As if being unprepared for my own wedding wasn't already enough, I could tell that all of the guests had started to feel rather uneasy about this entire encounter. I felt like it was safe for me to say that was my fault, because I had been the one that had taken forever to get here, and if I had to be a judge, I would say that that was why all of them were acting so jittery.
After all, by the sounds of it, the bride had already been here. She had been waiting for me for quite some time now, and here I was, giving everyone the impression that I might have been planning to leave her at the altar. I felt like a complete and utter idiot, and I knew that there was no one to blame for it, other than myself. I should have known that it was safer for me to be early, rather than late, but now here we are.
I was currently walking down the aisle, and I could tell that I had everyone's attention. I had been the person who they had all been waiting for. Me. And no one else. The thought disturbed me slightly, but then again, I should have known that something like this would have happened. I should have prepared better.
But I had been under the impression that I had planned everything quite well. I had made an alternative for absolutely everything that I could possibly have thought of. Unfortunately, I had not once considered the fact that we would need to change a tire on the way here. It was something that no one would have been able to foresee or predict, and therefore, I could only hope that it was not something that would be held against me.
But judging by the way that my future mother-in-law was staring at me—and judging by the vein that was popping out on the side of her head, I felt like it was safe for me to assume that I needed to prepare for a confrontation with her. The only thing that could console me at this point in time, was the fact that I knew that it wouldn't be necessary for me to worry about it now, because we were in front of a rather large crowd of people.
I knew that she would never dare to taint her image and try and confront me about what is going on. If she dared to even think of doing something like that, then she was going to be in for the surprise of a century. I would make sure that I humiliated her so badly, that she wouldn't even dare to think of doing it again.
I took a deep breath, doing my best to calm my racing heartbeat. Up until now, I had barely been aware of it, because there were other things that needed my immediate attention. My adrenaline had been running so high that I hadn't been able to think further than the next moment. I was getting married to the woman of my dreams, and I was taking forever to get there. That had been the one, singular thought that had been on my mind until the moment that I had stepped through the chapel doors.
And even though I didn't entirely feel better about the situation, I felt much better now that I was actually here, and there was nothing standing between the two of us. My future father-in-law had wasted no time in going to see his daughter, as he had been deprived of it for the entirety of the morning. I believed that everything was still going quite well there, or else he would have made sure that we were aware of it if it was not. The only thing that we were waiting for now, was for her to decide that it was time.
I just hoped that she didn't feel like returning the favour for me, because I didn't think that I would be able to handle it as well as she did. I think that I would go barging into her dressing room and demanding to see her…
But even though I acknowledged the way that I felt about the matter, the longer that I stood standing in front of this crowd of people. The harder it became for me to be patient. Because the exact thing that I had been hoping to avoid, ended up happening. I was waiting for her to come, and nothing was happening.
I could tell that all of the guests were starting to get just as worked up and agitated as they had been before. And I could understand where they were coming from. Maybe I had been wrong to assume that she would have been done, but judging by the way that her mother was turning around and looking to the doors with that anxious expression of hers, I had more than enough reason to be worried.
The erratic way in which my heart was beating, was starting to get worse with every minute that passed. I had just reached the point where I had enough of the waiting. I knew that I wasn't going to paint a pretty picture for any of the press representatives that were here, but truthfully speaking, it was something that I wasn't going to allow to stop me.
Just as I had been about to start walking to the door, I found that I was rather abruptly brought to a half by the sudden opening of the door. A girl in a sage green dress rushed into the room, effectively capturing the attention of every single person in the room. I could tell that they were all waiting for something—just as I was. An explanation.
"Someone help!"
She didn't even wait long enough for a response, and I got the awful impression that there was something seriously wrong happening. Before I even had remotely enough time to process what was happening, I found myself sprinting towards the doors, going as fast as my legs would allow me to go.
There were thoughts going through my mind, vivid images of everything that could have gone wrong with Rebecca, and I could do no more than to hope that it was an exaggeration. I hoped that I was going to go in there and it would end up being no more than a mild sprain, which was what led to her being unable to walk down the aisle.
