Lyra* The Future Awaits

LYRA*

Blaze took me back to the house the next day after we had gone to church. Blaze and I talked about the bricking and what color to paint the trim. We decided on Rocky Mountain Tumbled Oyster Grey Stone instead of traditional bricking, Charcoal grey for our roofing, and Suede Grey for the siding and frame of the home. Blaze took me to see the finishing touches to the outside of the house yesterday after I had gotten home from school, and it was gorgeous. How Blaze and his cousins finished the home's exterior in under a week was beyond me. Work on the interior has halted for now until after Blaze and I had gotten married.

This coming week was for getting pampered, school, and getting the backyard ready for our wedding. Blaze will be working on the backyard while I clean the inside of our home. We only invited close family to our wedding, so we will all be eating inside. Vega had over fifty people at her wedding, versus mine, which will only have around twenty, Blaze and I are okay with that. Neither one of us wanted anything huge; it's mainly about having our family around us on the day.

My mom and Diana were complete saviors. Vega had been somewhat non-existent since she and Jace had gotten married. Besides seeing Vega in class, I haven't seen Jace or Vega much this last week. I knew that they were searching for a home to buy.

It has been hectic getting delivery dates changed, but Diana has helped me quite a bit. I'm wishing now that Blaze and I could elope. If it weren't for my mom and Diana, I wouldn't have been able to pull it all off.

My mom and Blaze's mom Diana had given up their Saturday to help me prepare the living room, dining room, and kitchen areas for the wedding next week. Our wedding is scheduled for noon, so there was no way I would have time to do all of this on Friday before my wedding. Not to mention Vega, Mae, and I have to find time to get our nails redone and dresses bought for them two. There never seems to be enough time in the day; what was I thinking? I'm ready to get all of this over with, so I can be married to the love of my life already. Is that too much to ask?

Things had been more manageable, though, now that Vega and I weren't having a double wedding. So many obstacles were staring us in the face before, like how to make room for everyone she wanted to be there—or having to find a venue for the reception because she refused to have it here. When it came to me, all I wanted was my groom, my family, and my gorgeous dress. I don't care about all of the other crap that comes along with wedding planning. This brings me back to being thankful for my mom and Diana because otherwise, none of this decorating business would get done. Even with things being more manageable, the whole thing was nerve-wracking. I understand now why brides turn into bridezillas; they couldn't help it.

"Well, dear, I think it looks beautiful in here, don't you think?" Mom asked as she hung ivy from the fireplace.

"You guys need to be careful and not touch anything this week. Everyone will be here Friday to set up the backyard, and we can do some touch-ups then," Diana said.

"Yes, it is beautiful; thank you both so much. Would either of you like something to drink?" I asked my mom and Diana.

"No, dear, Diana and I are going to get cleaned up and have a girl's night. Where's Vega and Jace? I would have thought she would have been here to help decorate?" Mom asked.

"Vega and Jace are house hunting. They have found two that they like so far but don't want to be too hasty on deciding," I said.

"House hunting? You and Blaze have a house; why are they not going to stay here?" My mom asked, sounding hurt.

I didn't know I wasn't supposed to say anything. Vega talks to mom about everything; I'm a daddy's girl.

"I don't know, mom. I thought they would want to stay here, knowing that Blaze and I would be leaving. Vega hasn't been around this week, so we haven't talked about it. My thoughts are they want something that is theirs, that they picked out for themselves," I said.

"That does make sense, but what are we going to do with this house? Your dad and I are updating our home, and we are about to put it on the market. I guess when it comes down to it, we could put this one up for sale," mom said.

"With this home built by Cunningham's business, it will most likely sell quickly, so I wouldn't do anything for a while. Or at least until everyone's settled. You and Richard could stay here while you have your house for sale," Diana said. My mom doesn't know about the Mother-In-Law house yet. It was a surprise, so I just stood there and shook my head, as I agreed with Diana.

