Chapter 20: Chapter 20
The wedding dances
"Now I would like to invite the bride and groom to come out on the dance floor and share their first dance as husband and wife." The MC says over a microphone.
Wise men say only fools rush in.
"I love this song." I whisper to Mark.
But I can't help falling in love with you.
"I know. I asked your dad, he said this was your favorite song." He smiles.
Shall I stay? Would it be a sin?
"You chose this?" I ask.
If I can't help falling in love with you.
"Elvis is also one of my favorites." He shrugs. We just smile and dance for the rest of the song.
Few dances later...
"Also now I would like to invite the bride and her dad for the father daughter dance." The MC introduces after a few other dances.
You're my beautiful baby from the outside in.
"Dad. You're not going to start crying because of this are you?" I ask, seeing as this song always made him cry when he sang it every birthday.
Chase your dreams but always know the road...
"No." He sniffles. "I'll be ok."
That will lead you home again.
"Are you sure? Because the part that always gets you is coming up." I just want to make fun of him so I can get a laugh.
Go on, take on this old world but to me you know you'll always be... "Yes I'm sure." He says, holding his breath.
My little girl.
And he's lost it but it's ok because the song changed and now it's all dads and daughters.
Few dances later...
"Alright now. I'd like to invite all married couples to come to the dance floor." The MC starts. "Now you're going to dance and if I shout out a number and you haven't been married that long, you're out. Everyone is good. Good. Go!" Then he starts the music.
You were my September song, summer lasted too long.
"Alright if you havent been married for more than an hour please get off the dance floor." It was directed by Mark and I.
Time moves so slowly, when you're only fifteen.
"Alright how about 5 years." Some couples leave.
You were my September song, tell me where have you gone?
"10 years?" Couples leave. "15 years?" Way more couples leave.
Do you remember me? We were only 15.
"25 years?" Few couples leave. "30 years?" Not many couples leave. "40 years?" All but one couple leaves. "Alright would the lovely couple left on the dance floor come over here and the couple as of an hour ago." Mark and I go over. "So what does the older, more experienced couple have for the new one?" He asks.
"Well you have to communicate and share." The woman says.
"What? You don't do any of that." The husband says. People sitting down laugh. "The key is to just agree, son." The man says to Mark. "You have to agree with her on everything, even if it gets you in trouble." More laughter. Including me and Mark.
A few dances later and me taking off my heels the MC begins to announce something. "Time for the dollar dance. Will the bride and groom please come to the center of the dance floor... Now how this works is you have to give the bride or groom 1 dollar to dance with them so they can start paying off this wedding." People laugh at his joke as well as rummaging through their bags and wallets to find money.
The first person for me I don't know and Mark got my mom. Then it's Sophie for me and Hannah for Mark. We dance with everyone we're close to as well as people John invited.
Now that all the 'required' dances are done we just dance around and by the time everything is done I'm dead tired. I can't feel my feet or keep my eyes open.
The wedding night
I'm pretending to be asleep. I'm sitting on a chair and resting my head on the table. I don't want to walk so let's just see how this plays out. Mark and I are the only ones in the ballroom the ceremony was in.
"Alyanna." I hear Mark whisper as he shakes me a little to try to wake me up. "Alyanna, come on we have to go get our bags." I don't move. "Forget it. I'll just carry you." He says mostly to himself.
I feel his arms wrap around me. We're not going to be able to do the 'carry the bride over the threshold' thing because we're grabbing our bags then going on a long plane ride somewhere. He still won't tell me where.
I feel him place me down on a car seat and buckle me. Then he goes over to his side of the car and I feel the engine turn on. We drove to my dads house.
I open my eyes and look out the window. It was about 10 hours ago when I officially became Alyanna Savi Hernandez. I shift and look down at my hand that now has 2 rows of rings.
"Have you been faking the whole time?" Mark asks. I jump and punch him on the arm. "What was that for?" He asks.
"I told you once we're married not to scare me." I say.
"So have you been faking the whole time?" He asks, avoiding the accusation I just made.
"Yes." He gives me a glare. "My feet hurt and I'm really tired." I try to
reason.
"Sure. Well we have to change then leave right away. Our plane leaves at 3." Mark says turning down my driveway.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"It's a surprise." He beams.
"Do you even know?" I asked skeptically.
"Yes I do. I chose the place." He answers by opening the door.
"Then why won't you tell me?" I ask dragging my feet up to my room.
"It's a surprise. Now get changed then come back downstairs." He says going into the guest bedroom.
When I get to my room I look around. All I see is a bare bed, my luggage for the trip, and boxes. Lots and lots of boxes.
Abby helped me pack everything up as the weeks went by. It made me sad. I've lived in this house, this very room, my whole life. This is the place where I rested after chemo. This place brings back memories.
I'm not sure if this is the over tiredness talking but I'm crying. Not like I can't breathe crying but tears streaming down my face crying. I sit down because the tears have now become more intense and try to pull myself together.
"Alyanna? You're almost done?" I hear Mark yell. I don't answer. My dad is at Maddy's so the house is empty besides us. I hear Mark knock on my door. "You ready?" I don't answer again. "I'm coming in." He says opening the door. He rushes over to me. "Hey what's wrong? What happened?" He asks rushed and concerned.
"It's ok I'm just gonna miss this room." I try to fake a smile.
"It's ok to be sad. Here let me help you." He says standing up and offering me his hand. "You get changed and I'll take your bags down then I come back up to check on you ok?" He asks. I nod. Before he leaves he kisses me on the forehead.
I changed into some comfy leggings and a sweatshirt. I go into my bathroom and look at myself. I'm a mess from crying.
"Oh cheese." I say to myself as I begin to search for makeup remover or just some of my face soap. The stuff I'm using now is in my bag.
"You ready?" Mark asks coming into the door.
"Almost I just need to wash my face." I am still frantically looking for something to clean my face.
"I bet it's not that bad." Mark says leaning against the door frame. I turned to him. "I'll help you look." He says starting to look through the drawers.
"Ha found some!" I say trying to bring my head out of the cupboard. I hit my head. "Ow!"
“You ok?" Mark asks, feeling my head.
"Yeah I'm ok. Just really need to wash my face." I say grabbing a washcloth.
"Say no more, I'll get out of your way." He says leaving.
When I'm done washing my face I grab my carry on and walk downstairs. "Ready to go?" I ask.
"Yep. I'll drive." He says grabbing my keys. His car is at his apartment, well now our apartment. My dad has an extra set of keys so he can get my car and drive it home for us.
The car ride there I try to fall asleep. I mostly just keep my eyes closed.
When we finish with security and go to wait for our plane I fall asleep in Mark's lap. I'm laying on his leg and his arm is around me. When I wake up they're calling our flight.
"Mark. Mark." I shake him, harder than he shook me. "Wake up, we will be bored soon." I say still shaking him.
"Calm down, we're not going to be the first people on." He says waving me off and grabbing his bag.
"Flight 227 is now boarding to Hawaii." I hear over the loudspeaker.
"We're going to Hawaii?" I practically scream quietly.
"Surprise." Is all he says before we're walking to the gate and taking our seats in first class.