Chapter 4


 


Jessibelle and I ran
swiftly down the path, still clutching each other’s hands. We’re going to be
married, I thought happily. Together forever. I had a brief vision
of Jessie’s heartbroken face when she realized I hadn’t faked the wedding. Oh
well. She’ll get over it, she’s Jessie, I reassured myself, and
smiled.


I ran alongside
Jessibelle, now with only happy thoughts of our marriage. As if to strengthen
the emotion, the wedding chapel in the distance grew larger and larger as we
approached it. I began to run faster in anticipation, and felt Jessibelle speed
up as well.


“James!” my father came
into view when we finally stopped at our destination. “The wedding has been
called off because of Growlie. All the guests will be staying the night, and
the wedding will be held tomorrow.”


“We just wanted to let
you know,” my mother explained. “After all, we didn’t want you to be surprised
when the extra people showed up in the guest rooms!” Mother and father began
laughing hysterically. Jessibelle and I exchanged glances. What’s so funny?
We both thought.


“Why don’t you two go on
and get some sleep for the big day tomorrow?” Mother suggested. She was right,
it was getting dark. “Okay,” I replied simply, and started off.
Jessibelle nodded in agreement and headed in the other direction. We looked at
each other a final time before turning back to our separate ways.





BRRRRRIIIIING!!!!!!!
“WHA?” I leapt out ofbed, startled. “Huh?” BRRRRIIIING!!!!! The alarm clock continued to scream. I gently placed my hand on top and pressed down, and the shrill noise stopped. But why had it gone off in the first place? I never set the alarm clock unless it was for something really important….
“THE WEDDING!” Iscreamed. I flung open my closet door and quickly shoved my clothes aside. Grabbing my blue tux in one hand, I shut the door with the other. I fumbled with the stiff pants for what seemed like forever. “COME ON!” I shouted as I finally pulled them up. I slipped the shirt over my head and tied my tie in a less-than-perfect knot. I swiftly ran my fingers through my hair as I rushed down the stairs. One flight, two flights, three….
“WHOAAAA!” I tripped on a bump in the carpet and was hurled down the remaining flight, only to land flat on my stomach at the bottom. “Owch.” I looked up nervously. Mother, Father, Jessie, Jessibelle, and all the guests were sitting at our table havingbreakfast.
“James!” my mother saidindignantly, finishing a piece of toast. “Get off the floor!” I stood up and quickly brushed myself off. I stood there feeling awkward for a moment. Everyone was just STARING at me. “Umm…ta-da?” I said weakly.
“James, why are youalready dressed? The wedding’s not for another three hours!” Jessibelleannounced, confused.
“Uhh…it’s not?” I saidstupidly.
“No, dear. Now just sitdown with us for breakfast.” Jessibelle smiled, and motioned to an empty chair beside her. I sat down and poked my fork into a sausage link. Everyone hadFINALLY stopped staring at me. I breathed a sigh of relief and continuedeating.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3 HoursLater~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I stood in front of my full-length mirror, fiddling with my hair. There was this stray wisp that just wouldn’t stay down, no matter how much I greased it back. I sighed and smoothed it down again. It stayed. I held my breath, waiting for it to fly back, but it remained down. I grinned and started down the stairs. One flight, two flights, three…I remembered just in time and stepped over the bump in the carpet.
When I arrived at thebottom, I looked around for Jessibelle. Where is she? I thought. But allI saw was Mother hastily preparing for the post wedding party.
“Where’s Jessibelle?” Iasked.
Mother turned around.“It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding,” she explained, “Why don’tyou just wait for her at the chapel.” She then resumed cleaning.
I shrugged and walkedout the door. I ambled past the fountain, the bench, the doghouse… “Ah!” Icried out as the chapel came into view. I grinned and sped up.
I stopped in front ofthe main door and pried it open, making sure to take my time. Jessibelle,please be in here… I willed silently. I crept in, timid, and looked up.
No. No Jessibelle. Justthe best man, the priest, and the bridesmaids. I sighed and pretended my shoeswere fascinating.
“Hey James!” one of thebridesmaids called. “Better take your place before Jessibelle gets here!” I walked up the aisle, feeling embarrassed. “When’s she going to be here, anyway?” I asked her casually.
“She said threeminutes,” the bridesmaid replied. “But knowing her it’ll probably be three hours. She always has to look so proper, ya know?”
“No, you’re wrong,” I said in an icy tone. “If she says she’ll be here in three minutes, she’ll be here in three minutes.” The bridesmaid rolled her eyes. I’ll slap her afterthe wedding, I told myself. For now I guess I’ll just watch the guestscome in.
As if reading my mind,the first guest entered. It was a lady in a blue dress, with white heels andblonde hair piled high on her head. Sit in the back, woman, I thought.She sat in the first pew. Suit yourself. Don’t come crying to me when peoplecomplain about your hair blocking their view.
The next person in was aguy. He was wearing a tuxedo, about the same as mine but black. His dark brownhair was greased back, and he took a seat near the middle.
After the first two, theguests came in so fast I couldn’t keep track. They filed in in groups of ten or more, all smiling, and all with perfect white teeth. They all looked rich as heck, exactly the kind of company my parents would have. They settled down allof a sudden. No one even blinked. And it slowly dawned on me why….
The doors flung open,and in a bright flash of white light, a woman’s figure appeared. Jessibelle’s figure. Man, was she beautiful. Gorgeous, ravishing, lovely, any word under the sun that’s a synonym to beauty. She was dressed all in white, with delicate white slippers to match instead of her usual red heels. The bottom of her dress reached the top of her slippers, and it was perfectly proportioned, not too tight and not too poofy. And when people took pictures, the light reflected off of it and bounced around the room, creating a spectrum of sparkling color. The top half of the dress dipped down into the bottom in a V-shape, and it was adorned with tiny diamonds that seemed to radiate a kind of glow. The sleeves were long, and ended just above her hand. I lifted my head to see her face, butsadly, it was covered by a veil.
At last, she reached thealtar. She took her place to my left, and I extended my hand to hers. They met in the middle, and we clasped them firmly. At that moment, I felt like no oneand no thing could come between us.
“Jessibelle,” the priestbegan, “do you take James to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you bothshall live?”
“I do.”
“And James, do you take Jessibelle to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?” He looked at me expectantly with his soulful brown eyes.
I paused to take in the moment. Jessibelle was to become my wife, and nothing would ever come between us again. I smiled at the thought. “I do,” I proclaimed proudly.
“I now pronounce you,man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”
I lifted Jessibelle’s veil to reveal her face. This…this had to be the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. Her hair, her eyes…everything. I almost cried right there on the spot, but instead I leaned in and kissed her.
The kiss was sweet, longand hard. It was all the feelings I’d bottled up over the last ten years, all the love I’d felt that fateful day at the boardwalk, all the emotion I’d ever felt in my entire life rolled into that one carefree moment.
We broke apart. Thecrowd was cheering, the cameras were flashing, and Jessie gave me a thumbs-up.
But something justdidn’t feel quite right.