Hey again guys, yeah another update... whee i'm on a roll! Okay so it's half-term and I've gota week off school, this is me revising :S.
So I feel like answering some reviews again, cos hell i love you guys big cheesy grin.
So:
Kumiko Katawa: Karen said yes because she's stupid... well mainly because she felt pressurised by everyone around her. Yeah, I didn't think Karen hated chocolate, just didn't think she loved it. Ah well... Yeah isn't that every gals dream, then again i have friends who want to get married in the ocean :S, i have weird friends... and yeah you guessed that Karen would pick both Ann and Popuri, it's just easier that way.
Altrox the conquerer: Hmm, that's a good point, i guess because they're used to Mineral town and they do love it, even if things go wrong sometimes, but isn't that true wherever you are? Also if i sent all the characters off on a ship Mineral town would be rreeaally silent.
kelley28: Yeah i guess it's not Rick's looks that are so annoying, but then again his face when he's angry at Kai... shudders. He really is rude and annoying, and a bit nerdy. Way to obsessed with chickens... scarily so.
So thanks again for reviewing guys. Now on with the chapter...
15. You do, do you?
Karen woke up, she was late for her own wedding. She gasped, she had overslept by about an hour. She had a quick shower while she wondered why no one had woken her up. She hurried downstairs to find breakfast laid out for her and a note from her parents.
We decided to leave you so you weren't tired on your wedding. We'll be at the church, love Mom and dad.
Karen growled, they hadn't bothered to wake her up! Cursing she wolfed down her breakfast of cold porridge and tore the piece of paper into pieces. After eating she brushed her teeth and hunted for her wedding dress, to no avail. She couldn't find her dress anywhere in the house.
"Maybe Poe has it." She said to herself. She grabbed her makeup and a curling iron and pulled a coat on. She then headed over to Popuri's. Kai answered the door instead looking curious.
"Karen, why aren't you dressed yet? The wedding's in an hour!" Kai said worriedly.
"I know. But I can't find my dress." Karen said teeth gritted.
"Oh that'll be over at Lillia's, hurry." Kai said. Karen nodded and dashed over to the poultry farm. She hammered her fist on the door and Lillia answered looking flustered.
"Karen, you're late, everyone's at the church!" She said.
"I know, I overslept." Karen said angrily. She grabbed the dress off Lillia and changed quickly. Lillia helped her to do her hair and makeup and then Karen slipped on her shoes.
"Is there anything I'm forgetting?" Karen asked searching around the room.
"You seem to have everything dear... where are your vows?" Lillia said. Karen furrowed her brow and thought.
"Let's see, I put the paper with it on... on the kitchen table ready. Then... it wasn't there this morning... wait a second, oh no the note Mom and dad wrote on! That was the vows, oh no, I shredded it!" Karen said putting her head between her hands. Lillia looked at her sympathetically and patted her back.
"Can you remember any of it?" She asked. Karen shook her head, she was well and truly screwed.
"You'll just have to make it up." Lillia said. Karen nodded sadly. She then checked her watch and discovered that she was already half an hour late for her wedding.
"Oh no, oh no." She said and rushed out of the door with Lillia behind. She rushed down the streets in her wedding dress, stumbling over her white high heels, finally she arrived at the church doors. She flung them open and found everyone waiting for her expectantly. She flushed red, realising that this was one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. It only got worse when she saw the mud splattered over her white dress, she groaned. She strode up the aisle, trying to act dignified. Mary began to play "here comes the bride" on the organ, although it was too late, the moment was ruined. She reached Rick who's face had a mixture of joy and confusion plastered on it.
"You're late." He whispered, without accusation.
"I overslept and no one woke me." She said glaring in her parents direction.
"Well never mind, at least you turned up." He said. He sounded almost like he hadn't expected her to turn up. She swallowed hard, it was true she had had doubts but the fact that he would say that hurt her.
"Excuse me?" She asked, rather more loudly than she'd meant to. Rick looked taken aback. Carter then coughed, to stop them arguing and signal that he was ready to start the ceremony.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of Rick and Karen. I can't think of two people that are more suited to be together..." Carter said smiling. He went on with his speech, saying how he believed that they had been destined to be together and finally they were. Everyone knew this wasn't true, they were together out of an unlucky circumstance and that put a sour spin on the wedding.
"Now it's time for the vows, if you please." Carter said, gesturing to Rick. He smiled and stepped forward, holding a piece of paper in his pale hand.
