That Wednesday, AJ can barely talk, much less eat or do anything other than pace around her locker room, gripping her divas title close to her chest like it could disappear any second. Mike watches her for a few minutes longer, relieved that it's just he, Tamina and her here tonight, Alex and Ricardo remaining in Florida until Smackdown. Finally he stands up and grips her shoulders, squeezing gently. "Sweetheart." She shakes her head, determined not to listen or respond, even look him in the eye. "Sweetheart," he repeats softer, doing the only thing he can think of, enveloping her in his arms and holding her close. He's relieved when she at least doesn't fight him off, her fingers instead digging into his back through his shirt.
"I'm scared."
"I know. But you don't need to be," he whispers into her hair. She buries her face in his chest and struggles to breathe as he strokes her back. When a knock sounds on the door, a tech calling through to remind her of her match, she slowly pulls away and looks up at him, her eyes duller than he's ever seen them. "Take a breath," he tells her. She listens, holding it for a long moment before releasing it slowly. "Now... consider all of the matches you've won in the time you've had this title." He taps his fingers against the nameplate of her belt, smiling down at her as she does so, some of that fire returning to her gaze. "You've beaten Natalya before. You've beaten all of them before, many times." He can tell when this clicks with her, her lips twitching up into a smile.
"Thank you," she breathes, gripping his head and pulling him down for a kiss that they both drown in for as long as they dare before she pulls away, brushing a finger at his lips. "I love you. I'll be back as soon as possible..."
He nods, eyes locked on her as she turns sharply and walks out of the locker room, meeting up with Tamina and skipping her way to the gorilla position. Mike watches her go before turning to the TV in time to see the cameras catch up with them, the commentary hyping the upcoming match before it goes to a short commercial break. Once it returns, his fiancee and her reinforcer make their way to the ring, AJ glancing around with a confident smirk before talking about how bored she is, that there's such a lack of competition, she'll be champion forever. "That's my girl," Miz mumbles, sitting down to watch as Natalya enters the ring and the introductions are made.
The match itself is highly competitive and Mike starts to worry that perhaps he had given the girl false hope, Natalya bringing her A game as she fights back hard, finally locking in the sharpshooter so thoroughly that AJ can't wriggle free, her face contorted in agony as she struggles. He bites his lip so hard that it bleeds, his foot tapping anxiously until finally she gets close to the rope and Tamina pushes it closer to her, allowing her to get a grip on it, forcing the referee to make Natalya break the hold. Mike breathes a little easier as this is the turning point in the match, Natalya is so distracted arguing with Tamina that AJ gets the upperhand, slamming her into the mat and then wrapping her up in the Black Widow submission for the second time, wrenching back until Natalya can't take the pain anymore and taps out.
Mike slumps back in relief as the two women stumble back up the ramp, leaving a tearful, disappointed Natalya in the ring. He's back on his feet, grinning proudly, when AJ returns and runs into his arms, his laughter mixing with hers as he spins her around, staring into her eyes. "I told you, didn't I? Everything's fine."
"Yes, I suppose I should listen to you more often..." she giggles.
"For sure." He kisses her and shifts his hold on her, turning around. "Now that that's all done, I have a surprise for you..."
She blinks and looks around, startled to find a table set up in the corner of the room that she hadn't seen before. "Mike, what is that?" He laughs and walks her over to it, sitting her down on it. "Is this... a massage table?" He grins down at her and softly kisses her shoulder before easing her to lay down on it. "What- what are you doing?"
"I'm going to give you a massage. Take your shirt off if you want, and roll onto your stomach, please." She purses her lips at him but listens, propping her chin on her hands as he moves around behind her, getting everything together. "You're beautiful," he murmurs into her ear. "I'm so proud of you." She smiles and releases a soft hum as he rests his hands on her back, warm oil and the gentle pressure of his hands on her flesh leaves her dazed almost from the start, her head resting against the cool fabric of the table.
He's working over her legs, listening to her contented sighs and murmurs when a thought occurs to her and she shifts slightly, looking over her shoulder at him. "Hey, Mike?"
"Yeah, sweetheart?"
"When we get married... are you going to still treat me like this?" As soon as the words leave her lips, she blinks, startling herself back to full awareness with the sudden impulse to ask such a thing of him.
