Chapter 3
Valerie had stopped by the hotel to change into her dress for the wedding before heading toward the church. On her way, she decided that she needed to make one more stop and asked the driver to take her to 953 Hillcrest Drive, the house she had lived in for several years before moving back to Buffalo. She knew the guys still hadn't left for the church and she just felt the need to see them again. They had all been her friends at one time or another, and lover, but she did value their friendships more.
As the cab pulled up in front of the house, she hurried to pay him before stepping outside and almost running up the driveway to the front door. She gave the door two knocks and waited a second before opening the door. The house was almost quiet, but she could hear the distant sound of the men talking. Placing a hand on the railing, she ascended the stairs, one at a time and walked toward the voices, reaching the room just as one of Brandon's cufflinks fell to the floor. She stopped the golden accessory with her foot before bending down to pick it up. She looked at it for a moment before looking up at the guys in the room.
"Drop something?" she asked, a small smirk playing on her lips.
"Hey, Val!" Dylan was the first to exclaim, pulling her into a big hug. The rest of them followed suit and she couldn't remember the last time she had smiled this big.
"You look great," Steve said as he let her go.
"So do you! I heard you're a dad now? I can't leave you alone for just a second before you go get yourself a family?" she joked. She had met Janet before she left, and she already liked the woman back then. Steve was lucky to have found her.
"Shouldn't you be with the girls?" Dylan questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"We all know I've enjoyed your company a lot more," she said, causing the whole room to erupt into fits of laughter.
"That's true," Dylan nodded. "So tell me, how are things in Buffalo?"
Valerie smiled at the question. She had been prepared for that question and was excited to tell people about her new improved life. "Buffalo is good. There's this guy…" she said, a small, uninvited blush creeping up on her face.
"You look happy," Dylan commented and she was glad he'd noticed.
Last she heard about Dylan he had gotten back together with Brenda. They'd reconnected when he was travelling around the world, and she was going to move back to Beverly Hills too after her show had closed. Apparently their long distance relationship had been working really well and Valerie was extremely happy for them. They both deserved to be happy.
"I am," Valerie nodded and looked at Brandon who seemed to be all done. "So, don't we have a wedding to attend?"
Steve put an arm around Valerie and pulled out a camera. "First a group photo!" he said and the guys gathered around her before snapping a picture. First a normal one, and then a silly one, where Steve and Dylan surprised the only woman in the room by placing a kiss on each of her cheeks, making her laugh.
"You have to send me all of the pictures when you've developed them," Valerie told him as the five of them exited the room to finally let Brandon tie the knot.
The wedding was being held in a big church. Valerie was in awe as she entered, her eyes taking in the flowers along the aisle and the Christian icons decorating the windows. She spotted some people she'd gone to college with and gave them a short nod with a kind smile, continuing to the front to where the Walshes sat. Both Cindy and Brenda stood up to give her a hug before she could sit down next to Brenda. Jim Walsh, who sat furthest away from her simply gave her a nod and a smile, which she was satisfied with. The two of them hadn't gotten along very well when she lived under their roof and she wouldn't be surprised if he still held the same feeling of resentment toward her, even after she had grown as a person. Of course she didn't blame him for feeling that way because she could admit that she had been a handful when she first arrived to Beverly Hills.
More and more people entered the church and Valerie was surprised the soon to be married couple knew these many people. She quickly checked her phone to make sure it was on silent and sighed when she saw yet another missed calls. That was the third one this morning. No, she would not call him back until after the wedding reception. Her boyfriend knew very well that she was going to a wedding today. The brunette flipped the phone over and removed the battery before putting both back into the purse just as the wedding march started playing. Valerie stood up, along with all the others, and turned her attention to the beginning of the aisle. First came Erin, who had grown a lot since Valerie last saw her, throwing rose petals on the floor as she walked. She made a beautiful flower girl. Then followed the bridesmaids, first Donna and then Janet. She glanced over to the altar where Steve, Dylan and Brandon already stood, wanting to see the look on Steve's face as Janet entered, wearing a beautiful strapless lilac gown that hugged her curves perfectly and became wider at her ankles, just before it would hit the floor.
The two women reached the end of the aisle and stood to the side of the altar, clutching their bouquets and throwing all their attention on the bride that was just entering. Valerie wasn't surprised when Kelly's father wasn't the one leading her down the aisle, she wondered if he was even there or if he was still in prison. She hadn't followed up on that one actually. Instead, Nat was walking beside her, a huge grin on his face. The older man had been like a father to most of them, always serving them the best pie and coffee, and just being there when they needed him. Even if Valerie had been hard to like most of the time, Nat had never showed her anything other than love.
