A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) (2 page)

As I sit back and just take it all in I re
call how we first met in history class, two kids who shared a great passion for history, of course Ian’s boarders more on obsession than mine. It was the eighties, hair bands, George Michael, Hall and Oats, Tears for Fears, Madonna, hanging at the mall, the arcade, St. Elmo’s fire was our favorite movie, and it was the best times to be a teenager. Ian, Erika, Christopher, Sabrina and I have been friends since we met in tenth grade, we studied together and just hit it off, as a matter a fact I was never allowed to date in high school so Ian and I were good friends and wanted to see one another so I would go over to see Erika after school and Ian would ride his bike over to her house and we would watch Friday night videos and make taffy. It was the best time of our lives.

Wow that was over twenty years ago, and now look at him he wants to marry me, I never thought he was the one for me, Ian was
my first kiss when I was seventeen, he kissed me at a friend’s birthday party in the closet…don’t ask! Childish games that we played at parties.

W
e lost touch as most people do, I was climbing the corporate ladder and Ian became a history professor he turned his passion into a career and became a very prominent college professor.

H
e is the complete over the top history buff, it is a hobby of his, it is his life, it is why he teachers history. Ian can rattle off dates and names and tell you things that are so fascinating that you want more, as an example, the painting of the last supper adorns the wall of the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan Italy, I want to go see it so he is taking us to Italy for our honeymoon.

The interesting thing about Ian is he knows the real story not just what is printed in text books, Ian has studied and visited places in far off lands w
here historical events occurred, he is
better than anything
you will ever read in a book. I think that is why Ian is such a great teacher he’s been there done that.

Oh and this one I just love when he told me this last week, the original champagne glass t
he shallow one not the flute, was originally made by a wax mold that was taken of Marie Antoinette breast? Yes it is a fact, look it up if you don’t believe me, but these are the facts in history that Ian rattles off to me when we are walking in the park or at a museum, he is the ultimate student of life and I love that about him.

I am older than Ian by six months, he was an army brat and his dad retired when we were in high school that is how he stayed in just one high school and we all graduated together
.

S
urprisingly we ran into one another about two years ago prior to today I was in a bad relationship at that time Ian and I just didn’t work out, or should I say I didn’t want it to work out, but that is all water under the bridge.

Fast-forward two years
to now and here we are to my surprise about a month ago he was in town visiting his parents we bumped into one another at The West Side Market here in Cleveland, we went out for coffee and two weeks ago he asked me to marry him, I have been on cloud nine ever since.

Can I let you in on a secret?
I am making my own wedding dress! Just the sheer joy in putting it together is the best, it's something I’ve never done before, I mostly make men’s clothing, custom shirts and handmade ties, you know the usual men’s attire, but what I do the best are our award winning tuxes, I have a weakness for a man in a tuxedos, it’s the cufflinks, the tuxedo studs, the cumber bun, the bow-tie, it never ceases to amaze me how men just ignite once they step into one, they are simply transformed, sharp, brilliant and handsome, don’t believe me, put your guy in one, and watch what happens.

My
wedding gown would never have gotten started if it wasn’t for Oliver, he is just the best thing since slice bread
,
my business partner and my confidant, we met at a bridal show and hit it off immediately, he has a wonderful client-base business but had no store, I was new to men’s clothing and we just hit it off immediately.

Oliver and I have been going back and forth from fabric
samples, dress designs from Paris to Vogue, the lace ordeal went on for days. French lace is quite tricky and difficult if you don’t know what you are doing so I left it to the professional, my mother she was a lace maker for years. I can’t wait to see Ian’s face when I walk down the aisle.

It
’s funny I never knew what I really wanted to do with my life, I mean I studies merchandizing in college even minored in business but to put the two together and be my own entity it is a quite the undertaking , yes it’s a dream come true, and how many people get their dreams now a days? No too many I take it.

Our number one goal is to
make men look great every day, it is so much fun, the clients we cater to are quite impressive being in Tower Centre the middle of the urban renewal is exciting, new faces, new clients, internet business has given us a global market, and I have to say I owe it all to my mom, she was the one who put the needle in my hand as a young girl.

Did I mention my ring
? OMG, Ian’s birthday is in July so my engagement ring, is adorned with two very nicely appointed rubies that surround the three carat Cartier diamond
yeah
I know I can’t stop looking at it either!

Erika
of course did freak-out at first when I hit her with the news that we are getting married. Immediately she thought I was pregnant, I mean I don’t blame her, I have not dated anyone in two years and then now I am engaged. I believe the words were ‘did
you finally succumbed to him after all these years of him chasing you?
’ It totally threw me as she knows how catholic I am. Actually not very nice of her to think that of me considering I am not the girl who sleeps around anyway.

I do believe that
Erika became a judge because Ian and I were forever debating and spatting off over anything from politics to the color of the statue of liberty, her daily routine was reprimanding us both from lunch to study hall on the bus, it was her high school ritual. I think we drove her mad with our constant bickering and arguing, she does laugh about it now.... well she said the sparks were flying even back then in high school ah the good old eighties.

One thing that is
true even after twenty years Ian keeps me sharp, I make him laugh, we hang on each-others words, he is intelligent, kind, loving and a gentlemen, not to mention he can say hello in over twenty different languages! Yeah he is pretty special and he wants to marry me.