"Karen, you are the most beautiful girl I know. Just looking at you tells me I don't deserve you, and yet here I am marrying you today. I love you more than it's possible for any man to love any women and if you let me I'll try to make you as happy as you've already made me. So I just want to tell you that I'll always love you no matter what." He finished sweetly. Karen gulped, she had to wing it. How could she top that when she had no idea what to say.
"Erm Rick..." She wanted to say something along the lines of you are so handsome, but everyone knew that wasn't true. "You are so...h... loving... yeah loving. I can see how much you love me everyday and...erm... If you let me, I hope that one day I'll be able to show you that I love you as much. You treat me like a princess, even though we've had our differences, I mean like a year or so ago I hated you, but now look, we're getting married. It's hard to believe I once found you repulsive..." She saw people's grins fade... perhaps that wasn't the right thing to say. "Well anyway, I love you Rick and I'd be honoured to be your wife."
Rick forced a smile and Carter cleared his throat.
"Okay... very nice Karen. Now, do you Rick take Karen to be your lawful wedded wife in sickness and in health till death do you part?" Carter said smiling.
"I do." Rick said grinning happily.
"And Karen, do you take Rick to be your lawful wedded husband in sickness and in health till death do you part?" He asked, his eyes twinkling.
"I...I... I do." Karen said, forcing the words out of her mouth. Rick heaved a sigh of relief.
"Now if anyone has any reason that these two people should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace." Carter said. Everyone held their breath. Some part of Karen wished that Jack would push open the heavy church doors and shout "I do". She wished that he would then take her into his arms and carry her out of the church while everybody cheered. There was silence.
"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife. Rick you may kiss the bride." Carter said winking at Rick. He grinned and leaned over and gave Karen a deep kiss. Lillia began to cry and Jeff looked on the verge of tears, while Ann and Popuri hugged. Then they marched down the isle, arms linked. Rick was grinning and Karen hoped that she was too. Everyone stood up and Elli, Ann and Popuri headed up to the front.
Carter pulled out of the store cupboard some new instruments which the whole town had chipped in for. There was a drum kit, an electric guitar, a base guitar, an acoustic guitar and a random triangle. Carter helped set up the instruments and a microphone and the girls stepped up to the instruments. Ann was on the drums, Elli played the base guitar and Popuri was singing. Then Gray wandered up to play the electric guitar.
"Karen, we've been practising so we could make your wedding super cool!" Ann said. She then counted them in and drummed a beat. Truly they sounded terrible, Popuri was out of tune, Ann kept getting her beat wrong, Elli didn't know how to play a base and Gray was playing any random chords that came into his head. By the end of it the townspeople were clutching their ears. Carter hurriedly put away the rock instruments and brought out what everyone was comfortable with: flutes, oboes and ocarinas. Gray hurried over to the pews again, embarrassed. The girls played a beautiful tune which everyone agreed was far better.
"So much for being modern." Ann said sadly after their piece. Karen smiled kindly and patted her back.
"Well I thought you ROCKED." Karen told her enthusiastically.
"Okay guys now it's time to dance, and eat. At the same time if y'all want to." Rick announced. Karen hurried over with a knife to cut the cake. The cake was absolutely beautiful, iced white with two little marzipan figurines of them. It looked so beautiful it could have been made out of marble, with its intricate design, complete with curls and columns. The cake had four layers and stood taller than May, Karen could see everyone's mouths watering. She sunk the sharp blade down into the soft sponge and put all the pieces onto plates. Everyone ran to help themselves, licking the creamy white icing. After the cake, people helped themselves to the food at the buffet: cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, chicken (which Rick avoided at all costs), chips and dip, assorted vegetables and entire bowls filled with chocolate and candy. Everyone began to dance, twisting and twirling in their beautiful dresses. Karen looked down at her own mud splattered dress, she had ruined the nicest dress she'd ever had.
"Don't worry, I'll take the stain out for you." Lillia said with a wink. She brought out of her handbag a bottle marked "Lillia's miracle stain remover" she poured a little on and winked as the mud disappeared before their very eyes. Karen giggled that it was like a commercial, she wondered whether Lillia would begin to explain how the solution oxidised the bubbles away. Instead she helped herself to some cocktail weenies. Rick strode over to her and held out his arm. It was apparently time for their first dance as husband and wife.
