Alignment Through the Heart
By Carli Barnes
Marriage this is the only word I’ve heard from my mother for the past two weeks it feels. “if you want happiness you need to find a husband,” the phrase repeated to me as I leave every morning to get away from the pressure. As I climb into my blue Range Rover, all I can do is sigh. I pull out of the circle drive of my house and decide what I’m going to do with my time away from the devil in disguise. I decide to go to my favorite coffee shop, The Brew. When I walk in to the coffee shop, I put my laptop and my school bag at one of the long community tables that has no one is at yet. I sit down and start to work on my final paper of the semester. After 30 minutes of writing, but still not knowing how to finish the paper, I decide to order coffee. When it’s my turn to order, I get an iced vanilla latte. As I go to grab my credit card from my purse, I hear a man’s voice offer to pay for my coffee. I turn around to see who it was, and all I see in this moment is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen in my life. Before I can even say anything he’s already swiped his card, being in awe all I can say is, "Thank you," and walk away. After I pick up my coffee, I sit back down and take some pictures of my coffee for this week’s blog post.
In the middle of typing on my blog I hear someone sit down across from me. I look up to see the man that paid for my coffee.
“Hello beautiful,” he slithered in a smooth voice.
“Hello, “I reply. I take a sip of my coffee and he asks my name.
Smoothy he replied, “Delilah. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
My cheeks begin to turn red. As we continue to talk he tells me that his name is David and more about himself and I do the same. After an hour of talking, I draw the conversation to a close. As I get up to leave he slips something in to the pocket of my jacket that I pretend not to notice. When I reach the door, I turn to him and wave good bye and leave. I feel his eyes on me as I get to my car. On my way home, my mom text-messages me to get bread for dinner from the bakery. When I pull into a parking spot at the bakery, I decide to text David and tell him that I had a great time today. I always thought that first date love was so cliché, but love is all I could feel. It’s like I could see David everywhere I looked, and all I could do was smile.
When I arrived home, I saw our maid Maria preparing dinner. I could just smell what it was: my favorite homade ravioli. When my mother, father, and I sat down for dinner they couldn't stop starring at me as if I were a lost puppy. When I took a sip of lemonade, I heard my mother say these dreadful words, “Delilah, I’ve solved your marriage problem."
“How?” I suspiciously replied with my voice and my eyes.
“Your father and I have found someone suitable for you to marry.”
“So I have to go on a date with this supposedly 'perfect' man you’ve picked for me?”
“No, Delilah. On August 21st, you are going to walk down the aisle and you are going to marry him.”
“What!?”
“Sweetheart, I know this isn’t how any of us planned for this to go, but it has to be this way”
This was the only response I could get out of them. I left dinner early that night, and I got up, grabbed my purse and keys, and got into my car and just started driving. I don’t even know how long I was driving for. Why does this happen to me?
I looked at the clock and decided to go home. When I opened the front door to my house, it was dark and lonely everyone had gone to bed. That night when I climbed into bed I decided to post the shots from today at The Brew on my blog. When I finished typing for tomorrow's post, I drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, I woke to the sounds of my mother calling me down for breakfast, so I got out of bed, put my robe on, and walked down the stairs. When I got down there I saw an array of breakfast foods.
“Good morning Delilah!” my mom cheered as she tried to get me to start a conversation.
I was to mad to even look up at her. As we began to eat, the doorbell rang and I got up to answer it. I saw something I never wanted to see: a wedding planner. She came to the table, sat down, and began to ask me questions of what I wanted in a wedding. I answered all the questions to the best of my ability as if I were going to get married. I wanted it to, at least, be pretty. After the wedding planner left, I went to get ready for the day. As my hair was drying, I sat there and text-messaged David the news of the marriage my mother set up for me. I left my phone facing down, as I couldn’t bear to see the text he would send me in response. He would be either upset or he wouldn't actually care to respond.
When I went downstairs, my mom said she had a surprise for me I had nothing to lose today so I went along with it. We got into my car and drove off to the surprise location my mother had picked out. When we arrived, I quickly realized that this was a bridal salon. I was trying on wedding dresses today. We were greeted by a consultant named Cassandra, Cassandra and I went to a fitting room to talk about what I wanted in a wedding dress “I want either a mermaid or an a –line style with sparkle” that was my response to all of the questions she asked. She came back with 5 dresses I tried on all of those and then some. I finally decided on a dress, the dress was an a –line with a lace top with a high neck and cap shoulders with a sparkle detail on the sleeves the bottom was flowy and had lace and sparkle appliqué down to the bottom.
As I sat I the car on the way home, I saw a text from David. He had news to tell me. We had decided to meet for coffee; I got to the coffee shop before him and tried to find the most secluded table in the shop. I didn’t want everyone to see the emotions that were going to come out of this conversation. I sat and waited for about ten minutes. I looked up, and I saw him. I couldn't do anything but cry. I didn’t want to lose him forever. I loved him. We began to talk.
