24; p.y.o.; wedding [evan]
It must have been half an hour later--or only five minutes, but time was simply dragging, it seemed--before all of the guests had finally passed into the house and waiting reception. Once the very last back was turned and through the double glass doors, Cecilia allowed herself to finally sit again, falling back onto one of the chairs and kicking off the stiff white heels that her mother had insisted she wear. As she turned her eyes down the long aisle down to the spot where, just under an hour earlier, she and Evan had exchanged vows, she heard his footsteps coming up behind her. It was... not surprising, but well, she would be a liar to say that she hadn't at some points wondered if this day would ever come. Maybe she was just being impatient--she had told him that she loved him ages before he had reciprocated the statement--but it really did feel like this had been a long time coming. They had met in the Summer of '78 and now here it was, the Spring of '81 and they were--the thought was finished not with words, but with a quiet smile that told volumes of just what she thought of this day. A long time coming, maybe, but no less happy for it. No, in fact, Cecilia was quite sure that she couldn't be happier.
"Why the sudden smile?"
She tilted her head to watch her husband, and at the sight of him handsome in his dress robes, she smiled even wider. Couldn't help it, honestly. "I don't know," she shook her head. Reaching out, she wrapped her fingers around the front of his robes and coaxed him over to stand in front of her. "I'm just... content, I guess."
"Content isn't exactly what I got from that reception line. But to each their own, I suppose."
She laughed and drew Evan down into a soft, lingering kiss--when they parted, she stayed close. "Content because of you," she answered with a playful roll of her eyes. "I love you."
"That's what you've always told me." She almost thought she saw a little twitch in his lips then, but it might have been wishful thinking. It was very difficult to coax Evan into a smile, even through jokes and teases.
Cecilia arched a brow at him expectantly. "Is that all you have to say to me? Honestly, Evan, it's our wedding day."
"What is it that you want me to say?"
"This is going to be the shortest marriage ever."
"And why would I say that?"
"I really hate you."
"No you don't. You weren't saying that a second ago."
"Fine," she said definitively. Cecilia pushed him gently away and stood up again, slipping back into her shoes before she headed back off towards the reception. She wasn't honestly mad, it was all just a game, but she was doing her very best to look huffy--that was, she would have been if about two seconds later a hand hadn't tightened around her wrist and blond hair tickled her cheek, and a soft whisper warmed her ear.
"I love you, too." |
