The Proposal:
Gregory "Speed" Racer was nervous. His hands shook, his heart pounded loudly in his chest, and his face felt incredibly hot, as if he had sat in front of a fireplace for too long. The night was a very big night for him, bigger than any race he had ever competed in and won, and his emotions threatened to get the better of him.
For five years, he and his girlfriend, Millicent "Trixie" Vanderbucks, had dated. Speed knew from the first moment he saw her, she was the one he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. Sure, he had met several pretty girls during the course of his racing career, but they were not Trixie. They did not steal his breath away from him every time he glanced at them. They did not cause his heart to skip a beat or two when they entered the same room. Trixie did all of those things and more, and, as a result, Speed bought a simple gold band with a diamond in the center. Because he loved Trixie so, he called the local Italian restaurant and asked for a table to be reserved for he and his beloved. The owner and the chef knew of his plans, and they were more than willing to oblige him with his request. Since he wanted to look his best for the occasion, Speed bought a brand new suit, a deep royal purple ensemble the tailor said looked really good on him. In a manner so unlike him, Speed had fussed over his hair, wanting to present the best him possible for the evening.
Now that moment had come. He and Trixie had ordered their food and drinks, and the waiter was on his way with the champagne, the engagement ring in the bottom of the glass. Speed hoped she would see the ring first before she took a drink of the beverage.
When the champagne arrived, everything went as Speed had hoped. Trixie saw the ring and gave him a look of puzzlement before realization dawned in her eyes. Then the band was on her finger, and Speed was saying the words he hoped would be answered with a positive response.
"Trixie . . . will you marry me?"
Bridezilla:
"What do you mean they don't have my flowers?! I'm getting married! They need be here the day before!"
Speed winced the moment he heard Trixie's tone, and he briefly entertained the idea of heading out for a while. In the last two weeks, his fiancé's temper had really come into the forefront, and their wedding was only a week away. Speed was not sure how much more of Trixie's tantrums he could take, and he was starting to wonder whether or not he should have proposed to her in the first place.
At first, he and Trixie had floated in a haze of pre-marital bliss. She showed off her engagement ring to anyone and everyone, especially to every pretty girl who made eyes at Speed. He found it charming in the beginning, but Trixie had not relented, even as the months passed and the wedding date drew closer.
Now, Trixie hardly smiled. She snapped at everyone and anyone, including him when he asked her if she needed assistance. On more than one occasion, Trixie had flat out told him the day of their wedding was more for her and not him so things were either going to her way or no way at all. Her attitude was driving Speed crazy, and he wanted nothing more than to get away from her for an hour or so.
As soon as he thought of leaving, Speed nixed the idea and let out a sigh. If he even went for a walk, he would receive the third degree upon arriving home. Trixie's jealousy seemed to have tripled and quadrupled since he had proposed to her. There were times when she got suspicious over phone calls to his mother, and she definitely had not been happy with the female photographer Speed had chosen, either. The woman Speed had contacted had been on the pretty side, bordering on sexy, but she was engaged to another, something Speed had told his fiancé. However, his words had done nothing to assuage his girl, and Trixie's continued jealousy baffled Speed, especially since he had proposed to her and no other.
The slamming of the phone caught Speed's attention, causing him to wince once again. Trixie's mood obviously had not improved, and it meant someone was going to catch hell for whatever had gone wrong this time. Chances were, it would be him since he was home, and Speed did not care for the idea one bit. Every time something about the wedding did not go Trixie's way, he had to calm and soothe her and reassure her that things would be all right. Their wedding day would be perfect, just as she had imagined.
Now, Speed was not so sure he wanted to continue on his current path. He loved Trixie with all his heart, but the constant nagging, the jealousy fits, and the temper tantrums were starting to wear the racing champion down. Taking a walk or finding someone to talk to, like Sparky or his mother, sounded like a very good idea once again, and Speed rose to his feet.
"Where are you going?" Trixie demanded, and Speed glanced in her direction, a bit startled. When he had not been paying attention, the petite brunette had entered the room, a scowl marring her features. He shrugged.
"Out for a bit."
"Out?" she repeated. "Out where?"
"Just . . . out," Speed replied, grabbing his keys and jacket.
"I want to know where," Trixie said, walking after him. Speed sighed softly and turned to face her.
"It doesn't matter where I'm going," he said. "You won't believe me anyway."
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"Exactly what it means, Trix. I'll see you when I get back, okay?"
"No, it's not okay," she declared, chasing him out the door. "I want to know what you mean by that, and I want to know now!"
A dull ache started to form behind Speed's temples as he walked to the Mach Five. He did not want to argue with his fiancé, not when their wedding still lay a week ahead of them, but he also did not want to be around her at the moment. Her proximity and her jealousy caused a pain in his heart he could not bear, and he believed if he stayed there, he would be the one to call off the wedding. Speed paused and glanced over his shoulder.
"It means you don't trust me, even though I've never given you any reason to doubt me or my love for you," he murmured, "and it's driving me crazy, Trix. I can't take it anymore. I'll be back in a few hours, okay?"
Before she could respond to his words, Speed hopped into the Mach Five and drove off. His heart felt as if it had been trampled on, stabbed, and then tossed to one side even though Trixie had not hurled any abuse or accusations at him when he left, and he knew of only one cure for such an emotional condition: his mom's apple pie and spiced hot chocolate. Feeling slightly better, Speed headed for his parents' home.
