Wedding of the Century

It finally happened! My boyfriend proposed to me! EEK! It has only been seven years since we first started dating but I can’t wait to start planning the rest of our lives together. Even though my family doesn’t really like him and I’ve lost contact with a few of my friends, our relationship has been like a fairy-tale.

We did get off to a rocky start. He needed help in life and I was just the woman to do that. Although I was busy raising my three kids from my previous marriage and trying to work at home full time, he needed some attention. He wanted to move in just a couple weeks after we met and although he was looking for a job, he just didn’t seem to have that motivation. At first, he would fill out a couple applications online while I took a lunch break but then he just seemed to forget about doing all of that. It was nice to have him help take out the garbage but other than that, he mainly just slept or spent time on the phone with his friends.

I was excited that he finally was offered a job but it was all the way across town and he didn’t have his driver’s license. It wasn’t really his fault for driving after a night of drinking. He said he was barley over the legal limit but the judge just threw the book at him. So unfair! I didn’t mind dropping him off and picking him up for the thirty minute drive each way. It was kind of fun having alone time in the car with him. I did get tired a lot though when I had to get him from his bar backing position at 3 in the morning. Sometimes I would just have an Uber grab him. It was easier that way.

My daughter didn’t warm up to him as quickly as my two sons. Sometimes they would play out in the yard but mostly he would let them sit with him in the den while he watched the game. They got good at getting him his beers out of the fridge really fast. Man, my kids can run! I think there were some competitions between who could get those cans the fastest. I did have to keep checking to make sure the fridge was closed all the time though.

I still can’t believe that he finally did propose to me. He made everything so special! My mom arranged for my friend to take me out to get my hair and nails done. We went to a really nice lunch and then home to change for my birthday party. When we got to the event space, it was magical. My parents were there with a couple of my friends that I hadn’t seen in forever. There were a handful of his friends but when I saw him, I knew something was wrong. I mean, I was about fifteen minutes late from when he told me to show up but there was construction on the road. He was quiet all night until he started doing shots with his friends. That perked him up though!

I danced with my friends all night and suddenly the music stopped. He came over to me and took my hand. He walked me to a chair that was set in the center of the dance floor and got down on one knee. I couldn’t believe it! He had my mother’s wedding ring and as he slipped it on my finger whispered that we would go out and buy another one once he got his next check. I couldn’t get over how bright it was against my skin. It was if the light was just dancing on my finger.

Although we live in Michigan, he said that he wanted to have the wedding in his hometown all the way over in Western Pennsylvania. I had only been there a few times to drop him off so he could see one of his kids but I didn’t mind. I mean, my parents were getting older and that would be a long drive for them but it was what he wanted. It would be nice to be able to meet some of this family and hometown friends he talked to so much on the phone.

He knows that my style is rustic chic so he said that he had the perfect venue in mind. It was an old barn right down the street from the house where he grew up. I trusted that he would take care of all the details. I’m so happy that the burden of venue planning was taken off my shoulders. There is so much to do with finding my dress and sending out invitations. He truly is my knight in shining armor!

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Well, the day finally arrived! I was driving to Pennsylvania with my bestie so we could get there before my big day! I had plans to meet my photographer and videographer in about 7 hours so I should make it just in time if we only stop once for gas. I put on my road trip playlist and we zoomed away. The trip wasn’t that bad. I didn’t account for all of the mountains and curves on the highway so I was a little late to meet up with my vendors.

Finally, we pulled up to the address of the old barn. The driveway looked a bit unkempt. The dirt path had a lot of ruts in it and the ride back into the woods was really bumpy. We finally saw some other cars through the trees and pulled up next to them. I got out and glanced around. There were a few people standing by a big pile of old wood so I walked over to introduce myself.

As we shook hands, everyone seemed vary weary of the situation. I inspected my surroundings and noticed that the wood pile was a collapsed barn, mainly overgrown by the foliage of the forest. There was an old brick frame of a structure further in the distance but that had collapsed as well. This couldn’t be right. He said that this was THE perfect venue. He and his friends used to play here all the time when they were growing up! I grabbed my phone to call him but I didn’t have any signal so far out in the mountains. I drove back to town and finally picked up a few bars of reception.

I paced the sidewalk outside my cute little Bed & Breakfast. He wasn’t picking up. I tried calling again but it still went right to his voicemail after just a couple rings. I called my parents to see where they were and found out that they were just a few hours behind me. I asked if they knew anything about the venue. My mom said that she gave him a check for $5,000 as a down payment to reserve the barn but that was the only thing she knew about it. She asked if the flowers were there yet. She was so excited to see them after she sent such a large amount of money to him to get those done right.

There weren’t any flowers though. I didn’t see any signs of the caterer either. The only people who were there when we arrived were the photographer and videographer that I booked. When were the tables and chairs going to be delivered? Shouldn’t those be set up already? Mom had so many questions that I just couldn’t answer. I told her that I had to go just as the tears started streaming down my face. Maybe I just had the address wrong. I tried calling him again but instead of going to his voicemail; an automated voice came on the line saying that this number was no longer in service. Did I push the wrong button on my phone? I tried again with the same message.

Panicking, I called my aunt to see if she had left yet. Thankfully she was just planning on coming the next day so I asked her to pop over to my house and make sure he was OK. Maybe he just forgot to pay his phone bill and this was all just a big misunderstanding. She called me back about an hour later in a panic. My front door was wide open and the house was a disaster. It was empty except for a few old pieces of furniture and some muddy boot prints on the white carpet. I had been robbed!

I asked if she could go to his work and see if he just picked up one more shift before he headed out. She agreed and I waited for what seemed like a million years. I picked up her call on the first ring but it was more bad news. Apparently he never worked there. He just came in three or four times a week and stayed until closing time. Nobody had seen him all day but one bartender from last night did remember him saying that he was heading out on vacation the next day. She remembered something about road tripping with his boys to Venice Beach in California or something.

The reality of my situation was finally starting to sink in. I was left at the altar! Well, that technically isn’t right. There wasn’t even an altar at the venue to be left at. I crumbled into a ball on the sidewalk and wept.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read my short story!

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