I arrived at the train station around seven in the evening. The sun had not yet disappeared over the horizon in the middle of July it wouldn't do so until after nine and it was nice to get off the train, stretch my legs, and feel that warm smell of the sea and the cool breeze coming from the coast. It had been a long time since I had gone to the beach and I missed it. My college was almost two hours from the ocean and I did everything possible to avoid going to my mother's house. My relationship with her was no longer what it used to be and even though many months had passed, we hadn't solved anything at all. We spoke very occasionally and when the conversation drifted to topics I wasn't willing to enter, I simply hung up the phone.
Jenna was waiting for me inside the car, in front of the station. When she saw me she got out of her white convertible and came running to meet me. I did the same and we met in the middle of the road. We wrapped each other in a totally girly hug and started jumping like crazy.
You're here!
I'm here!
I'm getting married!
You're getting married!
We both burst out laughing until the insistent honking of the traffic we had interrupted made us separate.
We got into the convertible and I looked at my friend while she began to chatter about how overwhelmed she was and all the things we were going to have to do before the big day. In reality, we only had a couple of days to be together and alone, since the guests would soon start arriving. The closest friends would stay at her house and the others either had their own houses in the Hamptons when I say "house" I mean "mansion" or they would stay at some friend's house who lived nearby.
Jenna had also chosen these dates precisely for that reason. So as not to force everyone to go all the way there, she decided to choose vacation season, since half of her friends and acquaintances were already going to be, if not in the Hamptons, at least nearby.
I have prepared an itinerary that is crazy, Noah, the next few days we are only going to lie on the beach, go to the spa, eat, and drink margaritas. This is my bachelorette party in "relax" style, the way I've always wanted.
I nodded while my eyes got lost in the surroundings. My God, that place was gorgeous! I felt as if I had suddenly been transported to the colonial era of the seventeenth century. The little village houses were made of white brick with long beautiful shingles, with porches in the front areas and rocking chairs in front of their doors. I was so used to the practical, simple style of Los Angeles that I had forgotten how picturesque some places could be. As we drove away from the town, I began to glimpse the impressive mansions that rose imposingly on large estates. Jenna turned onto a side road heading toward the sea and there, in the distance, I could see the tall roofs of a spectacular mansion in white and light brown.
Tell me that isn't your house...
Jenna laughed and took a little device from the glove compartment. She pressed a button and the huge gates of the outer entrance opened almost silently. And there it was, an impressively big and beautiful house.
It was colonial style, like everything in the area, not modern but exquisitely built on land that opened out to the sea you could hear the waves from there. A series of dim lights lit the path that led to the parking area, with space for at least ten cars.
The white-brick mansion had a beautiful porch supported by enormous columns. The gardens surrounding it were a green I hadn't seen in a long time and in them stood out two centenary oaks that seemed to welcome you with their majestic presence.
You're getting married here? Damn, Jenna, it really is beautiful I exclaimed getting out of the convertible without being able to take my eyes off that sublime construction, and that was saying something... I mean, I had lived in the Leisters' house, but this was completely different... it was magical.
I'm not getting married here; at first that was the plan, but talking with my father I found out it made him happy that I do it where we had always talked about: there is a vineyard about an hour from here, more or less, where my father used to take me when I was little. We used to go on horseback and I remember that once he told me he wanted me to get married in that place, because it had a kind of magic hard to find. I remember I was barely ten years old and at that moment I dreamed of getting married like a princess. My father still remembers it.
I'm sure it's an incredible place if it surpasses this one.
It is, you're going to love it, many weddings are held there.
After saying this, the two of us walked together to the staircase and climbed the ten steps that led to the porch. I felt the subtle creak of the wood under my feet and it was like celestial music to my ears.
You can't imagine what it was like inside: there were hardly any walls, it was a huge open space with oak wood flooring. In the center there was a set of sofas arranged in a circle around a modern round fireplace. A library with small wing chairs occupied another space that led to a staircase going up to the second floor, where a balustrade allowed you to look down.
How many people are staying here, Jenn?
Jenna carelessly left her blazer on the sofa and we went to the kitchen. It was also huge: it had a kind of living room with yellow armchairs and a small breakfast table. Through the large windows I could see that the door opened onto the huge garden behind, and beyond, a few meters away, was the beach with immaculate white sand that competed with the large square pool.
Well, let's see... in total I think about ten counting us two, Lion, and Nick; the others are staying in other houses in the area or in the hotel at the port.
I turned my gaze toward the window at hearing Nick's name and nodded casually so that she wouldn't notice how much it affected me to hear his name.
However, Jenna noticed and, pulling two bottles of ginger ale from the fridge, made me look her in the eye.
It's been ten months, Noah... I know it still hurts you and in part I waited this long because of you two, because I couldn't have gotten married without my two best friends, but... do you think you're going to be okay? I mean... you haven't seen him since...
I know and yes, Jenna, I'm not going to lie to you saying I don't care and that I've gotten over it, because I haven't, but we both know this was going to end up happening. We're practically family... it was only a matter of time before we saw each other again.
