Chapter 17

A Chapter by L.A.

Chapter Seventeen

     Da da da dum, da da da dum.
    The infamous organ music played as Jody walked down the aisle in her long, beautiful gown. She smiled nervously, but managed to keep each of her feet in front of the other and not trip over her long train.
     Francie and Claira, who were throwing flowers all over the place, turned to look at each other and grinned. They followed Francie's mom up to the altar, tossed around a few more flowers, then exited and took a seat up front.
     The pastor went on and on, saying all the boring things he had to say. Then, it was time for the real deal.
     "Do you, William Smith, take Jody Peterson to be your lawfully wedded wife; through sickness and in health, till death do you part?"
     Bill, dressed in a traditional tux, looked lovingly into his fiance's eyes. "I do."
     "Do you, Jody Peterson, take William Smith to be your lawfully wedded husband; through sickness and in health, till death do you part?"
     She stared back into Bill's eyes, and smiled. "I do."
     They were handed their rings by the ring bearers, and slipped them onto each others' fingers. Then the pastor said, "You may kiss the bride!"
     Jody and Bill leaned in, and...well, kissed. Francie wiggled her eyebrows at Claira, and they both had to refrain themselves from bursting out laughing.
     After what seemed like forever, the newly wedded couple broke away from each other and walked down the isle, hand-in-hand. This was everyone else's cue to leave the church and head outside for refreshments.
     Everyone circled in around Jody and Bill and started chanting, "Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!" They clapped their hands to the beat.
     Someone handed Bill a knife, and he took a slice out of the cake and fed it to his wife. She laughed as frosting got all over her face, which was covered in makeup. Then she fed Bill a piece of cake, making sure to get more on his cheeks than in his mouth.
     The audience laughed, and everyone got in line for cake and other various refreshments.
     Claira and Francie sat down at a random table, and wasted no time digging into their sweets.

Francie kept sneaking looks at her mother, who seemed to always be giving Bill another kiss. Everywhere, people were tapping their glasses and clapping.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Francie said.

"Right?" Claira agreed, glancing around. "It seems like...like a dream come true."

Francie smiled at her sister. "Yeah."

The two stood up and got in line for more food.

"Hey Francie, guess what?" Claira asked, giggling slightly.

"What?"

"ATTACK!"

Claira, in her expensive red dress, hopped onto Francie's back and threw her arms around Francie's neck. Francie had no choice but to grab Claira's legs. She started running away with Claira as fast as her feet could take her. They both kicked off their shoes and Francie sprinted across the church lawn, screaming wildly and laughing the whole way.

Finally, the girls collapsed into the grass, still shrieking uncontrollably.

After they had settled down for a while, Francie spoke up.

"Hey Claira, guess what?"

"Uh oh."

"ATTACK!"

Francie reached over and tickled Claira's sides. Soon, they were messing around all over again. And not long after that, Jody and Bill came up to them.

"Girls," Jody said, "You really need to calm down."

Francie and Claira stopped and exchanged silly glances, then burst out into a fresh fit of giggles.

The now-Mrs.-Smith sighed.

Bill laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine, Jody," he said with a kind smile. "Let them be children." With that, the couple strode away, back to their guests.

"Hey Francie."

"Hm?"

"Guess what?"

"...Not this again."

"Guess what?" Claira persisted.

Francie smiled. "What?"

"I love you." Claira turned to face her new sister.

"I love you too," Francie said. After a slight pause, she added, "And Claira?"

"Yes?"

She giggled. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"You're the best sister ever."