He doesn't say anything right away, letting her leg go and shifting back up to rest his hands on her neck and shoulders, kneading the tense muscles there while he leans down so they're eye to eye, not wanting to stop touching her, but also wanting to look her in the eye as he does answer this question. "Actually," he says quietly, "I plan on treating you even better... why, sweetheart?"
She buries her face in the table for a moment before tilting her head to look at him again. "I've just been thinking... there are so few marriages that actually make it... or people get married, and immediately stop treating the other like they're important, and... I don't want that to happen with us, to stop caring what the other thinks, or... I, I just want to keep mattering to you. I know it's silly and childish, but-"
He immediately forgoes the massage and sits down next to her, pulling her to a sitting position so he can hug her. "Shhh, it's not silly or childish," he tells her quietly. "You've been through a lot with relationships over the years. I understand that you're a little hesitant still, but I promise you we won't be like that. Do you think I've waited this long for us to get to this point just to lose interest in you once you are Mrs. Mizanin?" He pulls back and stares into her eyes, smiling slightly. "Hell no, sweetheart. I will always surprise you with massages and jewelry and any other romantic things I can think of, because you deserve some reward for agreeing to deal with me and my big mouth all of the time." He cups her face and sighs, kissing her thoroughly until she melts the rest of the way against him, still relaxed from the massage and even more so now from his sincere reassurances. "Seven days away now and I can begin proving to you that the only thing that will change between us is that I will love you even more than I do already..."
She grins against his lips and nods, her heart racing as he lays her down against the table and nuzzles against her throat, lightly scraping his teeth against her flushed skin.
After the confidence boost gained on Wednesday, even Tamina's loss to Nikki- and commentary's deduction that the Bella twin is now #1 contender- isn't enough to dampen AJ's good mood, though she does seem a bit incensed as she clings to her divas title on the way backstage. Mike greets her with a hug, but she shrugs off her enforcer's loss and Brie's needless attack, looking up at him. "I suppose it's about time to pass out the wedding information to those who need to know?"
He nods, brushing hair out of her eyes. "You handle your bridesmaids and I'll deal with the guys?"
"Yep," she agrees. "See you in a few minutes."
He smiles down at her before they go their separate ways, peeking his head into the main locker room. Del Rio is sitting nearby, glaring at his bags, with Ricardo quietly sitting nearby, offering silent support to the man stewing over having to face Ziggler yet again. Alex, also, is nearby, going over notes, all of them looking up quickly when he clears his throat roughly. Once he has their attention, he sits between Ricardo and Del Rio, unsurprised as Alex joins them. "Here," he tells them, handing over envelopes as discreetly as possible. "Plane tickets to California Tuesday. Morrison is insisting we have some joint bachelor/bachelorette party thing the night before. Of course, the wedding's in the late afternoon on Wednesday so we'll all have time to recover... I hope." He grins at the three men, shaking his head. "Anyway, if you all have any questions, you know where to find me."
The three men murmur in agreement, reading their tickets so they know where they're going and when come Tuesday, Mike clapping Ricardo and Alex on the shoulders before taking his leave of the locker room. Things had quieted down pretty sufficiently on the Total Divas side, rumors-wise, anyway. With the show's second season approaching, none of the women seem to have time for their lame vicious stories, which is good. He thinks perhaps he and AJ can start to relax, but he wants to wait and see what his fiancee will feel safe with. He's just snuck back into her room a few moments earlier when she joins him, sitting close and leaning over to rest in his arms as he kisses the top of her head. "Everything go ok?"
"Yeah," she whispers, stroking his arm. "Alicia is really excited, I was afraid everyone was going to hear her, but Tamina managed to quiet her down."
"That's good," he says softly, squeezing her sides. "Five days to go..."
She twists around in his arms until they're face to face and grins, pressing a kiss to his lips. "It feels like it's lasting a lifetime and going by in a blink of an eye all at the same time," she says with a slight pout.
"I know what you mean," he says, poking at her lips. "How about we pass some time, then?" Her eyes darken as his hands trail up her shirt, a smirk crossing his face as she returns the favor.
"I guess we could," she breathes, tugging his shirt up over his head and sending it across the room before she presses against him, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down his throat to his chest, where she explores slowly as he lazily runs his hands up and down her back, his eyes fluttering closed as his lips twitch up into a smile.
