A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) (69 page)

I gladly follow Father Bogart
into the rectory and we share a cup of coffee and some paska bread that I made for us this morning, it’s a yellow eggy sweet bread made with raisins and nuts and we spend the morning going over the family and the grand kids and then Father Bogart has mass at noon and I have to get to the store.

Father Bogart
has such a special place in my heart, when my mom was sick he would come and see her and give her the blessing of the sick with the holy oils, he jokes and says she needs an oil change, till this day he still does it after mass. I am blessed with my faith, I am blessed in this day and age to have the same priest this long at our parish, and he has made me see that the love of a good man is a blessed union. Now that my head is in the right direction I just gotta get my heart on board. She is always getting me in trouble and it is usually with Tristan Bach.

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First things first I check my phone no messages from Ian, I call him and leave him a stern message

“Ian I don’t know what I did
, please let me know, you are mad at me about something please meet me at the store this evening”

There I sound serious and stern and he has had all day to stew.

I get to the store Oliver is busy with fittings and some new clients are interested in full wardrobes which consist of three suits that mix and match, we include five shirts in three different styles and a full tuxedo with all the studs, cumber bun and cufflinks and two vest, in colors of their choice, four ties of their choice, and two cable-knit sweaters, all for the reasonable price of course. All wardrobes are done in two weeks or less and all are up to you for color, combination and fabric. I had one customer asked if the tux came with a date, and I informed
we are not in that type of business
.

I have to say most of our clients love the whole package.

We get everything that needs to be done finished and we get a chance to sit for a moment at six pm Oliver is having a dinner this evening with his family who are here visiting so he is out the door at six after I dress him and tie his tie.

He walks out and I hear him in the back ground

“Oh hello there she is right over there having a drink”

I get all flustered and excited I hope it is Ia
n, I pray it is Ian, it has to be Ian…

I look around the corner at the new fall suits and around the corner is Ian, our eyes
lock and I am frozen to the spot I am in.

He has a very somber look on his face he is wearing his graphite suit white shirt and si
lver grey tie, his dark hair is disheveled probably from him running his hands through it all day, his chiseled jaw is stern and he is not giving anything away.

“Ian can I get you a drink…coffee?”

“I’ll have what you’re having” he comes and takes a seat at the bar as I make him a stoli on ice.

“Ian please tell me what is going on?” he throws back his drink and looks at me

“How could you Aria?” I am shocked what is he talking about is it Tristan and what I did is all of this finally coming to a grinding halt?

“Ian I have no idea what you are talking about
, is it something I did? Is this about last night? Are you made at what happened last night?” I take a sip of my drink and he is fuming at me as he fills his old fashion glass again and turns it up yet again. I guess I’m not the only one who needs courage in a glass.

“Ian you are scaring me”

“Well now you know how I feel when you pull your shit on me!” he is mad and angry with me at least now after sulking all day he has organized his thoughts and ironed out what to say to me.

“Ian please talk to me please!” I look at him as tears well up in my eyes

“You know what Aria I use to think that only an animal would make a girl like you cry and then I got to witness how harsh and brass you can be” he looks at me and he is hurt, obviously I have done something, he is beyond reproach he is disgusted with me, like he is at his wits end.

I walk around to him and stand in front of him

“Ian do you want to hit me go ahead I know I more than deserve it, I have cheated on you , I have behaved like a whore and I went to confession today and I still feel like shit so if you want to take out your anger on me you have every right too I am sorry for what I did, I love you I want you and I had a long talk with Father Bogart after my confession and he said  that I can never lose sight of you, of us, Ian I am sorry for cheating on you, you’re a good man and you deserve better than me, you always have, maybe that is why I never pursued you I always thought you were too good for me” Ian shifts and he looks at me as I slip on the high boy next to him we face each other.

“Ian please
talk to me” he looks at me and he holds my face and searches my face for something anything I don’t know a tear falls down my cheek.

“Aria I never thought I was too good for you, I just started thinking what is it that he has that I don’t?” my tears are n
ow free flowing as he lets me go and I now know what this is all about.

“Ian it was never about you”

“I wish that were true”

“Ian you have to believe me when I say this, I love you”

“I believe you… that is not the issue”

“Ian please tell me or this wedding
is off and by that I mean I will grab you and my dress and we can get married tonight in Vegas” he looks at me as he lets out his held breath

“Aria I want you to want me the way I want you”

“I thought we were doing great last night”

“Aria I need to know
that you want me Ian Bollinger and that you are done with Bach”

“So this is what this is all about? Well let me put your mind at ease dear professor, Bach has moved on from me
, he has bought a wedding ring from Tiffany’s and is probably engaged as we speak”

Ian’s face lights up and he is whipping the tears from his dear face
.

“What
, how do you know this?”

