She sat in the middle of the room, because, for her, it took entirely too much effort to stand, as she stared deprecatingly into the mirror. "Something's not right," she murmured to only herself, for nobody else was in the room, nobody was there to answer with the assurance she so outwardly craved.
"Stop it, you." Emily stood in the doorway, moving forward to run a hand through her friend's hair.
"Stop what Em?" Tessa questioned, though sarcastically. She'd been doing 'what' all afternoon.
"Worrying. It'll be fine. Trust me."
"He loves you, babe. Just breathe." Hanna added, sauntering in with the veil piled in her hands.
"How come you're not dressed!?" Aria exclaimed, shuffling over to her best friend and pulling the dress from the closet with a swoop of grand excitement.
"Aria are you kidding me right now? I can't even stand up my legs are so jello-y, let alone change or walk down the damn aisle!"
Aria giggled, just as Spencer barreled in, holding both a file folder and a walkie-talkie, holding the hand a oddly compliant child.
"Tessa, the flower arrangements are still looking good despite the wind, nothing's out of place as far as decoration. Everyone's seated, your dad's waiting, it's almost time."
The little girl at Spencer's left, a smiler with long brown hair and twinkling azure eyes began jumping up and down. "Auntie Tessa, your flower girl is reporting for duty she announced proudly, eyeing the bride with unabashed interest. "You're gonna be so pretty!"
Tessa grinned, an earnest upturn of the mouth, she couldn't help it. Not even her incessant nerves could halt the resilience of such an expression. This was really happening. She was getting married to the love of her life. "Thank you, Finley."
"Fin, can you go get your basket of roses from Daddy?" Spencer asked her daughter, watching with pride as she ran off to find Toby.
"Now Tessa, let's get you beautified!"
Hanna snickered, beginning to twist locks of brown and pull a little to tight as she secured the braid around her head with an elastic.
"Beautified? You stealing from the book of Marin vocabulary Spence?"
Tessa smirked, wincing as Hanna twirled the rest of her hair into a bun. She nervously exhaled. Now for the dress. Looking over to Aria who held the dress with a delicate grip, she sighed again.
"Are you positive you don't have to pee?" Spencer questioned, as she grabbed Tessa's hand, letting her step into the dress.
"Yes Spence," she answered laughingly, "I don't have to pee but thanks for looking out for me."
"Squad goals," Hanna said, winking in Tessa's direction. "For sure."
As the dress was zipped, a tear fell from her eye; she was suddenly reminded of when she'd gotten engaged.
Tessa sat on the sofa in their shared apartment, eyes slowly blinking as she fought sleep. She wanted kids soon, and hopefully with her current boyfriend. Two girls. Brie for one, Chloe for the other. A cute little family. That was her dream.
"I'm home!" Ezra announced ostentatiously, coming to wrap his arms around his girlfriend.
"H-hey," Tessa greeted sheepishly, as if Ezra could tell what, or more specifically, who, she had been thinking about.
"Now, on to the surprise!" His excitement reminded her of a little girl's, something no woman wants their boyfriend to be compared to. Tessa cringed at her choice of metaphor and Ezra apparently noticed as he asked, "what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she snapped, her sudden hostility taking her by surprise. "Nothing's wrong, just... continue."
"Anyway," Ezra hadn't seemed affected by her demeanor, moving forward with no sign of fluster.
"Tessa, all my life, I've dreamed of a time were I could have a love just like the one of my parents. When you came along, I just knew. It was so sudden, so unexpected, but you, like I, took it in stride. We got along great in those early stages, even more so as we got to be more serious.
Then you moved in. I was so excited to get all of your stuff taken from your old place into my apartment. By the time I was finished in less than an hour - record time if I say so myself - I was sweaty and out of breath. It was then, standing there, in the kitchen, that I realized something.
Those few minutes after I'd set down the last box, I just watched you. You were laying on your stomach, legs draped over the arm of the couch, engrossed in yet another episode of that dumb show. This one was long, a special, maybe, and you were already a quarter way through.
"It is not stupid!"
Ezra laughed, gesturing 'whatever.'
"You were slow about the process, not overly eager about unpacking the ten large boxes that was your apartment. You had said to me that day, "we'll do it eventually, we have all the time in the world." And you were right. We do have all the time in the world.
True to your word, we did get those boxes unpacked and have been living together for three years now and as a couple for five. And yet, we still, despite the large sum of time that has passed, have all the time in the world. Time I want to spend with you, Tessa, as my wife."
Ezra paused, panting, waiting for his breathing rate to return to a normalcy.
He whipped through his speech, one that seemed to have been rehearsed a numerous amount of times, and now that it was the real deal, in front of her, it was as if he couldn't get it out fast enough. Aria hadn't even had time to react to any of what he was saying at the time, and because he finally stopped talking, she was able. "Ezra, I-"
"Tessa," he began again, before she could say anything with substance.
He got down on his knee and Tessa's breath caught as he bestowed upon her the a beautiful, princess cut, diamond ring.
"Will you marry me?"
There was a series of reactions, flitting in quick succession across her face and with each transition, her features seemed to change.
Shock. Happiness. Love. Lust. Fear.
Through the opened window, fresh air came through; the wind's chilled fingertips pawing at her face, further opening the cracks fragmenting her bottom lip. Blood trickled down its length, its color property luminous in the setting sun.
"I-" The air picked up again as she paused, the word caught in her throat.
"Just say yes, Tessa. It's one simple word."
The blood from her lip, that had started down her chin, was now stilled, a dried spot of red, much like the bold streak through the soft pink of dusk.
Ezra raised his eyebrow as Tessa took a deep breath. "Baby, are you okay?"
He reached out to rid her chin of the blood, moving his meaty finger across her chin.
"Yes!" Tessa blurted, scaring Ezra some as he pulled his finger back. "What?" He was momentarily confused, and she could see why, as she made him wait so long for an answer.
"Yes I'll marry you!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck as he picked her up and spun her around. "Really?"
The fact that he needed clarification made her suspicious, but she answered anyway. "Really!"
As he spun her around once again, Tessa watched the room spin. It reminded her of when she used to do star tipping back in high school. It reminded her of their time as flirty boyfriend and girlfriend, their first few weeks, when she convinced him to do it and he fell right as he looked into the light, unable to keep himself upright for even a second.
She felt as though she had fallen down, the carpeting tickling her back, much like the grass had, when she looked to the stars. Now though, instead of the twinkling constellations, all she saw was Ezra's concerned face.
"Tessa oh my god, are you okay?"
Apparently, she had fallen. At some point after he had placed her back on the ground, she had fell, and hadn't gotten back up.
"Did I -"
"You passed out. But only for a second. Probably from shock. This is a big step, are you...are you ready for it?"
Tessa laughed. "Of course. I love you Ez."
"I love you too, my Juliet."
Presently, Tessa grasped her father's hand, taking deep, cleansing breaths. She watched Finley's clumsy toddler feet, watched as the roses were scattered along the ground, watched Hanna's son fiddle with his tie, watched as Caleb awkwardly tried to calm their newborn, who was beginning to fuss. She kept her gaze on anything but the alter. When the wedding march began however, the gentle, familiar notes reaching her ears, she allowed herself to look where she wanted to this entire time: at Ezra, his smile bright, his eyes sparkling, both with love for her.
She was ready.