The Power of Love
Chapter 21 - Alma
The clock on the wall said 10.45am. Quarter of an hour until the ceremony and Alma Beers sat in the vestry of a small little chapel in the middle of nowhere, brushing her mousy hair and smiling to herself in the dusty mirror placed in the corner of the room. She had been waiting almost two years for this day and now, finally, it was happening. In a matter of minutes, she would be a married woman, no longer a girl, and her and Ennis would have that special bond that everyone said was so wonderful.
She had often wondered if that was the problem with them. Ennis had always seemed a little shy ever since they had met and although that was something she loved about him, he had become even more reserved after he came off that mountain. Alma had been surprised when he had returned home early but apparently, he said there was some storm coming in from the Pacific and their boss had sent them down before it raged. She'd heard about the other storm that had blown viciously over the mountain on the radio and she'd hoped Ennis hadn't been hurt in it yet when he arrived, he seemed not physically hurt at all. Alma wished she could say the same for what was going on in his mind. Whatever that was.
Ennis was a very introverted person, she knew that well by now yet sometimes she would have very much liked for him to open up to her a bit more. She didn't bother prying about events that may or may not have happened up on Brokeback Mountain, as not only would Ennis not talk about it, she was only going on the emotions he had barely shown and she knew she probably rely on those as much as she could rely on her Mother. And, of course, that wasn't very much at all.
She hadn't bothered coming to the wedding. If it wasn't for Ennis, Alma wouldn't have even invited her in the first place. However, that was no use anyway. Her Father had arrived, though he was long since divorced from her Mother, and as always, he said he had had no contact with her whatsoever. Alma thought that was probably for the best. After their last argument (and it had been much worse than usual – her Mother was the only person, except her sister Louanne, that she could argue with), she had no idea what she would say if she had come to the wedding. Not that she could talk anyway. Her divorce had been pretty messy, to say the least.
Alma was glad Louanne had come though. She was four years older than her and when they were children, Louanne had always looked after her when their Mother was fighting with their Father again or there were other troubles with the family, as there always seemed to be. She had been the first to arrive at the chapel that day and couldn't wait to see Alma in her wedding dress, as she now was.
To be honest, she felt a little strange in it. As she looked in the mirror, she knew it looked alright but still, she was used to wearing clothes that were a lot more comfortable than this – homely dresses, not big, white and frilly ones like this. Yet at least that made it special. One of the only occasions in her life that she got dressed up like a princess, with flowers and a gown, and it was going to be the most memorable day of her life – so far anyway. She hoped Ennis liked it.
He had been the first boy she had been interested in. One of her friends had known somebody who'd known somebody who'd known Ennis and they had set up a meeting for them, no matter how many times Alma said she'd didn't want a boyfriend at that point in her life. Her friend and her fiancé had gone to some restaurant with them and despite both Alma and Ennis being very shy around one another, something must have happened because they ended up going to the same restaurant again the week after, and again and again.
And now, they were getting married. Of course, that friend and her fiancé (who was now her husband) had been invited to the wedding that day and Alma would thank them at the dinner later on for everything they had done. She doubted she'd been in this wedding dress if it wasn't for them.
Ennis was still very shy though and she knew he was going to hate talk to all those people at the party afterwards but at least, she hoped, he wouldn't be quite as closed around her anymore. Maybe their marriage would open up new doors for them and they'd have some more conversations together. Alma thought that was very important for them.
Suddenly, the door to the vestry opened and Alma turned to see Louanne bustle in, holding more flowers in her hand. '' My, my, my, don't ya'll look beautiful?'' came her cheerful voice and Alma smiled, taking the bunch of flowers that she offered. '' Ain't that Ennis one lucky man?''
'' Ya think he'll like it?'' Alma asked, smoothing down her dress and putting the hairbrush down. Louanne smiled wider.
'' Like it? Honey, he's gonna love it! Now, come an' give us a twirl.''
Alma giggled and stood up, spinning around for her sister. She clapped and then embraced her, gently so as not to mess up her gown. '' Well, mah lil' sister's finally growin' up,'' she beamed, stroking her hair. '' Marryin' before me – ah never thought ah'd see the day.''
Alma smiled again and stepped back, taking another glance at the wall clock. '' Ah s'pose we better get to the chapel then...Five minutes...''
'' You bet.''
***
Alma couldn't help smiling as she stood at the front of the congregation, a cheery priest in front of her and Ennis beside her. He seemed a bit awkward there, both of them repeating the words said to them, but Alma didn't mind. She felt like she was on cloud nine, finally here after all this time, and her true love was standing by her side. That was all she cared about and she knew that now, through this marriage, there would be no boundaries between them and no taints in their relationship. They were each other's and each other's only and nothing would stop that.
In front of them, the priest gave another bright smile and looked them both in the eye, seeming genuinely happy for them. Alma's heart skipped as he finally said those words that she had been waiting so long for – the words that she had been dreaming about ever since Ennis proposed to her. The words that made it all seem so real and official. ''...I now pronounce you man and wife...''
Alma smiled and looked up at Ennis, so happy she could barely hear what the priest was continuing to say. '' ...you may kiss the bride...''
And Ennis finally turned to her, leaning down to tip her head slightly.
'' And if you don't, I will,'' the priest laughed and Alma smiled, though all her attention was now on Ennis as he leant down to her and with the hint of a smile on his face, kissed her warmly. The crowds behind them clapped and at that moment, it finally all felt it had come to a point where there was no turning back.
Alma didn't think she wanted to.
***
The marriage was even better than Alma had dreamt. Ennis seemed to be more open with her now and they laughed together and held hands, barely a minute going by when they weren't by each other's sides. When the snow came in December, they went for sleigh rides over the hills and played childishly and happily, throwing snowballs at one another and rolling around without a care in the world. Christmas was wonderful and they spent it with their friends and Louanne, sitting around a decorated tree in a small, rented apartment in a town north of Lost Cabin where Ennis happened to be working at that time as a wrangler. The relationship developed considerably and by mid-January, Alma was pregnant with their first child.
She had known for a fair while that she was soon going to be a Mother but the first time she felt the baby kick she had been just as excited as when she had found out the news that changed most women's lives. Ennis and her had been at an outdoor movie theatre one night when the weather was still cold, frost making the asphalt and trucks glitter slightly in the moonlight, and all of a sudden, she had sensed the movement in her stomach, making it bump slightly. Her heart gave a skip in time with it and she put her hands on the growing lump, Ennis joining her.
And it was at that moment that everything seemed to be moving forward with them and just like at the marriage a few months back, there was no going back. And again, Alma realised that she didn't want to go back. This was where her life was changing and in nine or ten months, she would be giving birth, becoming a Mother. It all seemed a bit overwhelming but Alma knew it was a good sense of overwhelming. If Ennis was beside her, she knew she'd get through it a lot easier.
This baby would maybe bring them even closer together. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with this man. Her man.
TBC