Wedding Day, PT. 3

She wanted them around all the time and cried when they left. It killed him every time. But that would be a thing of the past now. Now, they would be together forever.

Violet’s eyes collided with his as Pastor Sonny announced, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Isaac, you may now kiss the bride.”

The church exploded with whistles and cheers as Isaac dipped mom in a dramatic kiss. He looked away, but Violet clapped so enthusiastically, petals littered the ground. Mom didn’t notice when she took the bouquet from Violet, and she and Isaac walked down the aisle.

He offered his arm to Violet. As they rehearsed, she took it, and they followed in mom and dad’s wake.

Violet leaned into him and whispered, “This is the best day of my life.”

As he looked down at her, he heard himself say, “Me too.”

***** 

“Are you sure y’all are going to be okay?” Mom fretted.

“Yes,” he and Violet stressed at the same time.

They’d talked about this for weeks. Mom and Isaac offered for their honeymoon to be a family vacation, but he and Violet insisted they go on their own. Isaac had been surprised, but pleased, but mom wasn’t so sure.

“Mom, I’m almost fifteen,” he reminded her.

“So?”

He rolled his eyes. “You’ll only be gone for the weekend. The neighbors know we’re going to be here alone. They'll call to check on us, and we can call 911.”

“But…”

“Honey.” Isaac wrapped his arm around her waist. “We have to go, or we’ll miss the plane.”

Mom gave in by throwing her arms around him and Violet and drawing them in for a tight hug. “You two are the best kids. I love you to pieces, you know that? Please be safe and if you need anything, call us. We can always come home and--”

Isaac covered her mouth with his hand and gave Violet a kiss on the forehead and Jesse a clap on the back.

“I’ll try to keep her from calling you every hour,” he said apologetically as he picked mom up and walked toward the door. “If you’re going to trash the house, now’s the time, since we haven’t painted anything yet. Ow!”

He yanked his hand from Lynne’s mouth.

“Don’t listen to your father, kids!” Mom scolded. “Don’t leave the stove on, and make sure you check the doors before you go to sleep.”

“Yes, Mom,” he and Violet said dutifully as Isaac dragged her out the door.

“I love you!” Lynne cried.

“We love you more!”

“That’s not possible!”

He and Violet watched from the doorway as Isaac tossed her into the passenger side of his truck. He waved while Violet blew kisses as the truck reversed out of the garage and the door slowly came down.

“They actually left us,” Violet said, eyes wide.

He raised a brow. “Want to throw a party?”

She snickered as she closed the door to the garage and made a big show of locking it. Then, she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. “Is this real life? Pinch me.”

He tugged on that curl in front of her face that had been driving him crazy. “This is real life, all right.”

The last thing he expected was for her face to crumple.

“Vi, what…?”

When he drew her against him, she buried her face in his chest and burst into tears.

“Did someone say something?” he demanded over the sound of her heart-wrenching sobs.

He tried to pinpoint what would have upset her, but it could have been anything. It had been a hectic day with their parents tying the knot and having a casual reception that they left so mom and Isaac could catch their plane. Violet hadn’t seemed upset. On the contrary, she was so happy, she could barely sit still, so where did this come from?

“Tell me what happened.”

She shook her head.

“Come on.” He ran his hand down her trembling back. “You’re killing me. I hate when you cry.”

“I just…” She twisted her hand in his shirt. “I’m…”

He ducked his head down to hear her better and caught a whiff of something sweet and alluring that momentarily distracted him. Thanks to mom, Violet had an array of perfumes she was experimenting with. This one was new and definitely his new favorite.

“I’m scared.”

Her confession brought his attention back to Violet’s breakdown. “Scared of what?”

She raised her tear streaked face and tugged urgently on his shirt as she babbled, “I’m scared something’s going to happen! I’ve never been so happy in my life. I kept thinking something was going to happen before they got married. They’d break up or someone would get into a car accident or…”

She groaned and slumped against him.

“I keep waking up, thinking this has to be a dream. That I made you and Lynne up and--”

“Why can’t this be real?”

“Good things don’t happen to me,” she whispered.

He gripped her hair, forcing her face up to his. “What do you mean, good things don’t happen to you?”

Heartbroken green eyes searched his. “I wasn’t enough for mom to stay. Dad loves me, but he’s never known what to do with me. He raised me the best he could, as a boy, and was relieved to drop me off with other families so he could go to work. I’ve never really had a home, had friends, and then you and Lynne come along, and you’re so great and…” Fat tears slid down her cheeks. “I’m so scared something terrible’s going to happen and this’ll all disappear.”

**This is a raw draft of the prequel for Corrupt Idol. Please do not share or distribute.

Copyright © 2024 Mia Knight. All Rights Reserved.