The next morning, AJ's phone rings as she tries to pull herself from Mike's hold so they can begin to get ready to leave for the evening's WWE events, causing her to freeze when Miz stirs and grips her tighter. "No," he mumbles, tracing circles in her stomach as she giggles and squirms, trying to reach the device. "Stay..."
She shakes her head and grins, pinching his wrist until finally he releases her, pouting and looking wounded. She scoops the phone from the table and answers it before leaning over, kissing him until he gives in and smiles vaguely, rolling over as she drops back onto the bed, giggling softly. "Hello?"
"Hiya, girl," Layla's cheerful voice greets her. "How's my favorite bride-to-be doing?"
"I'm great," she says, shifting to rest her head in Mike's lap, his hand immediately resting in her hair, stroking gently. "How are you doing? I'm sorry I haven't called in awhile, things have been so busy between the tours and wedding planning..."
"Oh, I understand, no worries," she laughs. "I just wanted to call to let you know..."
AJ tenses, biting her lip. "You better not be canceling on me, Layla..." She closes her eyes as Mike's fingers still against her scalp.
"What kind of bridesmaid would I be if I would cancel four days before your wedding?!" she exclaims. "No, I would never do that to you, honey! I just wanted to let you know I'm going to need to exchange my plane ticket."
AJ blinks a couple of times, relaxing against Mike and smiling as he guesses that things are ok, resuming the repetitive pressure of his fingers against her forehead. "Why? Where are you going to be?"
Layla pauses for a moment, building anticipation. "I think... it's some weird place called... San Antonio? You may have heard of it?"
It takes a minute for it to click with the girl, who squeals in surprise once it does. "No! You're back? Really?"
"Yes!"
"That- oh my God, wait, you're going to be here for the wedding, I- I mean, you'll be able to fly to California with the rest of us!"
Layla's grin is obvious in her voice. "Yeah, that. So I need my plane ticket exchanged, and since you purchased it..."
"Oh, oh yeah, of course, I'll handle it," AJ agrees, forgetting all about Mike as she scrambles off of the bed and begins digging through their luggage for the airline information, Miz dropping his head back against the mattress with a grin as he listens to his fiancee's excited chattering.
Everything down to the very last detail is coming together nicely for their wedding and he couldn't be more relieved for it all. Now there's only one thing left up in the air, and he decides to handle it now while AJ is distracted with Layla's news, finding his own phone and, glancing over his shoulder at the girl, he sends a quick text to a number he had taken from AJ's cell phone a few days ago when an idea had come to him while she was in the shower. He hopes that this too will work out as well.
Famous last words as it all threatens to go to hell on Monday. Mike and Alex both are on the panel for Raw, unable to do anything but watch from above as AJ and Tamina wrestle and lose against Cameron and a freshly returned Naomi. He bites his lip, aware of how tortorous it must be for his bride-to-be to have to not only wrestle against the girl who had spread rumors enough to nearly break her and Mike up, but also lose to her teammate, so close to their wedding. It only gets worse, however, the guys exchanging uncomfortable glances when AJ yells and screams at Tamina afterwards, her anger palpable even from this distance. Mike swallows down a gasp, it taking everything in him not to jump up and do something when the taller diva pushes her down, the scandalized look on AJ's face trapped in Mike's mind as he grits his teeth together and digs his fingers into the table's surface, swallowing.
He's desperate to go to her, but can't, stuck at this table until the end of the post-show. Please be ok, AJ, he thinks desperately, staring down at the monitor as it recaps the week prior. I'll be with you soon.
"What was that?!" AJ screams, chasing her enforcer through the halls, eyes flashing. "On my-" Realizing where she's at, who all's listening, she follows Tamina into the divas champion's locker room and slams the door with such force that it bounces open once more. Screaming in anger, she grips it and shuts it again, this time leaning against it so it doesn't rebound. "On my wedding week, you- you do that? Why?"
"Why?" Tamina hisses back, rounding on her, face tight with anger. "Because. I have had your back for the better part of the last six months, and you still blame everything on me. We both know how this business is, we both know how quickly, how easily, matches can go sideways, sometimes things happen and it's no one's fault, but you can't take any culpability, it's always my fault, my weaknesses! I don't know how Mike can stand you sometimes; if you blame me for everything, I can only imagine what it's going to be like for him to be married to you."