Kelly was a beautiful bride, but they all knew that from the last time these two were getting married, only this time Valerie appreciated that beauty. She was wearing a white gown, as traditional on one's wedding, which had lace covering her shoulders and arms. White fabric hugged her breasts and followed her slim waist, until it spread out like a waterfall from her hips down to the floor. Her hair was put up behind her head, with two wavy strands of hair framing her face. On top of her head she was wearing a long vail that was fastened with a tiara and flowed freely down to the floor, the lacey fabric covering the long white train, dragging behind the bride.
All eyes were glued on her as she finally reached the altar and Nat gave her a kiss on the cheek before handing her over to the groom. When thinking about it, this was a very sexist tradition where the father of the bride handed over his daughter to her new man, who now owned the woman as if she was some kind of property. Valerie shook her head to get rid of that thought because today that tradition did not mean that. Let's call it an occupational hazard.
The priest held out his hands, gesturing for everyone to sit down. Clearing his throat, he began his speech. "Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to celebrate…"
As the priest spoke, Valerie could finally feel the fatigue from staying up all night. Now wasn't that a dumb move? She wouldn't embarrass herself by falling asleep during a wedding. How would she be able to attend the reception too after this? She blamed David for all of it.
Her eyes flickered through the church, zoning out from whatever the priest was saying, trying to find something interesting to occupy herself with. She wasn't exactly a believer in God, even if Matthew had made her accompany him to church many Sundays when he didn't have to work and she did like the idea of a place where people could come together like this. And the church did make a beautiful venue for weddings, funerals and baptisms.
The priest finally finished and Donna stepped up to the podium to read a beautiful poem that Valerie was only half listening to.
When would this end? The redhead was soon done and stepped down to allow the ceremony to continue with the exchanged vows that of course, the bride and groom had chosen to write themselves, and they were just as cheesy as expected. The brunette stifled a yawn, not of boredom of course, as they moved on to the rings and finally the kiss that everyone had been waiting for, the end of this ceremony. The entire church erupted into cheers and stood up, applauding, even if this in most cases was frowned upon in a church setting.
The happy couple turned toward the crowd, grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. People started to leave their rows and exit the church, getting ready to shower the bride and groom with rise. Brandon and Kelly waited a moment before walking toward the exit, hand in hand, smiling at the friends who remained in their seats, applauding. The bridesmaids and best men followed behind, together with the closest friends and family who had been sitting in the front rows.
Valerie just followed everyone else's lead as she walked up the aisle.
"Did you fall asleep?" a familiar voice whispered.
"I came very close," she said and gave him the evil eye. "I don't know why I let you keep me up all night."
"Oh, come on! You enjoyed it as much as I did," he laughed and she couldn't do anything else than agree to that statement. "Now we just need to down a few shots and we'll be as good as new."
Valerie groaned slightly. "Is it bad that I just want to go to bed right now?"
"I'm right there with you," he admitted, throwing an arm around her. "But we need to at least stay for the cutting of the cake. Then you can go back to the hotel."
Valerie grimaced at that as they walked out into the sunlight. The summer breeze swept through her brown hair and she put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. People were still cheering and throwing rice at the happy couple as they walked toward the car that was on standby. Brandon opened the door for Kelly and allowed her to get in before he disappeared behind her.
"Want a ride to the reception?" David asked and offered his arm to Valerie.
"Beats trying to get a cab," she smirked at him and hooked her arm through his.
He had tried calling her all morning, but she had ignored all of them. The fifth time he called, her was finally met by her voice, but from her voicemail. Valerie had turned her fucking phone of. Why? Was she too busy hooking up with David or one of the other men she used to fuck?
He clutched his phone harder, his knuckles turning white. God, he really wanted to hit something, or shoot. He was beyond furious at this point and he needed some relief. Grabbing his gun from the desk, he holstered it to his side and headed toward the shooting range. Matthew wasn't stupid. He knew his wife and had heard all the stories from when she lived on the west coast, and some he had read in the letters she'd carefully hidden in her closet. The way she had slept around and fallen for some, of course going back there would bring back all those feelings and she wouldn't be able to help herself.
Matthew checked in with the clerk before grabbing a pair of ear protectors and choosing an unoccupied lane. When she mentioned the wedding he knew he didn't want to visit her old friends, if you could even call them that. They hadn't kept in contact after all. By saying no, he had expected her to do the same, not wanting to go to that wedding alone. But a day later she had showed him the tickets and he had wanted nothing more than to smack her stupid grin right off her face.
Matthew emptied his round, every shot hitting the target right between his eyes. Of course it was more convenient for her to go to the wedding alone. Now she could do whatever she wanted with her ex-boyfriends without her current boyfriend holding her reigns.
Another round was quickly emptied and he reloaded the gun quickly. He could only imagine what she did last night. She told him there hadn't been a stripper, but he wasn't born yesterday. The question was, what more had happened with said stripper since she had to lie about him? Something had to be going on since she refused to answer his phone call and was up in the middle of the night. It wasn't like her to be up that late, even if she had partied.
Yet another round. And another. And another. Everything would be fine as soon as Valerie got home.
