Saturday Story: Rags to Riches 

Thanks for reading my Saturday Story! Below is part 6 of Rags to Riches; if you’re new to my blog (welcome!), you can catch up by reading parts 1-5 here. Please check back next Saturday for part 7, and be sure to let me know what you think by commenting below.

Give your life the green light! It’s A Go!

Amber Green

Part 6:

To Riches:

It was like stepping into a fairytale. The hall was beautiful. Vast and elegant, the atmosphere was warm and regal; gold adorned the fixtures and many crystal chandeliers above. Though we were indoors, there seemed to be stars twinkling directly above the dance floor- where the newly united couple would enjoy their first dance. Gorgeous, grandiose flower arrangements, prominently featuring gardenias accented the space beautifully.

The entire celebration was a masterful blend of elegant with a touch of playful (the wedding cake is superhero-themed, much to my mother’s dismay, and a Grammy-winning rock band would keep the party going well into the night).

My family had always treasured weddings as an extremely important rite of passage, but previous celebrations had never been so grand. It seems that everyone any of us had ever met was expected to attend.

There was a time when I thought this day would never happen. I’m so happy that it finally has. He deserves to be happy.

From Rags:

Even though I had enjoyed a coffee after dinner, I drove to my favourite café as if on autopilot.

My sister, Priscilla and I sat in silence. We had just seen our younger brother- whom we long since judged as a womanizing dog (I know that that’s harsh, but it’s what my sister and I had always thought) in the thralls of passion… with a man.

Don’t get me wrong- society has come a long way. This is not a taboo topic for so many anymore. (Gay marriage has been legal across Canada since 2005.)

But that’s not the way it was in my parents’ day. I was worried about how they would react, if they ever found out.

Progressive (or, at the very least ‘with the times’) in many ways, my parents hadn’t perpetuated many of their parents’ outdated rationale and customs, but I wasn’t sure what my father’s reaction would have been had he been in the car with us.

We continued sitting in silence as I put the car in park. I looked at my older sister.

“So. So what? Chris is bi?” Priscilla asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know if he’s bisexual,” I answered.

“Well, he’d have to be. He has had girlfriends,” Priscilla reasoned. “Unless that was all an act?”

I ignored her question. “Why even put a label on it?”

“What do you mean?”

“It means that it doesn’t matter,” I explained to my sister. “Maybe Chris has always been interested in both men and women… maybe this is a one-time thing. We won’t know until we talk to him.”

“You wanna talk to him about this?” My sister asked, in bewilderment.

“You would rather, what? Pretend it didn’t happen?”

“Well, yeah. If he wanted us to know, he would’ve told us. If he didn’t see us driving away, he doesn’t know that we know.”

I pondered this for a moment. “I still think we should talk to him, but it doesn’t have to be tonight.”

“Yeah, it looks like he was having a good time. We wouldn’t want to interrupt,” Priscilla said, with a smile. I rolled my eyes at her, but couldn’t help but think that she might be correct. “I didn’t see his face- as it buried in our little brother’s neck- but it looked like he had nice hair,” she said, giggling.

I laughed, “And fantastic arms.”

“He must work at the garage,” my sister said. “If things don’t work out between you and Kevin, maybe Mr. Mystery-Arms can set you up with a good-looking mechanic… You know, one that likes ladies.”

“Things are going…” I hesitated, “things are going with Kevin.” I said, looking at my sister as she smirked. It’s true that it’s been a couple of days since Kevin and I spoke; I really should call him, I thought.

“No, but seriously-” Priscilla started, earnestly.

My phone rang. My brother’s face filled the screen.

“Oh my God, he saw us!” My sister exclaimed, staring at me, wide-eyed.

“No, he-he would’ve called immediately. He would’ve waited so long,” I reasoned, hurriedly.

“He’s trying to figure–figure– would you answer the phone?!” Priscilla said, shrilly. “And sound natural,” she hissed.

I picked up my phone, almost fumbling it as I answered the call, “Hey Chris! What’s up?” I asked, an octave too high, and far too loudly.

Priscilla gave me her older sister, I-can’t-trust-you-with-anything look, as I listened for my brother to answer.

………

Continue reading Rags to Riches: Part 7 here.

*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

© 2018 Amber Green