Written By PBMAXCA
She lifted the hem of her long dress and started across the street with one thing on her mind. In every day life, it wasn't normal to have any woman marching across the street in a wedding dress, it was even more out of the ordinary for her. She tried to be one of the more rational people she knew, but in her mixed up mind, the day, the moment, called for the dramatic act.
She'd seen this move done in the movies a couple of times, the irrational bride on some rant running after the caterer or an unruly groom. It was rare for a bride to be running after her ex-best friend because he was threatening to skip her ceremony. She hadn't really thought ahead when she'd run from her fitting, thank god it wasn't the wedding, to some place that a wedding dress really shouldn't be worn.
"What the--" She thought she'd heard his voice come out from the crowd on the porch but there were probably thirty people sitting there so it was unlikely that it was him. Either way, he met her at the walkway from the sidewalk. This move left the valet parking guy, who was in charge of opening and closing the picket fence gate, staring at the two of them.
"It's ok," Ron said with a strangely calm voice. "She's with me."
The guy opened the gate and Ron escorted her into The Ivy, through a hallway and out to the courtyard that had fewer people in it. They quickly took seats at the nearest table and funnily enough were given menus and glasses of water.
Ron stared at her, no doubt waiting for an explanation. When she didn't speak, he picked up his glass of water, as if him moving his hand might somehow get her moving.
When she still didn't speak, he finally cleared his throat, "Are--"
The word definitely got her going.
Her hands moved and touched her glass of water, then moved away, then moved back again. "You aren't coming to my wedding?"
Ron leaned back in his chair and let his breath out in a snicker. He clearly had issues with what she'd just said. "That was the plan since clearly you, Ritchie, and I can't be in the same room."
"It's my wedding." She pouted. She knew that it was crazy to be mad at him but want him at the ceremony. She didn't know why she felt the urge to have him there, because she knew it would probably end in a fist fight this time, but not having him there somehow seemed worse. People often spoke of having phantom pains when a limb was lost and to her it was as if Ron was her missing right arm. Not having him there would leave her with that same achy tingling feeling that had consumed her when she'd gotten Ron's RSVP that afternoon.
"Hermione, it's your day. It's you and Ritchie becoming man and wife and as much as I hate it, I'm not going to be there on the off chance that Ritchie and I can't get along again." He took another sip of water. "Neither of you need that kind of drama."
She'd pictured her wedding a million times over since she was a little girl and Ron had always been a part of the picture. Of course back then he'd been there with a girl date, but a guy as a date didn't really matter. She just knew that if he didn't attend the ceremony it was almost worse than her parents not approving of her chosen love. "You're my best friend."
"Last time checked--" he leaned towards her and whispered it. Even if they thought they were more alone than they would have been out front, everyone in the place was paying attention to them, "--you and I weren't speaking."
She sighed heavily and pressed a hand to her face, suddenly feeling the heat of the day on her, or maybe it was the heat of the moment on her. "Please don't be stuck on that. You and I both screwed that night up."
"I'm not going to stand by and celebrate you marrying him." His head shook side to side. "Actually I probably shouldn't even be having this conversation. I wouldn't want Ritchie to get mad about me hanging out with you. I want the best for you and believe me--he is not it."
"Why do you hate him?" She took deep breaths and tried to calm herself, but it wasn't working that well. "You asked me three things about him. So tell me three things about him that you hate so much that you are determined to ruin my life."
Ron unexpectedly growled out the words, "Because he doesn't love you the way that you deserve to be loved."
He smiled a little. "I wish sometimes that I wasn't always traveling just so you'd have a guy around who loves you the way I know I love you."
There was a long pause in the conversation. Ritchie had been right in a way. Ron did have feelings for her. It had been years since he▓d told her about them. Maybe she▓d been foolish enough to forget them, but it was clear that he wasn▓t doing this in anger. He was simply jealous of her being with Ritchie. In the silence, the waitress returned, only to fill Ron's water glass before she disappeared again.
"What's going on in that head of yours?" He reached a hand out and squeezed her hand.
She withdrew her hand from his and put it in her lap and suddenly she realized that everyone was watching her. It made her feel completely uncomfortable in her own skin.
"Look at me Hermione." He was firm in his tone, commanding her attention. "I love you, but I can't let you settle--"
Her eyes teared up. "Isn't it enough that I love him beyond the moon and the stars?"
"Do you really want to take that chance?"
Squaring her shoulders she pushed her chair back and got to her feet. "It's the closest thing I've got--" Her eyes focused on him and only one thing came to mind. The man she truly loved was sitting right in front of her and wasn't the one she'd be meeting at the end of the aisle. It was a cruel joke that this was the way things were working out. She'd always thought that she could have her cake and eat it too, but now reality was staring her in the face and there was no happy ending at the end of their episode,"--and if you can't see that then--well then don't show up at the ceremony."
(c) 1999-2007 Pit Pat Productions