What would you do if you had to marry your cousin?
An ordinary day
“Get up, your mother wants you to try on the wedding dress she made for you,” Cousin Bob yelled as he swung open Annie’s bedroom door.
Annie said nothing. She did as she was told. She slowly got out of bed and walked downstairs in her nightdress, with Cousin Bob following.
Her mother was at the kitchen table with a needle in one hand and thread in the other. The whitish brown dress was draped gracefully over her lap. She looked as if she had been up all night by the back under her eyes. Her hands were shaking as she held the needle.
“Do you like it Annie?” her mother said holding it up high and proud.
“Mother, its beautiful,” Annie ran over and hugged her mom, then took her new dress.
“You’ll look beautiful honey,” Cousin Bob said. He put his arm around Annie.
“Yeah,” she said. Instead of causing an uproar she let it go, and tried not to throw-up. She just rolled her eyes and pretended he wasn’t there.
“Here, I will put this up in your room in a safe place until Sunday,” her mother said snatching the dress and leaving Cousin Bob and Annie alone.
“Alone again,” Cousin Bob said getting close to Annie. Annie quickly went over to the table where a knife was sitting and held it out in front of her.
“I’m not doing this again, just get away from me. You can’t possibly think that just because I said what I did to John last night that I am going to fall in love with you and that I am going through with this wedding.”
“Oh my dear, you don’t have a choice in the matter, I am going to marry you one way or the other, and there is nothing that you can do about it. Just wait until we have our beautiful children, they will have your eyes and my charm,” he said as he chuckled his booming chuckle.
“I will runaway then because I am not marrying you, I will not have any children with you, and we both know I will do it,” Annie said very decisively.
“I will make sure you don’t. I could watch you every second, of every minute, of every day, just so this wedding takes place, because nothing is getting in the way. We are going to have a life together, and not even your parents are going to get in the way of this,” Cousin Bob said so sure of himself.
Before Annie could say anything back to his remark there was a knock at the front door; it was Catherine and Leonora.
“What’s the matter?” By this time, Annie automatically knew when something was up with her friends.
“It’s John, he isn’t coming tonight, he said that you aren’t his friend or something anymore.”
As these words entered Annie’s ears her eyes began to water.
“Why, nothing happened last night, all I said was that I wasn’t going to go with him, but I would of if Cousin Bob and my father weren’t out there, god only knows what they would of done to him and me if they would of found out. I was only trying to protect him,” Annie began crying a river again.
“It’s okay, It’s okay, we will talk to the guys tonight and we will drag John to Fantasy Forest if we have to, just so you to can see each other.”
“I will try to make it out, but Cousin Bob will be watching me like a hawk, but I will still try to get there, whatever it takes, I will try.”
X Later that Day X
Catherine, Jack, Thomas, Leonora, and John all stood very impatiently in Fantasy Forest waiting for Annie. Everyone was dressed in their best. Minutes seemed like hours as they all stood there listening to John’s mouth and waiting for Annie.
“Why do I have to be here? Annie doesn’t want me to be here.”
“She does. How many times do we have to tell you that?” Catherine and Leonora yelled in a chorus trying to get that to stick in John’s small head.
They waited a little longer for Annie, and just when they were about to leave, she came running.
“Sorry, I couldn’t get away from Cousin Bob, he just kept trying to, well that is a different story.” Annie said trying to catch her breath.
“Think nothing of it, all that matters now is you are here, and some things need to be said,” Catherine said.
After she finished talking, she grabbed Thomas, Leonora, and Jack and they walked deeper into Fantasy Forest.
“You do know what I was doing last night right?” Annie asked.
“I know. You were pushing me out the door.” John said fiercely.
“The only reason why I did that, was to save both our asses. My father would of done something horrible to me, and he would of let Cousin Bob handle you.”
“I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.”
“So you have a problem with one of your friends that are girls helping you?”
“Yes, because I can do it myself, alone,” John said as his temper started to flare.
“You can’t do it one your own!”
“Yes, I can.”
“No, you can’t!”
“Yes, I can!”
“No, you can’t!”
“Yes, I can.!”