*******************************

"Vega, hurry up; Mae has to go to work later," I said as I knocked on Vega's door. Vega opened her door a moment later.

This week has been crazy, with school taking up most of our time and Mae's crazy work schedule. There are times when Mae was on call and had to leave right then if she received a call from the hospital.

All three of us got into my car, and we headed towards our favorite nail salon. I'm not girly by any means, but I do like for my nails to look nice. Vega and I get our nails done every other week. It is, however, Thursday evening and incredibly last minute. Besides going shopping on Tuesday Evening for a bridesmaid and maid of honors dress, Vega has been virtually non-existent. I don't know if Vega's pissed at me or what; I can't do anything right these days; damn, pregnancy hormones.

Once Vega and I got home from getting our nails done, I decided to sit down with Vega to see what was going on.

"Are you angry with me or something?" I asked Vega.

"No, not at all. Lyra, I'm just so tired. I'm tired of school, I'm ready to be done, so I can enjoy being married and pregnant, and well, I'm pregnant, so I'm just tired all around. I'm not mad or anything, but I am thinking about taking online courses this Summer, most likely all of the fall and spring semesters as well. Since I'll have the baby, and I don't want to miss anything. I thought you might get upset with me, and I haven't known how to tell you," Vega said quietly.

"So that's why you have been avoiding me and not talking to me all week. You were afraid I would be upset with your wanting to take online classes. Hell, I'm tired of being in school myself; it seems to be never-ending. Taking online courses sounds like a good idea, actually, for both of us. Vega, do what makes you happy, and stop worrying about what I'm going to think. The most important thing is you, Jace, and my nephew in there," I explained as I put my hand on Vega's now protruding belly.

"I'm so happy you are with me on this. The baby wasn't planned, but I'm so burnt out at this point I would have started taking online courses anyway, even if I weren't pregnant. Everything is changing so quickly, and I don't want to lose you," Vega said as tears rolled down her eyes.

"Oh, Vega, you are not going to lose me. I am right here, and even if something were to happen to me, I would still be with you. Our dreams of being psychology doctors will come soon, as well as the hospital, which might take ages. Until then, let's take those online courses and live our lives. If anyone cares, I'll break their nose for the both of us; I said as I cried right along with Vega. We then dried each other's tears and laughed as we thought back to our first date.

"I still can't believe that Harrison said that horrible crap. My word, what an ass hole, and now he thinks he's all big playing basketball for a University," Vega said as we both laughed.

"A basketball scholarship was the only way he made it to College. That dumbass barely passed any of his classes. Too bad no professional teams have signed him. Karma can be a B, can't it," I said.

"For sure, I mean, look at you now. You are getting married to a well-accomplished, handsome man, and he is stuck doing God knows what beyond playing basketball. I heard he got some eighteen-year-old girl pregnant, but that is just a rumor, so don't take my word on that," Vega said.

"That wouldn't surprise me at all since he was extremely sexually active with any female who weighed under one hundred pounds and had big boobs in high school," I said, and we both laughed historically.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Blaze asked as he walked into our room and saw Vega and me laughing.

"Oh nothing, dear, Vega and I were just reminiscing over old times," I said, and Vega and I laughed some more.

"Do I want to know, or is this a woman thing?" Blaze asked. He knows nothing about Harrison and my first date, just that I had been hurt in the past, and him as well. We've buried the past and moved on to our future.

"Probably not if you don't want your nose and balls to throb," Vega said, and we continued to laugh.

"Well, alright then, I'm going to take a shower; you both go ahead and carry on," Blaze said as he walked towards the bathroom.

Vega and I looked at each other and laughed some more.

"I'm pretty sure Jace came back with Blaze. I'm going to go get me some; why don't you do the same," Vega said as we both got up and hugged each other.

"Sure thing," I said as I watched Vega walk out the door. It's so hard to believe that in two days, I will be Mrs. Blaze Cunningham.