Such a Surreal Place

*A week before the wedding*

Everything was going smoothly. My wedding dress was made on time and it fitted me perfectly. Brian’s suit also arrived and it looked amazing. His dad had received the rings and they were just like we wanted them to be, engravings and all. The photographer hadn’t cancelled on us, Good Charlotte said they’d be our band, our honeymoon destination was confirmed, we’d brought plane tickets, etc. Now it was time for me to bring Brian home to my mother. I was her last blood relative. I couldn’t disappoint the poor old woman. She’d lost so much in her life. I knew her letting go of me would be super hard, but she was going to have to do it.

“Brian? Are you ready?” I called into the bathroom in our hotel room.

“Just about...” he shouted back. He soon walked out and I instantly knew that he was really trying hard to impress my mother. “How do I look?” He seemed so nervous! He was wearing a black formal shirt that had long sleeves, but he’d rolled them up slightly so they came off his wrists. The cuffs he’d made were slightly punk rock-ish, so he looked smart while still having a Synyster Gates vibe to him. His collar was open in a V-shape, so he looked casual but still neat. He had on his best jeans (which were a dark blue, nearly black, and had no rips) and he had on a normal, plain black belt (for the first time in his life). He had black sneakers on, had just shaved so looked very clean cut and had spiked his hair up (nicely, not OTT or anything...).

For once, he wore no eyeliner, didn’t have his typical black gloves on, didn’t have any sort of stud or ring in his nose piercing, no other jewellery except for the necklace that matched mine (the key that fitted my heart... sigh...) and his man chain necklace that he always wears (not the padlock one. I don’t know where that one is at the moment). Honestly, he looked a bit strange. I’ve never noticed how much he changed by putting on some eyeliner or doing his hair slightly different. Or taking off all the chains on his belt and wearing something nice and ‘normal’.

“You look great!” I managed to say. I wasn’t joking either. I liked the rock star Synyster Gates, but this sweet Brian Haner was the guy I was marrying.

“God, I’m nervous!” he said, shaking his arms in an attempt to relax and looking at the ceiling.

“You’ll be fine,” I comforted him.

“Oh shit! Deodorant!” he yelled, suddenly bolting in the direction of his bag. I laughed as he threw out a pair of ripped jeans, some belts, a leather jacket and some gloves before finding his deodorant. He started applying it to himself while shaking his head. “My God, that would’ve been embarrassing...”

“Let’s go,” I told him and he followed me out of the room. I could feel the whole ‘nervous’ vibe coming off him. I was actually glad he was nervous – it showed that he cared whether or not he fucked this up. When we arrived at my mother’s house, he became super fidgety. It was kinda cute and funny to watch. When my mother appeared at the door, he froze. I got pulled into a hug, and then watched as my mother and Brain hugged too. That confused me. I thought Mom was meant to be not very fond of him...

“He’s more handsome in person,” Mom said and I smiled at her, then Brian. His gorgeous brown eyes were looking at the ground, not really knowing how to handle that compliment. I guess he hadn’t met too many mothers of the girls he dated in the past.

“He is handsome, isn’t he?” I asked, but not expecting an answer. It was more like I was reassuring myself that he was a stunning example of man. I took Brian’s hand and led him into the dining room with my mother.

“I hope this meal isn’t too bad,” she said as she sat down on one side of the table. She gestured for me to sit with Brian on the opposite side. I could tell she was going to be analyzing the poor guy all night long. “Everything went wrong...”

“I’m sure it’s fine, Mom,” I commented as I scanned the options. It looked fine. It looked edible. But then again, her cooking had looked edible many times in the past when it actually wasn’t. And unfortunately, tonight was one of those nights when it was horrible. Me barely eating wasn’t anything new, so I easily got away with eating a small amount of... whatever it was. But Brian, being a decent sized male, was expected to eat a lot. He tried to refuse politely a lot of the time, but mother forced him to have more. I felt so sorry for Brian. He constantly forced the food down, but drunk a lot of water and took his time. I could tell he was suffering. When Mom left to fill up the jug of water (‘cause Brian had drunk pretty much all of it) Brian winced at me.

“I’m gonna be pissin’ all night long,” he whispered with a small smile.

“Just stop eating it! You can get something later!” I hissed, putting my hand gently on his. He sighed and looked at the ground.

“That would be rude though...” he mumbled and then my Mom came back. Brian kept on eating his dinner and having a conversation with my Mom. Amazingly, he didn’t talk once with his mouth full (he always does when he’s on the tour bus with the guys) and was so polite, finishing every word properly and trying to put in as many big words as possible so he could sound smart. It was adorable, and he made me so proud, not only of him, but us, the relationship we had. It was truly surreal. I never would’ve picked me and him to get this far (the whole wedding thing) in the first few months that I knew him. Even after that, after we’d been going out for a while, I still never would’ve considered the fact that he could be the one.

It was soon time for us to leave. Mother said she had something for me, so we followed her into the lounge. I saw Brian kind of stumbling a bit. He mustn’t be feeling too well after that horrid meal. I gave him a sympathetic look as I put my arm around him and walked with him into the lounge. Mom was standing in front of the mantelpiece where lots of photo frames were situated. I looked at all of them. There was many of me and Scott, but also a lot of my father. I saw Brian looking at the ones of my father and brother, and he gave me a squeeze, showing me that he was here for me. I felt my breathing get uneasy as good memories flooded back into my head.

At the end of the mantelpiece, there were two pictures of Mom and Dad on their wedding day. On the left, there was a picture of Scott and his wonderful girlfriend (well, I guess I should say ex-girlfriend, because now Scott’s... passed away). That picture was taken not too long before Scott passed away. I felt the tears come to my eyes as I saw his smile again. He was so happy with her. I could remember that I was jealous of him once. They loved each other so much, and I wanted that love for myself. I’m pretty sure I have found that now, though. Then, on the other side, I saw something I thought I’d never see. It was a picture of me and Ronnie. What the hell? Brian saw that one too and he glanced at me, raising an eyebrow to say ‘what the fuck is wrong with your mother?’.