The music played and they began to dance, with Rick treading on her feet for a lot of the time. It made her recall the goddess festival a few years ago, when she had first danced with Jack. After Rick had chosen to dance with Popuri, and that was what had started off all the troubles. Which led her to wonder had Rick danced with her, would she ever had fallen in love with Jack. If Rick had been a better boyfriend would Jack still be alive? She frowned, Rick was grinning and looking around at everyone. It was probably the happiest day of his life, so why wasn't it the happiest day of her life? Soon the dance ended and Rick kissed her gently on the cheek and whispered into her ear, "I've never been happier." She blushed and grinned, she desperately wanted to say the same and mean it.
"Me too." She lied. Everyone looked so happy, why was it they were happy and not her?
After eating people began to clear away, Karen tried to help, but apparently it wasn't a bride's job. So she and Rick sat at the side holding hands, he stroked her hand gently, making her feel warm.
"Rick," she asked and he looked at her inquiringly.
"Yes dear." He said.
"Are we going on a honeymoon?" She asked. Rick looked slightly taken aback, as though she shouldn't ask such a thing.
"Do you want to go on a honeymoon?" He asked timidly. Karen nodded quickly. Rick managed a small "oh" and then looked around as if to find someone to help.
"Well no one else has been on a honeymoon in this village, it's not tradition. Besides my sweet, I don't think I can afford it." He told her.
"Oh... never mind then." She said sadly. She knew they couldn't afford it and now she couldn't remember why she'd even bothered to ask.
"But we'll have the best honeymoon here you could imagine." He said, trying to cheer her up.
"Jack would have taken me on a honeymoon." She said, before she could stop herself. Rick's face went dark and cold, like a statue. She quickly clapped her hands over her mouth.
"I didn't mean... I'm sorry." She said quickly. Rick let go of her hand and stood up.
"Don't worry." He said fists clenched. Karen gasped, she'd done it now. She didn't even know why she'd said it. She watched Rick walk off and sat pathetically in the corner. She saw Rick whisper something to Popuri and she gasped, "oh no" Karen thought. Popuri wandered over to her looking nervous.
"Oh Karen, sweetie." She said giving her a big hug.
"Rick told you?" Karen said sadly, Popuri's face made her heart sink.
"Yes he did. I'm sorry he can't afford a honeymoon. But you've got to understand none of us can, I know Jack could... but he's...he's..." Popuri said, her lower lip trembling.
"I know, I don't know why I said it. Tell Rick I'm sorry, I'm gonna head off home and pack." She said patting Popuri on the back. She then stood up and left the church with dignity.
She headed home and sat on her bed, entangling herself in her wedding dress. Tears dripped down her face, making her mascara run. After crying her eyes out she wiped away the tears and sniffed. She then looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes were red, swollen and puffy and her hair looked like a glorified birds nest, complete with veil. She sighed and pulled out some big cardboard boxes from the cupboard. She began to shove in all her clothes and all her memories. She tipped out her draws and emptied her cupboards and wardrobes. She pulled down pictures and put them into the box, she then found a small photograph of Jack, winning the horse race. She remembered how incredibly happy she'd been that day, all the effort of training his horse had been worth it. She reminded herself that she had to visit Silver one day over at Barley's ranch.
Finally most of her stuff was packed, she just had one more draw to search. Inside she found lots of papers with doodles on them, mainly with hearts saying Karen and Jack forever. She discarded the pieces of paper in the bin and then searched the drawer some more. There were necklaces and cards, which she either packed or threw away. Then she found a book, inside it pressed were the forget-me-nots that Jack had given her on the last day she'd seen him. She felt tears drip down her face as she looked at the beautiful blue flowers.
"I'll never forget you... but I want to. Jack, why won't you let me forget?" She whined, her voice cracking. She threw the flowers into the bin angrily, then feeling bad, she brought them out again. She placed them carefully in the book and packed it.
"I don't want to forget you, but what's the point if you're never coming back?" She sniffed. Suddenly her door opened and she saw her mother standing there sympathetically.
"What do you want?" Karen asked, wiping away her tears.
"Why do I think that those aren't tears of joy?" Sasha asked kneeling down to hug her daughter.
"Maybe because I'm not smiling." She said angrily.
"Jack may be dead, but as long as you remember him and never forget the good moments you had with him, he'll never truly be gone." Sasha said. Karen gazed at her with wide eyes, no snide comment. It was strange for her mother not to tell her to just get over it. Those were the greatest words of advice she'd ever seen uttered from her mothers lips.
"You're right." Karen said sounding surprised. Sasha smiled and hugged her daughter tightly.
"You did a very brave thing today. You married someone who will always be second place to another."
