𝙼𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚢 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜

                                    

                                          

1st September, ????

"Two days later?" he asked.
"Two days later!" I said, harried and excited.
"Oh my God, I haven't even- why?!"
"We decided we'd rather hurry it up. The preparations are done anyway."
"Okay. Okay. Um. Okay. Wow. You and Ryle...seriously? Two days later?"
"Yes, Atlas, two days later. Now, will you get over it?"
"I-I am over it. Totally. Yeah. You decided to have the wedding two days later when it was supposed to be next week."
"We already announced it, yesterday, I just wanted to tell you myself, see your reaction. And it was so worth it." I snickered.
"I haven't even told Lily yet!"
"She already knows, I talked to her."
"How come you guys are - I don't know? - best friends forever, all of a sudden?"
"She's not my best friend forever. You're my best friend forever." 
"Come on, Amy, are you a third grader?"
"Fine, I'll take it back-"
"Nope. No backsies."
"Was that sarcasm?"
"Yes."
"Shut up, dumbo. Also, I was wondering if Lily was up for meeting up at Alyssa's. Could you ask her?"
"Why don't you just text her?"
"Um-well, I'm a little skeptical, so..."
"Your wish is my command, Miss Bride-To-Be. Oh, wait a second, please. I'm just -EMMY, NO!"
"Is everything..."
"Yeah, no, Emmy just dropped the cookies we were baking, so...let's hope Lily doesn't kill me."
"I'm kind of hoping she does, really."
"You are so annoying, I swear-um, no, she's home."
"What?"
"Lily's home."
I stifled a laugh.
"You are so dead." I said.
"I know." she whispered. "Mind if I put the phone down for a bit?"
"Sure. I'll wait."
He didn't cut the call, just placed it on mute, though I knew Lily wouldn't scold him for something like this. And even if she did, he, being the idiot that he was, wouldn't mind. I took advantage of the moment to look around for a bit, gather my thoughts. Ryle had been called in for an emergency surgery, and I was alone at the apartment. Thinking about the decision we'd taken, moving the date to just two days later, it made me excited and apprehensive at the same time. I thought about Ryle, my fiancé, my boyfriend, my soon-to-be husband. I thought about Atlas, my somehow-best-friend, a kindred spirit, an eternal moron. I thought about Lily, with whom things were still weird, and yet so much better, and Alyssa, who was the best sister-in-law anyone could ask for. I thought about...everything. And I thought about how utterly happy I was to have all these people around me, these people who cared about me, loved me, cherished me.
My life had changed, for the better, because of these people. And with my actual wedding - it was still hard to process it - happening just a few hours later, I realized I was content, and perfectly, blissfully happy. Things could always be better. But they were more than good enough even now. I settled my gaze on the TV, the sofas, the furniture. I just stared. I lived here. With Ryle. This apartment, it was actually my home. Soon, I would become a bride, a wife, something unexplainable. It was scary, the idea of marriage. Of making a lifetime commitment which could turn out wrong, end up destroying you. My thoughts drifted to Lily and Ryle, and how they'd had a happy marriage too. Until it fell into pieces and left them both with inevitable trauma.