fAtED
Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant.
-Seneca the Younger
Maybe it was fate that made them cross their paths again, maybe it was destiny, luck or just plain coincidence but Thaddeus didn't care. Call it what you will but as soon as he saw Rhonda Lloyd walking along the street wearing a wedding dress with mascara staining her cheeks, he knew some upper power was at work.
The moment he saw her he felt a forceful of gut-punching emotion that came with memories of the past. It stole his breath.
The day he met her.
The day his crush on her started.
The day he fell madly in love with her.
The day he thought she was in love with him too.
The day he was heartbroken because he was just a friend and Rhonda decided to go for jerk Rob Minsky instead.
And the day he left Hillwood after high school graduation and never looked back.
For five straight years his job had kept him busy. He had no time to think of her in between morning coffee runs, paperwork that lasted until midnight and happy hours with co-workers who kept pushing him towards a bevy of girls that were always pretty but had something missing.
All of them weren't Rhonda.
However, even after all those years of not being able to focus on her solely, she was always at the back of his mind. Sometimes in dreams, sometimes appearing in women in subways who looked like her and, of course, the magazines and newspapers filled with the heiress' face.
She was always haunting him. And now, here she is. In the flesh. If he remembered correctly, her wedding to the senator's son is today. Everyone had actually been talking about it for weeks. The engagement was heavily televised too. Thaddeus just turned the other cheek whenever news of the wedding would come in full blast from people's mouths, television, old elementary, middle and high school friends and lastly, his mom. The only one who really knew he never got over the Lloyd girl as she put it.
He was glad he was in a car, for she would have definitely seen him if he wasn't. He was heading to the grocers after being back for only a day, back home at last. It was just a vacation, a break really. It was what he needed. For being a workaholic can take a heavy toll on anyone. He felt as if the last five years had blended into one. He did not know where each year began and another ended.
So he took a break, and after being back home for only a day he decided to go shopping for food because there was nothing on the fridge, and on that particular day Rhonda just decided to bail on her wedding. It was amazing that no one had followed her yet, because the paparazzi should be swarming around her by now. But there's no one there, except for the two of them. On an empty street.
So someone had given him a chance.
An opportunity that he thanked the heavens for.
An opportunity that he was going to grab because girls like Rhonda only appeared once in a lifetime.
…
Rhonda Lloyd was the happiest woman that ever walked the earth, until about thirty minutes ago, when she saw one of her friends dry humping the groom in a room in the church they were about to be married. In a church. Have they no shame?
Of course not. They were fooling around behind her back.
Rhonda wanted to leave, really. But her feet did not want to move as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.
As her fiancé stroke Brianna's thighs.
As they moaned in full synchrony.
As he slid his right hand under her bridesmaid's dress.
At that point, Rhonda couldn't take it anymore. She closed her eyes shut.
A voice inside her told her one thing. Run.
So she did. And she never looked back. She went through the backdoor, escaping her family, guests, the paparazzi who thankfully did not loiter at the back of the church. She ran as fast as her Jimmy Choo ivory pumps could take her. She ran until her lungs couldn't take the crushing force that made her stop in the middle of the sidewalk and cry her eyes out.
Earlier, she was so grateful that the sun was shining so brightly on her wedding day. Now, it seems like the world is mocking her. With all her heart, she wished for rain. It could wash her tears away.
Feeling numb and betrayed and so so tired, she walked, trudged, along the sidewalk, heading nowhere really. She walked and walked staring at nothing but air when she heard a car pull over next to her. Great. They've found her. And they're going to need an explanation from her.
However, today, things were not going as Rhonda had expected so instead of her security guards locating her, someone in a deep voice chuckled and said, "Your carriage awaits, milady…"
…..
Thaddeus Gammelthorpe was grinning as if he won the lottery when he pulled over next to Rhonda and rolled a window down. He said the cheesiest line he could ever think of to give to a lady in a wedding dress.
"Your carriage awaits, milady…"
Rhonda's blank eyes were staring at nothing but she was immediately pulled out of her stupor as soon as she heard his voice. She turned to the car in bewilderment and peered through him through the space in the car window.
"Hi!" he greeted cheerfully with an enthusiastic wave as Rhonda gave him a wide-eyed, slack-jawed stare. He'll give her time to recover and remember.
"Yeah… hi," she replied back quietly as her voice cracked. She hasn't recognised him yet. Even though she seemed hesitant, she never broke the eye contact.
She stared at him for almost a full minute before her face registered shock.
"Oh. My. God! Curly?" she shrieked, current problem forgotten.
"Yeah, that's my nickname, don't wear it out," he said jokingly. "Get in. The sun's awfully bright today, wouldn't want you to ruin your model complexion."
Rhonda smiled and Thaddeus breathed a sigh of relief as he saw it was a genuine smile. A moment passed but Thaddeus saw the shaking hand reach for the car handle. She was going to get in.
She did. She slammed the door and said to Thaddeus in a firm voice, "Drive."
He stepped on the gas upon hearing the word. "So where do you want to go?"
Rhonda seemed uncertain, playing with her hands, eyes darting side to side, biting her lip. She sighed, a sigh of the broken-hearted. He knew that sigh. He had breathed that sigh a million times back in high school.
