Read Never a Bride: A Short Story for Free Online

“Don’t hate me. But all of this drama has made me starving. Really, really hungry. We passed a Krispy Kreme.”
    “You want a donut?”
    “Maybe two. The one with the cream in the center? I’ve been dieting forever and if I don’t fit into the dress, it ain’t gonna be because of that .” She patted her non-existent belly.
    Sheena sat back, and turned the ignition. “It’s your special day, Lis. Your wish is my command.”
    By ten, Lisa had gorged on donuts, gotten sick on donuts, then switched to seltzer water and saltines. The hair dresser arrived with an arsenal of hairspray, mousse and pins. Lisa had opted for a simple upsweep, with a crystal barrette instead of a veil. Classic. Sheena’s hair was curled in an over the shoulder pony tail and the woman finished by noon. They’d kept up inane chatter, avoiding the heavy topics of conversation.
    “My make-up girl won’t be here until twelve-thirty.” Lisa paced the small room the wedding chapel set aside for brides. Two comfy chairs, a vanity table, a full-length mirror, an oval table with four chairs but best of all, a private bathroom.
    “You sound stressed,” Sheena said, digging her iPad from her bag. “No stress. Music? You Tube videos?”
    “Amuse me. I am really mad that I can’t have any champagne.” She gave the Moet bottle a dark look.
    “I’m having a glass for you. Want more seltzer water?”
    “No. What kind of honeymoon are we going to have, anyway? I won’t be any fun.” Lisa plopped down in the overstuffed chair, her chin trembling. “Mike’s going to be bored out of his mind. I’m supposed to be fun. ”
    “Hold on a second, Lisa.” Sheena typed in honeymoon activities for the expecting bride. Sheena couldn’t keep a straight face as she read from an advice site on the Internet. “Listen, you can have a glass of champagne. It won’t hurt anything. The entire bottle? Probably not a good idea. Mike will be fine. Says here you can still have sex on your honeymoon – unless you have an angry uterus.”
    “Is that even possible?” Lisa held her hand over her belly.
    Laughing, Sheena lifted her e-reader. “As a copy editor, I am appalled by this website and the grammatical errors. As your best friend, this is damned hysterical. You can have sex, party, dance and travel. They advise that packing for your trip, due to your rapidly changing figure, will be the most hustle. I am assuming they mean hassle, but I could be completely wrong. Should I send them my freelance business card?”
    Dressed in her slip, Lisa ran to the full length mirror, eyeing her stomach and ass as if they were the enemy. “How fast can one body change?”
    “I don’t see you getting fat, honey. Not with the automatic purging after every meal.”
    “Mike says he’ll love me fat, chubby, pudgy – whatever. He better not be lying.” Lisa gave her slender figure a last look before picking up a cracker, sucking on the corner. “He says he loves me for me. He better remember that when my rear end is as wide as the door frame.”
    Sheena chuckled, though her heart ached at remembering Jared telling her the same thing. Sharing that with Lisa probably wouldn’t help her friend’s self-confidence, since Jared had disappeared. “You are beautiful. With your hair like that, you remind me of Cinderella before the ball.”
    Lisa patted her up-do. “Really? I found my prince. Kissed a lot of toads,” she said with a sour expression. “But I finally got a good guy.”
    Sheena looked away before she started crying again. All of this wedding preparation reminded her of how awful her own day had been. How close she’d come to something spectacular, without snagging the happy-ever-after prize. What if the road to happiness was full of pot holes? Whoever crossed the finish line, period, was a winner?
    She cleared her throat. “You got the best of the bunch. Have you heard from Mike at all today?”
    “He sent me an “I love you” text this morning, but