The Wedding Project 💍

'Nothing Else Matters' (Part Two)

The day was off to a beautiful start. The sun was shining upon the Carribean island, and as Callum left the main building of the hotel to approach the wedding arch and the gathered guests sitting in front of it, he felt its warmth both on his skin as well as inside of him. The lush green grass, the white wooden arch and the silver carpet leading from it right to the beginning of the tiled footpath, all those bright and colorful dresses of the bridesmaids and other invited guests... it was almost an overwhelming range of bright colors, and for a second he wished he had put some sunglasses on. The light didn't do him any favors in dealing with his hangover, but after a second he adjusted to it.

He noticed Alex following shortly behind him, apparently coming from the hotel bar. No wonder he looks like he's in better shape than me, Callum thought. He's still drinking! His young groomsman however didn't show any signs of being drunk. Maybe the hair of the dog that bit you did actually work for some people.

The eyes of every guest were directed at Callum as he stepped on the silver carpet. It was a moment that filled him with terror - did he miss something? Was his zipper undone? His bowtie in shambles? Hell, could they see that he almost threw up from his painkillers? But those looks were not judging. The bridesmaids smiled brightly at him, some of them even with a hint of admiration. Maybe even... lust? He frowned at that idea. The looks of his friends and family were more to the point. Straight up support, from beginning to the end. His parents had longed for this day, and his father stood as proud as when he was promoted to Wing Commander. Even Ocean, waiting at the end of the long aisle, standing by as the best man, had erased all doubts from his face and showed him with a smile that they would see it through together. It was such a reassuring look.

It's a shame Molly isn't here with us...

Callum stopped for a moment, closing his eyes and reaching out in his thoughts to his little sister, wishing her all the best and a speedy recovery. It was such a sad thing, and he would have loved to postpone the wedding, hadn't it all been arranged already. At least one of the twins was here... but Mia really seemed to be miffed about something lately, and it was more than just her puberty issues.

"Hey, are you alright?" came a question from his right side. He looked at the bloke sitting there and recognized Scott, one of the groomsmen who had also survived this crazy stag party. His girlfriend Candy, three years older than him and her blonde head filled up with outrageous ideas, was sitting next to him. Both had worried faces when they looked at Callum.

"What?" Callum took a heartbeat to get back into here and now. "Yes, sure... I'm fine." He hurried down the rest of the aisle to meet Ocean and his father. A sigh came from his chest when he finally stood in front of them.

"You look nervous," Arthur Wallace commented, but he did so with a faint smile. "It is a big day for you, son. I can relate to that. I had the heebie-jeebies when I was about to meet your mom at the altar, too. It is completely normal."

"I guess so..." Callum turned to his best man to ask whether he looked good enough, but at the last second he doubted that Ocean would give him an answer that could be trusted. So he asked his father instead: "Do I look alright? Am I presentable?" I still feel like crap, he thought by himself, but did not dare to speak it.

Arthur looked at him thoroughly, measuring him up from head to toe. Then he put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Stop worrying so much, my boy! You look great. And even if you didn't... this woman of yours would take you in a heartbeat even if you were in rags."

Still, the reassurance was needed. Only with those words Callum dared to turn around to the audience and face them. All those people who had come here to celebrate this day... friends, relatives, his closest family, Anna's friends and family... Faces he was so familiar with from his earliest memories, but also some that he hadn't seen in ages. Again, he missed Molly - of his two sisters she was the one more open to this whole thing, and she would have enjoyed herself immensely. The beautiful dresses, the luxury hotel in this beautiful island, the weather and the music that the entertainer had put on for the waiting period was right up his sister's alley. "We Can Make It" by Boston was playing right now... not the common choice for a wedding, and Callum suspected that his dad was responsible for that.