Ch.4 – Closing Song
"Honey I'd like you to meet… Martin Kwan, my fiancé."
Khaley stood in shock. Khaley had never really taught about her mom remarrying ever again. She didn't know what to say, she didn't even know how she felt about the whole incident. Khristine's enormous smile slowly faded as she waited for a comment from her daughter. Khaley just gazed into the cloudless skies as her mom worried about her daughter liking or disliking the whole engagement.
Luke and Andy gave Khaley a seat and a glass of iced water. The young girl got out of the clear watered pool; she wrapped herself into a pink flower designed beach towel. She stood by Khristine and stared at Khaley's stunned face. There was complete silence, even Ashitaka stood still. Martin cleared his throat and began to speak.
"I know this is much unexpected, and maybe it's a big blow for you, but I just pray that's its not, coz I really --," Martin was cut off my Khaley's slight coughing.
"Are you okay sweetie?" Martin held up the glass of water and handed it to Khaley. She drank some water and cleared her throat. She stared at Martin, and then hugged him tightly,
"It's terrific..."
*
"Dude this is just so awesome, I can't unscrew my smile off my face. Man, my jaws hurt!" Khaley wined and leaned back on Andy.
A meek chuckle came from behind Khaley.
"Khaley you're such a doll!"
It was Luke.
"Yes, yes…blah, blah…Now I know how Barbie feels smiling for the whole duration of her life," commented Khaley. Andy and Luke laughed.
"You guys, I'm not trying to me funny…my jaws hurt and I really can't unscrew my smile! You have to help me!"
"Here why don't I try unscrewing your smile for you," Luke lightly held Khaley's face, and he held her cheeks as if he was getting ready to kiss her. Their heads moved closer to each other until someone tapped Luke's shoulder and made him turn away.
"Are you planning to kiss her?" a little girl asked.
"Dylan! No, I'm not trying to kiss her, I'm trying to unscrew her un-screwable smile," he and Khaley blushed.
Khaley turned away and continued welcoming guests. Andy, Luke, and Khaley stood by the entrance to the reception area, waving and smiling at the entering guests. As guests entered, the beauty of the venue amazed them. Before they were able to enter the scenery, they passed a few exquisite archways made of flowers. The site was full of white and yellow roses and its petals and confetti filled the floor. Tiny bubbles filled the dance floor as slow melodious music played. The people delighted in the scene they saw, and the wonderful scent of the roses mixed with the delicious aromas coming from the miniature hall caused everyone's appetite to increase.
"I'd really love to get something to munch on right now," mentioned Andy.
"Oh man! Same here…my stomach's starting to rumble," added Khaley.
"Well I'll go get some food to munch on while we're waiting out here."
"Alright then, I'll wait for you here."
Luke brushed his hair out of his face,
"So…"
"So…" asked Khaley.
"I think my smile is starting to unscrew," he chuckled.
"Mine's still stuck on my face. I think my jaws will be totally cramped tomorrow!" said Khaley as she fixed her dress. She was wearing an off-white colored knee length dress that had short sleeves and a boat neck cut. A lavender sash wrapped around the waist curled out as it flowed to the back, and to match her dress, Khaley used a lavender barrette to pin up one side of her wavy styled hair.
"Dude, I'm totally sweating in this dress, do I still look okay? I mean do I still look suitable for a maid of --," Khaley paused as she saw a familiar face approaching her. Goosebumps filled her arms and she felt sweat coming from her forehead. After a long period of time, the day they would meet again finally came…
"Utt…" Khaley uttered as Utt lightly embraced her. He held her by the arms and stared at her face.
'She looks so different, she's so beautiful,' Utt thought. A light layer of bronze eye shadow enhanced her dark brown eyes, her cheeks were full and pink because of the heat, and her wavy hair swayed in the light breeze.
A rush of different emotions filled her heart and head. Khaley became dazed. She heard voices around her and suddenly her whole world seemed to move in slow motion.
Then Utt caught her…
*
Khaley had fainted. She awoke after a short amount of time and found herself lying down in Utt's CRV with the air conditioner on. The group was ready to leave for the hospital if Khaley didn't wake up any sooner. Utt, Andy, Luke, Adrian and Tara patiently waited beside her. Then unexpectedly, she sat up and asked what had happened,
"Why am I here?"
"Uhm, hun, you fainted…" Andy smiled, "Are you feeling alright? Do you need to rest or something?"
Khaley nodded and replied, "I'm alright," she looked around and asked once again, "Where are we?"
"We're in my car," Utt said as he appeared from the driver's seat.
