A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) (32 page)

“No judging Erika!”

“Aria I am a fucking judge! Tell me what is going on with you!” she is speaking very assertive and very calmly and I know she cares for me and is worried that I am in trouble.

I gotta tell her, we hav
e been best friend since we were 15 years old. I take a deep breath and let it out.

“Erika, Tristan Bach, came into my store last Friday and I spent the weekend w
ith him at The Ritz Carlton!” Yeah that just about sums it up.

She throws a pillow at me that
is shaped like a purse and I catch it and hug it. Didn’t I say she’d throw something at me, normally it’s accusations and the third degree.

“Aria what are
you doing?” She is serious and very stern I guess she doesn’t share my humor.

“I don’t know? I
replaced the fear of the unknown with curiosity”

“What possessed you to do this
?” she is mad, let down, no just mad that I fucked around.

“Because
, I have been in love with him for over two years!”

“What about the man downstairs?”

“I know! That is why I had to tell someone!”

“I’m afraid, I’m a mess, I don’t know what to do!”

“Are you thinking about leaving Ian for Tristan?”

My silence is confirmation
that yes I am embracing these thoughts.

“Well that would explain why you are walking funny”
I blush as the red scarlet letter “A” is now glowing on my chest.

“What do you mean?”
now I am clutching the purse pillow and on my side looking at her.

“Oh come on Aria, we all know how well-endowed Tristan is
, and compared to Ian well let’s just say that when you got engaged you went on and on about your Cartier engagement ring but when I asked you about the sex you said it was nice”

“Oh you are shrew
d Erika!” I turn onto my back and put the pillow over my face, suffocation might be better than facing her.

“Aria I’m yo
ur best friend, you fucked one man while engaged to another, you are playing with your life here. I want you to be happy whom-ever it is, but please remember it’s for life, this isn’t high school where you are having lunch with Ian one week and then Tristan is walking you home the next. You have to make some adult decisions; you slept with Tristan, so how was it?”

“Amazing, I now know what the big fuss is all about, it was mind-blowing
to say the least”

“
Well now I know why you are having second thoughts, if it’s bad sex oh well, but when it’s good, earth rattling sex it ups the ante” I throw the pillow back at her and she laughs.

“S
o, what now Aria?”

“I told Tristan I need time to think”

“I don’t mean to burst your bubble over there bride-to-be, but your wedding is next Saturday!”

“I know, I know, I know!”

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Aria, Erika, will meet you in the car.”

“Ok Ian, we’ll be right down.”

We stand up and she hugs me hard, I love her so, it felt good to tell someone.

“I love you Aria, who would have guessed you with a fiancé and a lover, most brides it’s the same guy, but whom-ever you chose I’m here for you, I will see you at your wedding. I just hope I know who the groom is?”

“Erika!”
I hug her hard

“T
hanks for being here for me.”

“I’ll
send you my bill” she makes me smile.

“Come on lets go have some eighties fun with Hall & Oats and Tears for Fears”

then we both start singing.

“‘
EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD’”
we giggle like two school girls down the stairs, hell we are still the same two school girls who never fucked around, we were the goody two-shoes, well now I’m our tenth grade reading assignment
THE SCARLET LETTER.
Shit shit shit, oh I am so in over my head.

Chapter 17

THE EIGHTIES MUSIC MONTAGE

The only way to see a concert in the summer
in Cleveland of course is downtown in the flats outside on the river it is amazing, the river traffic, the bars, the crowds, it’s the best time ever.

The concert is a huge draw, the energy, the wind blowing throug
h our hair, it is the time of our lives, we are kids again, laughing and singing to all those old songs from our high school days.

A word about my dear friend Erika, with her being a judge she doesn’t drink in public, you know civil duty and all, Christopher her husband is a very prominent attorney, he made partner in one of the leading firms here is Cleveland, Christopher can get you out of just about anything, he is a great trial attorney and he is also my attorney for my store. He and Ian met first in tenth grade back then high school was tenth to twelfth.

A word about our little crew, Ian of
course was our very own Karate Kid he still reminds me a bit like the sixteen year old I met. I love his dark hair and those dark eyes, he is tall, over six feet, skinny as a rail and a real sweetheart. Christopher was the Zack Morris of the school always being ‘
Saved by the Bell’.
No wonder he became an attorney, he is blond, blue-eyed and a silver tongue devil in the courtroom trust me when I say you want him to defend you, to represent you, and to fight for you…that is why Erika finally gave into him and they have been happily married for a little over a year now.

Erika was
Judge Judy holding court over Ian and me as we argued and debated all through school. Sabrina was Samantha from her favorite show “Who’s the boss” we all thought she would go into modeling, who knew she would be one of Cleveland’s leading child psychologist, and then there is me I was Carol Sever from Growing Pains, me and my two brothers still at home we had our parents in check, as we got away with murder, we have all shared such great memories, been friends since we were kids and as we faced adult issues and problems we are all still here for each other.

I smile as I look up at Ian and remember him in his
members only jackets,
hi-top tennis shoes, donning his polo shirt with the collar-up, they were the cool guys that Erika and I hung out with back then, and let’s not forget the Lagerfield cologne they were great smelling guys. I am brought back from my high school thoughts as we take our seats.

