Chapter 3: Wedding preparations
Maria´s POV:
I sat looking out of the window at the busy street as the waiter walked off. I was waiting for Gio. I thought about what she had asked me before Dougie showed up at Tom´s BBQ the other night. Danny was out of the hospital already the morning after.
So anyway…Gio and Tom were getting married and she wanted me to be her maid of honor. I felt honored to be there for her on her wedding day. Today I had agreed to go shopping for a wedding dress with Gio and her mother, who had been so happy for them. Her mother had a doctor´s appointment right now so she would join us later.
Gio walked into the diner then and came over to me. "Hey girl," she said and hugged me before she sat down opposite of me. "I hope you don´t mind I ordered a coffee for you," I told her with a smile. "Thanks," she said and smiled back.
The waiter then came over with Gio´s coffee and my hot chocolate and we talked about a lot of things. We left the diner after half an hour and spend 4 hours in the mall where we found the perfect wedding dress. She had asked me to help with the decorations and I was happy to.
It took us 3 and a half months before we had set up the perfect wedding for them. Gio was overly excited as the wedding day finally came and she looked forward to becoming Mrs. Fletcher.
I was up at 7 a.m. and on my way to Gio´s parents house where she had spend the night. As I arrived at the big white mansion I was greeted by Gio who had the biggest smile plastered on her face that I had ever seen.
Her brown hair was still flat but she wanted it curled before the ceremony started. She had hired a hairdresser for the job, her friend from high school. I had agreed to do her make-up.
As soon as I was done she´d send me off to get dressed. She had picked a weak purple knee length dress with a dark purple ribbon around my waistline. My hair was sat up in a French plait on the back of my head following my neck and landed on my left shoulder. I looked at myself in the mirror.
Then I heard my name being called and I grabbed my purse quickly before walking off to meet Gio. She had her hair done and her dress on by now and I couldn´t help but gasp. She was wearing a cream colored long wedding dress with no straps and lots of tulle under one layer of straight cream colored fabric. On the left side of the dress, just below her waistline, were four white roses. She looked just incredible. "So what do you think?" she asked and twirled around. "Beautiful," I told her and she sighed. "What´s wrong?" I asked worriedly. "Am I doing the right thing?" she asked and looked at me seriously. "Of course you are; Tom´s a great guy and he´s totally head over heels for you. You know, he would do anything for you," I told her to help her get through the nerves that she was going through right now.
The sun was shining brightly as we arrived at the church. It was the same old church that Gio had been baptised in. It was white and reflected the sun so it hurt to look. Right on the outside of the gate to the graveyard was the paparazzi. They moved closer as the limousine arrived. I stepped out first to give Gio some space, though, being me, I wasn´t strong enough to keep them that much away by more than words. "Maria," I heard Gio´s voice becoming more and more insecure. "It´s okay," I told her and took her hand. We walked through the crowd as soon as they moved. Gio hated the paparazzi as they scared her, but stayed with Tom because she loved him too much. It was tearing her apart but Tom made her feel better.
By the big doors to the church were Gio´s father, Gio´s sister and Gio´s 5 year old niece waiting. Gio´s father, a grey haired man, was wearing a tuxedo, which I, who had seen him many times, had never seen him in. Gio´s sister, Cira, a brunette like Gio and looked exactly like a copy of her, was wearing a dress like mine. Cira´s little daughter, Elia, a girl with big blue eyes and brown hair, that hung to her shoulder, stood by her mother´s side. Elia was wearing a purple dress too, but her dress was long, it was all the way down to her ankles. They all smiled and I thought I saw a little tear in Gio´s father´s eyes.
Gio linked arms with her father and looked up at him nervously. "Don´t be nervous baby girl, you´re doing the right thing," he told her with a warm smile. He really liked Tom. Tom was the gentleman that he was giving his youngest daughter, his baby girl, away to. The music started playing and Elia, being the flower girl, started walking first. She bit her lip once or twice but as soon as the many faces looked at her she had the biggest smile on her face. Then Cira started walking, a little more graceful than Elia, down the long aisle. Then I heard my cue and started walking down the long aisle which seemed to get longer and longer. I never seemed to reach the altar. I caught the sight of him and felt dizzy. Dougie was standing beside Tom who looked as if he was going to cry. So Gio was walking behind me by now.I faked a smile to keep the miserable face away.
