1.7

“Please, please, please, please, please, Moony, please!”

I sighed and placed my hands on hips, regarding my friend coolly. It had been about six months since Mulberry proposed to me, and my wedding was in two days. I was a nervous wreck, even though Orchid had taken care of just about everything for me.

“I keep telling you, Orchid, I don’t want a bachelorette party.” I stared at her, you can only say the same thing over and over again so many times before it starts to get redundant.

“Yes you do! Come onn! Pleasee!” I placed a hand on my forehead, I knew the only way out was to agree. Because even if I held out and didn’t have one, I would be hearing about it for the rest of my life.

“Okay,” I finally agreed, “But no party dancers!”

 Orchid giggled and pushed me playfully,”Come on, you know you want a sexy man there!”

I laughed with her, “Not entirely, half-naked strange men aren’t really my cup of tea.”

She just waved her hand in response, laughing some more.

I stood silently as she whipped out her phone and planned the party for tomorrow night. From the way she was talking, she’d been telling people I was going to have one for months now. I rolled my eyes, but said nothing. That was just how Orchid was. The thought of staying out all night partying the night before my wedding made me a bit nervous, but I knew Orchid would take care of me.

 When she got off the phone, she turned to me. Her look was so serious that it made me a little nervous. We were best friends, and she’d wasted no time in telling me she didn’t think I should be getting married. I really didn’t want to have that talk again.

“Moon, I think you should send your dad and invite. You don’t have to invite Blush or Mocha, but this might be a  good chance for the two of you to make up.” Her words caught me off guard, send my dad an invite? I chewed on my bottom lip.

 “Do you really think that’s a good idea?” I questioned. My father and I hadn’t spoken for years, was it really okay for me to just invite him to a wedding he probably knew nothing about?

“Moon, I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t. You will regret it if you don’t invite him.” I sighed, I knew she was right. I regretted not talking to him all the time.

“Okay, we’ll send him an invite… I just hope he shows up.”

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 The next night, the party was in full swing at the Snapply Apply. Everyone was spraying fizzy nectar, dancing, drinking, and generally making fools of the themselves. I’d had a few drinks, but I really didn’t want to get berry-faced.

 When I came out of the bathroom, I came out to Choco Cake getting his dance on. I couldn’t help but be a little annoyed, I’d specifically said no dancers!

 I completely ignored him and made my way over to the bar. I was glad when he didn’t single me out as the bride, because then I would have had to have been pretty rude.

 In any case, he left before too long and my bad mood evaporated as I sprayed Orchid with nectar. I was glad that I agreed to have a party, I was having a lot of fun.

 Of course, not every berry can hold their liquor and before too long Boo was a blubbering mess. I tried to get her to go home, but she wouldn’t.

 But Boo’s mood definitely didn’t dampen anyone else’s.

 No, it didn’t dampen the mood at all.

 Of course, at one point during the night, Orchid called everyone together and made a toast to mine and Mulberry’s wedding. Everyone listened, but I was sure no one would even remember it.

 Toward the end of the night, I was pretty tipsy and I led the way to the dance-floor.

 But when I started falling down, Orchid gathered me up and took me home.

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 The  next morning when I woke up, I was grateful that I didn’t have a hangover. Orchid shoved a couple pancakes down my throat and took over the bathroom so she could get ready. I’d decided I would be doing my own hair and makeup. I’ve been around Blush enough to know my way around that stuff, even if I don’t put the knowledge to use most of the time.

 When I changed into my wedding dress, I wish I could say I felt beautiful.. But that would be a lie. I never felt beautiful, and even now I was thinking about how much better someone else would look in the dress. I sucked in my stomach as much as I could, and regretted eating the pancakes. Orchid always told me I was silly for not liking my body. Everyone did. “You’re so skinny, I would give anything to be that little!” But I hated it, I wasn’t even that skinny.

 I pushed my reservations to the back of my mind and got to work on my hair and makeup. It was already two, and the wedding was at six. I certainly couldn’t be late for my own wedding. My dad hadn’t responded to the invitation, maybe it was too short notice.. Maybe he just didn’t want to come.