"It wasn't brave. I took the cowards approach, I sold my heart for security." Karen said bitterly.
"No, you got on with your life even though it was the hardest thing for you to do."
"You're just saying that because you want me out of your house." Karen said accusingly.
"Wrong again. I want you to have a life. One day your father and I won't be there to protect you and you'll need someone to look after you." Sasha told her.
"You may be right. But I still feel like I've made the wrong decision." Karen said sighing. Sasha took a deep breath and shook her head.
"Let me tell you a story."
"Uh-oh." Karen said sarcastically.
"No listen. See when I was about your age, I was in love with a guy who wasn't good for me. He was a drunk, a druggy and he abused me frequently. My parents hated him, with good reason, but I loved him despite that. I loved him even though I knew there was no way we could be together-"
"I get the feeling this guy wasn't dad." Karen said. Sasha nodded.
"Well anyway, one night he had to leave town because the police were after him and I had a choice: I could either go with him and live a life on the run or I could stay and have my heart broken. It was a difficult decision, but I decided to stay. Then I met Jeff, he was a perfectly nice guy but he just wasn't Joe. Joe was gone and I felt I couldn't get over him. Then Jeff proposed and I decided to marry him, even though it was the most miserable day of my life because I thought that one day Joe would come back. But look how happy I am now, I have a beautiful daughter, a loving husband and a great life." Sasha finished smiling proudly.
"That's all well and good, but I don't see how it applies to me." Karen said making a face.
"Oh it does dear. What I'm basically saying is, you may be unhappy now but you'll learn to love what you have." Sasha told her.
"Yeah, but I bet you didn't ever hate Jeff." Karen said.
"True." Sasha admitted with a sigh. "Still it's getting late, we'd better help you get your stuff over to Rick's."
"Righto." Karen said, picking up a box. Sasha helped her heave her stuff over to Ricks and put it away in her allocated drawers. Her mother then wiggled her eyebrows and left. Karen gazed around at her new room, it was a pretty room, with a newly bought double bed in the centre. It had pretty white sheets and looked beautiful and smooth. The walls were a light cream colour and there was a pink lamp in the corner. Karen breathed in the fresh scent of potpourri that was strong in the room, she smiled, Popuri had definitely been in there. Just at that moment Popuri walked in, looking shocked to see her.
"Oh Karen, why don't you take a walk or something... I need to... um... yeah." Popuri said awkwardly. Karen nodded understandingly and skipped out of the room. She stood out in the street and wondered where to go next, she wondered whether she should visit another couple or just visit the church. Since she'd just spent the best part of the morning in the church she decided to head over to the library to relax and enjoy the simplicity of reading a good book. The excitement and wonder that came from reading a great book filled Karen with happiness. She could escape from the world she lived in into a new one, leaving her troubles behind.
She walked into the library and instantly smelt the aroma of books, a fresh musty smell. The library looked beautiful the way it had been rebuilt, it had a new beautifully painted ceiling and marble columns holding it up. Mary greeted her with a sly grin and adjusted her glasses.
"Hey Karen, has Popuri kicked you out while she prepares for your wedding night." Mary said childishly.
"It's no big deal, I lost my virginity to Rick." She said bluntly. Mary turned a violent shade of red and began muttering "yes.. well."
"So would you like any sort of book..." Mary asked, gesturing to the shelves around her. Karen shrugged.
"Nah... I think I just came here for the quiet atmosphere, and originally so I wouldn't be hounded by people... I guess that's out of the window." Karen said with a shrug. Mary blushed and looked apologetic.
"Well I'm sorry but I've got to go on a family outing, my dad's busy on Monday so we're going now." Mary told her.
"Oh, so do you want me to leave?" Karen asked disappointedly.
"Oh no it's fine, I'm getting Gray to take care of the library for me, so he'll help you... in fact here he comes now." Mary said smiling. Gray greeted her grinning stupidly and Mary gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying out.
"Hey Karen." Gray said nervously. Karen smiled and pulled herself onto the desk.
"Hey Gray, how are you?" Karen asked.
"I'm good... nice wedding?" He asked, sounding rather grumpy. Karen nodded and shrugged at the same time for effect.
"Yeah it was alright, you know the usual." She said casually. Gray laughed and sat down next to her.
"Rick's a really lucky guy." He told her sweetly.
"Awww thank you Gray, you're making me blush." Karen said. He grinned and went red.
"Though... I can't believe you settled for a jerk like him." Gray said tactlessly. Karen would have wholloped him hard around the head had she not just been thinking the same thing.