Everyone looked at her, and she wondered who the two unknown people were.
"Who are you?" Khaley asked Tara in a rash, yet considerate manner.
"That's Tara, Tara meet Khaley, and Khal this is Adrian, Adrian this is Khaley," Utt introduced Khaley to his two other friends.
Khaley pushed to get out of Utt's car, a rush of resentment filled her heart. The concealed past was finally released, and there she was, unprepared to handle everything that came before her.
"Nice meeting you guys," she smiled at them and walked away.
Utt hoped that their meeting would be more than what had happened, but of course, it wasn't really possible. Utt turned off the engine of his car and set off to the reception area. He straightened out his pink polo shirt with his blue printed tie. Tara held Utt's hand as they walked across the parking lot and headed off to the venue.
Khaley walked alone; her hair bounced as she walked briefly with her arms crossed across her chest. Luke caught up with her, leaving Adrian and Andy alone with each other.
"Are you okay?" Luke asked as he gasped for breath and increased his walking speed, "Why don't you slow down a bit? No ones trying to chase you…"
"Why don't you get off my business?" Khaley exclaimed. She began running towards the main hall, trying to avoid her mother and the crowd. If her mother knew what had happened, it would have alarmed her and caused distraction to all the guests. It would have also ruined her special day, and Khaley didn't want any commotion to happen.
Adrian was about to start a conversation with Andy until she ran after her friend. Andy found Khaley standing in front of the restroom mirror soaked in tears. The sound of spoons, forks, and knives clanking on wine glasses from outside entered the tiled restroom. Khaley wiped her tears and cleaned her face; her make-up became smeared and smudged. Andy wiped her face and fixed her make-up. Khaley's eyes were red, and tears began to fill up her almond eyes once more.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Andy asked.
A stream of tears fell through Khaley's rosy cheeks once more.
Andy had never met Utt; she never heard the deep stories about him and Khaley, and now she wondered if there was anything she missed because Khaley isn't the type of person that would cry because of some small reason. Andy knew something was wrong, and she just wanted to help her friend.
Khaley wiped her tears and stared at the mirror. Someone came through the door; it was Tara.
"Utt wanted to know if you were doing okay," she notified Khaley of Utt's message.
"Just tell him I'm doing fine," Khaley replied. Andy stared at Khaley and signaled her to head out. Khaley did as Andy insisted, and Tara followed after she examined herself in front of the mirror. She pulled down her pale blue silk dress, fixed its shoulder straps, and made sure that its ruffles at the ends weren't too wrinkled. Her died dark brown hair was up in a bun, and a long silver necklace hung around her neck flowing down by her upper breasts.
Tara followed behind Khaley, and Utt approached Khaley. Tara instantly took hold of his right hand. Tara became defensive about Utt's actions towards Khaley. Khaley looked like a threat in her eyes, and she could see something in Utt's eyes that showed clues of a deep secret. She saw that Utt was holding back something from her and Khaley. Tara didn't know what it was, but she was very determined to find out and take control of it.
The sound of silver utensils clanging against crystal clear champagne glasses rang in Khaley's ears. She walked towards the presidential table and took a seat; her mom and Martin kissed as the ringing in her ears reduced. Slow instrumental music started playing and Martin led Khristine to the dance floor. The skies started getting dim, and the air became cooler. Khaley slouched in her seat and looked at her mom.
'She's having a great day' she thought. She looked around her surrounding; the lights were being turned on and the skies grew darker by the second. It got a bit breezy and the heat started fading away. The dance floor started getting filled up with people of all ages. From grandmas and grandpas to children of four years of age, dancing took place. Andy sat next to the fatigued Khaley.
"Why don't you grab a partner and get your groove on?" she laughed.
"I think I'm still a bit dozy." Khaley replied. She sat herself up straight and drank a bit of champagne. A tingly feeling went down into her stomach. Andy shook her friend and tried waking her up of her dreamy state.
"Wake up will ya?" Andy asked as she shook her friend.
Khaley just smiled and drank some more champagne. She was totally out of her mind. Andy tried to figure out what Khaley was thinking and worrying about, and finally it hit her.
"It's him, isn't it?" Andy indicated the two figures dancing in front of Khaley.
"Who?" Khaley asked.
"Them. You can see them perfectly, but why do you act as if you're blind?" Andy looked at her with the saddest look.
"I'm…" Khaley paused and sipped a bit of champagne once more.
"You're what? I need you to tell me what's going on." Andy held Khaley's wrists and gave her a light shock; "What's up hun?"
