The hall was beautifully decorated with balloons and blue roses. There was a large dance floor in the front of the room. On a small stage was the main table and opposite to it were the tables for the guests to sit. People were piling in quickly so Zac and Ginger took their seat at the center of the main table. Kris took a seat next to Ginger with Roni, Dana, Darlene and Danielle next to her. Taylor sat next to Zac, with Isaac and Alex next to him, and a few of Zac�s friends in which she hadn�t met before the rehearsal.
Alex looked just like Ginger's father. She looked at him and felt the part of her that died with her father fill up with joy. Then as she realized it was only my brother, that part died again. She longed desperately to have him there, to have had him walk her down the aisle, to have the first dance of the night with him. She wanted her mother to smile at her and tell her how much she had grown up and how quickly it happened. She had two foster parents to say that, but she wasn�t about to let them take over. They weren't her parents and they never would be. She'd never opened up to them like she should have. They had taken care of her since she was a child but she never asked for them.
�Ginger, it�s not polite to stare,� Zac whispered. Ginger gave him a look. He shot the same look right back, then smiled. �Dork.�
�I�m not a dork, you�re the dork,� Ginger said. She made it final and looked out into the hall. She couldn�t believe the number of people there. �My God how many people did we invite?�
�I don�t know, but it sure seems like more than there was at the ceremony,� he said. �But then again I could only see half of them.� The majority of the people Ginger had never seen before. The funniest part of the whole thing was that Ginger happened to be the only redhead. Of course her sister Dana was one too, but she had auburn hair, not flaming red to the point where it looked orange.
Dinner was served promptly at four thirty. Zac wanted a buffet line, but Ginger knew exactly what was going to happen. The first table in their graves before the last table even got their food. They all got served the same dish, the same amount at the same time. Ginger looked at the assortment of food that filled her plate and let her eyes grow. �Oh my dear God that�s a lot of food!� Ginger said. Zac turned to her.
�And you are going to eat every bite of it.� She looked away. �You are even if I have to feed it to you in front of every body. I�m sick of you not eating, Ginger.�
�I eat,� she said, shaking her head. She couldn�t believe he was acting like this.
�In the words of you, bull shit.� She made a face but ate it anyway. With all the problems she had lately, she couldn't afford to not eat. Dinner went smoothly, and before she could tell, Taylor was standing up, making his toast.
�To my brother and his brand new wife, that something he planned out years ago lasts for years to come. That they live happily ever after, and that I don�t make her cry cause she seems to do that whenever I talk. I think it�s my voice or something, cause I know it isn�t my looks!" He paused while everyone laughed. "To build a marriage takes a lot of work, and a lot of effort, and frankly, I think Zac is doing a lot more." Ginger raised an eyebrow, sitting back at looking up at him. He winked at her. "I mean, who does more sleeping? Who watches more television? And who plays more video games? I think Ginger could do a few things to pull her weight in this marriage. She can buy an alarm clock, get rid of the Nintendo and the PlayStation, and take Zac out of the house so he won't be so lazy." Ginger burst out laughing and looked at Zac, who was laughing just as hard. "And I've noticed something. Zac, here, since he started going out with Ginger, has turned from top-notch to a pile of mush, using language that would only impress a two-year-old. Saying things like 'sweetie pie,' 'lover girl,' and 'snookins,' but he always ended the conversation with a sincere 'I love you.' I think anybody who could talk like that in front of another man is definitely smitten. So I wish the two of you the best of luck, I know you'll be happy because I can see that you already are. To you." He waved his glass and took a drink.
He sat down and Kris stood up. �Okay, that one will be hard to top,� she said, looking at Taylor. �We can�t do many of these because the happy couple over here aren�t old enough to drink, and that kind of sucks but�oh well. To my sister�my little sister. I love you to death, girl, you're everything to me. You came into my room the first night we met, when we were both five, and you never left. You're finally going to leave it now, and although you're not far from me, you're still not with me. I'm going to miss you greatly, but you always told me you'd never let me go, so I hope you keep up to that. I love you." Ginger looked up at her, tears in her eyes. Her biggest regret about getting married, her only regret about getting married, was that she'd have to leave Kristina. "To your new husband, that you spent all of your time together so you can stop going on about him when he�s not there. Thank God I don�t have to hear you on the phone anymore. I hope you have bundles of kids but if you even think about sending them over to Auntie Kristina then I�m going to have to kill you. Auntie Kristina will send them over to Roni.�
�Hey!!� Roni said.
�Anyways, I hope you two are happy. What the hell, I know you are already. I can see the fire in your eyes Ginger that wasn�t there before. I can see the hope in your soul and I can see how much you love him. Of course I�m going to miss you. It�s going to be hard not having you around all the time anymore. Now before I break down and cry, have a wonderful life and you know I won�t be far behind. To you. You're worth everything.� Kris raised her glass to her sister and her sister's new husband then took a sip. The rest of the room did the same, and watched as she sat.
�Well now I believe the happy couple has to start off the dance,� our DJ, who happened to be Ginger's nephew Dylan. Ginger turned to Zac before getting up.
�That�s getting annoying. What if I don�t want to be the happy couple? What if I want to be the excited couple? The overjoyed couple? It�s not creative at all.� He took her hand and pulled her up.
�You're too much,� he said. They strolled to the center floor as the lights dimmed and a small light shined on the two of us. Zac took her hand in his and pulled her close with his other arm. The music started and they began to sway, our first dance as husband and wife. She was supposed to have danced the first song with her father, but he wasn�t alive to lead her. Alex was to dance with me, the closest thing to her father left alive, but she wouldn�t have it as the first dance. "So, you're Ginger Hanson now, huh?"
