***
When Tanesha came out of the church’s dressing room, she saw the grooms’ men, smartly dressed in their white tuxes, paired up with the beautifully dressed bridesmaids. They stood in a neat line. Michael stood with his wife Mary, Matt with his fiancee Jen, Dean with his wife Kayla, Damon with Thea, Kyle with Queenie, and Chris with Caroline. Cole was obviously waiting at the altar with his brother, Tanesha thought. To Tanesha, the squad and their partners had never looked more elegant.
They all turned around to look at her. Both the guys and the ladies stared at her with unmasked admiration. Tanesha smiled at the guys but they were all staring too hard to even acknowledge her smile.
“Wow!” Michael breathed.
“Sure you’re not the bride?” Dean drawled and then promptly grunted when Matt elbowed him.
Tanesha rolled her eyes. “Wait till you see the bride herself. She looks angelic.” She laughed.
The organist began to play, the cue for her friends to proceed down the aisle. Tanesha watched them go with a smile on her face. If only Ty were there, he would be walking down that aisle with his guys. She suppressed the flash of sadness within and straightened her back determinedly. She wasn’t going to get sad or cry and ruin Briana’s day.
“Smile Tanesha.” Tanesha heard Briana hiss behind her and realized that the groomsmen and bridesmaids were already at the altar, lined up beautifully on either side of the altar.
Tanesha noticed three things at the same time… The church was packed. Everyone was in white… which she thought was the most beautiful sight. And everyone was staring at her. Ugh!
The wedding guests were obviously awed the instant they saw Tanesha in all her elegant glory. There were gasps, smiles, some tears, and flashes as people took pictures. Tanesha was the epitome of chic. With a heart-stoppingly beautiful smile on her face, she began her walk down the aisle. She walked slowly…feeling like royalty. She wondered how Briana must be feeling if even she, the maid of honour, felt that good. Tanesha didn’t really look at where Cole was supposed to be standing with his best man and the Priest. She looked at her father, who had turned to watch her come towards him with the most brilliant smile on his face. Tanesha grinned at him throughout her walk.
Before she got to Paul, he stretched out a hand to her. Tanesha reached out to place a hand in the father’s. When Paul began to move with her towards the priest, Tanesha turned to her father with a confused look.
“Dad…” Tanesha was so confused with what her father was doing she didn’t even notice that the men standing in front of the priest were dressed in full military ceremonial attire. “What are you doing?” She whispered, looking at her dad the whole time.
“Stand here, Tanny,” Paul said, leaving a still confused and oblivious Tanesha beside an amused and totally floored Ty. His bride was the most beautiful woman on the planet.
“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” Father Campbell asked, surprising Tanesha. Briana was not there yet, she thought frantically.
“Her mum and I do.” Paul Ashton responded, signaling Dora to join him.
“What?” Tanesha gasped, turning to look behind her to see whether Briana was coming. But Briana wasn’t there. Where was she? And what was happening? Was everyone going nuts? “Dad, you have to wait till…” Damn, what would Cole be thinking, Tanesha thought with panic as she quickly turned to face Cole with an intention of apologizing for her father’s blunder. Father Campbell, she couldn’t speak for, but her father, she thought was too…young to be getting senile already. But when she turned to face Cole, it wasn’t Cole she saw but Ty. “Oh my God…Oh my God…” Her bouquet slipped out of suddenly limp fingers and fell to the floor. “Ty…” Her eyes welled up and her lips trembled as she stared at him.
“You’re looking absolutely stunning,” Ty whispered as he watched the tears begin to slide down Tanesha’s cheeks. “Baby, don’t cry…” He groaned. Though he’d expected Tanesha’s reaction, he still wasn’t ready for how painful it felt to see her cry.
“Am I dreaming?” Tanesha asked shakily. She couldn’t stop her tears. “Please tell me I’m not.” Her hands moved up to cup Ty’s face. “If I am, I don’t want to wake up.” A sob tore out of her throat. “Ever.”
“Christ, Tan I’m here. You’re not dreaming.” Ty hugged her tightly to him.
Father Campbell had already informed the congregation, who already knew it was a surprise wedding, to give Ty and Tanesha a moment when Tanesha eventually realized what was really happening. So the whole church was quiet as everyone watched the intimate and soul-stirring display unfolding before their eyes. Most, especially the women, shed tears as they watched the emotional couple. Some just watched them quietly, overwhelmed by the raw feelings being shown by Tanesha. Others grinned from ear to ear, happy for them.
Ty held a trembling Tanesha even tighter as she sobbed quietly against him. For that fraction of time, it was just the two of them as everything around them disappeared. Ty didn’t care about ruining her makeup or that gorgeous dress. He just needed her pitiful sobs to stop.
“Shhh…it’s okay baby,” Ty murmured against her hair. When she didn’t stop, he decided to try from a different angle. “Okay, now I really need to know…are those tears of anger or…”
“Fuck you, Ty,” Tanesha murmured shakily.
“Well, I wish you could but we’re in church Tanesha.” Ty chuckled.
Tanesha tried to laugh but what came out was a sob. “Sorry.” She took a deep shaky breath and looked up at Ty. She couldn’t believe he was standing right there in front of her. The entire scene seemed surreal. Tanesha didn’t know whether to scream at him or hug the shit out of him or hit him or just kiss the living daylights out of him. “Oh God, what am I going to do with you?”
“Anything but slap me.” Ty gave a mock scowl. “With all the idiots in here, I’ll never be able to live that down.” He said, referring to the squad and the Arrowheads.
Tanesha began to laugh softly. “You’re the idiot, Ty. For making me ruin my makeup. You could have spoken to me before now. It would have still been a surprise.” She moaned but she didn’t look angry at all. “You’re such an asshole.”