Khaley's eyes began filling up with tears. The lights shined bright illuminating the crowded dance floor. The breeze blew her hair towards her face, yet she didn't do anything. She didn't utter a word towards Andy at all. She just looked around at all the actions surrounding her. The music kept on playing, invited guests paired up and filled the dance floor. Children and grandmas lined up along the buffet line and grabbed more dessert. Young men approached the ladies and tried getting their numbers and email addresses. Khaley looked at the dance floor once more. Her mom's dress flowed with the wind, and her hair bounced as she smiled in joy. Khaley wished that her day was as great as hers, but the day's occurrences only gave her an unexpected surprise that knocked her fixed mind.
She sipped the last drops of her cold champagne and found that Andy was no longer by her side, and that Adrian, Utt's friend, had already asked her for a dance.
She looked to her side and found Luke with the most heartbreaking face. Here was someone who was just trying to help, and on the other hand she still had to give him a hard time and make his day an unpleasant one.
She rose from her seat and straightened out her half wrinkled dress. She fixed her purple barrette and made sure that hair wasn't tangled and messed up. She tapped Luke's shoulder as she cleared her throat.
"Luke?"
He looked up at her, and looked back down on his unfinished cheesecake. He took a bite and offered her a seat. He sipped some water and cleared his throat.
"What's up?" he asked in a cheerless manner. He clasped his hands together and looked at the elevated ground. Khaley took hold of his hands and looked at him in the eyes.
"I am so sorry Luke," she told him in the most heartfelt way.
He smiled at her and said, "I saw it in your eyes and figured that you needed help."
"I know, I'm stubborn and I hate it. I'm truly sorry, honestly. Thanks for everything…" she kept on holding on to his hands, and somehow she couldn't let go. Her eyes were glued on to his, and his glued to hers. They chuckled, let go of each other's hands, and looked away.
"So why don't you tell me all about it on the dance floor?" Luke requested as he seized Khaley's warm hand.
The last slow song came to an end, and Everclear's, "Closing Time" played while some couples took a break.
Khaley held onto Luke, she felt as if her whole day was being washed clean, and that her problems were all taken away. She opened herself to Luke, and a bond was established between them. And for the remaining time the song "Closing time" played, Khaley and Luke held onto each other and danced the night away.
"Honey I'd like you to meet… Martin Kwan, my fiancé."
Khaley stood in shock. Khaley had never really taught about her mom remarrying ever again. She didn't know what to say, she didn't even know how she felt about the whole incident. Khristine's enormous smile slowly faded as she waited for a comment from her daughter. Khaley just gazed into the cloudless skies as her mom worried about her daughter liking or disliking the whole engagement.
Luke and Andy gave Khaley a seat and a glass of iced water. The young girl got out of the clear watered pool; she wrapped herself into a pink flower designed beach towel. She stood by Khristine and stared at Khaley's stunned face. There was complete silence, even Ashitaka stood still. Martin cleared his throat and began to speak.
"I know this is much unexpected, and maybe it's a big blow for you, but I just pray that's its not, coz I really --," Martin was cut off my Khaley's slight coughing.
"Are you okay sweetie?" Martin held up the glass of water and handed it to Khaley. She drank some water and cleared her throat. She stared at Martin, and then hugged him tightly,
"It's terrific..."
*
"Dude this is just so awesome, I can't unscrew my smile off my face. Man, my jaws hurt!" Khaley wined and leaned back on Andy.
A meek chuckle came from behind Khaley.
"Khaley you're such a doll!"
It was Luke.
"Yes, yes…blah, blah…Now I know how Barbie feels smiling for the whole duration of her life," commented Khaley. Andy and Luke laughed.
"You guys, I'm not trying to me funny…my jaws hurt and I really can't unscrew my smile! You have to help me!"
"Here why don't I try unscrewing your smile for you," Luke lightly held Khaley's face, and he held her cheeks as if he was getting ready to kiss her. Their heads moved closer to each other until someone tapped Luke's shoulder and made him turn away.
"Are you planning to kiss her?" a little girl asked.
"Dylan! No, I'm not trying to kiss her, I'm trying to unscrew her un-screwable smile," he and Khaley blushed.
Khaley turned away and continued welcoming guests. Andy, Luke, and Khaley stood by the entrance to the reception area, waving and smiling at the entering guests. As guests entered, the beauty of the venue amazed them. Before they were able to enter the scenery, they passed a few exquisite archways made of flowers. The site was full of white and yellow roses and its petals and confetti filled the floor. Tiny bubbles filled the dance floor as slow melodious music played. The people delighted in the scene they saw, and the wonderful scent of the roses mixed with the delicious aromas coming from the miniature hall caused everyone's appetite to increase.
