A Mess to Be Made

I sat awkwardly in Brian’s truck, not wanting to wrinkle my dress, and bounced my left leg up and down nervously. Brian noticed my unusual behavior, and quickly grabbed the hand I had laying on the bench between us, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I turned towards him, trying to give him a smile, but his expression showed me that I had clearly made a pained expression.

“Sadie, babe, you’ll be fine,” he said, a chuckle evident in his voice, “My mom already loves you, and I know the rest of her family will too. Just relax.”

“But it’s nearly all of them!” I said breathily, “I mean, the holiday dinner party was fine, there was maybe fifteen of them. But this is a whole wedding! There are more than a hundred of them from what you’ve told me. More than a hundred people who have known you for practically your entire life, or at least longer than I have, and want to make sure you’re the happiest you can be.

“What if they think you could be happier? What if they think-“

“Sadie, breathe!” Brian said, stopping the car, “I love you, and that’s all that matters. You make me happier than I’ve ever been, and if they can’t see that, they’re blind. I’ll stay by your side the whole time, I promise.”

I leaned over, placing a kiss to his lips, and muttered an ‘I love you too ’against his lips. He gave me another quick kiss, before pulling away and announcing our arrival. I looked up at the church, seeing a sea of people filing in, and unbuckled myself shakily. I hopped out, meeting Brian at the front of the car, and linked my fingers with his, allowing him to lead the way inside.

Once we were inside, Brian led us to a pew where his mom and brother were sat, and allowed me to sit between him and his mom. I gave her a small hug, glad I wouldn’t have to sit by a stranger and gave Austin a hello as well.

====

By the time the reception had rolled around, my nerves had flown out the window. Brian’s family ended up being amazing, and only had nice things to say about our relationship. We were both currently standing on one of the decks that overlooked the golf courses, and sipping on the champagne we had left over from the toasts.

“You were right about your family,” I told Brian, a smile on my lips, “They’re amazing. I can see where you get it from.”

“Thanks,” he said, sliding his arm around my shoulders, “My Grandma even told me that if I let you get away, she’d hurt me.”

“I think I like your grandma even more now,” I said laughing.

He laughed with me, giving my shoulder a squeeze, before telling me we should get back inside so we wouldn’t miss the cake cutting. We walked inside, still attached at the hip and walked the perimeter of the dance floor, just as the DJ announced that the bride and groom would be cutting the cake momentarily. Only one chair at our table was now open, my previous spot being taken by Brian’s grandma, so Brian sat down first, pulling me onto his lap.

“So, Sadie, exactly how did you and Brian meet?” Brian’s Grandma, Louis, asked after our cake had been delivered to us.

“He came over to my house, with my neighbors to announce that he was in the band,” I said, smiling shyly at Brian, “Then we ended up talking a lot that night, and he asked me on a date the next day when we all went to lunch. The rest is history.”

“Except for the part where you cheated on him,” a snotty voice said, making all color drain from my face.

I looked over to see who had talked, and saw a blonde girl, who Brian had pointed out as a cousin earlier, giving me a death glare. Brian’s grip on my hip tightened, and I could hear his mom telling her to just leave. I nervously toyed at my cake with my fork, mainly breaking it apart and pushing it around, and was thankful once the girl had left in a huff. The silence that sat over the table was almost awkward, and I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact with anyone.

“That little twit has always annoyed me,” Brian’s grandma said, causing my eyes to widen and look at her, “Don’t worry, she’s only a step granddaughter. Her mom is just like her, crazy.”

“I-uhm-I just don’t really like talking about that,” I said, laying my fork down softly.

“We’ve all made mistakes, sweetie,” she said, placing a comforting hand on mine, “And it couldn’t have been that horrible if Brian still loves you the way he does.”

I smiled; glad she didn’t suddenly hate me, and thanked her softly. Brian gave my hip a reassuring squeeze, letting me know everything was fine, and shifted so he could eat more of his cake. I finally found my appetite, thoroughly enjoying the cake, and let out a huff after I finished.

The rest of the evening was spent dancing and talking, and I left the reception with sore feet, and a smile on my face. As I sat in Brian’s truck, watching him shyly as he drove me home, I bit my lip in thought. After tonight, and being around Brian’s immediate family, I knew that he was it for me.

“Brian, I love you,” I said softly, causing a smile to form on his lips.

“And I love you, Sadie,” he said, glancing at me quickly, “Forever and always.”