Harlyn
I knew that sharing a room with Marley and the other groomsmen would be chaotic, but my imagination could never have prepared me for the scene before me. Marley is digging frantically through his suitcase, tearing out items of clothing in search of...actually, I'm not sure what he's looking for. Christopher, Marley's best man and best friend from Uni is sprawled half dressed on the bed he shared with Jamie, the other groomsman, and is so very hungover. He's only just less hungover than Jamie who's throwing his guts up in the ensuite. I'm trying not to listen.
I'm a bit hungover as well, but at least I'm more dressed than anyone else. And I haven't thrown up.
"Marley, what are you looking for?" I ask, pulling my tie tight.
"My vows. I had them on a piece of paper, because I figured it would be a bit unromantic to read them off my phone in the church." He tosses a shirt over his head, and I catch it before it hits my face. "Now I don't remember where I put them."
I slide his vows forward on the dresser next to me. "You mean this piece of paper?"
He whips around, eyes wild and hair wilder. "Oh. Right. Thanks."
"Of course. You need to finish getting ready. We have pictures in fifteen minutes."
"What are you talking about? I'm ready." He snatches the paper and runs his eyes across the words he scrawled there.
"Marley." I snap my fingers in his face when he doesn't answer. "Marley!"
He finally looks up at me. "What?"
"You're not wearing pants," I inform him.
The realization dawns on him far too slowly for how behind we are, so I yank his tux pants off the hanger and dangle them in his face. It seems to finally jumpstart his brain, and he pulls them on over his boxers and starts adding all the extra bits.
I knock on the bathroom door when there is a hopeful lull in the vomiting. "James? You going to make it, mate?"
"Yup." The toilet flushes. "Coming right out."
"Alright." I move to the bed next and nudge Christopher's bare shoulder. He's undressed from the top up, suspenders up over a bare chest. "Chris, mate, up and at 'em. Natalie will kill you if you're late for pictures."
He stumbles from the bed and, well, stumbles into the sofa.
Marley snorts. "I should've asked you to be my best man, Harley. At least you're not a drunk."
"I'm not a drunk," Christopher moans from the floor. "I'm just...an enthusiastic partier."
"Well, enthusiastic partier or not, you need to be downstairs in ten minutes," I tell him. "You hear that Jamie?" There's an incoherent mumble from the bathroom. "Alright, I'll take that as a yes. I'm going to go down and let everyone know that you're all disappointments."
I dodge Marley's sock that he chucks at me and slip out the door. The inn is once again bustling, and I skirt around two different bridesmaids on my way down the stairs. Seems they're running late, too. And when I tell the photographer, Natalie, Christopher's fiancée, she doesn't seem surprised.
"No worries. I told them to be down here twenty minutes before I actually needed them, because I knew this would happen." She squares her shoulders. "I'll go get his head out of his ass."
I snort and watch her trot up the stairs. The kitchen is my next target. I know there are sandwiches set out for us to eat before we head to the church, and I am starving. When I enter the kitchen, however, I'm greeted by a very surprising sight. Finley is standing on the other side of the massive butcher block island, flanked by Mel's grandmothers, my Nan, and Elly. His white shirt's sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, and he's wrist deep in a pan of meat and rub. And he's laughing.
He looks so happy I hide just out of sight in the doorway, watching. Mel's grandmothers are guiding his hands while he rubs what I'm pretty sure is the pork roast for dinner tonight. Nan and Elly are chopping vegetables and cheese and lining them on wooden cutting boards. I wasn't ready for Nan to meet Finley yet. I was hoping to be there, introduce them. But they seem to be getting on just fine. Unless she doesn't know who he is. That would be awkward.
Elly spots me first. "Harley, are you spying on us?"
Finley's head flies up, and he stills his hands on the meat. God, he's gorgeous. What have I done to deserve him?
"No," I lie, moving farther into the kitchen. "Just came to get lunch."
"Sandwiches are on the counter," Mel's Grandma Renee says, pointing a rub covered finger to my right.
The counters are the same butcher block, and there's an array of sandwiches next to the massive stove. I choose half of a tuna salad and lean against the counter to watch again. Finley's still staring at me, completely ignoring Granny May's pleas to stop rubbing the same spot of roast he's been rubbing since I walked in. I wink at him just to see him blush.
