It was a calm, normal Sunday afternoon, the sun outside spraying gently onto David and Natalie's house. David sat comfortably at the kitchen table, skimming the headlines on the newspaper and eating eggs.
This was when Natalie burst in, breaking any faint chance at a calm Sunday. Tears streaked down her face, and she looked hysterical, her hair frizzy and standing on-edge. David shot up immediately when he saw her, running to her side. "Natalie? What in god's name is wrong?"
"I'm bleeding!" she sobbed. "Bleeding!"
-- -
John came to Judy's door, armed with flowers and a bodyguard, his face anxious and expectant. When she flung it open, she immediately threw her arms around him, a little cry breaking from her throat. "John! Oh, you're wonderful! The most wonderful…oh, John…" He grinned at her dumbly, and held her close to him.
"I missed you too much," he explained, grinning. "I can't live without Just Judy. And anyways, tomorrow, we've got rehersals. It'd be too awkward if we were still fighting."
She laughed through her tears, and then grabbed him by the hand, pulling him into her beautiful, sleek kitchen. "God, John, we've got so much to do! Are you nervous? Cold feet?"
"Not at all," he said confidently, rifling through her refrigerator and pulling out a cold beer. After he'd taken a sip, and then gotten some crackers down from the cabinet, he shrugged. "I'm excited, actually. Have you begun planning a bit?"
"No," she admitted, frowning, as she took a cracker, too. "I thought you'd call the wedding off, so I figured there was no point."
"Oh, well! I guess we'd better get started. Want to call the park now? Ask if we need to reserve the park?"
"No." She smiled up at him, and then embraced him again. From his chest, she mumbled, "Let's just talk."
"Right," he smiled, and then both of them awkwardly walked to the couch, with her clinging onto him. "So, what've you been up to? Been practicing your lines?"
"A bit. I was a little distracted, though; I hope Simmons won't be too mad."
"I was doing this movie once- it was one of the ones we didn't do together, one of the ones I did before we... met- and I just had a few lines in this movie, and I screwed up one, and the director went completely ballistic. Started throwing cans all over the place, spilling people's Cokes all over their laps."
Judy laughed. She'd forgotten what a great story-teller John was; he had a wicked way of making any story witty and clever. "So? What'd you do?"
And the couple sat there, in each other's arms, on the couch, with the fire crackling and their body guards making small talk at the door, and love was recreated.
- - -
"Blue." MJ looked up and down the rows and rows of paint, and nodded. "Definitely blue. We could do a whole blue theme."
"That's not very manly," replied Collin unsurely, poking at a brown paint can. "Shouldn't it be something... I don't know... guy-ish?"
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't get all macho on me now, Mr. Let's-Talk-About-Our-Feelings."
"Hey! Hey, now. That was one time. I thought it's what girls want."
Without warning, MJ turned to him and hugged herself close to him. "It is what girls want. You're quite the charmer. I'd like to talk about our feelings some more." Then, she turned away, and took down a light blue from the wall. "This is a nice color, don't you think?"
Collin sighed, knowing this was a battle he'd lose. "It's a very nice color. It'd look good in my bedroom."
"Perfect." Then, she took a hot pink paint. "And this for the den?"
He laughed, and knocked the paint can out of her hands. "Don't even joke about that."
- - -
"Oh, god!" Aurelia finally pushed all of the papers off of her and they slid onto the table. "Thank god! I'm done! Jesus doce e todo o que é encantador no mundo, I' a VE terminou finalmente! Isto significa que nós podemos o emitir dentro, Jamie! We can give these in, Jamie! To an adoption agency! The one who gave us the papers! This is it!" Aurelia kissed Jamie all up the neck as he beamed down at the papers.
"I'll stop by and give them in right now," he grinned. "We're done!"
"We are done." She lay back, closed her eyes, and sunk into the deliciousness of the moment. "We might have a baby, Jamie."
"A beautiful one."
"But we can't be sure it'll be beautiful. I'll take the baby even if it's ugly."
"As if a baby could be ugly."
"I've seen some bad ones in my time."
"Oh, you're horrible," he sighed, shaking his head and picking up her hand to kiss it. "It'll be the most beautiful baby the whole world has ever seen, and the baby will be a genius and will begin speaking and the age of one, and go to college when he or she's fifteen. Right?"
"You've got our baby's whole life planned out, don't you?"
"Of course."
"I love you."
"I love you more."
- - -
The plane had finally landed, after a long, endless flight. Washington D.C. Oh, wow. What would it be like? She gazed out the window excitedly, and to her amazement, she could already see the Washington Monument from her little airplane window. It stuck straight up, proud and true, through the fog, towering over the whole of the wonderful city she'd soon call home... or at least, temporary home.
"Thank you for flying with us. Join us next time," the pilot was saying, and then the Fasten-Seatbelts sign dinged off. The whole airplane suddenly came to life, people scrambling for the aisles, excited to be out and into the real world again. Karen sat there and let the whole thing roll over her, loving the thought of Washington D.C., her new hometown. She'd visit the monuments, learn more about the American government. Be enveloped in history. Meet a famous senator and fall in love. Get married, have kids-- restart. To her amazement, when she opened her eyes again, the airplane was empty, and a stewardess was roaming the aisles. "Oh!" cried Karen, fumbling for her luggage and rushing off in a frenzy, embarrassed.
When she got out into the hustle-and-bustling airport, excitement overcame her again. Beaming, she crossed over to the 'Washington D.C.'-logo store, filled with shirts and mugs and key chains with monuments and the words 'Washington D.C.' on them. Without even noticing it, she grabbed a sweatshirt off of the rack, and bought it along with a pack of gum she'd never seen. American gum. As she chewed the minty stuff and felt the American fabric against her skin, she realized that she'd never felt happier. She'd spent her whole life living sadly, trudging through each day with her sarcasm and her best friend and her husband and her kids. She didn't recall a time when she'd felt really, truly this happy.
When she set foot outside, where it was foggy and damp, she hailed a taxi. Her heart pounding, she stepped inside, slipping her two pieces of luggage in the seat next to her. She rattled off her new apartments' address and sat in wonderment at the gloriousness of the world. She watched as she passed famous monument after famous monument, all of which she'd seen in her Guide of Washington D.C. They were even more beautiful in person, even if the sky loomed gray and ugly above them.
It was going to be a good life.
- - -
"Harry?" Mia stepped into the dim-lit room, looking meek and guilty. She wore a slinky pink dress, one she knew he liked, and slipped under the covers next to him.
Harry looked at her and sighed. "It's okay."
"I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean what I said. I love you, and we'll make this wedding work. But you'll have to compromise. I want a big wedding, and you want a small one. What should we do?"
"I'll do a big wedding," he said dully.
"Will you really? Oh, Harry!" She began to kiss his cheek, sliding over to his lips, but he pulled away.
"But if this marriage is going to work, you have to stop getting angry every five seconds."
"I can do that."
"Promise?"
"Promise, promise, swear."
"Good."
- -
Note from the author:
Thank you soooo much to Dani2606, who actually reviewed my story the other day. That's so awesome. I know it's weird to be all excited about just three reviews, but I love all of you who reviewed—Kate Andromeda, Nemi Jade!
:D I'm not really used to getting reviews, so it's really cool that you'd review.
Keep them coming!! I'm going to keep writing forever and ever.
(Oh and the thing with David and Natalie will be revealed in the next chapter. I mean, it'll be revealed why she's bleeding. Sorry for the suspense there.)
THANK YOU!!