Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Digimon. No copyright infringement intended
A Night to Remember
Chapter I: A Walk in the Park
There was always something calming about sitting in the park and watching the sunset. It was as if the orange coloured sky and brilliantly lit horizon were whispering words of hope and comfort to all who were watching.
One such person was a young lady in her late twenties. She had startling ice-blue eyes and fiery red hair tied in a simple ponytail. She wore a navy blue shirt underneath a grey jacket, black jeans and a pair of green sneakers. Listening to music on her iPod, her mind wandered back to the events of the day…
Flashback
"Mother, for the last time, I absolutely refuse to use that medieval pattern as my wedding dinner napkins! It's so stupid!" said a 28-year old Rika Nonaka. Her mother, Rumiko, had been trying in vain to convince her to use the same pattern of napkins from a relative's previous wedding.
"But Rika, your uncle…" she replied, but was cut off by an impatient Rika.
"My uncle was twice my age when he got married, the same rules don't apply!" Exasperated, she threw herself onto the couch, switched on the TV and changed the started surfing the channels. Why do mothers always have to be so lame and old-school?
About twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang. When Rika went to answer it, she was immediately greeted by the sight of three girls, her "BFFs". Alice McCoy, Suzie Wong and Jeri Katou all stood at the door, grinning from ear to ear.
Suzie, the most talkative of the bunch, piped up," Rika, are you ready?" Seeing the look of bewilderment on her face, Suzie chuckled and explained. "We're supposed to go dress hunting remember? You are not going to the reception in that wedding dress we bought! I mean, it's elegant and all but how can you dance with Ryo in it?"
Understanding hit Rika like a train. She had completely forgotten about today. She groaned inwardly. This is going to be a hell of a day…
Flashback ends
Well, Rika mused, the trip went well.
They had spent three whole hours running through two of Shinjuku's malls, before settling on a very slender, graceful ebony dress that fit Rika's form perfectly and showed off her curves, while at the same time looking formal and dignified.
Her mother, however, had gushed over how beautiful her little girl was going to look like on the big day, so out of frustration, Rika stomped off to her favourite spot in the park, a bench atop a small ridge overlooking the area, and tried to relax.
It was, however, easier said than done. The truth was, though Rika acted cool about the wedding, inside she was an emotional mess. She was completely terrified of the prospect of screwing up something, be it the bridal march or the reception or the dance. And worse, she would be messing up in front of Ryo of all people…
Just then, a voice behind her said,"Penny for your thoughts?"
Turning, she came face to face with Henry Wong, her best friend and closest confidant, excluding her "BFFs" of course. Henry was also Ryo's best man during the wedding, a fitting role, since many years ago, when Rika was still reluctant to even start a relationship with Ryo, it was Henry who convinced her to give the relationship a chance.
"Oh, hi Henry," said Rika," I was just obsessing myself about the big day. I will not have anyone screw up, and if they do, I'm going to skin them alive and feed them to the dogs." Her voice grew louder and more ferocious towards the end.
Henry, amused at her fiery rhetoric, said," There's the Rika I've known for so long."
Smiling, Rika continued to stare at the beautiful scenery. After a while, she asked the burning question," Henry, how did you come up with that perfect wedding for you and Alice? I remember it was so flawless."
Henry contemplated for a while, then said," Well, Rika, you're asking the wrong question. It's not the wedding that you should trying to make perfect, but the marriage."
Rika stared questioningly at her best friend, urging him to continue.
"You see, Rika, many couples these days are always under the impression that the wedding must be perfect. They spend so much time on buying the perfect dress, the best cake, or hire the top wedding designer, and waste all that money on it. What they don't realize is that the marriage is more important. They realize the marriage doesn't suit them, and in the end all that effort is wasted. So, its ok if you really want a perfect wedding, just make sure that everything following it is just as fruitful. Then you're wedding will be truly perfect. At least, that was what Dad told me before my own wedding day." Henry waited for his dad's "Wise words" to sink in.
"I think I get it. What about you and Alice? How come you always seem so happy with her? It's like you two were made for each other."
Henry smiled and said," Compromise is the key. Listen, I have to go pick up my mom from her yoga class. If you still have doubts, you'll know where to find me. I guess I'll see you around!"
Rika said her goodbye to Henry, before resuming her train of thought. This inevitably led her to the memory of the night Ryo popped the question.
Flashback
The lake was virtually devoid of people, with only a few couples sitting on the benches. Rika had to admit that the fancy restaurant that Ryo had brought her to was very good, especially the food. Even now, she still felt as if her stomach would explode. And yet...
Ryo had never been one to go all fancy-dancy on her. In the past three years of their courtship, Ryo had always went with simple, yet exciting activities to bring his girlfriend to. Just last month, the two of them went bungee-jumping (leading to a very green-faced, queasy Rika ready to kill Ryo for causing her to want to puke). And just two weeks ago, they went wake-boarding. Whenever the date encompassed a meal, Ryo always made sure there was just enough activity to keep Rika on edge.
This time was different. Ryo had eschewed all form of physical activity, and opted for a very expensive meal, then a walk by the nearby lake. Throughout the whole date, Rika noticed Ryo was not his obnoxious self. Gone were the lame one liners and pathetic attempts at flirtation. Ryo seemed rather nervous and jumpy. When asked, he brushed it off as exam stress (Ryo was studying for a PhD in Political Science and wanted to become a professor like his beloved uncle). Rika knew he was lying, but let the matter slide.
Now, sitting at the lake, Rika suddenly thought of a horrifying reason which might explain his behavior.
He's going to break up with me.
There was no other explanation. He was nervous because he didn't want to hurt her feelings (and give her an excuse to hurt his family jewels). This had to be it. Rika suddenly became very sad at this prospect, but nevertheless braced herself for impact.
"Rika Nonaka, do you love me?" he asked.
This is it. Trying desperately not to break into tears, Rika said,"Yes."
"Then do me a favor, please. Just close your eyes. I promise I won't leave."
Yeah, like hell you will, thought Rika, still holding back the flood. Nevertheless, she closed her eyes, getting ready to begin hunting down and murdering her soon to be ex-boyfriend.
After a few seconds, during which it sounded like Ryo had moved, his voice was heard," You can open them now, love."
What Rika saw shocked the living daylights out of her. On one knee, Ryo looked up at Rika, pure love expressing itself from his eyes. His face was both nervous yet completely joyful at the same time.
In his hands was a small box, containing a single ring.
Rika stopped breathing.
"Rika Nonaka, you are the love of my life. Without you I become nothing. I want nothing more than to be with you, always and forever. So, now, I ask, will you marry..."
He never got the chance to finish.
Rika threw herself onto him, causing both of them to collapse onto the floor. Rika kissed him for what seemed like eternity, tears falling, but tears of joy, not sorrow.
After nearly strangling him, Rika got up and helped her boyfriend, (no, fiance, she thought) to her feet, then proceeded to give him a light punch on the arm.
"Of course I will, what did you think? I love you too, Ryo, always and forever."
Flashback ends
Smiling at the memory of that beautiful night, Rika got up and looked to the sky. It was already dark and she had better get home soon.
I am so ready for this, Henry. You'll see.
Authors note: Hope you enjoyed. Might be updating before August ends.
In case you were wondering, the ages are
Rika-28 Ryo-29 Alice-28 Henry-28 Jeri-28 Suzi-21 Rumiko- 50, but still looks in her mid-thrities
Later in this fic,
Takato-28 Kazu-28 Kenta-28 Yamaki-50(you'll love his role if you watched Tamers) Seiko (Rika's granny)- 75 Mr. Akiyama (We'll call him Shinji)- 59