"Anywhere" was her soft reply.
"Gee, Rhonda, I would love to take you there but you see, I don't really know if such a place exists."
From the side mirrors he saw her crack a small smile. It warmed Thaddeus' heart. Whatever it was that made Rhonda run from her own wedding, he was sure it must have been horrible. Good thing he was here. He was always there to rescue her. Her own personal saviour trapped in a body of a twenty three year old man. He would never abandon her. The last time was the last one. For sure. Chances like these don't come very often and he could definitely take a hint.
Someone up there wanted him to meet Rhonda today. And maybe, never let her go.
"I tell you what, since you're already wearing a wedding dress… what do you say to heading to Vegas, getting piss drunk and doing something we'll later regret?"
Rhonda glowered at him and he feared that maybe he had gone too far but then she let out a huge shriek of laughter. A laugh that caused tears to fall from her eyes.
"You haven't change," she says as she slaps his arm.
"Neither have you," he says sincerely.
"Yeah, neither have I…" she whispers as she studies his face. He could feel her gaze as he drove through the streets of Hillwood, with no particular destination in mind.
"That sounds fun actually, going to Vegas. You need to get me out of town anyway. They're probably going to be looking for me after they've discovered I've disappeared." Rhonda was dead serious when she said it so Thaddeus nodded.
"You're not asking why I'm a runaway bride?" she inquires as she starts to get teary-eyed again, Thaddeus sees through the reflection of the side mirror.
"No. Not really my place to do so," he simply put.
"He was cheating on me," she says harshly with no emotion. Thaddeus stiffens. "He was screwing one of the bridesmaids. One of my closest friends," she murmured softly, her voice cracking once again.
"Oh, Rhonda… I'm so-"
"Don't be. I'm glad I caught them. I caught them right before I married the prick," she hisses. She sounds like her old self. Someone with fire in her veins, someone born to cause trouble, someone meant for him.
He smiles happily and she sees it.
"You think it's funny?"
"No."
"Then why are you smiling?" she asks, her tone rising with each word.
"I'm smiling because I came back after five years and the first person I bump into is Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, the most beautiful girl in existence." Then, he gave her a onceover. "Even if her face is stained with black mascara and liner and her nose is red from crying while she's wearing a crumpled wedding dress with too much lace. She's still damned beautiful."
…..
The most beautiful girl in existence. Only Curly could describe her that way with so much confidence and no embarrassment at all.
And he believed every single word.
Rhonda let the feelings of euphoria spread throughout her whole body like a virus. A satisfying, joy-filling virus that made her toes curl and her mouth curve up on the sides.
How does he always find her in times of need and bring her back up?
Because he's in love with you, you idiot.
"Damn, I was right," she utters as she relaxes on the passenger seat of his car.
"About what?" he smirks, raising an eyebrow.
"This dress does have too much lace," she quips and he chuckles loudly.
She gazes at him. Truly observe him and realise that she is not looking at a boy anymore, she is looking at a man. A man wearing green thin rimmed glasses that made him appear sexy and smart, a polo shirt that could not hide his muscular arms and black slacks that was so professional it didn't really scream Curly to Rhonda.
Curly had become a handsome man. With his thick hair and dark brown soulful eyes, there is no doubt that he has dates lining up outside his door.
"Well, when we get married, make sure to pick a dress that has less lace than that lacy monstrosity you're wearing," he jokes.
"When we get married, I want you in a tailored tux without those nerdy glasses," Rhonda jokes back but couldn't help thinking about being married to him.
It would be wonderful.
The girl he's going to marry is going to be a lucky one. He's going to be a great husband. Caring, thoughtful and loving.
Rhonda determinedly squashes the feelings of sadness upon the thought of him marrying someone else. They just met after five years. But, they've know each other forever so...
"Will we get a big house in the suburbs, dear?" he asked.
"As long as a dog and three children came with the package, darling," she laughed.
But then his face became serious and she sees his grip on the steering wheel become tighter.
"That bastard didn't deserve you, Rhonda," he angrily says.
"That's why I didn't marry him," Rhonda says, amused.
Rhonda sees his face soften and his grip on the wheel loosen. She also sees the wide smile that covers his whole face.
"So when are you going to propose, Mr Gammelthorpe?" she says as she feels the all the air from the car being sucked out.
He turns to the heiress, his lips parted, in surprise but he managed to respond, "As soon as I buy a ring."
Rhonda, without giving it much thought and just running on pure emotion, captures his face between her hands and kisses him hard on the lips.
The kiss that they talk about in fairytales. The one that lit your whole body up on fire and made you see fireworks behind your lids.
Rhonda moaned as she arch her back and open her mouth to taste more of him. Him. He is supposed to be the one standing in the altar, waiting for her. They both sigh. And spring apart when they heard a honk. A truck driver passes by, giving them the finger.
They laugh to release the tension.
Both breathless and giddy, the boy asks the girl, "Where do you want to go now?"
She smiles and takes one of his hands and places it on her heart, "Anywhere you want to go…"
Needless to say, Rhonda and Thaddeus have been inseparable ever since.