This is a short 750 word scene with no sex, based on a phrase I’ve heard used in real life. It hints at balance within a relationship and just niggles me.
It was a week before our wedding and I was getting a bit tired of hearing:
“Jesus Tom! Your punching above your weight!” or variations on that theme.
I’ll admit I felt the same, Stephanie was stunning! She looked like a swimsuit model, long blonde hair and ice blue eyes. I was… well fairly good looking and reasonably fit but not in her league. There you go again; even I am saying it now!
It wasn’t the comments that bothered me so much, but the fact Stephanie seemed to delight in them. I was hoping for at least some defence or support, maybe suggesting she was equally lucky or I was a great guy, but little was forth coming. I wondered if she agreed with their assessment, and if that were the case where would we end up in the future.
I was already uncomfortable with the amount of male attention she attracted, and the fact she encouraged it then claimed to be unaware. Then there was Aiden who was always lingering in the background, my ‘wife to be’ assured me he was just a family friend.
Our conversations became more one sided with lots of focus on her. At first I put it down to stresses of the wedding and turning into bridezilla. However a lot of that was self-inflicted, my original suggestions of getting married in the Caribbean or a small celebration with close family were dismissed out of hand. The wedding escalated way beyond our original plans and budget. But she had to have the perfect dress, the perfect venue, and cake, and ring and her second cousins had to be added to the invite list which was nearing 270 people at that stage.
I seemed to be lost in the mix: often instructed, usually ignored. I wondered if they’d notice if I just didn’t turn up and was pondering again why she was marrying me.
Her mother mentioned properties for sale near where they lived. It was fantasy; no way could we afford those houses, at least not for years. Then at the wedding rehearsal her dad gave me a lecture in front of the close family about keeping ‘his Princess in the manner to which she was accustomed.’ Steph and her mum were smiling at that; I managed my own false smile whilst considering I was an idiot to have expected a ‘welcome to the family’ speech.
Trust your gut; my Granddad’s old advice came back to me. Trust my gut or trust Steph, they should be the same thing… shouldn’t they?
I tried to talk to her about things escalating and explain my concerns yet again.
“Steph, I am not happy about….”
She immediately looked panic stricken and blurted out, “I wasn’t unfaithful… everyone got carried away at the hen party!”
The idea I was just unhappy about the wedding arrangements had never crossed her mind.
I was stunned but replied, “Not unfaithful, but….”
“I was drunk; everyone was kissing them, the strippers… their dicks I mean. I didn’t kiss him on the mouth: she said that like it was a triumph. As the bride, they focused on me, everyone said I had to do it, even mum. Don’t over react, I have a right to…”
“What, you have a right to suck someone else’s dick… is that it?”
“Yes, no I mean, it was nothing… just a drunk party, you can’t over react to that.”
“I suspect this would be the first of many conversations where you explain what you have a right to do and that I shouldn’t over react. I have rights as well, including not marrying you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, everything is organised!”
“Except the groom who is supposed to matter to you, but I am sure Aiden will fill in. This is just the final straw Steph, you haven’t listened to me for weeks, you flirt deliberately and act like a self-entitled Princess; well you can have it all your own way if I’m not there.
She was furious, how dare I treat her like that. I needed to man up, not be a pussy, we’d sort it all later, and the wedding just had to go ahead.
On autopilot I went over to my sister’s house. She was a formidable woman and I waited for her tirade after reiterating my sorry tale. She just smiled, and then the smile broadened into a laugh.
“Thank fuck for that, I never liked the stuck up bitch. Knew you would get there in the end little bro, Granddad would be proud. Anyway she was punching well above her weight, you’re far too good for her!”