I finally reached my goal then and stood by Cira´s side. Gio was just behind me and walked up the few stairs and stood opposite of Tom. "Who is giving this woman to this man?" The female minister asked formally. "I do," Gio´s father said and placed Gio´s hand on top of Tom´s. The minister kept talking but I never really caught on to what she was saying. "Do you, Thomas Michael Fletcher, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife, to love and respect her, honor and cherish her, in health and in sickness, in prosperity and in adversity; and leaving all other to keep yourself only onto her for as long as you both shall live?" She asked turning to Tom. "I do," he answered immediately with no doubt. "And do you, Giovanna Falcone, take this man to be your lawful wedded husband, to love and respect him, honor and cherish him, in health and in sickness, in prosperity and in adversity; and leaving all other to keep yourself only onto him for as long as you both shall live?" she turned to Gio now. There was silence for a moment. I guess it was the nerves that were still bothering her. "I do," she answered after the tiny silence. Her voice was stronger after the deep breath she had taken. "By the power rested in me, I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," The minister said and Tom slowly removed the veil that covered Gio´s face. Gio smiled brightly and Tom couldn´t get that bright smile off his face that had been there throughout the ceremony since the first time he laid his eyes on her. I found that really adorable. Tom then leaned in and kissed his wife for the first time.
When the ceremony ended, we walked out in the blinding sunlight where the paparazzi were waiting. No surprise there. They were asking a lot of questions and some said congratulations. Tom had his hand behind Gio´s back as he knew how she felt about the paparazzi. They walked together to the limousine that was decorated with beautiful flowers. A rice storm started just as they were about to get in.
They were gone until the party. It was held in Gio´s parent's garden. There were round tables placed around in their big garden. The tablecloth was white with a purple ribbon lying across it. The chairs were white too and had a purple ribbon that was tied into a bow on the back of it. The garden was filled with the red and white roses that always used to be there. Right behind the little table where the wedding cake was standing, was their little fountain.
It was a few hours into the party before I really started enjoying it. I´d had my eyes on Dougie for quite a while, and he was looking at me too. I couldn´t get my eyes off him. He was sitting at the total opposite end of the garden. It was Tom´s idea that we shouldn´t get too close to each other. Tom then announced that the dinner was served and waiters came in with a plate of food to each guest. There was a little salad bar and Dougie stood up to get some. As he walked over there he never even glimpsed at me. He was almost over there when he looked to the side and didn´t look where he was going so he walked straight into the table which fell over and there were salad all over him. I laughed harder than I had in a long time. He turned his head at my direction then and smiled like he used to smile at me. Then he laughed too.
Then when the mess the salad bar made was cleaned up, it was time for the bride and groom´s very first dance. Dougie came over and approached me when they had been dancing for a while. "Do you want to dance?" he asked with a warm smile. He was really sweet as he reached his hand out for me to take it, a real gentleman. "Sure," I told him as I grabbed his soft hand. We walked to the dance floor that, by now, was a little crowded. We kept dancing for hours, most of the night actually, but we never talked. He just held me close as we swayed to the music. It was perfect.
Gio´s POV:
As the music started playing and it was time for Tom and I to have our first dance, Tom was there immediately offering me his hand. "Care to dance?" he asked in a charming voice with a matching smile. "Of course," I told him and grabbed his hand firmly. I had been dreading this actually. It wasn´t dancing with Tom that scared me, it was dancing, period. We walked onto the dance floor with all our guests clapping their hands and circling in on us eventually. The song ended and when the next one started, people started joining us. At first I thought I was dreaming, when I saw Maria and Dougie come walking together onto the dance floor hand in hand but it eventually sunk in. She was still in love with him after all. They started dancing closely and when other people started leaving the dance floor they just kept dancing. They weren´t talking at all, but you could feel the love in the air.
okat guys this was chapter 3...longest one by now...anyway hope you liked it.... XD!!
