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The ball has a happy energy to it, with everyone dancing, eating and enjoying the night. I spend most of it with Josephine and Aleighia.
I’m glad they get along so well. I don’t know what I would do if they didn’t. Having my sister in my corner is a huge asset considering I know my parents' approval is tentative at best.
After a while, my parents walk over to us. They politely ask my sister to leave. She does so with a sarcastic curtsey and a smile.
“Aiden. When were you both planning on getting married?” My mom starts the conversation bluntly. With that question. I look at my official fiance. She looks up at me with a blank face.
“Honestly, we hadn’t thought about it.” I meet my parent’s gaze again, and my dad’s eyebrows furrow. He huffs quietly, looking between the both of us.
“Well, the sooner the better,” he states. It comes out like a demand, not a suggestion. From him, it’s just par for the course.
I’m a bit surprised, to say the least, to hear that. How did he go from insisting I marry Ada to being eager for me to rush a wedding with someone else? It makes me curious about what’s going on in the background for him to ask for this.
I just nod. “Yes, sir.”He leaves the conversation at that, and he and my mom walk away just as quickly as they had come.
Josephine looks up at me, and I smile brightly. In a joking tone, I decide to tease her.
“So, what do you think about getting married tomorrow?” She gasps, and I wish I had a camera to capture the moment. As soon as she realizes I’m joking, her eyes turn livid.
“Aiden!” she scolds. I only laugh in response. Josephine seems so meek and sweet compared to everyone else, but I’m starting to see another side of her I really enjoy.
Though, to be honest, I have yet to find a side of her Idon’tenjoy.
19
JOSEPHINE
Meeting Aiden’s dad explains a lot about Aiden. I thought Aiden was mature and sensible, but his dad is like a concentrated version. The man doesn’t laugh often. When he does, it’s a rich, formal laugh. He radiates business energy.
When he came over to ask when we were getting married, I honestly thought Aiden was going to keel over and say as soon as possible. But his joke after his dad left made me realize that he wasn't someone who just rolled over and followed their parent’s every wish.
I couldn’t imagine having a dad who was so official. Mine was kind and gentle, and he always laughed. It makes me understand a bit clearer why Aiden proposed such a bizarre arrangement between us, however.
The car bumps over a pothole, pulling me out of my thoughts. I look over at my partner, and his hands are firmly on the steering wheel. Right at ten and two, like he was taking his driving test. The sight almost makes me laugh, but I don’t want him to think I am making fun of him, so I press it down.
We get to the house sooner than I would have thought. The careful turn into the driveway marks the end of our journey. Aiden tells me to wait and slides out of the car. He adjusts his suit jacket before coming around the side to open my door.
The gesture makes me feel like a princess, honestly. I love the small things he does that make me feel like I am worth his time. He even holds out his hand to let me out of the car. I take it, letting him pull me out.
After a long evening of standing around, trying to look respectable, getting back to my feet makes me immediately notice how sore they are. Even though I am wearing small kitten heeled shoes, the balls of my feet ache. I am happy once we get inside, where I can slide off the shoes to leave them by the door.
The next step is this dress. It is beautiful, but all the fabric makes it incredibly heavy. By this late hour, I’m ready to leave it behind and put on sweatpants.
I walk Aiden into the living room, telling him I’m just going to change quickly. He nods, settling onto the couch to wait. I traipse to my bedroom, bundling the floor length dress in my hands so I don’t step on the bottom.
In my room, I immediately slip out of the garment and lay it back in the dress bag. The green fabric matches my eyes perfectly, and I know I am going to wear the silky piece again. It’s not like I have many occasions to dress so formally, but I still intend to save it for someday.
I looked at my hair in the mirror, touching it for the first time tonight. The rock hard feeling of it flusters me. I knew the lady used a spray, but I did not expect to find a solid, cement-like clump on top of my head.
I start to undo it the best I can. After an embarrassingly long period of working my way through it with a pick, which occasionally brought a tear to my eyes, my soft curls finally begin to relax to their natural state.
I grabbed a blue T-shirt and a pair of striped sweatpants, tugging them on. I know Aiden is waiting to talk to me, so I try to hurry. With one last dejected look toward my very comfortable, very appealing bed, I return to the living room.
I find Aiden entertaining himself by checking out a family picture. I smile to myself as he hurriedly puts the framed photo back on the shelf he got it from. He turns to greet me, taking his seat again on the couch and gesturing for me to sit beside him. I sink into the comfortable cushion beside him and finally feel truly relaxed.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
“I’m alright. Excited to sleep off the evening,” I say with a small laugh. He nods before bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck.
