Something Blue

  "You look amazing, Jen!"

  Casey's muffled voice buzzes with barely repressed excitement as she throws her arms around me in a tight squeeze.

  "He's a lucky man!" Haley, my best friend, affirms from behind her thick mask, her goggled eyes glinting in the light. I imagine there are tears behind them because I detect a small sob breaking up her sentence. Casey pulls away and places her hand on my cheek. The warmth of her touch is muted by my own protective equipment, but the gesture still makes my eyes sting with repressed emotion.

  "Are you ready yet, Jennifer? " My dear mother, who hasn't settled in one spot since the sun rose this morning, almost frantically dashes into the room, kicking away the broken glass at her feet. When she sees me, she stops and clasps her hands to her chest, clutching imaginary pearls.

  "Sweetheart, you're beautiful." Her soft, loving tones bring a flush to my cheeks. I wish I could see her smile but it's enough that she's even here sharing this day with me. Not many have been so lucky since the the Collapse, but today I'm the luckiest girl alive. My mother sniffs audibly and begins to dust the soot off my otherwise pristine white dress. It was sheer blind luck that the one building left surviving of downtown was a bridal shop, and I had my pick of a few gowns that hadn't been consumed in flames. 

 "Don't forget your veil!" Casey withdraws from her always-present backpack a small wire circlet, fashioned from a bent hanger, and decorated with dangling bits of jewelry. The focal point of the piece is a large amethyst pendant that hangs like a frontlet over the length of torn taffeta that makes up a serviceable veil. 

  "No, Casey! That's your special necklace!" I block her from placing the crown on my head but she deftly dodges my attempt. 

  "I want you to have it, okay? Consider it a wedding present!" She is full on sobbing now. I acquiesce and she sets the tiara in its place and now the tears flow freely. I wrap my younger sister in another hug and now we're all crying. 

 "Look at us," I sniff loudly, my voice choked and broken. "We're a wreck!" Our sobs break into laughter and we fall against one another helplessly, the tension and sentimentality of the moment finally breaking us as we let it all out in a hilarious mess of cry-laughing. Finally, Haley shakes her head and adjusts her cumbersome gas mask, painted pink for the occasion, and with a Darth Vader style intake of breath she gains control of herself, bringing sobriety back to the group. 

 "Well, the amethyst pendant is something old!" She chuckles, referencing the ancient bridal ritual of collecting specific trinkets for the special day.  

 "The tiara is something new, I guess?" laughs Casey, her voice brightened but still shaky with crying. 

 "And here's something borrowed." My mother slides a small leather band off of her wrist and ties some old cloth flowers we gathered from some department store rubble into a bouquet. "I want that back!" I can hear the smile in her voice and see the laugh lines in her eyes through the dark glass lenses of her mask. I twirl away from her, letting my skirt billow out around my body in girlish enthusiasm, an emotion I've not allowed myself in what feels like an eternity. 

 "Now all we need is," my voice pitches up into a sing-song lilt, "something blue!" Just then a sudden rap at the door causes us all to jump and cry out in alarm. 

  "Sorry!" my brother hisses a rushed apology. "We're all waiting for you!" Joseph is going to walk me down the aisle in Dad's stead, since my poor father can't really walk anymore. There's not exactly anyone around to prescribe arthritis medication and his poor joints get worse every day... But at least he's here to see me walk to my future. Oh, dear! My future! It's here, the moment! As Casey and Haley begin to walk out into the main hall of the old church, I can hear their muffled a capella rendition of Canon in D begin to echo off the sturdy stone walls. Joseph, his own mask polished to a gleaming black and an over sized black jacket thrown around his teenaged shoulders, extends his elbow to me with the formality befitting the occasion. My breath catches in my throat. It's here, it's real! I never thought this day would happen when everything fell apart so long ago, but I suppose love and life always find a way, despite the circumstances. 

  "Jennifer, you're radiant!" Joseph hoarsely whispers to me as I take his arm. Haley, Casey, and Mom sing even louder as Joseph and I step through the door and face the small group huddled around the rotted out podium at the front of the aisle. Standing proudly in the front, with the singers flanking him, stands Cade, the love of my life. His scruffy hair has been slicked back neatly and as much soot as possible has been scrubbed out of his mint green shirt. My heart leaps and dances and his posture straightens with pride. The voices crescendo as we slowly shuffle to the end of the room, and they fall silent as I step in my spot next to my husband-to-be. My father, despite his inability to stand, sits as proud as he can in his wheelchair and begins reading the old familiar words, (or at least what he could remember of them) from an old leather journal he's been keeping since the world ended. 

  "We are gathered here today, in the sight of God..." his words drone on but I'm lost in Cade's eyes, eyes I've only ever seen from behind foggy lenses. I know he's grinning, but I can only see the protruding snout of his camouflaged mask. His breath is ragged with the same excitement that I can feel buzzing through my entire being. All too soon, and yet, not soon enough we're saying our vows. The heat glows up my neck and my heart pounds so loudly in my ears I can barely hear myself say "I do." Then Cade's hands are grabbing mine,.We have no rings but it doesn't matter to me. It is then that for the first time in ages, I feel the fresh, cool air on my face and I quickly suck in a last clean breath. Cade takes off my protective mask and then I take off his...

He's the most beautiful thing I've seen in five years. 

The kiss that follows is a short one, since the omnipresent ash isn't safe to breathe for too long, but it is exquisite. Our masks are back on in a flash. Dad presents us as husband and wife to the small assemblage before us, primarily made up of what remains of Haley's family and the few of my now deceased older brother's prepper buddies,. I'm sure Hunter is smiling down from wherever he is. 

  Everyone applauds and cheers, then suddenly a micro tremor sends us all ducking for cover. Thankfully, it's a tiny one and all that happens is the last bit of a stained glass window is decimated, and rains down upon us in a shower of crystals. Miraculously, nobody gets cut.

When we regain our feet, Casey points at me and cries out. 

 "There it is," she exclaims, "something blue!" The shards of the window are all a beautiful sapphire color and they're throwing up resplendent broken light all over my white dress. She's right, and this fills me with absolute glee. The laughter we all share swells my soul. Today is perfect, and I'm a very lucky girl.