Love Me Until My Heart Stops

“Have you given any thought to the guest list?” Delia posed as she sat down at her daughter’s dining room table, a wad of bridal magazines clutched in her hand. She was excited, if there was one thing she had been looking forwards to about having 3 daughters, it was the idea that she could eventually plan 3 weddings, and she was thrilled by the news that Gerard and Esmé had decided to bring their wedding forwards, even if it did seem a little last minute, she was sure that they would end up with a day which suited them. She had been surprised, in the blink of an eye, Gerard and Esmé had gone from on a break to getting married in mere weeks, but she didn’t blame them. After 5 years of ignoring their blatant feelings for one another and 7 months of quarrelling about exes, they deserved to have things easy for a while and Delia wanted to help them. She wanted to ensure that Esmé got the day she deserved.

“Not particularly” Esmé commented, flicking through the magazine her mother had placed down ahead of her “But I think that’s more of a question for Gerard. I want you guys there, my aunts, my uncles, and my grandparents. That’s pretty much it” she mused, making a note on the pad which sat at her side. It wasn’t the first evening she had spent with her mother, in the few days since she and Gerard had agreed to move the date forwards, she had spent most of them with her mother or her sisters, and it seemed to make things a little more real for her. It had been on the backburner, with Eloisa’s wedding scheduled for November, all of the focus was on her, but since Esmé’s had been moved forwards, more attention was set on her and she wasn’t quite sure how to deal with it.

Delia nodded. “Are you going to invite Nana Suarez?” she posed, her eyes peeking thoughtfully at her daughter. It was a sore point, Delia had never liked her former husband’s family hanging around, but she knew that her daughters had a relationship with their paternal grandmother. Amelia Suarez had insisted on stepping up when her son had failed to and whilst Delia had never liked it, she doubted that her daughter was just going to ignore the older woman. She was her grandmother after all.

Esmé nodded her head. “I’d like her there” she commented softly “I know you’re not exactly her biggest fan, but she is my abuela” she noted gently.

Delia nodded her head gently. “I understand that” she mused “Have you thought about trying to find your papa?” she posed.

Esmé shook her head. “Not a chance” she dismissed “There’s only one person I want giving me away at my wedding, mama, and it isn’t the man who’s done absolutely nothing up to now in my life. I want you to do it, mama” she noted, offering Delia a smile.

The older woman squeaked slightly before she moved to place her arms around the younger, hugging her tightly. “I would love to do it, Esmé” Delia whispered softly.

“I am glad, mama” Esmé smiled gently “But right now, we should probably try and get something sorted. It’s been almost a week and we’ve not got that many before the big day” she enthused.

Delia shook her head. “I cannot believe you’re getting married, Esmé” she quipped as she slipped back into her seat, stealing Esmé’s notepad.

“Did you not think it was going to happen?” Esmé posed, offering her mother a teasing grin.

“Eventually” Delia commented “But I imagined that you’d marry the other one. You have a tendency to be a little blind when it comes to your feelings and I didn’t exactly picture you figuring out that Gerard was the one for you” she added.

“I did” Esmé reasoned gently.

Delia nodded. “You did and I don’t think I could be gladder. He’s a sweetheart, that one, and I can see why you love him” she smiled.

Esmé’s cheeks warmed slightly. “I’m a pretty lucky girl” she enthused, flicking through the magazine ahead of her “I mean, it takes something to fall in love with your best friend” she added.

Delia smiled warmly. “He’s the best match for you” she assured her daughter softly.

Esmé nodded, a small smile appearing on her face at the thought of her fiancé.

Delia shook her head. “You’re still so smitten” she teased, gently nudging her daughter’s leg with her foot.

Esmé scoffed. “I am not” she protested “And we should really think about doing some planning. What do you think for a colour scheme?” she posed, trying to deflect a little.

Delia giggled. “You’re still so cute” she enthused before she peeked down at the magazine ahead of her “Have you thought about maroon and navy?” she posed.

“Barca colours?” Esmé quipped “Isn’t that a little predictable?” she posed.

Delia shook her head. “It’s one thing that you and he both love, it’s the reason you met. I think it would be a lovely touch” she smiled.

Esmé thought briefly before she jotted the note down, a small sigh falling out of her mouth. “Wedding planning is a pain” she mumbled softly “There are so many questions, so many things to plan for” she murmured.

“But at the end of it, you get a day where the world seems to stop. I remember when I married your papa, we didn’t have the fancy thing you and Gerard are going to have, but when I walked up that aisle in that dress with every eye on me… Esmé I can’t recall a more wonderful feeling. I knew that that was the day we became a team, officially, and whilst I know that it didn’t pan out like I would’ve liked, it is a day I still think about now. It takes work, more so for you because of the guy you’re marrying, but when it comes, you’ll not give a damn about all of the planning, all you will think about is how lucky you are to have found the man you want to spend your life with” Delia grinned, meeting the stare of her youngest. It was going to take work, with just under 3 months to plan, it was going to take a lot of effort, but Delia was sure that it would be worth it in the end. Esmé was supposed to end up with Gerard and their wedding day was to be their moment, the one where all of their previous stupidity stopped mattering.

“You still remember marrying papa?” Esmé posed.

“Whether the man is an ass or not, I did love him once upon a time and the day we got married was one of the most special in my life, only surpassed by the birth of you 3 girls and your wedding days when they come” Delia smiled.

Esmé shook her head. “I am going to need all the help I can get” she mused.

“And you know that Ella, Eloisa, Montserrat and I are all on hand waiting to help. We have got this, Esmé, we’re going to make sure that you and Gerard have a day that you can smile about in 30 years’ time” Delia grinned.

Esmé smiled a little at thought. She liked the idea of looking back on her wedding day in the future and she hoped it was something she could smile about.