The outdoor stage is on
the west-side of the flats area with downtown in the distance, you can see Tristan’s restaurant ,The Theatrical Grill to the left just across the river… just making an observation, not planning on going there tonight or anything like that.

The
show starts with none other than
Bananarama,
we loved them they take the stage with          ‘
I heard a rumor’
, and Erika and I go crazy she and I would sing or should I say scream the lyrics to this song, we both loved this song. ‘
Venue’
was the great dance hit and Ian and Christopher got up and danced with us, ‘
Love in the first degree’
was a cool hit of theirs. But without a doubt their best song hands down ‘
Cruel Summer’
, I had the forty-five and the cassette single tape. I know a lot of you don’t know what I am talking about, ask your parents. This is before cd’s and mp3 players. The concert is great, Ian and I have fun, and all thoughts of my weekend liaison with Tristan Bach are put away as I get lost in the music.

This concert is great, I am sitting on Ian’s lap as the ships go by
, he looks so happy and points out to me some of the people dressed from the eighties with the hair and makeup.

“Aria look your favorite, you hav
e always loved George Michael” This guy here is wearing the black jacket the five o’clock shadow, the earring oh wow he is Wham.

“Ian look Boy-George and culture club”
but the best was a Madonna that Ian spotted at the bar with the hair and the makeup, dressed in a bustier, how fun.

“Aria how about Pat Benetar
?”

“Yeah
, that would be great to go to one of her concerts” I turn around as he holds me in his arms

“Thank you so much for this what a great night out”

“I would only do this with you Aria” I kiss him sweetly as he holds me tight, he is a pretty special guy.

The bands take a break and Erika and I go get something to drink and find a rest room.

“Aria isn’t this the best time ever?”

“Yes the best, this was the perfect night out
, thank you so much, Ian told me how it was your and Christopher’s doing”

“Yeah
it was our last night out before you two start your life together, but who knows it might be all of our last nights out together ever”

I look at her and I know where she is going
with this, and I know what she is saying, and I can’t scold her for it, it might be, she might be right.

“Let’s just have a good time ok?” I hug her hard and we pee and grab some
nachos and some light up earrings that we just have to have, than head back to the guys as we grab some beer for them.

Looking back over the crowd, Jeez back then we were not legal to drink
, but our poison back then was Peach Schnapps and orange juice, a fuzzy navel was my drink of choice… the good ole days.

We get back to the guys just has Hall and Oats take stage, they
are amazing as ever, I mean back then you could not turn on a radio and not hear a Hall and Oats song, fast forward twenty some years and they are better than ever, great sound, great band, no dubbing, they actually are singers who sing, go figure, which today I guess is hard for some of the
now
singers to handle.

We sing
along to
‘Private Eyes,
’ we got up and dance to
‘Man Eater’
and
‘Your Kiss Is On My List’
and Erika teased me all through the song…‘
Rich Girl,’
a bit before our time but a good tune nonetheless. When ‘
Method of Modern L*o*v*e
,’ started we all got to dancing, Ian and I had a ball, he twirled me around and held me tight and we were sixteen again.

Christopher
and Erika basically this was their song, they have been together for more than half their life they are very happy together, these two had their shares of ups and downs, he was an asshole for a while, then she was a bitch for a bit, but now they are two grownup people who are a dynamite couple who love and adore one another. I mean their marriage is so wonderful, loving and honest I am so happy for them, they are proof if you put in the work you will work through it. Erika has always worried about me being so naïve that she is a bit over protective, I don’t tell my family what I have been through because Erika has always been the one who I turn to, that and of course Christopher and Ian, we have always been there for one another, I don’t want to lose them if I decide not to marry Ian where does this leave us? That notion saddens me as we all wanted to be the fab four again.

“Hey Aria you favorites are taking the stage” I smile as Ian holds me tight and we check out the one and only eighties band that I was obsessed wit
h, yes I did wear Calvin Kline Eternity for a bit then went to Chanel’s Coco in college when I went to Paris I was hooked on Chanel.

Now I gotta give props to Ian and my favorites
Tear for Fears
as they take the stage the crowd hears just a few bars and we all yell
“SHOUT! SHOUT! LET IT ALL OUT”
this was Ian’s song, with his member’s only jacket and his book bag…jeez he still looks the same although now he carries a coach brief case and he ditched the member’s only jacket for one of mine, thank you very much.

“Aria you look just the same as you did when we met?
” He holds me tight and kisses my cheek.

“I was just thinking the same about you” Ian and I have always been the best of friends
even in the worst of times and now we are engaged to be married go figure.

“
Oh this is my song!” the band started ‘
EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD
but back then I thought the words were
Everybody wants to fool around!
Well maybe not everyone…is it just me? I am not going to think of him, I am with Ian and my friends; this is our night to be together. I will deal with my dilemma tomorrow. Just keep telling yourself that Aria, it’s gotta start sinking in sooner or later.

Any who
, Ian and I always sing my version. He kept me by his side and we danced and we are sixteen again, it is the best, a great time for all of us. The smile on Ian’s face calmed me, we had a blast, he was fun and entertaining and I have to say he dotes on me, which I am getting use to. He doesn’t kiss me the way I want to be kissed, but I guess we will have to work on that.