Anna stopped jumping and brought herself down to sit on the edge. Her eyes were puffy and red and there were pale streaks down her cheeks where her tears had washed away her makeup, lined by black from where her mascara had run.
“This is a mistake,” she whimpered. “I’m making a huge, huge mistake.”
“What?” I said. I walked over and knelt down in front of her. “What are you talking about?”
“Khloe, I can’t do this. I can’t get married. I can’t be someone’s wife. What was I thinking? Do you have any idea what it means to be a wife? Like a wife wife? I’m going to have to cook and clean and push babies out of my vagina!” Anna started to breathe faster and faster, and within a few seconds I could see she was hyperventilating.
I bolted out of the room and grabbed the paper bag that contained some condoms I decided to buy from the gift stop, and ran back into the room. I handed the bag to Anna, pushing it against her mouth.
“Anna,” I started calmly. “You have to calm down. Breathe into the bag. Listen to my voice and breathe in,” the bag crinkled as Anna breathed in, “and breathe out,” the bag puffed out as Anna blew air into it. “In… and out.” Anna’s breathing started to return to normal, although her face was still flushed and red. “Good job. Just continue to breathe and let me talk, okay?” Anna nodded with the bag still crunching as she breathed into it. “You love Kent, more than anything in the world. You talk about it nonstop, it’s so annoying.” Anna giggled and pulled the bag away from her face, sniffling in as a few fresh tears streaked down her face. “I remember when you two first started dating, I’d never seen you that happy. Now you guys are getting married, and I’ve never seen you this happy.”
Anna nodded. “Yeah.”
“And you don’t cook or clean,” I said.
Anna shook her head. “I don’t.”
“And Kent knows that about you and proposed to you anyway!” I said.
“He did!” Anna said, sending even more tears sliding down her cheeks.
“It’s because as much as you love him, he loves you,” I finished and Anna’s grin grew.
“He does love me. So much,” she said. “I do want to have cute babies with him.”
“And you will, and I will be their aunt who spoils them and sugars them up and sends them home,” I joked.
Anna wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. I hugged her back and it filled my cup to overflowing. I remembered why I became a wedding planner, because I loved seeing true love first hand, and I loved seeing people happy, most of all my best friend. I used my thumbs to wipe the tears off of Anna’s face and then grabbed my makeup bag and handed it to her.
“Now go fix yourself, you look ridiculous.” I winked and Anna gave me a kiss on the forehead and then stood up and disappeared into the bathroom.
As I waited, I realized that I’d become a wedding planner because I loved seeing true love first hand, but I’d never experienced it for myself. I’d never had someone love me the way Kent did Anna. I’d always wondered what it was like. When I thought about the situation with the guys, it made me wonder if there was any room in an arrangement like that for true love and happiness, or was it bound to crash and burn?
I saw Anna off to relax at the Spa and clear her mind from the breakdown she’d had and then I decided to head down to the beach. I hadn’t really gotten to enjoy it the first time around because I was so stressed about Luke and the other groomsmen, but now that the situation with them was totally different, I could actually kick back and enjoy the wind and the water. I didn’t put on my bathing suit, because I had no intentions of getting back in the water, but I grabbed a book to read and enjoy under one of the provided beach umbrellas.
I was just settling into my book when someone came and sat on the edge of my lounge chair. I looked up and Bram was sitting there smiling back at me. His looks were understated. The kind that made you think from a distance that he was just a plain, attractive enough guy, but the closer he got to you, the more you could see his cut jaw and mysterious, gray eyes. He was actually quite beautiful.
“Enjoying a book by the water?” he greeted.
“I am,” I responded. “Managed to pull away from your buddies?”
He chuckled. “You’re not the only one who enjoys some quiet time every now and again.”
I marked my place in my book and set it aside. I wondered if Brett was really on the mark when he said that all the guys wanted me. Inquiring minds want to know; is Bram the accountant mixed up in all this sharing business as well?