Hi everyone,

Thank you for visiting my blog to read part 20 of my first Saturday Story: Rags to Riches.

I look forward to posting part 21 on Saturday, September 8th, 2018.

Have a great weekend!

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

Amber Green

Rags to Riches

Part 20

To Riches:

Melanie sighed in relief. It was finally over. She could relax.

It had taken many years- and many heartaches- but like herself, all three of her adult children were in good relationships. As a mother, the emotional wellbeing of her children was something that concerned her from time to time, and she was happy that Priscilla, Chris and Franca had a good spouse in each of their lives.

Though Franca hired many professionals to help with the occasion (I swear, the wedding business is worth many millions more this year because of my daughter, she thought), Melanie had been busy helping Franca with wedding preparations for at least the last fourteen months.

Melanie was glad that it finally happened, as after the death of her father, Franca postponed her wedding many times. She was heartbroken; the fantasy of what her wedding day should have been lay in tatters. No amount of money could bring Carlos back.

It wasn’t the same without Carlos, but Melanie and her family believed that he was with Franca- with all of them- in spirit. The wedding was a spectacular event; elegant and extraordinary that really represented the happy couple and both families beautifully.

Melanie looked at an old photo of herself and Carlos, in a loving embrace, taken many years before. You would have loved it, she thought, as if speaking to the man with whom she had spent decades of her life.

Walking Franca down the aisle with Chris by their side had been bittersweet for everyone. Franca had always taken it for granted that her father would be there to walk her down the aisle, as he had for her sister, Priscilla. Franca’s husband was worth the wait, but she was heartbroken that life and its mysteries and tragedies had ripped her father away; had rewritten such an important event of Franca’s life.

They all missed Carlos, but Franca was still chilled by the fact that Melanie had remarried almost a couple of years ago. It had been odd for Melanie to remarry at all, but marriage was important to her and the timing felt right to them. Melanie’s new husband, Tony, had been a friend of the family for years, but that didn’t help.  Franca was the most upset by her mother’s new relationship. Following a heated argument, a brief but intense time of silence between Melanie and Franca ensued. Shortly after they reconciled at Melanie and Tony’s wedding, Franca’s own wedding plans began, and now Franca and Melanie’s new son-in-law were off on an extravagant honeymoon throughout Europe. It would be an entire month before they were back home.

Melanie said a prayer to Carlos- she missed him, too, and was regularly caught navigating between the love and life she had known so well with Carlos, and the love she had in her fairly new marriage to Tony.

Finally able to relax after many months of preparation, she grabbed a paperback book and joined her husband on the back deck that overlooked the picturesque beach, as waves rhythmically rolling into shore.

From Rags:

“You saw him come out of her room?” Chris asked angrily.

We were sitting on the couch in Priscilla and Luke’s living room. Hugging a cushion for comfort, I had just told my brother about the betrayal I had suffered at the hands- or activities- of my ex-boyfriend, Kevin  and my roommate (and former friend), Anna. The demise of my relationship with Kevin had been coming for a while. Now that I was away from him, I recognize that there were many signs; signs that I ignored and signs that I explained away. Such obvious betrayal and infidelity were things that could not be ignored.

“Yeah, I did,” I answered. “Then I went into Anna’s room to confront her.”

Chris’s eyes widened. “Whoa. Cat fight?” he asked, with a bit of a smile.

I rolled my eyes. “No. Just good, old-fashioned grown-up rage. She’s moving out.”

“I’m surprised at both of them. You deserve better than that,” Chris said seriously. “You’ve always deserved better than him. You guys rarely seemed to be on the same page.” I nodded. It was amazing how such a radical change in your circumstances can shift how you think about a situation and people you thought you knew so drastically. “You’ll find someone who suits you.”

“Thanks, Chris,” I said.

“I mean, I don’t know if anyone will ever deserve you, but you’ll find someone you are compatible with,” Chris said confidently.

I blushed and grinned, warmed by my brother’s sweet words.

“Well, at least I’m not in a rush to get married,” I said. “Who cares if I have to use a walker to get down the aisle?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t matter,” Chris said, playing along. “They allow cats in churches, right?” I looked at him, confused. “I assume that they’ll make up much of your RSVPs?” He laughed, as I rolled my eyes and threw the cushion I was holding at him.

…………

*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