AJ looks like she's been slapped by the end of Tamina's diatribe, eyes welling with fresh tears. "I... I..." She shivers, collapsing to her knees, folding in on herself as Tamina's words open up so many of her own insecurities. "But... You don't understand, I have so much pressure on me. Being champion, and... people spreading rumors, and everything with Mike, and..." She cries into her title belt, shaking her head. "I guess it helped, a little, laying everything on you, but... I didn't mean to... make things so terrible for you. I- I wanted to be a good friend..."
Tamina sighs, her anger fading away as quickly as it'd come, and settles in next to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Look, you were a good friend, for the most part. I just... all of the little things snowball and I just, I'm tired of it, I guess." AJ sits quietly and looks everywhere but at her, sniffing slightly. "Listen, I know this is terrible timing... all of this, but... I just... I don't think I should still be your maid of honor. It's not right to you, to have to go back and look at your wedding pictures and see me, remember what happened between us tonight."
AJ gulps and looks up at her. "Wha... what...?"
"I can't be your maid of honor. Not now. I'm sorry."
Fresh tears pour down her face. "But... will you still be at the wedding? Just as a guest? I mean, we bought the tickets, and..."
Tamina releases a faint breath, brushing some of the hair out of AJ's eyes. "Do you want me to be?"
AJ wipes at her face, nodding vaguely. "Yeah. I, I do. Like you said, you've been pretty much my only friend throughout all of this. I still want you there..."
"Alright," the enforcer says. "If you're sure. I'll still come."
"Thank you," she whispers, beyond floored by all of this.
The flight to California is quiet and subdued, AJ laying her head on Mike's shoulder as he strokes his fingers through her hair gently. Tamina hadn't been the only issue AJ had had to navigate through at the last minute- Layla and Alicia had been booked onto a match on Main Event that week, all of them in disbelief of how complicated things had become, but also relieved that Main Event had been moved from Wednesday to Tuesday nights thanks to the WWE Network. If not, AJ would've run the risk of having absolutely nobody in her bridal party. At least this way, the two would remain in Texas long enough to uphold their responsibilities, then fly out to California just in time to be there for the wedding. It also, oddly enough, made the sleeping arrangements a little bit easier to straighten out, seeing as Mike and AJ had decided to go the traditional route and not sleep together the night before the wedding. Mike can't help but think it's just as well, not that he's overly superstitious, but their luck so far hadn't been that great. Why risk it?
So, once they land in LA, he cups his bride to be's face and smiles gently at her. "Will you be alright?" he asks lowly, glancing over at a quiet Tamina, who would be alone with AJ in John's apartment until the others could arrive. The men would be staying in Mike's house, since it has more bedrooms and generally more room.
She nods bravely, her nails digging into his hands. "Yeah. Of course I will." But her eyes are still wet and his heart aches for her as she slowly releases him and fights to smile before she turns and walks with her enforcer side by side to the car that will be taking them to John's apartment.
He turns to John, who had come to pick them up, and sighs. "Thanks for waiting with me, man."
"Of course," he shrugs. "What're friends for?"
Mike smiles slightly before turning to Del Rio, Ricardo and Alex. "Alright, guys. Here're the keys to my house. Let yourselves in, make yourselves at home, order some food, get some rest. We'll join you as soon as we drop off that special delivery..." He smirks as the three men exchange glances, Alex smoothly taking his keys when it's clear that he's not going to divulge anymore details.
"See you both later then," he says, Ricardo echoing something along those lines before the three men take their leave of the airport, visibly glad not to have to hang around any longer than they had already.
"You think she'll like this surprise?" John asks after a few minutes, the two of them moving to sit down to wait.
"God, I hope so," he mutters, staring at the arrival and departure board as if doing so would make things move faster.
It's dark and quiet in the apartment, AJ curled up in the guest bedroom as tightly as she could, trying desperately not to cry. It's almost her wedding day, but she's all alone except for the enforcer sleeping on the couch down the hall, who hates her too much to be her maid of honor. This wasn't at all how she'd expected this to go, envisioning something closer to a slumber party with her, Layla, Alicia and Tamina reluctantly getting involved in the ridiculousness... She's so lost in her sad thoughts that she doesn't notice the door slipping open, or the shadows shifting around her. She does, however, notice when the bed dips behind her, causing her to curl up on herself even more. She's not sure if it's Mike or Tamina, but she does know that neither of them should be here, and she's about to say so when arms wrap around her, drawing her out of her shell and... it's clear it's not either of them, the smell of familiar perfume wafting over her. "Kaitlyn," she breathes, immediately tensing. "Kaitlyn!" Sure enough, the former diva greets her with a hesitant smile as she sits up and spins around, gaping at her. "You... you're here. But why?"