“Delilah?"
“Yes?”
“I love you, and this hurts me to say this, but we can’t be together anymore.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to get in the way of you trying to love this other man," he said with the utmost sincerity.
All I could do was sit there and cry more tears. I couldn’t hear him, or anyone, in the coffee shop talking any more. I just saw lips moving.
“I’m sorry Delilah. Just know I’ll always love you."
After that sentence we got up and hugged each other. That hug felt like I was hugging a giant teddy bear. I just melted into his arms, and for the last time I smelled the warm and inviting scent of his cologne. When we broke away from our hug we look at each other and said in unison,
“I love you David.”
”I love you Delilah.”
I climbed into my Range Rover and drove back to wedding central: home. As I walked in the door, I was hit with the sounds of the wedding planner and my mother discussing centerpieces and table runners. I somehow managed to pass by the craziness and up in to the only sane place in the house: my room. I put on sweatpants and a t-shirt, climbed into bed, and fell asleep crying.
* * *
It's three months later, and today is the day. The day that I will give myself away to someone that I’ve never met in my life before. I was standing in the bridal suite of the vineyard that I was to be getting married at. I saw what was making this day bearable: the wedding dress I’d picked out months ago. I took a deep breath as I stepped into the dress as my best friend Jade helped me to button the back up. When I had it on, I stopped to stare at myself in the mirror.
“You look beautiful!” jade exclaimed as we both stared down the reflection of me in the mirror.
Jade left to go find her seat outside. It was just me, myself, and I standing behind the doorway that would lead to my future. I took a deep breath and walked out of the doors that separated me and my future and stood and the beginning of the aisle. I held my bouquet with pride and looked up to smile at all of the guests that took the time to see the marriage that I never wanted to happen. I could not look at the altar yet; I just wasn’t ready. I took the first step down the aisle. I took one step after the next until I realized the I was at the altar. I could smell something so familiar. It was so warm, and it invited me in as if it wanted me to stay a while. I looked up to see the face I least expected.
“David?!” I said confused.
“Delilah,” he said with a smirk and a glimmer in his eye.
"We will start with the groom David," the minister bellowed.
“I, David take you Delilah to have and to hold for richer or for poorer, through sickness and health, and until death do us part.”
“I, Delilah take you David to have and to hold for richer or poorer, through sickness and health, and until death do us part.”
“Do you Delilah take David to be your lawfully wedded husband?” the minister smiled.
“I do.”
“Do you David take Delilah to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.”
“By the power vested in me by the state of California, I pronounce you husband and wife!”
The crowd started to cheer and throw confetti as we left the ceremony. As we waited in a room by ourselves, David began to talk.
“You know something about today will always feel special because today was the eclipse. The eclipse reminds me of us. We kept passing by but something pulled us apart. However, today we are like the sun and the moon and we have found each other again.”
When David was done speaking, we went to the reception. We laughed and danced and drank the night away with all of our friends and family. Today is the day many things lined back up: the sun, moon, and the earth, but most importantly, David and I came back together.
In the middle of typing on my blog I hear someone sit down across from me. I look up to see the man that paid for my coffee.
“Hello beautiful,” he slithered in a smooth voice.
“Hello, “I reply. I take a sip of my coffee and he asks my name.
Smoothy he replied, “Delilah. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
My cheeks begin to turn red. As we continue to talk he tells me that his name is David and more about himself and I do the same. After an hour of talking, I draw the conversation to a close. As I get up to leave he slips something in to the pocket of my jacket that I pretend not to notice. When I reach the door, I turn to him and wave good bye and leave. I feel his eyes on me as I get to my car. On my way home, my mom text-messages me to get bread for dinner from the bakery. When I pull into a parking spot at the bakery, I decide to text David and tell him that I had a great time today. I always thought that first date love was so cliché, but love is all I could feel. It’s like I could see David everywhere I looked, and all I could do was smile.
When I arrived home, I saw our maid Maria preparing dinner. I could just smell what it was: my favorite homade ravioli. When my mother, father, and I sat down for dinner they couldn't stop starring at me as if I were a lost puppy. When I took a sip of lemonade, I heard my mother say these dreadful words, “Delilah, I’ve solved your marriage problem."
“How?” I suspiciously replied with my voice and my eyes.
“Your father and I have found someone suitable for you to marry.”
“So I have to go on a date with this supposedly 'perfect' man you’ve picked for me?”
“No, Delilah. On August 21st, you are going to walk down the aisle and you are going to marry him.”
“What!?”
“Sweetheart, I know this isn’t how any of us planned for this to go, but it has to be this way”
This was the only response I could get out of them. I left dinner early that night, and I got up, grabbed my purse and keys, and got into my car and just started driving. I don’t even know how long I was driving for. Why does this happen to me?
