TIMEWARP: The Happy Side of Crazy

/--outfit

This wedding was a blessing in more ways than one for Lyra. For one, she was really happy for Ella, ecstatic in fact. The recruiter and John were close, so naturally she became friends with Ella as well- she was the person the younger woman called when she was frustrated or upset with John, for whatever reason. Talking to Ella always seemed like a breath of fresh air. Even Ella’s wedding was like a mini-vacation for her and John, in a way. True, it wasn’t an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii, but Lyra had never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The best part about the wedding was that it fell on the third weekend of the month- her drill weekend. She put in an application to take leave and was granted it- but she’d have to go in next weekend to make up for it. She wasn’t going to dispute the issue, of course; she was glad she had been given leave in the first place. She joined the army to pay for college like a lot of people her age; she had put a lot of thought into it and finally decided to try it. She had her degree now, but she still stayed, despite John’s disapproval of it. He worried about the uprisings in Laos and the president’s speech a week before about providing aid if the call was made; everyone was worried about it and many people were resigning. But Lyra didn’t budge. She liked the structure of it, the organization. It reminded her of the carnival in a way, at least the good parts of it. She needed some stable structure in her life.

Not that John wasn’t structured. He was anything but unpredictable, as always. But that was the problem in a way: his predictable stubbornness directed toward anything she did that he disapproved of was exhausting. Before the wedding they had an argument about her choice of dress. Ella had approved of it, loved it even, but he disliked it. Likewise, she had hidden his ties, refusing to give them back for the wedding even if he didn’t feel heat like other people did. The walk to the beach had left her silent and frustrated. When the ceremony began she still was upset. Selfishly so, obviously, but she couldn’t shake it.

After a couple minutes into the speech, she had relaxed a bit. Her legs crossed at the ankle, her hands folded in her lap, and her eyebrows finally lifted out of the stern look she always seemed to have on her face. By the time the couple had slipped their rings onto each other’s fingers, her frustration with the man next to her was forgotten. One hand rested idly on her leg while she used the heel to wipe one of her eyes (Damn sand, getting into everything) and she smiled as the wedding finished and Ella kissed her husband. She didn’t clap or cheer like everyone else- merely smiled and sat back in her seat. She had been subconsciously leaning forward in rapt attention through the whole thing, and now that it was over she corrected herself.

Lyra was a sucker for weddings, after all.

Florence loved weddings. She'd been invited to Mason's own to his first wife, but this was far better, with her husband sat beside her as Ella - a fellow recruiter - said her vows and stared into Rhys' eyes. She put a hand to her chest and then wiped away a tear as the ceremony drew to it's climax, and leant back in her chair to rub at her belly. Little Sophia was giving her own applause in the form of a few little kicks, and the woman pressed Mason's hand to her belly, letting him feel the kicks.

She loved the setting - Gwynie was perfectly behaved as were the twins, and the soft floaty dress that she'd picked was perfect. Perfect in the sense it was right for the beach, and perfect that it gave the painfully large bump in her abdomen enough space to feel comfortable. Ella looked beautiful, utterly radiant with her hair done and the happiness in her face. Flo hoped Gwynie would find someone that could make her feel like that when she was old enough.

Mason had been a pillar of support through the pregnancy, especially after she had some complications early on with bleeding. He'd been far stronger than she could have ever imagined, and this comfortable happy ending just added to her motherly glow. "They look so happy." She whispered to her husband, nudging his cheek with her nose and then looking behind her at the boys.

"Josh, don't pick your nose, love." She added quietly, tapping the boy on the knee before looking back at the happy couple. God she loved weddings.

Once they had stood up and meandered off to converse with the rest of the guests, Lyra took hold of John’s hand, interlocking her fingers with his as they made their way through the crowd to where Ella was standing. L.C. loved her outfit, of course- it was so sunny, just like her. She smiled at Rhys and nodded, but then when she turned back to Ella she gave her a hug, a clear indication of how close they were- Lyra never hugged anyone aside from John. “Thanks Ella, but you look better, as always.” she said, smiling as she stood back beside her... well, whatever they were.

Nudging John with her hip, she shot him a ‘not now’ look at turned back to Ella. “Can you imagine me in a dress? No, don’t even answer that.” She joked, sighing before turning away as the rest of the guests flooded to greet Ella and her new husband. She didn’t want to hover over her, after all. Taking a few steps back, she finally let John’s hand go and stood away from the throng of people, watching the crowd from afar like she usually did. Despite being young and sociable, she didn’t really like conversing with people she didn’t know.

After a moment of taking in the big picture, Lyra looked over the ocean and admired it for a moment. It was a lovely shade of blue, and she almost couldn’t tell where the water ended and the sky began. She smiled at the picturesque landscape before turning again, scanning the crowd. She found Sean and waved, noting that, even though his daughter was present, his partner was not. She didn’t find it strange, considering Josh was mayor of Pilot Ridge now, but it was a little depressing to see her old mentor going stag to a wedding. She’d have small talk with him later.

Fidgeting with her dog tags, she waited until everyone dispersed before heading to the snack table, grabbing herself a bottle of beer. She placed her thumb under the cap and expertly pressed up, a tiny sliver of a spike driving itself in under the metal and popping the top off. She caught the top and placed it in the trash can before taking a sip of her newly opened drink. She wasn’t going to cling to John’s side all night- if he didn’t like her outfit, he didn’t have to see her in it.

Yes, she’s being incredibly selfish, let’s move along now.