Generation
3, Chapter 8
"What
changes will be made to company policy to prevent this from happening
again?"
"We're
looking into that now," I said, for at least the fourth time. I
shot my assistant a glare but she was absorbed with her tablet as
usual. "As I stated at the beginning, SimAm is committed to
providing all our passengers the best, and safest, possible flight
experience. Flight 807 was delayed due to a passenger refusing to
comply with the flight crew's instructions during take off. Company
policy is, and has always been, written to insure everyone's safety.
Thank you, no more questions."
The
questions, mostly repeats from the last twenty minutes, fired at me
as I stepped away from the podium. Aubrie looked away from her screen
long enough to shoot me a thumbs up signal. "Well done Ms.
Dust," she said, her eyes back on the device as we evaded a few
persistent reporters.
I
rolled my eyes, and started to protest the address but she wouldn't
have heard me, or listened anyway. After a year on the ground, stuck
behind that insipid podium for countless press conferences, I'd begun
to hate my job at SimAm. Felix had managed to keep flying of course,
he was a pilot after all, but the corporate office had offered to
accept my resignation or reassign me to Media Relations following the
epic reveal of our secret romance. When I'd accepted the
reassignment, I told myself it was temporary - that I would be back
on a crew in no time. But SimAm realized my Dust name and the
occasional tabloid story was a media gold mine - one they intended to
tap until it ran dry. "I hate my job," I muttered, just
short of the airport doors.
"Ma'am?"
Aubrie looked up again as I shuttered. She blushed and stammered out
an apology, "sorry ma'am... I mean, I thought you said
something...."
I
shook my head, "is my car outside? I was supposed to be at the
church twenty minutes ago." As if to punctuate my tardiness, a
shrill ring blasted from my pocket. Claret probably, or Sapphy. Each,
no doubt, wondering where their bride was. Aubrie nodded eagerly,
pointing out the glass doors toward my car, which was parked
illegally in a passenger drop off zone. "if there's another
ticket from Ginger..." I trailed off as Aubrie's face visibly
paled. "Nevermind, I'll see you in a few weeks Aubrie."
"Goodbye
Ms. Dust! Enjoy your honeymoon!"
Safely
on the other side of the door, I waved at her. "I'm twenty-three
years old, I'm not a ma'am," I said, to no one in particular,
before climbing into the driver's seat.
------
"Where
have you been?!" Sapphy exclaimed, rushing toward me as I
entered the dressing room at the church. On first glance, I suspected
it was usually used by little old ladies doing handicrafts when not
being occupied by brides.
"I
had to do a press conference. A plane sat on deck for two hours while
the crew tried to calm and control an irate passenger - other
passengers took to social media to groan and then there were
calls..." Behind my sister, Claret was nodding knowingly. She
understood how Flight 807 had led to a crisis on my wedding day but
Sapphy didn't. Still, she didn't press the matter, instead choosing
to focus on getting me into my wedding dress as quickly as possible.
Claret stepped in beside her and went to work on my hair while I
remained quiet and let them turn me into their live-action, wedding
day Barbie doll.
"I
can't believe you're getting married today!" Sapphy gushed,
twirling a strand of her own hair absently. "How excited are
you?"
"So
excited," I lied, offering a demure smile. Sapphy didn't notice,
as few young girls would, but Claret's brow furrowed. She started to
open her mouth, but I held up my hand to stall her. "Thank you
both for doing this for me," I said, reaching out for their
hands. "I never would have found my dress if you hadn't found it
in Paris Claret!" In truth, while I loved the dress, I'd been so
jealous of my old crew's layover in France, I spent two weeks trying
to talk myself out of wearing it. I crafted many excellent lies, and
some not so excellent. Cobalt had been the one to point out how
perfectly the blue matched my eyes and the delicate purple broach
that reminded me of Mom. This dress hadn't been a 'lucky find', as
Claret claimed, she'd had it specially made for me.
"It
was meant to find you," Claret said, a sly smile on her face.
I
chuckled, allowing her to keep her fib, before turning toward Sapphy.