The trip to her dressing chambers passed me by in a blur. I did it without even realising that that was what I was doing. I took a deep breath before going inside, trying to prepare myself for what may have been happening. But truthfully, there was not a single thing that could have prepared me for what I was seeing—when that girl had emerged, demanding help, my first instincts had gone to Rebecca and her safety.
But not once did I think that I would walk in to find her trying to perform CPR on her father, with tears streaming down her face.
For a moment, I found that I was frozen in place, unable to do anything other than to stare at the scene in front of me. It took me a moment to realize that I wasn't the only one who had come here to try and assist with the situation, because I was vaguely aware of someone behind me contacting emergency services.
But the only thing that I could find myself focusing on, was the fact that the woman who would have been walking down the aisle, was now right there in front of me, with tears rushing down her face like they belonged there. And truthfully, I couldn't picture her being any more beautiful than she already was.
I realised that I would need to step in on the situation, because she didn't look like she was coping under the pressure of what she was having to do. But the issue came in that I didn't know what I was supposed to do, either. If I told her that she needed to take a step back, it would automatically mean that I would need to take over what she was doing.
So instead of doing that, I decided that I was going to approach the situation carefully, and try and provide a helping hand without forcing it upon her. I got the impression that she was the kind of person who managed to keep her head on her shoulders in situations like this. Even though she was crying her lungs out, one thing that I was certain of, was the fact that she seemed to be more than comfortable doing what she was doing.
Her movements were practiced and precise, and the only reason that I could think of as valid enough to get her away from her father, was the fact that he was her father. The situation was personal for her, and it wasn't healthy for her to have to do this. I could only imagine what the ripple effect of all of this was going to be.
I went to crouch down beside her, determined to bring some ease into the situation, because there was no way in hell that any of this would be good for any of us. I could only hope that I was actually going to help instead of making this situation so much worse than it already was.
"Is there anything that I can do to help you?"
I was going to do this on her terms. She knew what she needed to do, and she also knew what she was comfortable with allowing someone else to do. She had every right to tell me that I should leave and that she didn't need me to do anything. But judging by the way that she turned to look at me, I felt like it was safe for me to assume that she wasn't going to do that.
I could tell by the state of her eyes, by the way that they were widened beyond the point of recognition, that this was exactly what she needed. She needed someone to help her, and truthfully, that fact kicking into place in my head, did nothing more than make me feel better about the situation. I didn't know if I would actually be able to make it better, but I would be able to make her feel better, and that already felt like a winner.
"Please find out where the ambulance is."
Hearing her voice felt like music to my ears. It sounded like something out of a song, one that was ingrained into my memory, and one that I would have no problem hearing for the rest of my life. I took a deep breath before pulling out my own phone, pushing myself off of the ground and trying to regain control of my emotions. I never would have been able to prepare myself for the way that she was making me feel.
I could have done many things to try and prepare myself for what was going on, but never in a million years would I actually have managed to be prepared. Of all the things that could have gone wrong today, I would never have expected this. Not once. Not in a million decades.
I dialled the number that had been drilled into my head ages ago, and thankfully, I found that I didn't need to wait very long to receive a response.
"Emergency services, how may I assist?"
After explaining the situation, as well as stating that we had already contacted them beforehand, I was transferred to the dispatch officer, who quickly and efficiently explained to me that they were a few blocks away. I took a moment to close my eyes and appreciate that information before I turned back to Rebecca, crouching down beside her one more time.
"They're on their way. A few blocks away to be more specific."
Not once did she break the pace at which she was doing compressions on her father's chest. I was relieved to notice that the tears had stopped, although she didn't look like she was fairing any better than she had been before. I had been wrong to assume that she would feel better just because she had stopped.
As if the situation wasn't already bad enough, I looked up just in time to see her mother barge into the room, and the anger that had been portrayed on her face, disappeared in an instant, shock setting in. The color drained out of her features, and before I had enough time to process what I was seeing, she collapsed, falling onto the ground…
Becoming yet another person who needed to be dealt with.