"Well, I heard someone was in need of a maid of honor," Kaitlyn says with a slightly cheeky smile. When AJ continues to stare at her in disbelief, her smile becomes more solemn. "AJ, I heard about everything you've been going through. I, um. I wanted to apologize for my hand in it, maybe if I hadn't told you about those rumors the night I left the WWE, it wouldn't have been so bad... but I really did just want to keep you safe from getting your heart broken again. I think what I did caused just that to happen anyway, and I'm so sorry. I'd like to make it up to you, I really did have good intentions."
"You want to be my maid of honor?" she asks, tears filling her eyes anew as she tries to digest that her best friend is here, apologizing and offering to take Tamina's place. "Really? Despite how I treated you the last time I saw you?"
Kaitlyn waves it off. "Hey, water under the bridge, huh? I had some time, and a lot of distance to think, and I... I don't hate you, AJ. Nor do I blame you. WWE is... is ridiculous with its competitiveness. I mean, look at me, before Total Divas happened, I was competing so much, then I guess somewhere along the way I stopped being what's supposedly best for business..." They both scoff at this and the brunette grins at her. "I have to say, kudos to you for finding ways to remain relevant for as long as you have. It's damned difficult in this business."
"Trust me, I know," she sighs. "Most of the guys Mike is friends with barely get on TV at all anymore. Mike either, sadly..." She wipes at her eyes. "When I and Del Rio are the only ones regularly on TV, you know there's a problem. But... are you really serious about being my maid of honor?"
"If you'll have me," Kaitlyn nods, smiling softly.
AJ beams, sniffing as her fingers brush off the rest of the girl's tears gently. "I'd like that, yes, of course." Her eyes widen. "But, do you even have a dress, I mean-"
"Your fiance thought of everything," she chuckles. "No worries. It's time for you and Mike to just sit back and enjoy everything, let Morrison and I take care of the rest."
Outside in the hall, Miz pushes away from the wall and pads quietly to the door, eyes soft even as he smirks at yet another of his surprises for AJ coming together nicely.
Tuesday passes quietly, Alberto and Ricardo spending the day with Mike, following John's orders that he not be allowed to do anything, touch anything, or think about anything regarding the wedding the next day. The three of them lounge around in the backyard, Mike and Ricardo talking and laughing while they watch episodes of WWE Slam City, trying not to react too loudly as Del Rio dozes a few feet away. The only time any of them move is to get some coconut water from the fridge or, every half an hour or so, poke Alberto so that he rolls over and doesn't burn himself to a crisp hours before the wedding.
Finally around four, Ricardo nudges Alberto awake completely and they head back inside to prepare for the combo bachelor/bachelorette party. Though, Mike thinks grimly, it's closer to a bechelor party that AJ is crashing since two-thirds of her bridal party is at the Main Event taping. "At least Kaitlyn will be there," he mutters, running his fingers through his hair. "Hey, Ricardo, do we have the...?"
The former ring announcer pokes his head into the room and grins. "Of course we do, Mike. Relax or John will lecture you in front of everyone at the party." Mike's eyes widen and he immediately shuts his mouth, turning back to the mirror to ensure he looks awesome before they go, wanting everything to be amazing for AJ, especially after everything she'd been through this week. "Ok, are you guys ready to go?"
Ricardo peeks back in. "Yeah, Mike, we're just waiting on you."
He freezes and releases a soft breath, staring at himself once more. "Huh. Alright, let's go."
The club had been booked for their private party, Mike grinning as he walks in, flanked by Ricardo and Del Rio, Alex and John already there, making sure everything is ready for the night ahead. "Took you guys long enough," John teases them. "Did the groom get cold feet? It's not even the actual wedding yet, man." Miz rolls his eyes at him, hugging him back nonetheless as the others take in the room. "Wow," he mutters, pulling away from his best man and examining the soft lighting and faint music, nodding his approval. "It's perfect, guys, thanks."
They stand around, talking and catching up, when finally the doors open, Mike's eyes immediately trailing over to them as AJ, Kaitlyn and Tamina enter. He's surprised to see the enforcer there, but wisely says nothing as AJ walks right over to him, her eyes gleaming in the faint light as he wraps his arms around her. "I missed you," she mutters into his chest.
