A REASON FOR MARRIAGE

“I am so happy you and Scott are finally getting married,” Sara said to Vivian one afternoon.

They were at Vivian’s apartment, putting the wedding favors for the reception together. Vivian looked so happy, and Sara couldn’t help but think that her soon to be sister in law was just glowing with happiness. She guessed that was the sort of thing that happened when you were completely in love with a man who treated you like you were the only woman on the planet. Sara and Vivian were becoming very close too, sort of like the sister Sara never had, and she thought it was really awesome.

“I know right,” Vivian replied excitedly, “I really can’t wait to marry your brother,”

Sara giggled at that comment.

“What?” asked Vivian,

“Nothing, I’m sorry,” Sara said with a smile, “but when we were growing up Scott was such a pain in the butt. I used to think that I couldn’t wait to be rid of him, I laughed because here you are, looking forward to spend the rest of your life with him. Don’t get me wrong, that was a long time ago. You know, even though we argued so much, when he was away in boarding school, I missed him terribly. He protected me too… After our father left, I think he saw it as his responsibility to look after me and mom,” she stared at Vivian, “I think the both of you are going to make each other very happy,”

Vivian blushed hard, “Thank you.” She said,

Sara nodded, and wondered if she’d ever find a love like theirs, and as usual whenever she thought about something like that, she found herself thinking about Simon.

She missed him…. Terribly, and her heart ached for him whenever she thought about him. Sara had not seen Simon since she’d left his apartment angrily two weeks ago. He’d called repeatedly for the first three days. He’d even called her office too to the extent that her assistant had begged her to just answer as the calls were distracting her from doing her job properly, but Sara had insisted that she wasn’t going to take the call…. Until finally, he’d stopped, leaving her weirdly disappointed.

All she’d gotten since then was a text from him letting her know that he had no plans of hiring another interior designer and that if she wanted to get paid for the work she’d already done, then she’d come over and complete the job he’d hired her to do.

But Sara wasn’t the kind of woman who responded to threats, not anymore, so she’d simply ignored him. She knew that he’d pay her soon enough, at least when he realized that she wasn’t going to give in, but two weeks had done by now and she’d not heard a peep from Simon, and Sara was beginning to think that she was never going to hear from him again. Why that realization filled her with great sadness, she had no idea, since it’d been her decision to walk away.

Sara straightened in her seat, and hoped Vivian wouldn’t suspect anything from the question she was about to ask her, “Is Simon Hamilton going to be at the wedding?”

Vivian nodded, “Yup. He’s going to be the best man too. Scott didn’t tell you?”

No, Scott had not told her, but she’d guessed that Simon was going to be present at the wedding whether he was the best man or not so she didn’t have to ask Scott. What that also meant was that she was going to be standing at the altar with him too, since she was Vivian’s Chief bridesmaid. The mere thought of seeing him again made her feel giddy.

“So I didn’t mean to pry but I’ve been curious,” said Vivian as she packaged one of the gifts, “About who you’re bringing to the wedding… I mean your date,”

Sara avoided meeting her gaze, and instead concentrated on the bag she was holding, “I don’t know… Or maybe I should just say no one,”

Vivian didn’t look convinced, “You’re not bringing a date? Why not?”

“Because I’m not dating anyone and I have no one to ask,”

Vivian giggled, “I don’t think so,” she said casually, “What about Simon Hamilton? Not to pry or anything, but I think I noticed something between the both of you when we were at Scott’s place for dinner the other night,”

Sara didn’t know what to do with that information. Were they really that obvious? Did Simon say something to Scott? Did Scott notice something too? If he did, how did he feel about her being involved with his friend? Sara tried to keep her cool but inside, her heart was beating wildly. It usually did whenever Simon’s name was mentioned and It was the most infuriating thing, but she didn’t seem to have any control over it.

“Why would you say that?” Sara asked, feigning innocence.

Vivian shook her head, “Call me silly but It felt like there was some chemistry between the both of you. Not to mention the long conversation you two seemed to be having right outside before you both left that evening,”

Sara gave up on packaging any more gifts and stared at Vivian,” You guys saw? Did Scott see too?”

Vivian nodded, “Yes, but he seemed to think that you were both discussing the plans you had for his apartment. I on the other hand,” she winked, “I thought it was about something entirely different, but don’t worry, I didn’t say anything to Scott because I wasn’t sure and let’s face it, we both know how meddlesome Scott can be when he gets into ‘protective mode’,”

Vivian was right, Sara thought. She wasn’t sure Scott would be very thrilled by the news of her shagging his friend and she didn’t think there was any point telling him about it now that whatever she had with Simon was a thing of the past. It still didn’t make things easier for her, since she couldn’t stop thinking about him during the day and was tormented by dreams of him making love to her at night when she slept.

“Is Simon bringing a date?” Sara couldn’t stop herself from asking.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Not that I know of,” came Vivian’s reply.