deep breath, she scrolled down to the comments.

‘Fucking bitch! Bam is mine! She’s not even that fucking pretty! She looks like a slut, I bet he met her at a bar or something!’ the first comment read.

‘Because Bam definitely knows who you are. What right do you have to judge two people that you don’t even know? Not pretty? Are you blind? We’ve all seen the pictures of Bam’s previous girlfriends, and I know I’m not just speaking for myself when I say that he’s really improved this time. She’s beautiful. I was there today, just so you know. When Bam proposed, he said that they’ve known each other for years, and have been best friends for a long time. And just in case you don’t believe me, I can tell you for a fact that these pictures were taken inside the lobby of the Gershwin Theater during the intermission of Wicked. I personally can’t recall any interviews where Bam stated that he liked musicals, so he’s really going out of his way to impress her. I hope their wedding is spectacular and they spend many happy years together. Grow up and get a life.’ the comment below fired back.

‘^ Well put, sir/madam. To the first person, who died and made you the beauty police? Judging by your icon picture, you look like a fucking horse, so to call this girl ugly is quite ironic. The only way any man would come near you is with a pair of beer goggles.’ the third comment sniped at the first person.

The following 20 comments were much of the same: picking at the first comment and sending their congratulations to the newly engaged couple.

‘Oh please, MTV, make this into a special! It would be hilarious! I can already see it: Steve-O or someone jumping out of a huge cake, Pontius party-boying all over the wedding...can you imagine the vows? I’m already laughing. Way to go, Bam!’ the last comment on the page said.

Jess snorted to herself and then smiled, scrolling back up the page and reading the comments of strangers defending her.

Hearing the laughter coming from the Pirate Bar, Jess opened up a Word document to start making a list of things they needed to do...

Dresses -bride & bridesmaids
Bridesmaids & groomsmen
Flower girl & ring bearer
Food
Flowers
Music
Honeymoon
Decorations
Moving the shit out of the skate barn
Invitations
Parties

Suddenly, the next two months seemed horrifyingly short, and Jess wondered if she and Bam could do it all. Flowers and invites seemed to swarm around her brain.

In the middle of her list, an instant message popped up.

BigApplePrincess: you bitch, I just heard the news!

It was a message from Erica.

WickedGirl: :) do you owe Kelsey 20$ too?
BigApplePrincess: ...yes. But on to more important things: DETAILS! I NEED DETAILS!
WickedGirl: it’s October 17th in the skate barn behind Bam’s house. But I’m at a total loss for planning right now. I just made a list and I think I’m going to go insane...flowers, music, food. How the hell did you do it?
BigApplePrincess: well first of all, we had 6 months, not 2. But I’ll tell you this: do the more important things first.
WickedGirl: what’s the more important things?
BigApplePrincess: here’s how we planned ours: most important: theme. We didn’t have one, but you might want one. As for material things? Dress first. It only takes about a month for them to make a dress, so get that done as soon as possible. Bridesmaids and flowergirl dresses next. Those don’t take long, but it’s still important to get them out of the way. Next, catering. They’ll need time to go over the menus with you. Flowers next. Florists don’t like surprises sprung on them. Invitations after that. You can’t have a wedding without guests! Then music. Then whatever you please
WickedGirl: what about vows and the ceremony and that stuff?
BigApplePrincess: uh...I guess it depends on you two. Aaron and I have known the guy who did our wedding for a few years now.
WickedGirl: I don’t know about Bam, but I’m not that religious for a church wedding.
BigApplePrincess: I don’t think Bam is, either. Anyway, I heard from a little birdie that you already have your dress picked out anyway. So spill: what’s it look like?
WickedGirl: it’s my mom’s.
BigApplePrincess: oh my god :’)
WickedGirl: I thought so, too. I found the picture tonight in one of the bridal magazine boxes that Kelsey and I used to plan fake weddings with. Speaking of which, I’ll have to bring some back to the city to show you. Kelsey’s choices are insane XD
BigApplePrincess: when are you coming back?
WickedGirl: I could ask you the same question ;)
BigApplePrincess: next week, darling. By the way, are you and Bam going to live together while you’re planning this? I mean, it seems logical.
WickedGirl: I don’t know...it’s the logical thing to do...but I don’t know if I can leave the city, and I can’t ask Bam to leave westchester...and there’s the annoying paparazzi thing.
BigApplePrincess: yes, I saw the announcement on the instand messenger homepage. No respect for privacy whatsoever. But big cheers to the people that have no problems defending a stranger :) and tell Bam I think it’s so cute that he took you to see Wicked! Hey, what do you think about that last comment asking MTV for a special about the wedding?
WickedGirl: I can already see it: a huge disaster XD Alright, I should get back to planning. Thanks for the advice
BigApplePrincess: no problem, sweetheart. It’s almost time for Aaron and I to go to dinner, anyway. You should see the suite we’re in. Actually, it’s more like a house on our own private island. It’s stunning. In case I don’t get to talk to you later, goodnight!
WickedGirl: Night :) and Erica?
BigApplePrincess: yes?
WickedGirl: use protection

WickedGirl has signed off

Jess giggled at the message she had sent to Erica, then closed it and went back to her list. She started deleting things and switching things around in the order that Erica had suggested. At the top of the list, in large letters, she typed the word, ‘THEME’, and went back to the blank Internet page. She started browsing on Google for fall weddings, looking at what other people had done.