"I'd really love to get something to munch on right now," mentioned Andy.
"Oh man! Same here…my stomach's starting to rumble," added Khaley.
"Well I'll go get some food to munch on while we're waiting out here."
"Alright then, I'll wait for you here."
Luke brushed his hair out of his face,
"So…"
"So…" asked Khaley.
"I think my smile is starting to unscrew," he chuckled.
"Mine's still stuck on my face. I think my jaws will be totally cramped tomorrow!" said Khaley as she fixed her dress. She was wearing an off-white colored knee length dress that had short sleeves and a boat neck cut. A lavender sash wrapped around the waist curled out as it flowed to the back, and to match her dress, Khaley used a lavender barrette to pin up one side of her wavy styled hair.
"Dude, I'm totally sweating in this dress, do I still look okay? I mean do I still look suitable for a maid of --," Khaley paused as she saw a familiar face approaching her. Goosebumps filled her arms and she felt sweat coming from her forehead. After a long period of time, the day they would meet again finally came…
"Utt…" Khaley uttered as Utt lightly embraced her. He held her by the arms and stared at her face.
'She looks so different, she's so beautiful,' Utt thought. A light layer of bronze eye shadow enhanced her dark brown eyes, her cheeks were full and pink because of the heat, and her wavy hair swayed in the light breeze.
A rush of different emotions filled her heart and head. Khaley became dazed. She heard voices around her and suddenly her whole world seemed to move in slow motion.
Then Utt caught her…
*
Khaley had fainted. She awoke after a short amount of time and found herself lying down in Utt's CRV with the air conditioner on. The group was ready to leave for the hospital if Khaley didn't wake up any sooner. Utt, Andy, Luke, Adrian and Tara patiently waited beside her. Then unexpectedly, she sat up and asked what had happened,
"Why am I here?"
"Uhm, hun, you fainted…" Andy smiled, "Are you feeling alright? Do you need to rest or something?"
Khaley nodded and replied, "I'm alright," she looked around and asked once again, "Where are we?"
"We're in my car," Utt said as he appeared from the driver's seat.
Everyone looked at her, and she wondered who the two unknown people were.
"Who are you?" Khaley asked Tara in a rash, yet considerate manner.
"That's Tara, Tara meet Khaley, and Khal this is Adrian, Adrian this is Khaley," Utt introduced Khaley to his two other friends.
Khaley pushed to get out of Utt's car, a rush of resentment filled her heart. The concealed past was finally released, and there she was, unprepared to handle everything that came before her.
"Nice meeting you guys," she smiled at them and walked away.
Utt hoped that their meeting would be more than what had happened, but of course, it wasn't really possible. Utt turned off the engine of his car and set off to the reception area. He straightened out his pink polo shirt with his blue printed tie. Tara held Utt's hand as they walked across the parking lot and headed off to the venue.
Khaley walked alone; her hair bounced as she walked briefly with her arms crossed across her chest. Luke caught up with her, leaving Adrian and Andy alone with each other.
"Are you okay?" Luke asked as he gasped for breath and increased his walking speed, "Why don't you slow down a bit? No ones trying to chase you…"
"Why don't you get off my business?" Khaley exclaimed. She began running towards the main hall, trying to avoid her mother and the crowd. If her mother knew what had happened, it would have alarmed her and caused distraction to all the guests. It would have also ruined her special day, and Khaley didn't want any commotion to happen.
Adrian was about to start a conversation with Andy until she ran after her friend. Andy found Khaley standing in front of the restroom mirror soaked in tears. The sound of spoons, forks, and knives clanking on wine glasses from outside entered the tiled restroom. Khaley wiped her tears and cleaned her face; her make-up became smeared and smudged. Andy wiped her face and fixed her make-up. Khaley's eyes were red, and tears began to fill up her almond eyes once more.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Andy asked.
A stream of tears fell through Khaley's rosy cheeks once more.
Andy had never met Utt; she never heard the deep stories about him and Khaley, and now she wondered if there was anything she missed because Khaley isn't the type of person that would cry because of some small reason. Andy knew something was wrong, and she just wanted to help her friend.
Khaley wiped her tears and stared at the mirror. Someone came through the door; it was Tara.
"Utt wanted to know if you were doing okay," she notified Khaley of Utt's message.
