Fiction: The Wedding Gown

Girl at a Sewing Machine by Edward Hopper

Fiction: The Wedding Gown
It was Juliet's wedding day and yet, it was not. Her original plan had gone astray. Instead of walking down the aisle, she had sat at her sewing machine altering her gown for another. Juliet's usual respond to anything unhappy was to sew and forget the world. She was a seamstress after all. But it was not easy to forget what she had gone through. Time had not made the memory dimmer nor eased her ache.
    Juliet's grandmother had always said living requires a leap of faith but whatever you do, you can't fight fate - it could never be denied what it was meant to do. At 29, she was not stale, at least to her but others thought she should've been married by now. It wasn't as if she could magically find a mate just by believing.
    Six months later at the wedding, Juliet stood about enjoying a glass of champagne while the bride and groom were exchanging vows. After they kissed and parted, the sky suddenly darkened. Frogs appeared followed by dogs, cats, wolves and other furry creatures. Dogs and wolves toppled the nine layered wedding cake. Goats started eating the food on the tables while small grey rats crashed wine bottles. Flower arrangements here and there were getting some workout from the cats. Dishes were used as frisbees by some raccoons. The guests ran frantically about trying to escape the animals who were getting a bit too friendly. Overhead, thunder sounded. Dark clouds appeared and darkened the day to almost night. Someone grabbed Juliet's arm and pulled her inside the hotel. The glass slipped from her hand. Rain fell down like rocks flattening tables and chairs. The arch, decorated with white roses, collapsed to the ground and the fabric hanging above it flew upward, looking like a patch of white cloud among the darkness. Through the hotel wall to ceiling windows, Juliet stared at it for a moment before it flew out of her view. Something popped like an explosion. The pink and blue balloons attached to poles were popping due to the heavy rain.
    This unusual weather had surprised everyone. It was summer and every weather station said it was going to be sunny all week.
    There were cries through the chaos. One outranked them. It came from the bride. The wind had kicked up the skirt of her gown and all the world could see what color underwear she was wearing. Her husband kept pushing the fabric down while trying to shield her face from the rain. Birds began to peck at the bride's floral crown. The groom tried to swipe at the birds but they took off with the crown. He grabbed the bride's hand and ran. Lightning struck at them at every step. By the time they were inside, the bride's gown was scorched in a few places and dirt covered most of it and the wearer. The groom appeared to have lost a shoe and his white suit was a dark shade of brown. Most guests appeared as if they had ran through mud and hair styled using a supercharged blow-dryer.
    Juliet kept her lips pressed tightly together so as not to laugh. When she was altering the dress, she had thoughts. Wild thoughts of animals and a windstorm disrupting the wedding. She glanced over at her former fiancé and his bride who was once Juliet's best friend. He turned his head and met her eyes. Was there accusation in his eyes? She turned away.
    Someone was still holding onto her. She loosened her arm away and looked up. The man was the bride's brother. "Some wedding, eh?" he said with a slight grin at the corner of his mouth. She nodded. Some wedding. Her grandmother had also said never wear a wedding gown made for another especially not if it once belonged to a jilted bride-to-be.

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This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are provided by me over here. This week's prompts are: leap, original, unusual, 29, time.