I Sat Trapped In The Wedding Car For One Whole Hour Chapter 01
On the wedding day, the car pulled up to The Maplewood House right on schedule. This was the home Ethan and I were supposed to start our life in. The photographer was already set up on the lawn, and a small crowd of family and bridal party members stood waiting, ready to cheer the moment we stepped out.
The driver laid on the horn, and the applause erupted. But even after the noise died down, Ethan still wouldn’t let me out of the car.
“Hold on. It’s not time yet.”
I figured it was some kind of tradition his family had about when the bride could walk through the front door. So I sat there, trying to be patient. For an hour.
Until ten o’clock sharp.
Savannah Pierce, who was supposed to be my maid of honor, came running out of the house looking apologetic.
“I’m so sorry! A pipe burst in my apartment last night and I had nowhere to go. I figured crashing here would be easiest, but I totally slept through my alarm.”
I was still trying to wrap my head around it when Ethan let out a soft laugh.
“I knew you wouldn’t be up before ten if your life depended on it. Relax. We’ve got time. Go get ready. We’ll pick up when you’re finished.”
I turned to Ethan. “We still have the first look and family photos here, and we need to be at The Grandview Chapel by eleven. If we don’t start now, we’re going to be late.”
He didn’t look at me. He just shrugged and smiled. “Relax. We’re not going to be late.”
Then he got out of the car, took the hair tie from her palm, and casually tied her hair into a ponytail.
I watched their shadows merge on the pavement, then pulled out my phone and texted my parents.
[Mom, Dad, let the chapel know. The wedding is off.]
***
After sending the message, I looked out the window again. Ethan was still standing beside Savannah, passing her things the second she needed them.
She finished her foundation, and he instantly handed her the powder compact. They moved like a couple. Better than we ever had.
I glanced at the line of cars behind us, horns blaring, and kept my face blank.
Ethan shot me a look. “Drop the attitude. Savannah is your maid of honor. If she looks good, it makes you look good.”
He’d barely finished the sentence when Savannah huffed in frustration.
“Forget it. I’m done. The more I rush, the worse my eyeliner gets. It keeps going crooked.”
I thought Ethan would take the hint, let me out of the car, and get the photos moving.
Instead, he laughed and ruffled her hair. “Don’t sweat it. We’ve got a makeup artist right here.”
Then he called over the celebrity makeup artist I’d booked six months ago.
Savannah’s eyes lit up, then she shot me a cautious look. “I don’t know… is that weird? I don’t want to make things awkward.”
I looked at Ethan and spoke up. “Adding someone last-minute doubles the rate.”
The artist was seven thousand dollars for the day. When I’d booked her, Ethan had complained nonstop about me wasting money.
But now, his gaze stayed on Savannah’s face, and he just smiled, resigned. “It’s an emergency, okay? You know how she gets. If the pictures look bad, she’ll cry herself to sleep tonight.”
Savannah jabbed a finger toward his chest. “I’m not that much of a crybaby. Keep it up and I’ll make sure Hazel makes you sleep on the couch tonight.”
Ethan caught her wrist. “Oh yeah? Then who called me sobbing in the middle of the night two days ago because of a nightmare?”
I watched them tease each other, the words I wanted to say lodged in my throat.
I remembered three years ago, when Ethan used to gripe about Savannah. “She can’t find her way out of a parking lot. She loses her mind over a spider. She won’t touch shrimp unless someone peels it for her. She’s exhausting. Whoever dates her is signing up for a nightmare.”
But later, whenever Savannah went anywhere, he talked her through every turn. At every group dinner, he peeled every shrimp on her plate. When she moved, he showed up three days before to spray the whole place for pests.
Every time I objected, Ethan would tap my forehead and roll his eyes. “You’re unbelievable. If I don’t deal with her, she’ll just come crying to you. I’m doing this for you.”
I forced a thin smile. I used to really believe he was trying to spare me.
My phone buzzed with a new message from my parents.
[Another couple was desperate for the venue, so your mom and I transferred the officiant and the whole package to them. Honey, once you get to the chapel, we’ll drive you straight home.]
I looked at Ethan, still bickering with Savannah, and typed back, [Okay.]
Once Savannah’s makeup was done, Ethan finally helped me out of the car.
But we hadn’t taken more than a few steps before Savannah tugged at his sleeve, gesturing awkwardly at her pajamas.
“My maid of honor dress is still at my place. I forgot to bring it yesterday.”
Ethan immediately dropped my hand and told the driver to turn around and head to Savannah’s apartment.
I blocked his path without thinking. “Ethan, we have less than an hour. Her place is thirty miles from here. There’s no way we’ll make it to the chapel on time.”
He glared at me. “Why do you only think about yourself? It’s Savannah’s first time as a maid of honor. Do you really want her to look like a fool just so you can be the star?”
I clenched my fists and stared at him in disbelief. “Is that really how you see me?”
Ethan froze for a second. He opened his mouth to say something, but Savannah quickly stepped in front of me.
“It’s supposed to be a happy day. Don’t fight over me. You’ll jinx the whole thing.” She hesitated. “I remember there’s a wedding gown in the trunk that never got returned. What if I just wear that for now?”