She didn’t hear the door open, or know anyone was in the room, until someone dropped down on the bed beside her and wrapped their arms around her waist and buried their face in her shoulder.

“I thought you were going to bed.” Bam said into her neck.

“Too much to get started.” Jess replied, clicking on another wedding link.

“Oh please. I could do all of it in a week.” Bam snorted.

“Oh no, don’t you start with that fast planning shit. I want this done right.” Jess laughed.

“Alright, alright...we’ll do it the right way. What’s my job, bossman?” he asked cheekily.

“Find out who your groomsmen are going to be, and sometime in the next month, rally up a lot of people to start moving everything out of the skate barn.” she began, going back to the list.

“Hey, how come parties are the last thing on the list?” Bam asked.

“Because it doesn’t take many brain cells to figure out where you’re probably going to go.” she gave him a knowing look.

“Oh yeah? Where do you think I’m gonna go?” he smiled back.

“Vegas.” she smirked.

“You know me too fucking well.” he laughed. “So what do you have to do? And what are we doing together?

“I’ve gotta get my dress sorted out, then my bridesmaids and their dresses. I’ll probably end up doing the flowers, unless you REALLY want to help me with that. Together, we have the food, music, invitations, whatever the hell we want to decorate with, and honeymoon.” she smiled at him at the end. He looked over her shoulder at the list.

“What’s up with the theme part?” he asked.

“I didn’t know if we should do a theme for it or not. I mean, it’s right in the middle of October. I was thinking of having my girls in orange...Kelsey in a darker orange and the other girls in a lighter orange.” she suggested.

“Won’t that look like Halloween with black suits?” Bam asked.

“All the more reason to do it.” Jess grinned.

“What about flower girls and ring bearer?” he continued.

“I don’t know. I don’t know anyone with kids, except for Erica’s nieces.” Jess wrinkled her nose in thought.

“Hey! My brother’s kids! Ava and Scarlet, remember?” he asked.

“Bam, I haven’t seen your brother since my sophomore year of high school.” Jess reminded him.

“...Right, well I guess now’s a good time to call up the punk!” he dug his phone out of his pocket and punched in a few numbers.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” a very tired...and very familiar...voice came from the other end.

“Yo, asswipe. I’m engaged.” Bam smiled.

“Shut the fuck up. You’re lying.” the person, Jess, laughed.

“Nope. And she’s right here.” Bam passed the phone to Jess.

“Jess!” she exclaimed brightly.

“Holy shit! Jess? Little Jessica Walker? Bam, how the hell did you find her?” Jess was now shocked.

“How did you not tell him we had met again?” Jess looked at her fiancee.

“Dude, we’ve been together for a few months now, didn’t I tell you? She’s been here a few times!” Bam said to his brother.

“No, you conveniently left that part out.” he replied with a laugh.

“Oh...well, we were going out, and now we’re engaged.” Bam said proudly.

“Man, my little brother’s finally tying the knot. About damn time.” Jess snorted.

“Anyway, bring the girls and Kelly over tomorrow.” Bam instructed.

“Why?” Jess asked.

“I need some flower girls.” Jess said to her future brother-in-law. “But don’t tell them anything.” she added.

“You got it. Congrats, you two. Can I go back to sleep now?” he pleaded.

“Night, asswipe. By the way, the wedding’s October 17th.” Bam added.

“That’s two months away! How are you gonna plan a wedding in-” he was going to say more, but Bam snapped the phone closed.

Jess shook her head with a smile and turned back to the list, until Bam closed her laptop as well.

“Hey!” she protested as he set it on the floor.

“Sleep.” he picked up the edge of the heavy comforter and threw it over them both, plunging them into dimness, as the light in the corner was still on.

Laughing, Jess pushed it back to get up and turn the light off as Bam started fake snoring. Once they were plunged into darkness, she jumped back onto the bed and put her head on Bam’s chest.

“I can’t wait.” Bam admitted.

“Me neither.” she brought her lips up to meet Bam’s in the dark, and together they both fell asleep on top of the blankets, fully exhausted from the events of the day.