"And you have spun such fanciful lies to keep the reporters
away, it'll be a small miracle if all the invited guests find us,"
I said with a laugh. After finding the little church on the edge of
town, Sapphy had spent the last six months bragging about her famous
sister's big city wedding at school. And teenagers are the best
gossips on the internet. After a small school paper article from my
alma mater hit the web, it was retweeted by everyone who ever knew me
and then some. Soon, every entertainment blog in the world was
reporting on Mirage Kashmir's daughter's Berrywood wedding for the
stars. As if he were part of my life!
A
knock on the door broke the dark train of thought. "Is it safe
to come in?" Cobalt called, cracking the door slightly but
waiting for permission. Sapphy jogged over and threw herself
into
his arms as only a little sister can. Even though she'd grown into a
tall pre-teen, she still giggled like the toddler I'd once babysat.
Cobalt twirled hr around the room once before setting her down and
turning his attention toward me. "You look beautiful ZuZu,"
he said, pulling me into a hug.
"The
hair!" Sapphy cried, at the same time Claret groaned about
makeup.
Cobalt
jumped back, his eyes wide. "I'm sure it's fine," I
exclaimed, trying to reassure them all. After a moment of calm, I
looked at my wrist, expecting to find my watch, and laughed. "Is
it time? Are they playing my song?"
"No,
I... well," Cobalt hedged, glancing down at his feet as he tried
to find the words.
"What
is it? What's wrong?" Sapphy demanded, drawing his attention.
"Is the photographer not here? Don't worry ZuZu," she said,
reaching out for me.
Though
the word photographer had caught his ear, I knew immediately that
wasn't the real problem. The noise from outside, which I'd tuned out
before, finally reached my ears.
The
rapid click of a dozen different cameras.
The
crunch of large vehicles driving up the gravel drive.
The
shrill whine of his annoying, new wife.
"No,
no, it's not possible!" One peak out the window confirmed my
suspicions. Paparazzi lined the gravel drive, many pressing their way
toward the church doors, trying to catch that one shot of their prey.
"What the hell is he doing here?!" I demanded, rounding on
Cobalt.
"I
swear I didn't call him ZuZu!" One look at his face and I knew
it wasn't his doing. Claret was a mix of confused and heartbroken and
Sapphy was spitting mad - ready to throw him out with her tiny,
eleven year old hands.
"Mirage
Kashmir is not going to ruin another important moment," I said,
narrowing my eyes. I was already thundering toward the door, my
wedding party trailing helplessly behind me, before any of them could
think to try to stop me.
------
As
the doors to the hall were thrown open, everyone seated in the pews
turned toward the crash in shock. Cell phones whipped out the moment
they saw the bride, perhaps assuming they'd missed the queue that the
wedding was beginning. Unseen, a pianist awkwardly began to play,
desperately trying to keep pace and giving up as I came to a halt
beside Mirage. "Go," I hissed, trying to tune out the
annoying clicks of cell phone cameras. Somewhere behind me, I heard
Felix calling for me to calm down while simultaneously muttering
something about not seeing the bride before the wedding. "You
are not welcome here," I said, keeping my voice low – though
I'm sure everyone still heard.
"Zuli,
calm down," Mirage said, slowly getting to his feet. Beside him,
his wife had puffed out her surgically enhanced chest and glared at
me.
"No,"
I said with a smirk. "It's my wedding day – I don't have to
calm down. You, however, have to leave. Now. I don't want you here -
I don't want you in my life. You don't belong in this family so just
go!" Though I wasn't yelling, I'd given up the charade of
civility and my words echoed around the small church. A few of my
guests lowered their eyes, pretending not to be enthralled by the
drama. Others openly stared. I knew at least one would be recording
this exchange. It would be on every trashy entertainment blog by
midnight. The paparazzi, who were attempting to peer through the
windows on every side, would be cursing themselves for being outdone
by an amateur with a cell phone. "You have ruined enough of my
life! I'm done. So just go and never come back..."
"Zuli
I really think..." Mirage started to interrupt, his eyes
narrowed
"I
don't care what you think!" I shouted. "Don't you see that?
I don't want you here. I don't want you in my life. I don't want you
to be the person my children call grandpa – even if you're the only
grandfather they have alive. I don't want them to ever meet you or
hear your name. You are not part of my life! You never have been, and
you never will be." Seeing the tears pooling in my eyes, Claret
extended a handkerchief with out words. "And yet, you're still
here – screwing it up! You showed up at my mother's funeral, as if
you belonged there. And you ruined the day I got engaged but just
being on that damn plane and I lost a job that I loved because of
you!"
