Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, they own themselves, and the gimmicks are property of Vince McMahon and WWE. Based around the song "Souvenirs" by Mary Beth.
To read the original version with song lyrics go to: bitter-solemnity. com /fics /IBLYTL.php (just get rid of the spaces).
Distribution: If you want it, ASK. Don't just take it and post it somewhere.
Summary: Stephanie contemplates her upcoming marriage, and comes to a decision. This takes place on the day of the wedding.
Stephanie woke up from a deep slumber, and looked out the window. It was cloudy and drizzling. Could the day get any worse? This was her wedding day, her third wedding day to be exact, but still it was supposed to be special, and it was raining. Why, today of all days, it wasn't like she didn't have enough on her mind.
And the dreams she had had the night before weren't any help either. She had dreamed of Jericho...again. This kept happening to her, she kept dreaming about him, her mind kept wandering towards thoughts about him. Last night, she had dreamed about their wedding day, and how happy they had been. How he had been all smiles, and how they had danced the night away at the reception. And later, well, later had been even more fun.
She had to stop thinking about him, he was her past, and Brad, well, he was her future. Today was her wedding day, damn it, and she was going to make the most of it, rain or not.
She got up from her bed, and walked over to her vanity. She appraised herself in the mirror, and to her dismay, she didn't look like someone who was getting married that day. Quite frankly, she looked like someone who's best friend had just died. She was supposed to be happy, she was getting married, but something kept weighing on her mind.
She hadn't known Brad for that long, only about seven months. Her father had practically pushed her into the relationship, and while she would admit he was fun to be around, she didn't know if she loved him. Not liked she loved...no she wouldn't think of him now, it would do her no good.
Yet, she couldn't stop thinking about him. At the least expected moments he would pop into her brain and she would think about all the good times they had together. And she had to admit there were a lot of good times. Sometimes she didn't know why she had left him. Sometimes she had the urge to go back to him, to run into his awaiting arms, but she didn't know if they were open to her any longer.
She barely saw him anymore anyway; he shouldn't have such a bearing on her mind. They really only saw each other when he came to pick up the kids, and sometimes he wouldn't even come up to the house, opting to just wait outside. It hurt her to think he didn't want to see her, at the very least because she was the mother of his children.
If she was honest with herself, she knew that she was still in love with Chris, that she still wanted him. But if that thought would creep into her mind, she would push it back, deciding that it wasn't the time to think about things like that. And this was one of those times. She should be concentrating on getting ready for her wedding, not her ex-husband.
But she still missed him.
She couldn't resist the urge to open the photo album that she kept in her nightstand next to her bed. There were pictures of the two of them, back when they were still dating, up until their son had been born. The pictures were full of smiles, of laughing faces. She didn't know why she kept pictures of him so close to her; maybe it was to feel like a part of him would always be near to her, she didn't know.
Her mother was knocking at the door, asking if she was up yet. She quickly put the pictures away, and resumed getting ready. It was no use looking at the past now, she just had to look to the future, and what lie ahead for her.
She put on her dress, and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't look bad for someone who'd had three kids. The dress was simple, it was her third wedding, she didn't need to be so formally dressed. She began to put on her makeup when her eyes fell on the piece of jewelry in her jewelry box.
It was her wedding ring, the one he gave her on that day so long ago. And in that moment she made a decision. She scribbled a note, and left the room.
Stephanie ran out of the room, and down the stairs. She frantically searched for her mother, finally finding her in the kitchen.
"Mom, can you watch the kids for me, I have to go somewhere," Stephanie said urgently.
"Where are you going? Did you forget something for the wedding?"
"No, I forgot something more important, I forgot about love. Could you give this to Brad for me?" And with that Stephanie handed her a note and left the house, leaving a stunned Linda behind.
Stephanie sat impatiently on the plane, aware that she was probably receiving a few stares from her fellow passengers, but she didn't care. She had to get to him, to see him, and tell him the truth. She sighed in relief, glad that she had realized the truth before she made a huge mistake.
She hoped that he would listen to her, at least let her explain. She didn't know what she would do if he wouldn't listen, she hadn't thought that far ahead yet. All her mind had comprehended was the fact that she needed to get to him. It was like movies with happy endings, what exactly happened after them, no one thought that through, and now she was more nervous than ever.
She paid the taxi, and walked up to his front door, formerly their front door. She didn't know what to expect on the other side, but she knew that she had to do this, had to find out. She took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell. No answer. She rang the doorbell again. Again there was no answer. Oh God, what if he wasn't here, what if she had come all this way, and he was out somewhere, possibly with a woman?
She kept ringing the doorbell hoping that he was home, and he just couldn't hear the bell. She would stay here until he came to the door; she wasn't going to leave without talking to him. Suddenly she heard his voice, yelling that he was coming. She was so glad he was there, and not out somewhere with God knows whom.
He opened the door and she could see he was still in his pajamas, and he looked terrible. The look of shock on his face didn't go unnoticed by her, nor did the look of disbelief that followed it. She knew he was probably wondering what the hell she was doing here, when she was supposed to be getting married. He was the first one to break the silence.
"Stephanie," he said in utter shock.
"Hi Chris."