"Well, at least my initials won't spell GAS anymore. Now I'll just be GAH!" He smiled. "I'm moving up in the world. Well, at least in the alphabet." She paused, looking around at all the people staring at her. It was uncomfortable. "How much longer until we can get on that plane to Sydney?"
"I'm not looking forward to the plane ride," he said. "It's going to be a long flight."
"Well, how much longer will I have to have all these people staring at me?"
"Just a little bit longer, okay? Enjoy yourself. We ate dinner, the rest of the time if for dancing and all the reception games that go down. Then we can think about Sydney."
"I just want to go! I want to get away from all these people and I want to go on my honeymoon." She put her head on his shoulder.
"You'll love Sydney, sweetie. It's beautiful this time of year. Remember it's summer down there." She didn't say anything; she was busy enjoying the moment. She had a hard time adjusting to all the people watching her every move, but she didn't let it stop her from enjoying her moment with Zac. However, the moment didn't last much longer. The lights came back on and people were allowed on the dance floor. Zac led her away to the side of the floor, where people lined up to give their blessings.
Diana and Walker came up, amazed. �It really happened,� Diana said. �My son, married.� Ginger took Zac�s hand and smiled. �Now I want lots of grandkids.�
�Diana, you have seven children. If my mother was alive today she would have ten grandchildren, and that�s only from her three daughters. I can�t even remember all their ages, much less birthdays. I don�t want you to go through what I go through every Christmas,� Ginger said. �It�s a pain.�
�Well give me one and I�ll be happy,� she said.
�It�ll be a while,� she said, sighing. �As much as I want kids I�m still on treatments.� She nodded.
�Well, good luck to you. If you need me, I'll be right around the corner,� she said, and then walked off. Ginger turned to Zac.
�Your father doesn�t talk to me,� she said. Zac watched as they were out of distance.
�He�s just weird. He doesn�t know how to act around you cause he�s never had to deal with this kind of thing. It�s new to him. It�s new to all of them.�
�My parents haven�t budged since they got here. I wonder if it�s because they don�t know anyone. They know you and they know Kris. They�ve met Taylor but they don�t know him. They�re mad at me because I didn�t invite their family. They�re mad at me because I didn�t let my father walk me down the aisle. They�re mad at me because I didn�t start it off with the father-daughter dance. I just don't feel right having them do it all for me.�
�Ginger, they gave you a home for thirteen years. They brought Kris to you; they reluctantly brought me to you. Give them some credit.� She kept her eyes on her parents. They were conversing among themselves, the only people at the table.
�They pity me, Zac. You might think otherwise but if you see the look on their face when I took any kind of medication or had to go to the hospital. They pity me and I hate pity.�
�Well here comes Taylor so shut up.� She gave him a look and then quickly kissed him.
�Oh come on,� Taylor said. �It�s bad enough that my younger brother is married, and I��
�Have had a steady girlfriend for eight months?� she added. �Hey at least you got someone. And my sister loves you very much so don�t blow it.�
�Sheesh,� Taylor said. �You really don�t like me.� Ginger smiled.
�I love you hun, but I take care of my sister.� He nodded. �And it's just so easy," she told him, patting him on the cheek lightly.
�Thank you so much Ginger. You really make my life complete.� She smiled and waved him off. People she knew and didn�t came up to give their appreciation until there were no more left. Ginger looked out at the people having such a good time, then to Dylan at the side as her DJ. He met my gaze and gave her a sly smile. Ginger returned a confused look, and he stuck on her song.
Ginger looked at Kris who had just finished dancing with Ginger's youngest nephew, David, who was only eight at the time. She heard it and shook her head. Ginger grabbed Zac and moved onto the floor. "We're dancing to this song," she told him. I�ll be your dream I�ll be your wish I�ll be your fantasy�I�ll be your hope I�ll be your love�Be everything that you need�I�ll love you more with every breath�Truly, madly, deeply do�
�From the way you yanked me over here, I think you have an affinity to the song,� Zac said. Ginger smiled.
�Well, yeah. It�s my favorite song.� He peered into her eyes. "Everyone knows it's my favorite song. And it's just so fitting." I will be strong I will be faithful�Cause I�m counting on�A new beginning�A reason for living�A deeper meaning�
�There�s more,� he said, his caramel eyes dancing around. For the first time she looked at him and how wonderful he looked. She convinced him to get a haircut, so his hair wasn�t long at all anymore. The earring that she had also convinced him to get three years ago was still there, a thin golden hoop hanging from it. It made him look like a guy from a teenybopper band. She liked it. She looked all over his face, from his lips to his nose to his eyes. His eyes were so deep, she could almost get lost in them. And when the stars are shining brightly in the velvet sky�I�ll make a wish to sent it to heaven�Then make you want to cry�The tears of joy for all the pleasure in the certainty�
�This song was on the radio the first time we said I love you.�
�You actually remember that?� he asked. She nodded. �Well, I should have known. You remember everything.� She smiled and put her head on his shoulder, fiddling with his earring. That we�re surrounded by the comfort and the protection of the highest powers�In lonely hours�The tears devour you�
�You still have your earring,� she said. �I�m surprised your mother didn�t rip it out when she saw it.� He laughed. �What?�
�Yeah, well after a while they finally got used to it.� I want to stand with you on a mountain�I want to bathe with you in the sea�I want to lay like this forever� She felt a sudden wave of something. Ginger couldn�t point it out; it was something she�d never felt before. She knew it wasn�t right. She stared up at Zac and he went blurry. �Ginger? Are you all right?� he asked, slightly shaking me. Until the sky falls down on me� Her vision failed and everything went black. She dropped out of his arms and onto the floor.