Jenna nodded and I had to look away from her eyes. I didn't like what mine saw; when people talked about Nick, they seemed to be walking on thin ice. I knew how to deal with my pain, I had done it and I kept doing it day after day, I didn't need anyone's pity. I had ended our relationship and being left alone with my broken heart was the punishment.
Jenna soon showed me my room and I was grateful, since I was exhausted. She hugged me excitedly after explaining how the shower worked and left yelling that I'd better rest because the next day nothing and no one was going to stop us. I smiled and when she left I turned on the tap to take a hot, relaxing bath.
I knew the days to come were going to be hard. I was going to have to keep my composure for Jenna so she wouldn't see that I was shattered. The next week I had to give the best performance of my life... and not just in front of Jenna, but also Nicholas, because if he saw my vulnerability he would end up crushing my soul and my heart... after all, that was what he had set out to do.
I woke up quite early, mostly because the curtains in my room were open. I looked out and the ocean waves seemed to say good morning. We were so close to the sea I could almost feel the sand on my feet.
I quickly put on my bikini and when I reached the kitchen I saw that Jenna was already awake and talking with a woman who was drinking coffee sitting across from her. When they saw me come in, they both smiled at me.
Noah, come, let me introduce you she said, standing up and taking me by the arm. The woman sitting across from her was very pretty, with Asian features and very well-groomed brown hair. She was... clean; yes, that was the best word to describe her. This is Amy, the wedding planner.
I approached her and shook her hand with a smile.
Nice to meet you.
Amy looked at me with approval and took a book from her bag, where she began searching for something, flipping through the pages quickly and confidently.
Jenna told me you were pretty, but now that I see you... The bridesmaid dress is going to look spectacular on you.
I smiled while feeling my cheeks turn red.
Jenna sat next to me and stuffed a piece of toast into her mouth.
Hey, I'm supposed to be the pretty one at the party. You could barely understand her with her mouth full, but I knew she was joking. Jenna was so beautiful that no matter how many pretty girls were next to her, she would always stand out among all of them.
Look, Noah, this is your dress said Amy showing me a picture from the brand Vera Wang. It was a gorgeous red dress, with a V-neckline and two thin straps that crossed at the back. The low cut it had in the back was stunning. Do you like it?
As if I wouldn't! When Jenna asked me to be one of her bridesmaids I almost cried, but we made a pact: if I was going to be her bridesmaid she had to choose any dress that wouldn't make me look like a birthday cake. And she had definitely taken my request seriously: the dress was incredible.
Who else is going to be a bridesmaid with me? I asked without taking my eyes off that fascinating garment.
Jenna looked at me with a smile.
In the end I've decided to have only one bridesmaid she admitted, leaving me speechless.
Wait... what? I exclaimed in disbelief. And your cousin, Janina, or Janora, or whatever her name is...?
Jenna got up from the chair and went straight to the fridge, turning her back on me. Amy completely ignored us; in fact, she stood up to take a call and moved to a corner of the kitchen to hear better.
Jenna took out strawberries and milk and placed them on one of the counters. While she grabbed the blender, clearly intending to make herself a milkshake, she shrugged.
Janina is unbearable. My mother practically forced me to make her a bridesmaid, but when she found out she couldn't, she admitted that between having two bridesmaids or just one she preferred there to be only one... you know, "more harmonious," those were her exact words.
I rolled my eyes; great, now I was going to have to stand there alone, in front of hundreds of guests who would attend the ceremony and without anyone at my side to share my misery with.
Besides, you know... Lion is only going to have one friend at the altar, so I don't have to worry about it looking weird: it's all going to be perfectly balanced.
Before I could understand what my friend had just said, the blender filled the sudden silence, drowning out my conflicting thoughts.
Wait a second... only one friend and one friend at the altar...
Jenna! I shouted, jumping to my feet and crossing the kitchen to stand by her side. My friend had her gaze fixed on the blender jar. I turned off the contraption without hesitation and made her look at me. I'm the maid of honor, aren't I?
Jenna had guilt written all over her face.
I'm sorry, Noah, but Lion doesn't have his father and obviously you knew Nick would be his best man. As you can understand, I wasn't going to make my mother the maid of honor if Lion's father wasn't there to accompany her, it didn't seem right and that's why we decided it would be our best friends.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Do you know what you're asking me?
Not only was I going to have to walk into the church with Nicholas, but we were both going to have to make sure everything went according to plan; not only were we going to have to see each other at the ceremony, but also at the rehearsals beforehand.
I had stayed out of all that because I thought Jenna had already chosen her maid of honor, I had simply assumed I was just going to have to see Nick from a distance... yes, we would be in the same room, but we wouldn't have to interact with each other; now I was going to have him glued to me throughout the entire ceremony, including the dinner afterward.
Jenna took my hands and looked me in the eyes.
It's only going to be a few days, Noah she said, trying to transmit a calm I wasn't even close to feeling. You've moved on, months have passed... everything is going to go smoothly, you'll see. "You've moved on..."
I only knew of one of us who had. I, on the other hand, survived on the little gasps of air I took from time to time when I came up to the surface.
(Above mentioned words are all from the book of Culpa Nuestra, Spanish book written by Mercedes Ronn, I just traslated this in English if you want to communicate with me ...my Instagram account @_._priyeah_._)
Be ready for chapter 3 guys...