 When we arrived at the venue, the first person I saw was my  dad. I ran up to him, and we stood across from each other awkwardly. What was there to say?

“Daddy, I…” I trailed off, and looked at him hopelessly.

“I’m sorry Moon, I’m sorry for being such a horrible father to you. You didn’t deserve it. I never should have chosen Blush over you, but now that you know what love is.. Surely you can understand a little.” His voice  was pleading, I knew he really did feel bad.

“It’s okay, Daddy, I’m just glad you came.” What else was there to day, really? I could blabber on and on, but there was no point. I’d said what needed to be said.

 He smiled at me, and pulled me into a hug. I held on to him the way I used to when I was little girl, it felt so good to have my dad back.

“Of course I would come, I would never miss my daughter’s big day. You look so beautiful.” A silent tear tolled down my cheek. Beautiful. I looked beautiful.

 Thirty minutes later, everyone was sitting down and Mulberry and I were saying our vows. He grabbed my hand gently, and slid the ring over my finger.

“Moon, where do I even begin? Everyone knows I’m not the best berry around, I’ve never been kind to my girlfriends. I’m sure that none of your friends want you to marry me, but I’m here today to tell you -and them- that I would never harm you in any way. I love you like I’ve never loved anyone else, you bring out the best in me. I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you, and going to sleep with you every night. We’ll support each other through thick and thin, and I’ll never hurt you or leave you.”

I grinned happily at him. I suppose this was where I was supposed to start crying, but I’m not big on that. His words were touching, and they made me happy from my nose to my toes. Why would I cry about that?

 He grinned back at me, and it was my turn to grab his hand and push the ring over his finger.

“Mulberry, I’m really worse at this kind of stuff than you are. You are my first love, my first kiss, you make my heart beat each day. I decided to take a chance with you, and you’ve never made me regret it. All of the time I’ve been with you, you’ve been patient and understanding. I can’t wait to have a family with you, and live the rest of our lives in peaceful happiness.”

 He pulled me in close and kissed me. People in the crowd were sniffling, but I barely heard them. Right now, there were only two berries in the world, me and Mulberry.

It was getting late when everyone started to make their way from the wedding gazebo to the party gazebo. Mulberry and I enjoyed a nice meal together before everyone got over there. I felt butterflies in my stomach at what would happen next..  The wedding night, well, everyone knows what happens on the wedding night.

 By the time Mulberry and I finally made it his -no, our- house, I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was take this itchy dress off and go to sleep. When we made it to the door, Mulberry picked me up and carried me over the threshold, as tradition dictates. I giggled when he dropped me on the other side and started ushering me up the stairs.

When we made it to the bedroom, I crawled stiffly onto the bed. Mulberry crawled on the bed after me and cuddled up to me. By this point, I was shaking. I was terrified, why did this have to be a part of life? Couldn’t everyone just keep their things away from other people’s? And like, babies could actually be brought by the stork?

When Mulberry noticed I was scared -cause lets be honest, I wasn’t hiding it well- he backed off a bit and looked at me.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” He questioned.

“I-I’m just a little scared.” I admitted, staring at our entwined fingers.

“Hey, it’ll be alright, I promise. We’ll go really slow, and if you ever want to stop just tell me. I would never do anything to hurt you.” I mulled his words over in my head before nodding weakly.

 And true to his word, we took it slow. For a long time, we just kissed. And not the big, wet, make out kisses, but the little sweet ones. He kissed my neck, my shoulders, my lips, my cheeks, honestly it was nice.

 Gradually the kisses got bigger, and he moved on top of me. He took everything slow, just like he’d promised, always giving me time to stop him if I didn’t like it. First, we took off our shoes, then my gloves, then my necklace, then his shirt. When he unzipped the back of my dress, I froze. He immediately stopped and went back to kissing me.

 So, long story short, we did it. It wasn’t as bad as I thought, it was actually really sweet. It hurt a bit, but according to all my friends that’s normal. And when we were finished, I put on my sleeping clothes and he cuddled up close to me. I fell asleep feeling happy and safe, and unbeknownst to me or anyone, another life slept in the bed with us that night.