Drabble:150

It was July when Lissa finally orchestrated Rose's reception, quite some time after the actual wedding. Why, may you ask, did Lissa wait that long?

Well, firstly, she wanted the event to be just perfect, and that meant planning….and during summer, it was easier for the couple's relatives and guardian-friends to get time-off. Not only that, by July, the controversy of the wedding had worn down at Court, so Lissa could do as she pleased.

Lissa hadn't been happy when Rose and Dimitri had spontaneously gotten hitched (in jeans, no less!), but gaining complete control over organizing their reception had appeased her…somewhat. So she set out to make it the grandest event possible…think Mad-Hatter's-Tea-Party meets Great-Gatsby meets Rio-Carnival, and that in the middle of summer, in a swanky auditorium at Court.

Lissa had borne all expenses for her best friend's party, throwing a hissy fit and shooing Dimitri away whenever he tried even bringing up the topic of contributing. Abe faced the same fate too. She personally planned the entire revelry, from the precise flower-arrangements to the exact number of mirrors perched around the room. And all her work paid off, because it was a total hit...

The guests had been escorted to inside by smartly-dressed ushers ad they had stared wide-eyed at the glittering decorations and the lit-from-below dance-floor in the middle of the room, while sipping martinis and sampling hors d'oeuvres. At first, they were taken aback by the elegance of the room, but then the band started playing…and the dancefloor beckoned!
By the time Dimitri and Rose had been delivered to the hall-in Lissa's personal Bentley, no less –people were breaking out dance moves under the psychedelic disco-ball and interacting with the performing dancers, acrobats and jugglers.

Rose had taken Dimitri's hand, wanting the strength to face whatever spectacle Lissa had cooked up, and she wasn't disappointed. Before making their grand entry, they'd been led to a balcony to view the festivities going on below. "What the..", Rose had begun, only to trail off incredulously, catching sight of Adrian and Alberta performing some acceptable-in-the-80s-dance-moves in the heart of the dance-floor.

Dimitri was also stunned too. He couldn't believe that the white-hued room he'd guarded an event in just a few weeks ago had been transformed into…this! All his unease over being in the tux Lissa had gifted-which probably cost more than he earned all year-was replaced by the discomfort that the two juggling clowns on unicycles downstairs caused him. He really didn't like clowns and judging by his niece Zoya's scowl-at them-she didn't like them either.

Before Dimitri could do more than turn towards Rose and share a 'what have we gotten ourselves into' look, Lissa's secretary appeared and shepherded them for their big entry downstairs. It couldn't have been more than five minutes between their exit from upstairs and entry into the hall-hindered mostly by the length and train on Rose's off-shoulder-lacey-work-of-wonder-designer dress-but by the time they entered the room aided by the fanfare of trumpets, everyone was seated on the many golden-hued tables and raising champagne flutes at them. It took them a moment to restart walking, and as they walked upto the raised dais at the other corner of the room-where their immediate family and closest friends were seated-they passed the entire length of the floor.

Once they reached their seats, the event-emcee raised a toast to them and started off a round of applause. Their families and friends took turns at speeches, sharing anecdotes as a slideshow of their 'couple moments' pictures played on a gigantic screen.

After the speeches, where Lissa took her turn last, garnering thunderous applause, the five-course meal was served (and yes, it had to be five courses, I mean, what's a wedding without whimsy?), after which Dimitri and Rose took to the floor, dancing to a quartet rendition of the first song that they had ever danced to together (that Rose had told Lissa). After that, the band belted out a pop-number which brought the guests back to the floor and pretty soon, after imbibing the copious amounts of alcohol that the masked servers were unrestrainedly handing out, everyone had begun to silly-dance. Heels and belts and coats had been abandoned as people did the Cupid Shuffle and even Gangnam Style, and Dimitri loosened up enough to sing JT's Mirrors word-for-word when it played.

The piece-de-resistance came well into the midnight, when a gigantic 7-tiered chocolate and vanilla cake was wheeled in, making Rose scream and hug Liss for the umpteenth time. After it had been cut and consumed and the frosting smeared onto as many faces as Dimitri and Rose could get to, people had posed for pictures with the now-cake-faced-couple and danced and danced...

Lissa herself had had enough when the clock struck two and yawning, she had stood up, immediately capturing Christian's eye from where he was chatting with Mia and Eddie; and after a hushed conversation they'd left hand-in-hand. Her last glimpse into the room showed a few people still dancing on the floor, Abe and Yeva doing some sort of waltz amongst them, and Dimitri and his niece giving the clowns Rose was talking to severely disapproving glares.
All their friends were scattered around, chatting and talking and Lissa smiled as she walked away with the love of her life, daydreaming about her own wedding-reception….someday.

It wasn't till she'd reached home that she found the envelope tucked in her clutch. Dear Liss-the letter read-thanks for making me feel like a queen, if only for one night. Words can't express how happy you made me, but perhaps this would give you your own taste-R.

Lissa extracted the accompanying snapshot from the envelope and found a picture of Christian kneeling on his knees with a ring on his hand. When she looked away from the picture, she found herself looking at Christian in the same position, clutching the same ring and looking at her with hope and love shining out of his eyes…

The 150th drabble marks a milestone for me, so I decided to pen this too-long-much-requested scene. Hope you guys like it! And thanks for sticking with 'Moments' so far. Don't forget to review. Cheers, lovelies!