Nan catches my eye, and I can't read the look she gives me - something between intrigue and happiness. This is still new for her. I give her a half smile around my sandwich, and she smiles back.
"I see you've met Finley," I say.
"I have. He's a lovely boy," she says, glancing at Finley. He's blushing harder.
"Thank you, Mrs. M-"
"Oh, you can call me Nan, darling," Nan interrupts. She's focused on her carrots again and doesn't see the shock on my face - or Finley's.
Now so distracted he's stopped rubbing altogether, Granny May gently pushes his hands away from the food and nudges him toward the sink. I follow him and wrap my arms around his waist from behind.
"Harlyn, your grandma's right there," he mutters, blushing again.
"Yeah, and she just said you could call her Nan. I think we're in the clear." I press a kiss to his temple and move out of the way so he can dry his hands. "I thought I wasn't going to see you until the ceremony at the church."
Elly snorts. "Yeah, well, your boyfriend is too nice and asked last night if there was anything we could help with today. So here we are." She doesn't sound mad about it, though.
"Well, it's nice of you to help out," I say. "Also, you look gorgeous, El."
Marley and Mel insisted everyone not dress up too much. They wanted it to be fairly casual. And Elly certainly isn't dressed up. But she is stunning. She's in a black halter top romper that hugs her curves in all the right ways. And she pinned her hair back on one side with long silver bobby pins. She looks like a rockstar.
"Thanks, babes," she says.
"Oh, you compliment her before you compliment your own boyfriend?" Finley teases, snapping me with the end of the towel.
"I'm so sorry, love." I grab for the towel, but he's too fast. So, I shield as much of myself as I can with my hands. "You look amazing."
Finley was grateful that the wedding wasn't black tie since he apparently doesn't own a suit. But he does own slacks and white button up. And he found a tie at a charity shop he took his family to the other day - a deep blue vintage looking one. It suits him.
"Thanks." He hangs the towel back in the cabinet handle he found it in. "Aren't you supposed to be taking pictures with the groomsmen already?"
"Supposed to be. But you're looking at the only groomsman who drank water like he was supposed to last night and didn't wake up vomiting or with a pounding headache."
"Am I supposed to be proud of that?" Nan quips, arching an eyebrow at me.
"Well, for a stag night, that's pretty good, Nan."
The door swings open and Mel sweeps in, fully done up in her dress and hair and makeup. Everyone freezes to stare at her. She smiles and does a slow turn to show off her dress. It's simple - flowy and covered in flower appliques.
Elly's the one to break the silence with "Damn, girl." Finley and I both nod.
"What she said. You look amazing, Mel," I gush.
"Thanks. You guys haven't started pictures yet?"
"No, but Natalie went up, like, fifteen minutes ago to round everyone up. I'm sure we'll start soon."
Natalie bursts in next, camera strap around her neck and an annoyed glint in her eyes. "We'll start now. Backyard. Two minutes. And bring some sandwiches for the rest of them. You need to be at the church in half an hour." And then she's gone.
I grab some paper towels and pile them with sandwiches. Before leaving, I peck Finley on the lips. "See you at the church."
"Yeah." He smiles. "Go smile pretty for the camera."
"I will. And you!" I turn to Mel. "You stay in here until I make sure my brother is outside. Can't have you seeing each other, yeah?"
She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Granny and Grandma and Nan will make sure nothing unseemly happens."
I run into the other guys being literally herded by Natalie down the back hallway. "I swear, between you lads and the bridesmaids, I'm going to go insane." Christopher mumbles something snarky that I don't catch, and Natalie swats his back.
Pictures are, surprisingly, rather organized and efficient. Christopher and Jamie have woken up and look immaculate. Marley is still a bit frantic, but his hair isn't sticking up all over the place anymore. And he can't keep the smile off his face. I don't blame him. They've been planning for this for a year. And it's finally happening.
God, why am I nervous? All I have to do is smile a couple more times, walk down the aisle with Mel's little sister, and stand next to Marley at the front of the church. I'm not marrying anyone today.
When Natalie has exhausted all of her poses - and honestly just gets tired of our antics - she shoos us off to walk to the church. It's a perfect, slightly cloudy, English day in September. And the walk up to the church is peaceful. Even Christopher and Jamie have stopped their bantering to breathe in the early afternoon air.