I looked at the clock and decided to go home. When I opened the front door to my house, it was dark and lonely everyone had gone to bed. That night when I climbed into bed I decided to post the shots from today at The Brew on my blog. When I finished typing for tomorrow's post, I drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, I woke to the sounds of my mother calling me down for breakfast, so I got out of bed, put my robe on, and walked down the stairs. When I got down there I saw an array of breakfast foods.
“Good morning Delilah!” my mom cheered as she tried to get me to start a conversation.
I was to mad to even look up at her. As we began to eat, the doorbell rang and I got up to answer it. I saw something I never wanted to see: a wedding planner. She came to the table, sat down, and began to ask me questions of what I wanted in a wedding. I answered all the questions to the best of my ability as if I were going to get married. I wanted it to, at least, be pretty. After the wedding planner left, I went to get ready for the day. As my hair was drying, I sat there and text-messaged David the news of the marriage my mother set up for me. I left my phone facing down, as I couldn’t bear to see the text he would send me in response. He would be either upset or he wouldn't actually care to respond.
When I went downstairs, my mom said she had a surprise for me I had nothing to lose today so I went along with it. We got into my car and drove off to the surprise location my mother had picked out. When we arrived, I quickly realized that this was a bridal salon. I was trying on wedding dresses today. We were greeted by a consultant named Cassandra, Cassandra and I went to a fitting room to talk about what I wanted in a wedding dress “I want either a mermaid or an a –line style with sparkle” that was my response to all of the questions she asked. She came back with 5 dresses I tried on all of those and then some. I finally decided on a dress, the dress was an a –line with a lace top with a high neck and cap shoulders with a sparkle detail on the sleeves the bottom was flowy and had lace and sparkle appliqué down to the bottom.
As I sat I the car on the way home, I saw a text from David. He had news to tell me. We had decided to meet for coffee; I got to the coffee shop before him and tried to find the most secluded table in the shop. I didn’t want everyone to see the emotions that were going to come out of this conversation. I sat and waited for about ten minutes. I looked up, and I saw him. I couldn't do anything but cry. I didn’t want to lose him forever. I loved him. We began to talk.
“Delilah?"
“Yes?”
“I love you, and this hurts me to say this, but we can’t be together anymore.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to get in the way of you trying to love this other man," he said with the utmost sincerity.
All I could do was sit there and cry more tears. I couldn’t hear him, or anyone, in the coffee shop talking any more. I just saw lips moving.
“I’m sorry Delilah. Just know I’ll always love you."
After that sentence we got up and hugged each other. That hug felt like I was hugging a giant teddy bear. I just melted into his arms, and for the last time I smelled the warm and inviting scent of his cologne. When we broke away from our hug we look at each other and said in unison,
“I love you David.”
”I love you Delilah.”
I climbed into my Range Rover and drove back to wedding central: home. As I walked in the door, I was hit with the sounds of the wedding planner and my mother discussing centerpieces and table runners. I somehow managed to pass by the craziness and up in to the only sane place in the house: my room. I put on sweatpants and a t-shirt, climbed into bed, and fell asleep crying.
* * *
It's three months later, and today is the day. The day that I will give myself away to someone that I’ve never met in my life before. I was standing in the bridal suite of the vineyard that I was to be getting married at. I saw what was making this day bearable: the wedding dress I’d picked out months ago. I took a deep breath as I stepped into the dress as my best friend Jade helped me to button the back up. When I had it on, I stopped to stare at myself in the mirror.
“You look beautiful!” jade exclaimed as we both stared down the reflection of me in the mirror.
Jade left to go find her seat outside. It was just me, myself, and I standing behind the doorway that would lead to my future. I took a deep breath and walked out of the doors that separated me and my future and stood and the beginning of the aisle. I held my bouquet with pride and looked up to smile at all of the guests that took the time to see the marriage that I never wanted to happen. I could not look at the altar yet; I just wasn’t ready. I took the first step down the aisle. I took one step after the next until I realized the I was at the altar. I could smell something so familiar. It was so warm, and it invited me in as if it wanted me to stay a while. I looked up to see the face I least expected.
“David?!” I said confused.
“Delilah,” he said with a smirk and a glimmer in his eye.
"We will start with the groom David," the minister bellowed.
“I, David take you Delilah to have and to hold for richer or for poorer, through sickness and health, and until death do us part.”
“I, Delilah take you David to have and to hold for richer or poorer, through sickness and health, and until death do us part.”
“Do you Delilah take David to be your lawfully wedded husband?” the minister smiled.
“I do.”
“Do you David take Delilah to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.”
“By the power vested in me by the state of California, I pronounce you husband and wife!”
The crowd started to cheer and throw confetti as we left the ceremony. As we waited in a room by ourselves, David began to talk.
“You know something about today will always feel special because today was the eclipse. The eclipse reminds me of us. We kept passing by but something pulled us apart. However, today we are like the sun and the moon and we have found each other again.”
When David was done speaking, we went to the reception. We laughed and danced and drank the night away with all of our friends and family. Today is the day many things lined back up: the sun, moon, and the earth, but most importantly, David and I came back together.