* * *
Trixie stared at the spot where the Mach Five had been parked, her fingernails digging into the palms of her hands. She could not believe Speed had left her as he had, and his actions only served to enrage her further.
'He has no idea of what I'm going through,' she told herself as she stormed back into the house and slammed the door behind her. 'No idea whatsoever, the jerk! I bet I know where he's going, too. Probably to some stripper bar with Sparky so he can stare at girls. God only knows it won't be happening once we say "I do" to each other. He is mine. No one else's, and I'll make sure every girl in the world knows that.'
As she stalked by the hallway mirror, Trixie paused to stare. Her face was marred into a scowl, making her look ugly in her mind, and she was tempted to punch the offending object, pretty much what she had wanted to do to Speed when he said he was leaving for a few hours and why he was leaving.
'Driving him crazy. What is that all about anyway? Damned jerk. He should know by now how I feel about him. Why is he questioning it?'
A light knock brought her out of her dark musings, and Trixie glared. She had no idea who could be calling on her at that moment in time, and she really did not want to deal with anyone. Speed's words had hurt her, cut her deep, and she felt she needed to be alone so she would not take her wrath out on some undeserving individual.
However, Trixie also knew she simply could not ignore whoever was at her door. To do so was bad manners and bad etiquette so she took a single deep breath and walked to the door. Upon answering it, she saw the photographer, a blond-haired woman by the name of Victorea, standing on the other side. The other woman carried a black binder in one hand and a shoulder bag slung across the other, and Trixie could not refrain from scowling. Speed had told her once that this woman was engaged to someone else, but his words had done nothing to dispel Trixie's immediate dislike of the woman. Victorea's hair shimmered like gold in sunlight, and she looked damned good in just about any type of clothing, something Trixie knew she could never accomplish. Trixie hated how inferior Victorea made her feel.
"I take it this is a bad time," Victorea said.
"Something like that," Trixie replied in a cool tone. "Why are you here anyway?"
"We had an appointment for today," the blond-haired woman replied, casting an odd glance at Trixie, as if she could not believe she had been asked such a question. "We were going to go over some potential backdrops for your wedding day."
"Now really isn't a good time," Trixie stated, though she did remember setting up the appointment. She may not have liked the woman, but Trixie had seen some of Victorea's work. The woman had an excellent eye for capturing the right moment and the right mood, which was something both Trixie and Speed wanted for the special day. "Speed isn't here."
"So?" Victorea responded. "Does he need to be here for this?"
"He should be. It's our wedding day," Trixie retorted.
"I understand that," Victorea answered, "but I also don't expect a decision today. This is a very big deal for any bride and groom-to-be, and I'm sure you two will want to take your time with this. I know I will be when it comes to my wedding pictures."
"When are you getting married?" Trixie asked, unable to help herself. Her scowl dissipated, and she finally noticed the uniquely designed silver band on Victorea's right hand, two tiny dragons wrapped around a solitaire diamond.
"Next summer, if things go well," Victorea replied, her features lighting up with her smile. "It's been crazy so far, especially since Ryan and I want to be different about our day. It's got to be memorable, you know?"
"Oh, I know," Trixie said. "It's exactly what I want for my day, too."
"I think every bride does," Victorea said. "The trick is to not get crazy and turn into a Bridezilla."
"Bridezilla?" Trixie echoed.
"Yeah. A woman who become unreasonably demanding in the final days of planning her wedding," Victorea explained. "She gets so bad and so demanding about what she wants, she makes life miserable for the people around her, especially the groom and her best friend. Some brides-to-be even take out their frustrations on their future partners. It isn't pretty, and everyone wants to strangle the woman for her behaviour. It's also something I hope I don't become. I love my man way too much to put him through that kind of a hell."
"Oh . . ."
"I've said too much," Victorea said, laughing a little. She then held out the binder to Trixie. "Anyway, if you want, I can leave the binder with you so you and Greg can take a look at it later. Just drop by the studio with it once you two have made a decision as to what you want, okay?"
"Sure," Trixie murmured, nodding and accepting the binder. She kept her expression neutral, but, deep inside her, she felt horrible. What Victorea had described sounded exactly like Trixie, and the thought made her feel nauseous. No wonder Speed had wanted to get away from her for a while! "That sounds great."
"All right. Best of luck to you two." Victorea smiled and waved then walked back to her vehicle, a single cab pick-up truck. "I'll see you soon."
"Uh-huh . . ."
Trixie closed the door, holding the binder close to her chest. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks as months of stress and paranoid behaviour slipped away. She knew now she had been behaving horribly towards her fiancé, seeing the truth in his words. Sure, he smiled at pretty girls, but it was always in politeness and acknowledgement. Speed, by nature, was a friendly guy and very approachable. Those were some of his qualities Trixie had loved about him, kept her attracted to him through their years as a dating couple. He loved her as well, proving it when he proposed to her and no one else, and she wondered how she could make it up to him.
'If only he really knew how I felt about him . . .'
As soon as the thought came to her, an idea did as well. Trixie smiled as she realized how she could prove to Speed she loved him and that he loved her. She glanced at the binder she held.
"Thank you, Victorea," she murmured. "I think you've given me just what I needed. And I promise. I won't be a Bridezilla anymore."
Author's Note: Just a one-shot. I've been watching Bridezillas on Sunday nights. Hence the inspiration and the title for the piece. Hope you've enjoyed.