My mom
thanks God that Ian and I finally found each other, my brothers as well are happy I am finally settling down after the troubled relationship I had before, they are happy to see that Ian is back in my life and not the
holy terror
that I was once involved with.

Some things still ponder me,
Ian does take caution to my religion, his words echo in my mind ‘
Aria you are the Catholic Fanatic, I believes in God, the church is a whole different
issue’ to some degree I can understand what he is saying…but nonetheless I am there every Sunday because I choose to experience my religion, it’s a good thing to do, it gives me peace, solace and in so many ways has made me who I am.

Oh
I have to tell you the best part, never underestimate the power of prayer, one day out of the blue Ian challenged me over breakfast about some article from THE NEW YORK TIMES really just rubbed him the wrong way. He immediately demanded in a stern voice:

‘Aria if you register to vote I will go back to church!’

How could I say no to that, talk about divine intervention he joined me for Mass, I met him at the Voters registration office and shortly after that Ian asked me to marry him!

Gosh that was over a month ago and here we are, two old
friends who found one another after all these years, it’s been a crazy, tumultuous month, I am still filled with anxiety and rather shocked actually of all that has transpired, happiness just never worked out for me, and now with Ian it is all a possibility.

Don’t get me wrong,
Ian and I have had our share of problems, I know of his failed relationships and he knows of my disaster here, which was your basic nightmare, I was young and foolish and I got hurt and abused, well we live and learn and it led me to starting my own business…my father always said ‘
inspiration comes from diversity’
God rest his soul.

Oh here I go again
, I am so sorry, please forgive me and allow me to introduce myself, I am Aria Macy, the owner of
Business As Usual,
a men’s clothing store in  downtown Cleveland, Tower Centre. I started my business just about two years ago, I was in a high power sales office for a powerful fortune five hundred-company making more money than I would ever go through, then one day it all came to a crashing halt. I couldn’t do it anymore. I got involved with one of the other venture capitalist and I was shattered, I couldn’t face work, I couldn’t deal with the anguish, the heartbreak, it consumed my whole life, tore me apart, I lost my edge, my focus was deterred, I needed to get out of that line of work and fast.

So thanks to my mom
who is the light of my life, I went back to what I know which is sewing and tailoring and with hard work and determination, here I am with my own store, catering to some of the most elite men in town.

Tuxedo’s to weekend wear
, I can do it all, I just love it, my store looks like a club actually complete with leather oversized chairs, a fireplace, a huge flat panel television, conference table, a bar, a lot of my clients actually are workaholics…so I cater to their needs, I just love what I do, guess you kind of picked up on that…once you get me started about what I do for a living look out, it’s hard to get me to shut-up, and then my fiancé brings me back to the now.

“So Aria what are you going to do this weekend without me?

I sip my wine and I look into those heavenly dark brown eyes of his, and take comfort, he is so sweet, so uncomplicated, and unfussy I am absolutely under his spell.

“Ian, do you really have to go to Chicago this weekend?
How about next weekend?”

“
I think I have put it off long enough, I was to do this six weeks ago but I was distracted and detained by my lovely fiancée, you know you can still come with me!”

What can I say he dials-up the romance quite well, actually at every chance he gets he is always going out of his way to let me kn
ow how he feels about me. It’s just a shocker because he and I have never been this and we have known one another for years. He reaches for my hand and toys with my engagement ring. 

“Oh you stuck in meetings all day and
I’m stuck shopping Michigan Avenue? Hey wait a minute that might not be half bad”

Ian kisses my temple as he whispers at my ear.

“Come with me it will be our pre-honeymoon” My jaw drops; again I did not expect that to come out of Professor Bollinger's mouth. His salacious smile is ear to ear. This beautiful man before me is changing his whole life to start one with me, he is
better than cream cheese on bagels.

He even made us stop here for a meal to make sure that I eat something because he knows food never makes my to-do list, isn’t he swe
et.

“Ian,
it would be heaven, but Oliver and I have been so swamped with weddings and not to mention all of our internet clients now, which are growing by leaps and bounds now days”

“You are forever working Aria”
he tone is almost complaining but hey it’s who I am.

“Also I have that fashion show next week to prepare for.” he squeezes my hands and kisses the inside of my palm.

“Aria are you sure you will find the time to marry me?” his joking tone is worrisome.

“
Mr. Bollinger, I already penciled you in, so no need to worry”

“I wasn’t too sure if I made the cut I had no idea how busy your schedule actually is until I started living it with you
” he is cute when he is sulking and pouting but what man isn’t ya know? I find comfort in that it lets me know he needs me, he pulls at my heart strings and he knows I will never walk away from my career, it’s who I am.

The waiter is back
, overly attentive little thing that he is, just as Ian reaches over and kisses me…he cleared his throat and looks away instead of at the two of us.

“Is there anything else I can bring you
two?” I grin and pull away from Ian’s lips,

“J
ust the check please I say” I checked my lipstick in my compact as I look over at Ian, he has recovered his smile and I am sure he will get use to my schedule we just need to compromise, meaning he needs to understand this is what is important to me and he must accept it.

“W
hat time does your flight leave?” he checks his watch.

“
Six pm, sweetheart” he takes one last sip of his wine.

“
Well it’s after four we had better get going” the overly attentive waiter brings the check and Ian reaches for it as I quite dubiously retrieve it from the waiters grasp while Ian just misses it.