"Just tell him I'm doing fine," Khaley replied. Andy stared at Khaley and signaled her to head out. Khaley did as Andy insisted, and Tara followed after she examined herself in front of the mirror. She pulled down her pale blue silk dress, fixed its shoulder straps, and made sure that its ruffles at the ends weren't too wrinkled. Her died dark brown hair was up in a bun, and a long silver necklace hung around her neck flowing down by her upper breasts.
Tara followed behind Khaley, and Utt approached Khaley. Tara instantly took hold of his right hand. Tara became defensive about Utt's actions towards Khaley. Khaley looked like a threat in her eyes, and she could see something in Utt's eyes that showed clues of a deep secret. She saw that Utt was holding back something from her and Khaley. Tara didn't know what it was, but she was very determined to find out and take control of it.
The sound of silver utensils clanging against crystal clear champagne glasses rang in Khaley's ears. She walked towards the presidential table and took a seat; her mom and Martin kissed as the ringing in her ears reduced. Slow instrumental music started playing and Martin led Khristine to the dance floor. The skies started getting dim, and the air became cooler. Khaley slouched in her seat and looked at her mom.
'She's having a great day' she thought. She looked around her surrounding; the lights were being turned on and the skies grew darker by the second. It got a bit breezy and the heat started fading away. The dance floor started getting filled up with people of all ages. From grandmas and grandpas to children of four years of age, dancing took place. Andy sat next to the fatigued Khaley.
"Why don't you grab a partner and get your groove on?" she laughed.
"I think I'm still a bit dozy." Khaley replied. She sat herself up straight and drank a bit of champagne. A tingly feeling went down into her stomach. Andy shook her friend and tried waking her up of her dreamy state.
"Wake up will ya?" Andy asked as she shook her friend.
Khaley just smiled and drank some more champagne. She was totally out of her mind. Andy tried to figure out what Khaley was thinking and worrying about, and finally it hit her.
"It's him, isn't it?" Andy indicated the two figures dancing in front of Khaley.
"Who?" Khaley asked.
"Them. You can see them perfectly, but why do you act as if you're blind?" Andy looked at her with the saddest look.
"I'm…" Khaley paused and sipped a bit of champagne once more.
"You're what? I need you to tell me what's going on." Andy held Khaley's wrists and gave her a light shock; "What's up hun?"
Khaley's eyes began filling up with tears. The lights shined bright illuminating the crowded dance floor. The breeze blew her hair towards her face, yet she didn't do anything. She didn't utter a word towards Andy at all. She just looked around at all the actions surrounding her. The music kept on playing, invited guests paired up and filled the dance floor. Children and grandmas lined up along the buffet line and grabbed more dessert. Young men approached the ladies and tried getting their numbers and email addresses. Khaley looked at the dance floor once more. Her mom's dress flowed with the wind, and her hair bounced as she smiled in joy. Khaley wished that her day was as great as hers, but the day's occurrences only gave her an unexpected surprise that knocked her fixed mind.
She sipped the last drops of her cold champagne and found that Andy was no longer by her side, and that Adrian, Utt's friend, had already asked her for a dance.
She looked to her side and found Luke with the most heartbreaking face. Here was someone who was just trying to help, and on the other hand she still had to give him a hard time and make his day an unpleasant one.
She rose from her seat and straightened out her half wrinkled dress. She fixed her purple barrette and made sure that hair wasn't tangled and messed up. She tapped Luke's shoulder as she cleared her throat.
"Luke?"
He looked up at her, and looked back down on his unfinished cheesecake. He took a bite and offered her a seat. He sipped some water and cleared his throat.
"What's up?" he asked in a cheerless manner. He clasped his hands together and looked at the elevated ground. Khaley took hold of his hands and looked at him in the eyes.
"I am so sorry Luke," she told him in the most heartfelt way.
He smiled at her and said, "I saw it in your eyes and figured that you needed help."
"I know, I'm stubborn and I hate it. I'm truly sorry, honestly. Thanks for everything…" she kept on holding on to his hands, and somehow she couldn't let go. Her eyes were glued on to his, and his glued to hers. They chuckled, let go of each other's hands, and looked away.
"So why don't you tell me all about it on the dance floor?" Luke requested as he seized Khaley's warm hand.
The last slow song came to an end, and Everclear's, "Closing Time" played while some couples took a break.
Khaley held onto Luke, she felt as if her whole day was being washed clean, and that her problems were all taken away. She opened herself to Luke, and a bond was established between them. And for the remaining time the song "Closing time" played, Khaley and Luke held onto each other and danced the night away.