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| FALLING AGAIN BY TIMA |
CHAPTER 1 |
FALLING AGAIN
chapter 1:
[Maria Delgado fusses over her only granddaughter, causing the younger woman to crave a few moments of solitude before she becomes a married woman.
Tea Delgado has been married before...twice, to the same man, but this is different. This time, she knows with certainty, will be the last time she puts herself through a day like today. This marriage will last longer than a day...longer than a year, which will make it longer than her previous attempts at lasting marital bliss, with one Thomas Todd Manning.
As the elder Delgado continues to fret over a few strands of Tea's hair that refuse to cooperate, Tea studies her own reflection in the full length mirror before her. She smiles at the nervous look on her face. She knows that her nerves this time aren't because she's marrying a virtual stranger as part of a business agreement, or because her groom is acting bizarrely, even more bizarrely than usual for Todd Manning, that is. This time, she's relieved to look at herself in the mirror moments before her wedding ceremony and know that her nerves are purely about tripping as she walks down the aisle.
It's a relief for Tea not to have to worry about everything anymore. Experience has taught her that it's a waste of energy trying to make everything perfect, or trying to make everyone happy. For the first time, she feels relaxed on her wedding day. For the first time, she has no doubts as she looks at herself in the mirror. She knows that she is, without a doubt, doing the right thing, with the right man, at the right time in her life.
Tea reassures her grandmother that her hair is fine the way it is and convinces her to take her place in the church.
Tea's solitude is short-lived, though, as mere moments after her grandmother leaves, there's a knock on the door.]
Tea: Who is it?
Del Delgado: Your maid of honor.
[Tea smiles as she opens the door to her equally smiling brother.]
Tea: I told you we could come up with a better way of referencing you.
Del: That's what everyone's calling me, anyway. I can take it. I'm just glad you finally invited me to one of these things. I was beginning to think you were embarrassed to have me around.
Tea: I was never embarrassed by you. My previous weddings were embarrassments on their own, for all the obvious reasons.
Del: You really think this time will be different?
Tea: I know it will be. This time everything is perfect.
Del: You thought that the last time and your groom showed up in a coffin. I've seen the pictures.
Tea: That was Todd's demented idea of a fairy tale wedding. This time there will be no coffins, I can assure you.
Del: You're positive your doing the right thing this time?
Tea: I don't have any doubts. How's my groom holding up?
Del: He's pacing around out there making everyone else nervous. He threatened to bust in here, grab you over his shoulder, and take you out of here to elope somewhere.
Tea: He doesn't like crowds and he hates waiting. He'll relax and be fine once the ceremony begins.
Del: You're sure you want to do this again?
Tea: For the last time, I'm positive. This is right. I know it is.
Del: Then, let's get out there and get this thing started.
Tea: I'll be out in a few minutes. I just want a little time alone, first, okay?
Del: You can still back out.
Tea: I have no intention of backing out.
Del: You look sad.
Tea: I was thinking about things that make me look sad. Don't worry so much.
Del: Were you thinking about your Mami?
Tea: Yes.
Del: I know having me around isn't the same thing but, if I can be your maid of honor, I can be like your mami for a few minutes and tell you that you deserve all the happiness you can get. Love hasn't always come easily for you. You've been hurt in the past, but if you really love this man, and you trust his love in you, put the past behind you and focus on the future. And, if that man ever hurts you, I'll hunt him down and kill him with my bare hands.
Tea: I don't think Mami would have threatened my husband-to-be's life on our wedding day.
Del: Papi would have. He would have told you that you were making a huge mistake. You deserve a hell of a lot more than that guy out there.
Tea: Papi would have been impressed by the size of his bank account.
Del: Papi didn't kiss up to those rich people because he was impressed by them. He did it because that job bought you ballet lessons, and books, and everything else that you wanted.
Tea: Not everything.
Del: He wasn't good at saying how he felt. He gave up his own dreams and worked at a job he hated so he could give us as much as he could, because that was his way of letting us know that he cared about us more than he cared about himself.
Tea: Did he ever tell you that he loved you?
Del: He didn't need to. I knew what he had sacrificed and I knew why. When I was accepted into the F.B.I., the look on his face told me how proud he was of what I had accomplished, more than any words could.
Tea: I remember when I told him I was planning on becoming a lawyer. I was expecting him to go into one of his sexist rants and tell me it was a foolish dream, that I should get married and raise a family, instead.
Del: He surprised you?
Tea: He told me that it was a perfect career for me because I was already stubborn, pushy, and opinionated.
Del: He never did like lawyers.
Tea: Or cops.
Del: But, he was proud of us. He loved us. He may not have shown you in the way you wanted, but he did love you.
Tea: I know. It's just hard sometimes for me to believe anyone could ever really love me.
Del: I love you.
Tea: You're my big brother, you're supposed to say that.
Del: I say it because I mean it. Don't marry this guy today if you don't believe he loves you. Don't put yourself through that again. Wait until you know. Wait for someone that doesn't give you any doubts.
Tea: What if that means waiting for the rest of my life?
Del: You shouldn't marry someone just because you're lonely, or because you think no one better will ever come along.
Tea: That's not why I'm getting married today, and I am getting married today. This is right for me. I don't have any doubts.
Del: Okay, I'll shut up now and give you a few minutes alone to say good-bye to your freedom.
Tea: Thank you, for everything. You're a great big brother. Now, go out there and be a great maid of honor. Keep my groom from ruining our luck by seeing me before the ceremony.
Del: Is that what went wrong with you and Manning the last two times you tried this?
Tea: Actually, both times he did see me before the ceremony, so maybe there is something to silly superstitions, after all. I want this time to be different. I want my luck to finally change.
Del: I'll do what I can. Just remember, if I ever lose my mind and decide to get shackled to one lady for the rest of my life, you'll have to return the favor and be my best man.
Tea: It's a date.
[Del kisses his sister on the cheek and leaves the room.
Tea returns her gaze to her own image in the full length mirror. Her solitude is again short-lived as she notices the door behind her slowly being opened.
Tea smiles, expecting her visitor to be her nervous groom and is stunned to instead find herself staring at the reflection of her ex-husband, Todd Manning.]
to be continued...
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2003 COPYRIGHT BY TIMA
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