A PAGE OF THEIR LIVES: ROSE

ROSE

Just a little touch-up and her makeup was done. She scanned through the room to find her dress. There it was, hanging ever so beautifully. Her favourite parts of the dress were the sequined parts. She had always loved sequins; ever since the day her mother wore a sequined mermaid dress to a dinner party, she just couldn’t get over it. The way it dazzled in the night light and patterned itself neatly to angle out her curves made Rose its captive. It was beautiful and had to be a part of her wedding dress. No one could change her mind.

“Sammy no! Don’t go there!” Nora screamed. It was too late; little Sammy, Nora’s son placed his strawberry coloured candy hands on her dress as he tried to break his fall.

Rose shut her eyes and hoped it was all a dream. She opened her eyes and it was there. Tiny pink hands, 2 palms, 10 fingers, all there and with an extra smudge by the side to go with it. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t see. Her dress was ruined!

She woke up to frantic faces staring down at her, pleading and urging her to get up.

“See! It’s gone! The stain is gone. Your dress is as good as new” Titi her maid of honour said to her with a huge reassuring smile.

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The wedding ceremony went by smoothly. The dinner reception was all she could dream of; intimate, simple and warm. It was her dream wedding, her dream man and her dream life.

He was another magical aspect of her day. Everything about him being in her life had been simply perfect. He had been so loving to her and respectful to her and her family, he was simply a dream come true, her dream come true. 

Back at the hotel after the reception, she struggled out of her wedding dress and made her way to the bathroom. Her head was aching all she wanted to do was to get some rest. Even though she knew nothing would happen that night, she still put on the negligee her sister had gotten her. Red had always been her favourite colour and now she hoped it would be his too. “Where was he by the way?”She picked up her phone to dial his number but realised that he had switched hers with his. His phone was locked but it wasn’t a problem for her, she was a tech genius. She dialled her number hoping he’d pick up but got no response.

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Her bladder was about to burst so she stumbled her way to the bathroom, eyes shut so the sleep wouldn’t go away. When she was done and headed back to the bed, she stubbed her tiny toe against the bed’s frame and became wide awake. After rubbing her toe with gritting teeth, she picked up his phone to dial her number hoping that he would pick up but there was yet again no response. Then a text message came in.

“I know by now you’ve figured that we switched phones. By the time you read this, I’ll be long gone. Sorry about everything.”

She had a knot in her stomach and a thought that drove her to check her email. It was all there, the debit alerts. They were all there but pieces of her mind were getting lost.