Marley drops back to walk next to me. "You know, I was only partially joking last week about you and Finley getting married. Is that a...thing?"
"Marley..." I sigh.
"I'm just curious."
I sigh again. "We're not even close to that yet. We've only been dating for like...five months."
"Mm. I knew I'd marry Mel within a week of meeting her."
"That's because you're insane."
"Seriously, Harley. You haven't thought about the future at all?"
I hesitate. "Of course I have. Especially after he got accepted to Christ Church and was for sure coming back. But still, we've only been together for a few months. And four of those were long distance. We're still...I don't know...getting to know each other. I'm still trying to figure out how to be a...good boyfriend. We haven't even...said I love you yet." I mumble the last bit, not exactly ready for my fellow groomsmen to know everything about my love life.
"Wait, you haven't?" Marley whispers.
"No. We haven't. I haven't - well, he was in the states, and I didn't want to say it over text or something. And then his parents have been here all week. And...I don't know."
"You do, though? Love him?"
"Of course I do."
Marley grins, pausing at the bottom of the church steps. "Aww, my little bro's in love." He pulls me into a crushing hug and rocks us back and forth.
"Yeah. Ok. I can't - I can't breathe."
He releases me. "I'm just happy for you, Harley. And..." He scratches the back of his neck. "You don't need to know the future yet. I just want you to be happy."
"I know."
We meet in the antechamber just inside the church doors to wait for everyone else. The reverend is already there, waiting to talk to Marley and make sure everything is ready. Marley asks me to do a quick walkthrough of the chapel, and I wave at the organist who's warming up. The pews have been decked out with bouquets of cream roses and sage greenery, and every other seat has an order of service. I adjust a few bouquets that are crooked and straighten the chairs at the front where the bridal party will sit.
When I get back to the front of the church, the reverend is already starting to greet early guests, so I hurry back to the antechamber to line up with the bridesmaids. Mel's little sister, Raegan, looks just like her, but she's at least four inches shorter. Which makes her more than a foot shorter than me. But we make it work and, just like we practiced yesterday, she loops her hand through my elbow and walks in perfect step with me down the aisle.
Marley is waiting at the front already and so are our parents and grandparents, watching as we stride past them. I take my place and watch everyone else walk in behind us. They recruited some of Mel's little cousins to be the flower girls and ring bearers. They draw a line of "awwwws" from everyone. I finally catch sight of Finley over the head of the ring bearers. He's near the back, and he's whispering to Elly next to him, smiling from ear to ear. He catches me staring when the wedding march starts and winks. I wink back.
Marley, who had stood facing forward this whole time, steps up to his spot in front of the reverend and turns to catch sight of Mel. I force myself to watch his face when he first sees Mel, a single tear tracking down his cheek. And then I'm drawn to Mel, floating down the aisle with the most serene smile I have ever seen.
Do weddings make everyone think about the future? Or is it just because Marley asked me earlier? I've never really imagined my wedding. It always seemed so far away. It still does. We're not even close to that point. But as I gaze at Finley through the whole ceremony - only looking back at the bride and groom every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything important, like the rings or the kiss - I can't help but think of at least the next step. The step I've been saving for the perfect moment.
There won't be a perfect moment. I won't be a perfect boyfriend. We won't have a perfect life. But I can tell him I love him. I can try my best to show him every day what he means to me. I can listen and tell him how amazing he is and remind him to take it one day at a time. I can do that.
Mel cries when she says "I do." Marley cries when he puts the ring on Mel's finger. I cry when they kiss.
Mel holds up her bouquet, everyone cheers, and they make their way back down the aisle. We follow, and I wink at Finley again as I pass him. We have more pictures planned for after the ceremony, so Natalie is back to herding duty. She and the bridesmaids direct the guests on to the inn so she can have the church steps clear.
I grab Finley and Elly before they can get too far. "Let's get a quick selfie."
"We'll have the whole reception to get pictures," Elly argues. "Besides, we're needed to help get dinner ready."
"It'll just take a second."
Finley tucks himself under my shoulder without complaint. And after a few tugs, Elly scoots in, too. Finley looks so peaceful. I wonder if he's thinking about our future, too. I don't get a chance to ask, though, because Natalie calls me over for our family group picture. And I have to let Finley and Elly go.
I watch them walk down High Street until I can't see them anymore. It's not hard to smile for the camera.