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21 Notifications from Facebook
Happy Would-Be Wedding Day, guys!
Wishing you a wonderful day, despite the circumstances!
A beautiful day for a beautiful ceremony, if only!
Thinking of you, Jack and Elsa, on what would have been your wedding day. Love you!
Elsa sighed, exiting out of Facebook. Their friends and family meant well, but they could have used some tact. Being reminded fifty times of the fact that she wasn’t getting married today wasn’t exactly fun.
Beside her, Jack rolled over in bed and groaned. Elsa smiled and reached out a hand to absentmindedly stroke his white hair. Sleepily, he grabbed at her hand and pressed her palm to his mouth, kissing it.
“Morning, babe,” he said, voice rough.
“Good morning,” she replied. She turned her phone off and tossed it on her nightstand, snuggling down into the bed and into her fiancé’s side. His arms easily slipped around her to pull her into his chest. Elsa reveled in his embrace, the strong planes of his chest a comfort unlike anything she had found in the twenty-five years that she’d been alive. Wrapped in his arms, she could almost forget the cloud of sadness hanging over her.
“Happy wedding day,” Jack murmured.
Almost.
Elsa groaned, pulling out of Jack’s arms and sitting back up in bed.
“Elsa, hey, what’s wrong?” Jack asked, sitting up as well.
“We’re not getting married today, Jack, that’s what’s wrong,” Elsa snapped. She flung the covers off of her body and swung her legs over the edge. She got up and headed for the bathroom.
“I know that, I just—” He cut himself off. There were a few moments of silence, then: “Oh. Facebook.”
“Yeah, Facebook,” Elsa said, grabbing her toothbrush and beginning to clean her teeth. She spoke through mouthfuls of toothpaste, her words garbled. “'You would have looked so beautiful today, Elsa.' 'Wish we could have seen your dress, Elsa.' 'We’re thinking of you today, Elsa.'” She spit into the sink. When she looked up into the mirror, Jack was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, staring at her worriedly. “It’s just… do they think that I possibly forgot what today was supposed to be? We’re the ones it affected the most; I don’t need a bunch of people that I invited just to be polite reminding me of what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.”
“I’m sorry, Els,” Jack said sadly. Elsa sighed.
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped. This affects you as much as it affects me,” she said. She turned around, leaning back against the counter, to look at him. He stared at her curiously; she could practically see the gears moving in his head. “What?”
“Do you have any plans for today?” Jack asked.
“We’re quarantined, Jackson,” Elsa said.
“So, you’re free. Perfect. Stay right here, don’t leave the room.” With that, Jack darted away, stopping by the bed to pick up his phone.
“Jack?” she called out. He didn’t respond. Elsa sighed. She was going back to bed.
When Elsa woke up for the second time on her wedding day, she found the garment bag that held her wedding dress lying beside her. She started. For a moment, reason left her. Was she being haunted by some ghostly bride who also never got her wedding day? Then, Elsa saw the note lying on top of the bag.
Put this on and meet me outside at two. Don’t be late.
-J
Elsa furrowed her brow as she sat up, picking up the note to get a better look at it. She glanced at the alarm clock beside the bed—one o’clock. That was strange; she never usually slept that late. The day must have been taking a toll on her.
Slowly, Elsa stretched and got up from her bed. She looked at the note again. What was Jack planning that involved her in her wedding dress? Wasn’t it bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding day? Though, Elsa supposed, it was the wedding day, and they’d already had to cancel it, so what more bad luck could they possibly bring among themselves?
Elsa made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. Quickly, she washed herself with lavender soap to help calm her nerves and rinsed off. She got out of the shower and dried her hair, tying it off in a French braid. She pulled on a robe and walked back out into the bedroom, eyeing the garment bag with her dress once more.
Elsa knew what lay inside it—a simple white dress with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a slight cape, shimmering and somewhat translucent in places. It was beautiful. When she’d tried it on, she’d heard her mother’s voice, whispering in her ear, and Elsa had cried.
Gently, Elsa unzipped the bag and pulled the dress out. She considered herself lucky that she’d chosen a simple dress to get married in, one that she could easily get in and out of herself. After the dress was on, Elsa went into her closet to grab the sparkly sandals she’d picked out and slip them on. She looked at the clock again—it was ten til two.
Stomach suddenly aflutter with nerves, Elsa walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the house. Outside, she could hear the sound of a violin playing, though she couldn’t quite make out the song. Curious, Elsa walked faster. She reached the first floor and saw that there was a bouquet of crocuses waiting by the front door. She stooped down to grab it and then stepped outside.
Elsa’s breath caught in her throat. Off to the side stood Jack’s mother and sister, both in masks. Emma, his sister, held a violin to her shoulder as she played the song that Elsa and Jack had picked out for their first dance. Kristoff stood a few yards away from them, also masked, holding onto the leash that held his dog, Sven. There were a few cars parked in the road, where Elsa could see their friends: Hiccup and Astrid, Merida, Rapunzel and Eugene. And in the middle of the road was Anna, dressed in her bridesmaid dress and sporting the largest smile Elsa had ever seen her wear.
“Elsa!” she called out, waving wildly. “I’d hug you, but I can’t!”
Elsa laughed. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m marrying you!”
“What?”
“She’s here to marry us.” Jack was beside her, looking handsome in a tuxedo. Elsa gasped at the suddenness of his appearance and at his words.
“What?” Elsa asked. “Anna can’t marry people.”
“As of about an hour ago, yes, she can,” Jack said.
“I don’t understand.” Elsa shook her head. “How did you do all of this?”
“It really wasn’t that hard. As you mentioned, we’re quarantined, so no one had plans. And even if they did, they were probably plans for our wedding anyway. So, I told everyone to come to our house around 1:30 and be prepared to properly social distance. Then, I called Anna and asked her if she wanted to marry us. After about a minute of screaming, she agreed.”
“But… why?”
“Because I want to marry you, Elsa Winters. Duh.”
Elsa smacked Jack’s arm. He pouted and rubbed at his arm, then held it out for her.
“Are you ready?”
Elsa couldn’t contain her smile as she slid her arm through his. “Yes.”
Emma changed the song to the wedding march as Jack and Elsa made their way towards Anna, stopping at the edge of the road. Anna bounced with excitement, papers clutched in her hand.
“Okay, okay,” Anna said, looking down at her papers. “You’re good, Anna, you’re good.” She cleared her throat and looked up. “Welcome, everyone! Thanks for coming! I know it’s unconventional, but when has anything with Jack ever been conventional?” A car horn honked in agreement. Elsa chuckled while Jack shook his head.
Anna went through the packet, saying everything that she needed to say in order for the marriage to be legal. Jack and Elsa repeated their vows and slid rings on each other’s fingers, which were brought over by Sven. Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa realized that Jack’s mother was recording the entire thing.
“Alright, now,” Anna said, flipping through the pages. “I think I’ve covered everything. So, by the power vested in me by the internet about an hour ago, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss each other!” Anna threw her papers up in the air over their heads as Jack pulled Elsa in for a kiss. Elsa couldn’t help but laugh against his lips, bringing him closer towards her.
2020 sucked, but today, it sucked a little less.