The old lady turned around and smiled slowly. Isabella, her youngest granddaughter, was certainly stunning. She looked even more beautiful today, her wedding day. Maria felt her heart swell with pride, how Bella's mother would have cried if she'd been here.
Bella was looking in a long mirror, staring at her reflection. Her long, figure hugging white dress shone in the sun and her thick dark hair was piled in a complicated braid on her head. There was something on her face that did not match the rest of the perfect image; a look of sadness.
"Darling…" Maria began, crossing the small room and gently taking Bella into her arms. "Darling what's wrong?"
"Oh… nothing Grandma Maria. I'm just… nervous." Bella replied, her quiet voice drifted through the room.
"You don't have to do this," Maria said. It seemed marrying Mike was the last thing Bella wanted to do. "You can back out now."
Bella chuckled, her head down. "Alice spent ages on all this," she said gesturing down to her dress, "can't let it go to waste." She forced a smile up at her Grandma.
"If I gave you your wedding present now, would you call off the wedding?" Her Grandma said in a last ditch attempt, taking Bella's hand.
"No Grandma. Unless it's a trip to somewhere far away from here then no…" Bella began, looking sadly out the window. Tears pricked at her eyes.
"Well my sweet pea, it is a trip! I booked a trip to Portugal for you and Mike… because you weren't having a honeymoon or anything. Take some time, think about what you are doing. You could go with Alice instead!" She smiled broadly at her idea, reaching out to envelope Bella in a hug.
"T-that's… amazing… Thankyou Gran!" Maria could see tears in Isabella's eyes, but she knew they were from happiness.
"Yes, yes. A break is exactly what you need. Go and get Alice, your flight leaves tomorrow." Maria released Bella from the hug and watched as she walked at the room.
Yes, this was exactly what she needed.