“Music?” Riley interjects, one scornful eyebrow up near her hairline.
“Uhm…” Charlotte draws a blank. With the image of Gabi and her dad still in mind, she panics: “Father Figure, George Michael.”
Riley snorts and doubles over laughing.
“But I’d have to triple check with them,” Charlotte says haughtily.
Adriana throws her a bone: “It’s okay, we can change the playlist up until the very last minute.”
Charlotte takes the opportunity to sprinkle a little salt in the wounds by placing her hand on Adriana’s arm.“Thank you for being so flexible,” she says in her sweetest voice.
“Of course,” Adriana nods, and looks down at her notes. From the corner of her eye, Charlotte watches Riley’s face grow ashen.
“As for the ceremony, I always have a standard text prepared that I can use your friends’ names in. Would you like me to read it?”
“Yes please,” Charlotte answers, while Riley provides a brusque: “No, that’s okay.”
It takes Charlotte mere seconds before wishing she would’ve agreed with Riley—just this once, and one time only—as Adriana makes them stand in front of the gazebo, promptly casting them as Gabi and Lou’s body doubles.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today—”
“Do you have a more modern version?” Riley jumps in. “I don’t feel like the traditional one is very Lou.”
“But itisvery Gabrielle,” Charlotte says, shooting Riley a warning look.Don’t be difficult now.
“I can do something in between,” Adriana suggests, flipping through her notes before she tries again. “Dear friends and family. Thank you for joining us here on this beautiful location to celebrate the love between two wonderful individuals.”
“Better,” Riley says, digging the tip of her shoe into the grass.
“Sure,” Charlotte nods, looking anywhere but at Riley right across from her.
Adriana reads through a few pages of her wedding speech before her eyes flick up and hesitantly dart between Charlotte and Riley. “This would be where your friends read their vows,” she says, the uncertainty of the awkwardness between the duo in front of her coloring her voice. “Which would sound something like…?”
Charlotte loudly clears her throat, looking up at a non-existing seagull flying over. Riley sniffs and shrugs, mumbling something unintelligible.
“It doesn’t have to be perfect,” Adriana presses on. “Just give me a couple of lines so we can move on.”
As Charlotte studies Adriana’s face, she swears she catches a flicker of hidden amusement under a wall of feigned professionalism. “Dunno,” Riley insists, shaking her head. Her juvenile behavior is almost laughable.
“Dear Lou,” Charlotte sighs dramatically, ready to get this over with as soon as possible. Without giving it much thought, she rambles monotonously: “From the moment I met you, I knew we were meant to be. We had our ups and our downs, but at the end of the day, there is only one person I want to come home to...”
Riley lifts her head and finally looks at her, a bit of wonder seeping through her stoic expression. Charlotte’s breath hitches, so she swallows before she continues. “...you. I want to come home to you.”
To not let the moment linger, Charlotte motions for Adriana to to say something. Across from her, Riley is visibly struggling. She presses her lips together andforcefully bites down on her bottom lip when that doesn’t seem to calm her nerves.
“Next?” Adriana spurs Riley on while she gives Charlotte an offhanded thumbs-up. The latter lights up like a Christmas tree.
“My sweet Gabi or whatever,” Riley starts, adopting Charlotte’s attitude and taking a deep breath in. “You..." She hums and widens her stance, clasping her hands behind her back. "You can pretend you don’t want what I have to give. You can push me away until you’ve convinced yourself that you don’t envision the life that’s just within reach. But if you say the word, I will be there. I will fight for you, I will fight with you. I will show you everything I know about love, as long as you let me. As long as you say yes.”
“Which leads me to the following question,” Adriana airily takes over, adding a murmured: “Nice segue!” from the corner of her mouth, as if Riley’s meticulously chosen words haven’t just given Charlotte heart palpitations.
“Gabrielle, do you take Lou to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love and cherish her, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer—”
“Etcetera,” Charlotte swirls her index fingers around each other to speed Adriana up. Regrettably, it makes her slow down and stretch out the words.
“...for better and for worse, for so long as you both shall live?”
“Yup,” Charlotte says, clicking her tongue and firmly planting her hands on her hips.