"I missed you too," he says quietly. "But it's just one more night, and then we'll be married." Running his fingers through her hair, he smiles down at her. "Are things ok... with those two?" He glances subtly towards Kaitlyn and Tamina as they go their separate ways, Tamina finding a corner to watch everything while Kaitlyn joins John, Alex and Ricardo, and AJ nods slowly, breathing in as he leans in and kisses her. "That's good. Now, let's have some fun tonight, huh?" He presses a kiss to her temple, shifting to whisper in her ear. "We have karaoke..."
Her eyes widen as she looks up at him. "Oh God."
He laughs, stroking her jaw. "I know. Just be glad that we didn't invite Heath Slater..." She giggles as he leads her over to a nearby booth, smiling as she rests her head on his shoulder. "Now here's a question."
"Hm?"
"Do we dance tonight to practice tomorrow, or do we wait on this too?"
She wrinkles her nose at him and rolls her eyes, leaning up to kiss him. "I guess it depends on how many times you want me to stomp on your feet this week. At least tomorrow, I won't be wearing shoes..." She lifts her feet, showing her sneakers, smirking at him as he grimaces.
After a few hours of sitting around, indulging in food and drink while discussing wedding plans and everything that's been going on in the WWE recently, with some karaoke thrown in here and there- the machine has sadly limited selections so, after some diagreements, Mike, John, Alex and Ricardo try their hands at an overexaggerated version of Backstreet Boys' Backstreet's Back (Alright), which leaves everyone laughing or cringing, or both, just to smoothly transition to N'Sync's This I Promise You, the others quiet and taking in Mike's sincerity behind the lyrics, his eyes locked on the divas champion as he sings to the best of his abilities- AJ is leaning sleepily against Mike, blinking slowly, when Ricardo and Alex quietly excuse themselves from the booth, disappearing into the kitchen.
"Where are they going?" AJ asks tiredly, glancing up at her fiance. Mike merely smirks, tracing circles in her shoulder until she dozes lightly, his eyes soft as he watches her. He hadn't slept well without her the night before, either, but imagines she'd had a worse time of it, even with Kaitlyn by her side. With Tamina keeping her distance from all of them, and Alicia and Layla not here yet, it had to be difficult for her.
He sighs softly, looking up in relief as his friends return with a platter stacked with cupcakes. "Thanks," he murmurs as they settle it down in front of her, John and Kaitlyn immediately getting to work with pressing candles into the top-most cupcake which is coated in swirled white and pink frosting. There's no way to fit 27 in the small dessert, but they fit five in it and light them as Mike leans over and nuzzles the girl until she stirs against him, sighing faintly. "Mike?" She blinks uncertainly, wincing against the bright lights of the candles in contrast to the dimness of the club. "What's going on?"
"Last I checked," he says softly, nudging her to sit up straight so she stays awake until he's done explaining, "it's someone's birthday." He holds his cell phone up so she can see the time and she blinks in surprise that it's after midnight, making a soft "huh" sound. "And I know we're going to have wedding cake tomorrow, but I don't want you to think we've forgotten your birthday, so here we are." He squeezes her side, motioning to the others as they sing Happy Birthday To You at various volumes and levels of enthusiasm. "Now you need to blow out those candles before the cupcake becomes all waxy and nasty. Don't forget to make a wish."
She glances around at all of the people surrounding her, supporting her and Mike... the title belt warm and heavy in her lap, and all of the expectations tomorrow will fulfill. Despite everything that had gone wrong, so many things had gone right... She only has to think for a moment before shrugging, leaning in to blow the flames out. As he begins passing out the cupcakes to the others, she picks at the wrapper and waits until Mike is sitting next to her once more. "Truth be told," she murmurs to him, "I didn't make a wish. I couldn't think of anything that I didn't already have." She strokes a hand down his arm, smiling. "I know it's cliche on a terrible romcom level, but it's true. Alicia and Layla will be here tomorrow, I'm getting along ok with Kaitlyn again, we're getting married, everything's perfect." Her eyes flicker towards Tamina for a split second but she smiles wider and turns her attention back on her husband, determined not to let the bad things have any more control over her today.
He smiles at her. "For me too, sweetheart, cliche'd or not. Happy birthday."
"Thank you." Her hand is warm on his face as they kiss.