“Mark who works at Tiffany’s said he came in and purchased a wedding ring told him he is getting married”

“I see”

“Ian the truth is I was a receptacle, a
convenience really, nothing more, he never wanted me the way you want me” on my words as tears prick my eyes he pulls me in his arms and kisses me

“
I don’t deserve you, you loves me so much”

“Those words hurt me Aria please you have always been all
deserving”

“Ian this isn’t about self-deprecating I just need you to understand I’m yours”

“Oh Aria I love you so much and I want us to work, I want you to give me the opportunity to make you happy” I show him my engagement ring.

“You already made me your
s the day you put this on my finger”

“I love you so much Aria I always have
, I always will”

“Fine
, I was serious let’s get married today I finished my dress” he holds me to him and I calm down as I sense his apprehension leave his body as he relaxes.

“I
would love to run off with you but Saturday we make it legal”

“Ok Saturday we make it legal, you will be mine and I will be yours” I kiss him and hold him in my arms as my last tear falls onto his cheek. He deepens the kiss by tantalizing my tongue with hi
s as he taste and sees how much I have missed him all day.

“Come
lets go to bed”

“Um Ian I can’t do that?” he looks at me very strangely like I grew a second head and a hump

“And why pray tell not?”

“Because I did my confession today
, no more sex till we are married” the look on his face is shock he was not expecting this to come out of my mouth not after last night.

“So, no sex till Saturday?”

“Technically until after the wedding ceremony” I look at him and he is simply adorable with the brown puppy dog eyes and the big heart that is open to mine, he kisses my forehead.

“Ok so we wait till Saturday our wedding day”

“I can still kiss you can’t I?”

“Yes but you know what that turns into don’t you?”

“No what?” he is playing coy with me

“It turns into a night
filled with tequila” he laughs as he hugs me in his arms

“Ok how about I take my fiancé out
on last date before our wedding?”

“Now you
’re talking”

Our chat really helped clear the air,
Ian looks happy again, just adorable, devastatingly handsome college professor marries shop girl on Saturday that is the headline I see in my future. Ian has this overwhelming quality to console me he always has been my cheering section and my harsh look at reality when he scolds me and I have to say that is our silver lining. He kisses my forehead and I think we are going to be just fine.

“Aria are you ok?”

“Yes, just all the worrying and anxiety today I am sorry to have put you through all this”

When you love someone Aria
it’s all or nothing
” his words stop me in my track because that was Tristan he was all about
all or nothing
and since I chose
nothing
with him he went all the way with someone else yeah that stings a bit.

“Just
let me grab my bag” Ian kisses me one last time as he whips a lonely tear from my cheek, I head to my office and check my face in the mirror I look dreadfully tear stained, cheeks flushed, sad eyes for what reason I can’t get a hold on it.

I fix my face and chuckle how Ian changed his whole terrible mood by my telling him Tristan is marry
ing. Mind-bogglingly I know,
men can’t beat em cause we all want to marry em.

I am left reeling as to what s
et Ian off in the first place, he was mad and upset all day and he didn’t exactly come out with what triggered all of this, but then again I don’t want to ruin his recovery he is so like a wide-eyed child I think, how stupid of me, and how foolish, I have behaved over Tristan, over how he fucked me and then goes and buys a ring for that slut-bag-ugly-whore. I touch up my lipstick and brush my hair and head back out to Ian, my fiancé. He holds his hand out to me and I go into his arms willingly as we head out the door.

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We find ourselves at
to the new chop house on St. Clair, I need a drink and Ian wants chops, for dinner so we head out for a nice relaxing dinner just us two and he gives me my wedding present.

“For you my lovely wife to be” Ian pulls out a long box from his breast pocket and places it on my plate in front of me
, we are bathed in candle light and I am caught off guard.

“Go ahead sweetheart we will be so busy tomorrow I wanted
to have one night alone with you and give you this”

I open the red paper carefully and discard it, a red Cartier box, wow I am like wowed beyond my comprehension, a tiny white card is on the
box that reads

Aria

They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend

I’m marryi
ng my best friend and she’s a gem

Love Ian

I smile at his card as I hug it to my heart. I do make note that he wrote it out himself how cute, I slowly open the box and there in all its splendor a diamond bracelet to match my three carat engagement ring in a platinum setting just beautiful, well Oliver’s words rush to mind ‘
if it doesn’t fit it’s a disaster!’
well this matches my ring, it is a perfect fit, Ian puts it on my wrist I have never had jewels like this, they sparkle and dance, they glitter and shine so beautiful and it’s mine, just like the guy who gave it to me.

“Ian it is simply beautiful, thank you” I grab his face and kiss him, he does presents well.

“And this my dear husband to be is for you” I pull a silver wrapped box out of my Chanel bag

“
For me?” he takes off the ribbon and passes it to me I roll it up around my fingers, he removes the silver paper and discards it, I move it out of his way as he holds the black leather square box with a lock on it, he is intrigued by its size and looks at me as he holds it in one hand and unlocks it with the other.

Ian smiles as he opens the box slowly
“Wow oh my” he pulls out the platinum Rolex watch and looks at me with all his love and adoration.

“Look, Ian it’s even engraved” he looks at the back and smiles at me, I think he likes it.

Ian

It’s about time