Hannah saved her by asking, “When are we getting dresses? And what about flowers? And who’s going to be in the wedding?”
Cally just shook her head and sat back as this whirlwind started up again. She may have accepted the whole getting married thing, but there was no way she had accepted having to plan out a wedding, no matter how small it was going to be. Wasn’t a wedding at a courthouse supposed to be simple and easy? So why was this looking like a big fancy party that she was starting to dread?
Dakota’s answer made her laugh and cringe all at the same time. “Ask Mom.”
Hannah looked to Cally, pleading, “You can’t let him do this.”
What was she supposed to say? She wasn’t allowed to pick out her own clothes without her sister’s approval, so what did it matter what she wore? Knowing his sister was waiting for her to say something, Cally just shrugged and gave the only answer that made any sense to her right now. “Ask Savannah. I don’t know.”
They both looked at her like she had lost her mind, and she just shrugged. “What?”
Hannah said what both of them were clearly thinking. “It’s your wedding, you have to know what you want.”
Yeah, to run as fast as she could and avoid it all; that was what she wanted. “It doesn’t matter what I say, it’s going to happen the way it happens.”
“Yeah, but don’t you dream of the big church wedding with flowers everywhere and dancing and food and a big puffy dress?” Hannah asked, like Cally had truly lost her mind by letting everyone else decide this wedding for her.
The truth was that every time Cally saw herself getting married, it was in a courthouse with very few people there. She never had a dream of a big wedding with anything like that. “I could go down to the courthouse and get married like this for all I care.”
Dakota started laughing as his sister protested, “You’re not serious. You have to have a dress and bridesmaids and flowers and a party.”
Cally knew that was what most people wanted, but she hated crowds, and Savannah had beaten the fear in her of ever dancing again. So she really didn’t see the point. She just shook her head, and for the first time, she was happy that she didn’t have to plan anything—not what she would wear or who was going to be there or what would happen after. It didn’t really matter to her as long as they didn’t try and force her into something ridiculous.
Hannah groaned, “Come on.”
Cally looked at Hannah and said the best words that she could find to explain this. “Call Savannah and make plans with her, because she’s going to have her way no matter what anyone says.”
Cally just rolled her head into Dakota’s shoulder at the thought of what they were going to do with her and this wedding. But Dakota whispered quietly, “You don’t have to do this.”
She looked up and asked, “Which part? The letting them plan every detail? Or the getting married?”
He seemed to think on that for a moment, and the single solitary word felt like it was meant to hold the weight of the world with its underlying meaning “Both.”
“I’m not backing out, and I really don’t care about all that crap. Why should I argue and fight about something that has no meaning to me? It’s just a piece of paper,” she insisted, a little fired up.
“It should matter to you. I feel bad we can’t do this right—”
Cally cut him off. “I hate being the center of attention, and I’m terrified just sitting in the same room with your family, and you think I want a big wedding where everyone is going to be staring at me?” She shook her head with every ounce of determination. “This little wedding will be bigger than I want, so no, get that out of your head.”
He smiled, truly smiled for the first time since they had gotten the license. Then he leaned over and kissed her again. She didn’t know why she said it, but when he pulled back, it came out. “I love you.” That seemed to break him, because he kissed her again, but this time it was slower and deeper and it felt like so much more.
She wished he hadn’t heard his sister’s interruption. Cally wished he wouldn’t have pulled back, but he did and asked, “What?”
“We’ve decided you’re going to take us out so we can look at dresses,” Hannah said again, like it was extremely difficult to repeat the words.
She just started laughing quietly and groaned, “Welcome to my world.”
He looked behind him, disagreeing. “Mom’s going to take you out.”
“Savannah said to come and get her, and we’ll go out and look at dresses. Then we can decide on flowers and how to do our hair,” Hannah repeated again, pleading for him not to say no.
Cally knew she was still laughing, but at this point, he really didn’t have a choice. He tried, “Do you want to go?”
She wasn’t that stupid. If she said no, they would never ever let it go. “I don’t think we have a choice if we want to live,” she teased.
He just groaned, “Fine.”
They got in the car, and she just shook her head. Cally knew what they were in for, and she wasn’t in the mood for this today. Savannah just got paid and was aching to spend it, and what better excuse than on a dress for the wedding? She just sat back and let it go. This was just the beginning, and it wasn’t going to stop. She took a deep breath and looked around as they started talking, and it didn’t seem to end when Savannah got in; no, it just got worse.
Cally took a deep breath and just let it go before Dakota asked, “Are you all right?”
She just nodded as she closed her eyes. “Why do you keep asking me that?” She dreaded what he was going to say.
“You just seem a little off,” he said carefully.
She looked over at him like he had grown a second head. “A hurricane just ran through what little sanity was in my life, and you don’t think I should be a little off?”
His look spoke louder than anything he could say.
“What would have taken months even years for anyone else has happened in less than a day for me. I have a right to be a little stressed and tired. I’m running on less than four hours of sleep, and I have a feeling this day isn’t going to end anytime soon. So give me a break.”
Savannah just couldn’t stay out of it. “She’s got a point. She had no idea you were going to propose and then expect to get married in a month. She hasn’t even had time to process any of it.” That was one of the rare times her sister ever stood up for her.
Cally just didn’t want to deal with this again, but he seemed to get it and backed off. The rest of the ride to the store was quiet, except for the two in the back who decided to make the most of this and started planning out her wedding. She had no idea what they were expecting, but it really didn’t matter. She just wrapped her arm around Dakota and followed the two that seemed to know everything they wanted.
They had decided that they were going to be bridesmaids, and that her baby sister was going to be the flower girl. Cally knew better than to argue, so she just let them go.
First, it was about what they wanted to wear and their matching shoes and accessories. But then they turned on her, and she wanted to run. Savannah had her ideas on what she was to wear, and then Hannah had hers. Savannah was