* Wedding preparations meeting - part 1 *
Nerves were getting the worst of Meg, or that's what John thought. She had been extremely tired for the past month, not to mention that her eating habits were changing quite often as well as her mood. And he could understand that. The end of the first school year in a new school together with the whole planning of a wedding and raising a child could be a stressful thing for anyone. Plus the in-laws meeting the family for the first time ever. So there he was, in their bathroom, at nearly 7am, holding Meg's hair as she threw up most of the food she had eaten the night before (which wasn't much, to be honest). He felt bad for her and useless at some point. He didn't like seeing her as miserable as she was right now. When she seemed to be finished, she sat down on the cold, tiled floor, closing her eyes and resting her head on the bathtub as she was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. John grabbed a towel as he had been doing for the past week and rubbed it on her forehead, trying to dry all the sweat from her pretty face. Then, he handed her a bottle of cold water, which she took gratefully and smiling weakly.
"Better?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders. He sighed and moved her hair from her forehead.
"I'm never eating Chinese again." she stated. He chuckled and kissed her head as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Don't blame the food, honey! You've been like this for weeks." he said. She sighed.
"I know. I just can't wait till Sunday is here! I'll feel A LOT better when the whole wedding is over!" she said, then moaned and covered her face with her hands. "That... didn't sound right! I mean... I just..." she started before he cut her in with a soft laugh.
"I know what you mean, Meg. Don't worry! Everything will be just perfect, sweetheart." he said, kissing her cheek. She smiled a bit and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I didn't think I was going to be this nervous. I mean, I'm so sure I want to marry you. I don't have any doubts! But..." she said. He nodded and rubbed her arm.
"I know. But all the planning and the anticipation together with the ending of the school year could be quite a combo even for a person as organized as you." he said. She sighed and nodded. "Everything's already at the Laurences'. Your sisters are all at your mom's and working on the preparations. My family and your family already met a few days ago and they get along fine, so we don't have to worry about that. And I'm sure you're going to look absolutely stunning in your dress." he said. She smiled a bit and wrapped her arms around his waist.
A few hours later, John and Meg together with Rose packed the car with their wedding clothes and stuff and left for the Marches' house. It was the day before the wedding, which meant last dress and suit fitting, putting finishing touches on decorations and trying to relax as much as they could. John would stay at the Laurences with his family, and Meg and Rose with stay with her family. As soon as they arrived, they were received by Mrs. March, Fiona (John's mom) and Jo were laughing and talking as they cooked. Meg took their things upstairs to her room. As she was walking down the stairs, the smell of food enveloped her, and for the very first time in her 27 years of life, Meg felt completely disgusted at her mother's cooking.
"Good! Taste this!" she suddenly stopped as Jo got the wooden spoon with some sort of sauce close to her mouth. As soon as the food touched her mouth, Meg's stomach twisted, and she could feel her breakfast going all the way back up her throat. Jo looked at her, expectant, as Meg covered her mouth with her hands. Unfortunately, she wasn't close enough to the bathroom, so she ran straight to the kitchen's sink where she, once again that day, threw up. "It can't be THAT bad!" Jo said tasting the sauce herself. Effectively, according to her, it wasn't bad at all. However, Meg's stomach seemed to differ. Marmee rubbed Meg's back.
"I'm... so sorry. I..." Meg started and she perked up and cleaned her mouth with a napkin.
"It's NOT bad at all, you know." Jo said, annoyed, as Amy and Beth walked in.
"Great! Meg's here! We can finally do the last dress fitting before the big day! You... alright? You look awfully pale!" Amy said when she looked at her eldest sister. Meg just looked back and nodded.
"Nerves. Haven't been able to keep anything down for a couple of days." she answered as her mother gave her a bottle of water. The four sisters with Rose tagging along went upstairs to change into their wedding clothes. Meg helped Rose get into her dress first while her sisters got in theirs. Then, Meg took off her clothes and put on her wedding gown. She asked Jo for help, and as Jo was zipping her up, she started thinking about everything that have been going on.
"Oh, Oh." she heard Jo exclaim in a worried tone. The zip stopped halfway through, leaving half of Meg's back uncovered.
"Oh, oh, what, Jo?" Meg asked, feeling her sister pulling the zip harder.
"It got stuck. Hold your breath." Jo ordered. Meg did as she was told and after much struggle, Jo could finally up the zip all the way. "There! All set!" she exclaimed proudly. Meg turned around. Her dress suddenly felt tighter than the last time she had tried it on the week before, and somehow, it was squeezing her like a boa constrictor does to its prey.
"I can't breathe." Meg said. Her sisters looked at her.
"It's nerves talking. You're having second thoughts about it, which is normal." Jo said matter-of-factly. Meg shook her head.
"I can't breathe." she repeated, now struggling a bit more to breathe.
"You're going to be alright. You love John and he loves you and..." Jo continued.
"I... CAN'T... BREATHE!" Meg shouted, her breathing quick and heavy. At this sight, Beth and Amy ran to her. Jo instantly got behind her, trying desperately to unzip her to no avail. Meg just felt suffocated. That thing was literally squeezing her to death.
"Get the tweezers!" Jo ordered Amy. The girl left the room quickly and ran downstairs. Minutes later, John, followed by Rose who had gone to get him, walked in the room and went straight to his fiancée.
"You can't see her before the wedding!" Jo shouted.
"I don't care, Jo! She's hurt!" John said, pulling Jo to the side. "Ok, Meg, sweetheart, it's going to be ok. I'll get you out of it." he assured her. He struggled with the zip, but could only move it a few inches. Seeing as his fiancée sounded like she was chocking by now, he grabbed both sides of the zip and ripped the dress opened. Meg gasped, then tried to catch her breath as John held her. By the time Amy got to them, Meg's dress was ruined and she was holding onto her knight in shining armor tight as she breathed slowly, trying to calm down.