“No, you can’t!”
“Damn it Annie, do you love me as much as I love you?!?”
Annie said nothing. She did as she was told. She slowly got out of bed and walked downstairs in her nightdress, with Cousin Bob following.
Her mother was at the kitchen table with a needle in one hand and thread in the other. The whitish brown dress was draped gracefully over her lap. She looked as if she had been up all night by the back under her eyes. Her hands were shaking as she held the needle.
“Do you like it Annie?” her mother said holding it up high and proud.
“Mother, its beautiful,” Annie ran over and hugged her mom, then took her new dress.
“You’ll look beautiful honey,” Cousin Bob said. He put his arm around Annie.
“Yeah,” she said. Instead of causing an uproar she let it go, and tried not to throw-up. She just rolled her eyes and pretended he wasn’t there.
“Here, I will put this up in your room in a safe place until Sunday,” her mother said snatching the dress and leaving Cousin Bob and Annie alone.
“Alone again,” Cousin Bob said getting close to Annie. Annie quickly went over to the table where a knife was sitting and held it out in front of her.
“I’m not doing this again, just get away from me. You can’t possibly think that just because I said what I did to John last night that I am going to fall in love with you and that I am going through with this wedding.”
“Oh my dear, you don’t have a choice in the matter, I am going to marry you one way or the other, and there is nothing that you can do about it. Just wait until we have our beautiful children, they will have your eyes and my charm,” he said as he chuckled his booming chuckle.
“I will runaway then because I am not marrying you, I will not have any children with you, and we both know I will do it,” Annie said very decisively.
“I will make sure you don’t. I could watch you every second, of every minute, of every day, just so this wedding takes place, because nothing is getting in the way. We are going to have a life together, and not even your parents are going to get in the way of this,” Cousin Bob said so sure of himself.
Before Annie could say anything back to his remark there was a knock at the front door; it was Catherine and Leonora.
“What’s the matter?” By this time, Annie automatically knew when something was up with her friends.
“It’s John, he isn’t coming tonight, he said that you aren’t his friend or something anymore.”
As these words entered Annie’s ears her eyes began to water.
“Why, nothing happened last night, all I said was that I wasn’t going to go with him, but I would of if Cousin Bob and my father weren’t out there, god only knows what they would of done to him and me if they would of found out. I was only trying to protect him,” Annie began crying a river again.
“It’s okay, It’s okay, we will talk to the guys tonight and we will drag John to Fantasy Forest if we have to, just so you to can see each other.”
“I will try to make it out, but Cousin Bob will be watching me like a hawk, but I will still try to get there, whatever it takes, I will try.”
X Later that Day X
Catherine, Jack, Thomas, Leonora, and John all stood very impatiently in Fantasy Forest waiting for Annie. Everyone was dressed in their best. Minutes seemed like hours as they all stood there listening to John’s mouth and waiting for Annie.
“Why do I have to be here? Annie doesn’t want me to be here.”
“She does. How many times do we have to tell you that?” Catherine and Leonora yelled in a chorus trying to get that to stick in John’s small head.
They waited a little longer for Annie, and just when they were about to leave, she came running.
“Sorry, I couldn’t get away from Cousin Bob, he just kept trying to, well that is a different story.” Annie said trying to catch her breath.
“Think nothing of it, all that matters now is you are here, and some things need to be said,” Catherine said.
After she finished talking, she grabbed Thomas, Leonora, and Jack and they walked deeper into Fantasy Forest.
“You do know what I was doing last night right?” Annie asked.
“I know. You were pushing me out the door.” John said fiercely.
“The only reason why I did that, was to save both our asses. My father would of done something horrible to me, and he would of let Cousin Bob handle you.”
“I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.”
“So you have a problem with one of your friends that are girls helping you?”
“Yes, because I can do it myself, alone,” John said as his temper started to flare.
“You can’t do it one your own!”
“Yes, I can.”
“No, you can’t!”
“Yes, I can!”
“No, you can’t!”
“Yes, I can.!”
“No, you can’t!”
“Damn it Annie, do you love me as much as I love you?!?”