EPILOGUE
Diana and Arjay were seated on the sofa, busy playing scrabble when Janwill shouted.
“Hey sis! There’s a delivery for you.”
Arjay and Diana both peeped through the window.
“Is that for me?” Diana asked.
“For Diana Pangan.” The delivery man announced.
Diana looked at Arjay.
“But I didn’t order anything.” She frowned.
“Then you need to check it out. If that’s cash on delivery, don’t receive it.” Arjay said.
Diana stood up and went outside.
“Is that really for me? But I didn’t order anything.” She said to the courier.
“It was addressed to you ma’am and it was already paid. You’re just going to receive it.” The delivery man said.
“Oh, okay.” She said and received the box.
Arjay went to her to carry the box.
“Thank you, babe.” She said and ssmiled.
They both went inside the house.
“Whoa, what is that?” Anne asked out of curiosity.
“Not sure. There’s no sender information. Let’s open it.” Diana said and tore the plastic bag.
Inside is a carton box. She opened it and to her dismay, it was a soft and hard broom.
“Brooms. What are you going to need that for, babe?” Arjay asked.
“I have no idea. Is this serious?” Diana asked.
“What’s that envelope over there, sis?” Anne said and pointed at the white envelope pasted on the edge.
She picked up the envelope.
“An invitation.” Arjay remarked. “Are the brooms souvenir?” he asked.
“How do you know it’s an invitation?” Diana asked.
“R&S.” Arjay pointed on the markings at the back of the white envelope.
Diana burst into laughter.
“Oh Rhian, you did not!!!” she laughed and opened the invitation.
A small envelope fell from the invitation. She picked it up and opened it. There’s a folded paper with a letter inside. She opened the paper and read the letter:
HEY DIANA! DID YOU LIKE MY SURPRISE? I HOPE YOU LIKE IT. AS I PROMISED, I AM GOING TO SEND YOU A BROOM AS PART OF MY INVITATION. THAT WILL BE YOUR SOUVENIR. HAHAHHAA JUST KIDDING. ANYWAY, THAT’S MY BIRTHDAY GIFT TO YOU. YOU’RE NOT THE BRIDESMAID, DON’T WORRY. OPEN THE INVITATION AND YOU’LL KNOW YOUR DESIGNATION. LOVE YOU!
LOVE LOTS, RHIAN.
P.S. I STILL DON’T KNOW WHO YOU’RE PARTNER IS GOING TO BE. PM ME, OKAY?
Diana closed the paper.
“So what did it say, babe?” Arjay asked.
“She just joked me with the broom. My designated role on the wedding is on the invitation card.” She said and opened the invitation.
A white cord fell on the floor.
“You’re a cord. Who will be your partner?” Arjay asked her.
“Well, according to Rhian, whomever we choose will be out partners…”
“And who did you choose?”
“You. You’re my boyfriend, right?” she asked back.
“Will that be okay with her?” Arjay frowned.
“Yeah. She doesn’t want to pair us with another guys actually. We are the reason why the invitation was being delayed.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to see my girlfriend being paired to guys also. I agree with her.”
“That still doesn’t explain the brooms, though.” Anne remarked.
“Oh sis, you’re still here?” Diana asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. I was curious about the broom.”
“Well, this is what happened. We were talking about Rhian’s invitation card and she was frustrated because we still haven’t given her the names of our partners yet . And then we were suggesting and …”
***FLASHBACK***
“I have a better idea.” Justine said.
“Care to share?” Rhian asked.
“What if you just print the invitation out without the secondary sponsors? I mean just the details, like the reception and the date, the principal sponsors, and then your messages as bride and groom. It would be a surprise, right?”
“Actually that is great!” Diana agreed.
“But how about my flower girls? My bearers?” Rhian asked.
“Then add an additional letter or a symbol inside the invitation for them. Say for example you handed me the original invitation, and I will be the one in-charge of the veil, you attach a piece of a see-through cloth inside my invitation. Or if Shane’s the candle, then put a matchstick in the invitation.”
“And if I am the cord, then attach a white ribbon inside my invitation. And if Ailee’s the bridesmaid, then put an image of a broom inside her invitation.” Diana said.
The four of them looked at her and burst into laughter.
“Are you serious Diana?” Shane exclaimed.
“Yes! What could be the most appropriate to show that you are a bridesmaid? Plus, the role of a bridesmaid is to assist the bride, right?” she asked.
“But Ailee’s not the bridesmaid.” Rhian stated.
“Oh!” she was dumbfounded. Justine and Shane was laughing. “If it’s not Ailee, then who is?” she asked cluelessly.
“You are.” Rhian said.
***END OF FLASHBACK***
Arjay and Anne burst to laughter.
“Go on, laugh on me.” Diana said and rolled her eyeballs.
“I’m sorry babe. But your plan backfired at you.” Arjay said, still laughing.
“Har har. Anyway, we will go there by next week for the fitting babe.”
“Who will be there?” Arjay asked.
“Well, Justine, Ailee, Shane, ans Rhian with their partners of course.”
“Do I know any of them?”
“I don’t know. You know what, babe, we don’t really know who will be the partners of each one of us, so it will become a surprise soon. Like ‘see you on the fitting day’ kind of surprise.”
“So I guess, we will see them next week?”
“Yep.” Diana simply answered.
***FITTING DAY***
Diana and Arjay went to the boutique Rhian was telling about. When they arrived at the place, there are already people inside. Diana immediately spotted her friends on the left side of the room.
“They are already inside, babe. Let’s go.” She said and held Arjay’s hand to drag him inside.
Upon entering, they all looked at their direction.
“Finally, they’re here! Hello, Arjay!” Rhian greeted Arjay and she went to hug Diana.
Ailee, Shane, and Justine were all dumbfounded. Diana went to them.
“Are you done fitting?” she asked.
But instead of answer, she received a spank from her friends.
“Ouch!” she leered at them.
“Why didn’t you tell us?!?” Shane whispered.
“What??? You didn’t even tell me about yours. So the case is mutual.” She said and rolled her eyeballs.
“Hey ladies. The gentlemen are done. We’re next.” Rhian said.
“Okidoki.” Justine said.
“Hon, we’ll just wait you outside.” Justine’s partner said.
“Yep. Don’t you want to stay here? There’s AC in here. It’s very hot outside.”
“We’ll be fine, hon.”
“Okay.”
“Babe, try to socialize with them, okay?” Diana whispered to Arjay.
“Don’t worry about me babe, I’ll be fine.” Arjay said and smiled.
***WEDDING DAY***
Diana, Ailee, and Shane were on their seats already, standing with the other guests in the wedding.
Rhian is walking down the aisle while Justine helps her with her gown. They were all so happy for the bride and groom to finally take their vows after all the struggles that happened.
“The officiating priest is sick, so I will be your officiating priest for this wedding ceremony.” The new priest announced.
Justine, Diana, Shane, and Ailee all looked at Rhian’s direction. Rhian looked at her friends and they all smiled, forcing themselves not to laugh because the officiating priest was Fr. Heinrich Millar, Arjay’s batchmate in the seminary and the seminarian they were teasing Ailee with.
Thank you for all the comments, the ratings, and most especially, thank you for reading up until the end. I really appreciate it guys ☺️
--Judy Dumrique