"He's alright." She said, trying to sound optimistic.
"Yeah but still..." Gray said coldly. He then shifted a little closer to her, making her feel a little uncomfortable.
"It's nice of you to tell me your doubts on my wedding day..." She said sarcastically.
"Yeah well... I used to like you sorta... but then you married that... chicken boy." Gray said angrily. Karen flinched, Gray liked her?
"Well I like you..." She said, "as a friend." She added as he shifted closer to her. She then realised he was so close she could feel his breath on her face, she shifted backwards and fell in a heap on the floor. Gray then leaned down over her and kissed her on the lips. Karen fell backwards in shock.
"WHAT THE HELL?" She managed. Gray looked embarrassed and hid his face a little behind his hate.
"Sorry... I just like you..." He said timidly.
"It would help if you had told me before my wedding Gray... and what about Mary?" She asked shocked.
"I know it's dumb it's just... I dunno... it's the first time I've had a chance to approach you." He said nervously.
"You've had like... ages to approach me." She yelled. He backed away slightly.
"No... first there was Jack, and after you were really sad and then... I dunno... this was really dumb." He said, looking like he wanted the floor to swallow him up.
"Gray... had you told me like a few months ago... I dunno... but this is my wedding day... what kind of idiot..?" She said. She was feeling a little freaked out, wiping the saliva of her lips she stared at him.
"I'm so sorry, I just wanted to tell you... I dunno." He said, shoving his hands into his pockets. Karen took a deep breath and relaxed.
"Don't worry... I know it's hard... you might have picked a better time... but at least you got it off your chest..." Karen said trying to sound understanding rather than ready to pummel him.
"Please don't tell Mary... I'm so sorry." Gray said timidly. He sounded like a small child who had stolen some candy from the cupboard and was scared to tell his Mom.
"Sure thing... as long as you don't tell Rick... he'll kill you... with chickens." She joked Gray smiled and nodded. She had to admit, when he smiled he was so cute and in a way he would have been preferable to Rick, but there was no point in thinking about it.
"I'm sorry, I mean I like Mary, she's such a sweetheart. But you're so beautiful and clever and funny..." Gray said dreamily.
"I'm really none of those things... well maybe beautiful." She joked. "But Mary is great and if I can learn to love Rick, you can learn to love Mary."
"You're right." Gray said grinning. Karen smiled and gave him a big hug, she could almost see Gray resisting the temptation to kiss her. They parted just as Popuri walked in grinning.
"You're room is ready good luck!" Popuri said giggling. Karen winked and watched as Gray's ears turned red.
Karen headed over to the poultry farm, to her wedding night. She shuddered, last time waking up to Rick had been a nightmare and she wondered if she could get over it. Recalling the night of her drunken mistake that had almost ruined her relationship with Jack was painful. She arrived at the door and hesitated, wouldn't it just be easier to run? Suddenly the door opened and Lillia stood there smiling.
"I'm going to stay with Kai and Popuri for tonight. See you tomorrow." She said with a wink. She was carrying a small fluffy pink bag which Karen assumed contained everything she would need for her stay. Karen grinned weakly, it made her feel a little sick that everyone knew and was anticipating what would happen tonight. Lillia smiled again from ear to ear then hurried down the road, leaving the door wide open. "Nothing to do now but go in." Karen thought. She stepped through the door and walked slowly up the stairs.
She walked into the bedroom that would be hers and Rick's for the remainder of her life. The room was decorated beautifully, Popuri had really outdone herself. There were roses decorating the room, pink ones, white ones and red ones. Rose petals had been scattered over the bed, making it look like a sheet made of roses. Silk ribbons had been tied around the stem of every rose and small bows had been attached around the ceiling. Small pink and red candles were put on every shelf and were currently being lit by Rick. He had a sheepish grin on his face, glowing with anticipation. Karen was overpowered by the beauty of the room, which made all her fears melt away.
"Hey sweetie." Rick said, trying to sound seductive but failing miserably.
"Hey Rick. The room looks beautiful, Popuri really outdid herself." Karen said, smelling that the candles were rose scented.
"Well it's a beautiful room for a beautiful girl." Rick told her. Karen almost laughed, but decided it wasn't quite the right thing to do.
"Erm, thanks." She said nervously. Rick stepped over to her and wrapped his arms gently around her, kissing her neck softly. This was it, this was her wedding night.
Don't worry i'm not going to freak you guys out with the details of the wedding night... i mean Rick and Karen... no one needs those images!