"That
one isn't on me," Mirage said quietly.
Inwardly,
I knew he was right, his entourage of paparazzi may have broken the
story but Felix and I had broken the rules with our romance. I
wouldn't admit it though, not now. "You rejected us when we were
born, you rejected us when we were grown – now I'm rejecting you
Mirage. Stay away from me, stay away from my family – you are not
welcome, you weren't invited."
"Actually,
I was," he said, holding his head higher. His usually cocky
attitude returned in a flash and I stumbled away from him. Cobalt and
Sapphy looked as horrified as I did. Lotus and Claret had equal
expressions of confusion mixed with intrigue as they scanned the room
for the culprit. Felix's face fell as Mirage turned his gaze toward
my groom. "Nevertheless, we'll go," he said, holding out
his hand for his wife. She grudgingly got to her feet and opened her
mouth to protest but a sharp glare from Mirage shut her up. "I'm
not a bad guy Zuli – I'm not a great guy, but I'm not as terrible
as you want me to be."
Without
another word, the pair left the church to a flurry of clicks. I made
a mental note to avoid the internet and supermarkets with tabloids
for at least a week. Cobalt, hovering behind me, placed his hand on
my shoulder. "He's gone now. It's over ZuZu," he whispered.
"Yeah,
it's over," I muttered. Without turning to look at Felix, I
raised my voice so that he, and everyone else, could hear me. "Why
would you invite him?"
"I...
I was trying to help..." Felix stammered. As I spun to face him,
anger rising in my stomach, he stumbled backward slightly. "It's
our wedding day Zuli – I thought you'd want your family here. I
didn't... I didn't understand..."
"Then
you should have asked!" I shouted. "You should have asked
me, or Cobalt, or Lotus, or any of these people," I said,
stabbing my finger at the forward pews. "These people are my
family and they would know I would NEVER want him here."
Flustered, he tried to respond but words failed him. "You can
all go home – or to the reception for all I care. There won't be a
wedding today," I said, glancing over my shoulder at the stunned
guests. I watched as raised cell phones slowly dropped as their
owners process my words. "Leave. All of you – just go. My
brother was right, it's over," I said, turning back toward
Cobalt as tears threatened to spill.
"Zuli,
no!" Felix cried, rushing over. People were already getting up,
awkwardly trying to leave without missing any more of the unfolding
drama. "No, you all just wait! We're gonna talk and...."
I
shook my head and swiped away another tear. "There's no reason
for them to wait Felix."
"You're
throwing this away? Because I invited your father to your wedding? I
didn't know!" he insisted, grabbing me by the shoulders and
spinning me toward him. "I didn't know Zuli – I mean I didn't
realize..."
"You
didn't know – I get that," I said calmly. "I get that...
but you should have. It's not your fault – I should have told you.
You don't really know much about me and we've been together for three
years. Doesn't that say something about us?"
"We
have our whole lives to learn about each other – to tell our
stories Zuli," he persisted. Though I heard his words, and even
agreed with them to some extent, I shook my head. "Zuli, please!
I love you! This is not how this ends! It's not over."
"Felix,"
I said, reaching for his cheek and stroking it tenderly. "You're
a good man. But this is done – I never should have said yes. I
wouldn't have if..." I glanced back toward the church doors,
where Mirage (and all my guests) had departed through. "I
shouldn't have said yes. I knew then, I knew as you asked and I knew
while a plane full of people watched. I knew I didn't want to marry
you but I couldn't say no... not then. And then I couldn't stop the
whirlwind of planning..."
Felix's
desperation was replaced with anger as my words stung him. "You
never wanted to marry me..." he nodded, maybe replaying the
whole scene in his mind while searching for the clues. "Wow...
class act Zuli. You could have just said no..."
I
didn't try to stop him as he left the church as well, leaving me
standing at the alter with Cobalt, Lotus, Sapphy and Claret. "That
could have gone better," I muttered, before bursting into tears.
Cobalt pulled me into a hug and held tight as I sobbed into his
shoulder.
End
Chapter
Outtakes
Sorry Felix...
Poor babies.
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