The Future of Sulani | 14

After taking some time to get settled in San Myshuno, Nani and Noelani can finally start making plans for their wedding. As soon as they settle on a date, it seems like the day arrives in the blink of an eye. "Can you believe our parents agreed to come here?" Nani exclaims over breakfast. "Especially mine. I don't think they've ever left Sulani in their entire lives! I can't believe they didn't beg us to have the wedding there."

"I just got a text from my mom," Noelani says. "They're already off the plane and on their way to the hotel! I guess we'd better start getting ready. Imagine if we were late to our own wedding!"

The thought of being married still feels surreal to both of them. Time has been difficult to keep track of lately. Some days, it seems like they've been together forever. Other days, it's almost like they had their first tentative, slightly awkward date just yesterday. But, already, they've experienced so much together. As Nani applies her makeup, she thinks about all the days that still stretch out before them and the opportunities and surprises that await.

Meanwhile, with the help of a recipe from Malia at their fingertips, Noelani attempts to bake a passable wedding cake, even though they usually try to steer clear of the kitchen. Just in case they fail miserably, they've already scoped out half a dozen bakeries within walking distance where they should be able to snatch up a last-minute replacement.

"Oh my God, are you baking?" Nani asks, wandering out of the bedroom, eyes wide in amazement. "It smells amazing."

Noelani shrugs modestly. "It's nothing fancy. I'm sure I would have crumbled under the pressure of attempting even one more layer."

Unfortunately, though the day started out bright and sunny with no rain in the forecast, it begins to shower almost immediately upon everyone's arrival to Myshuno Meadows only a few hours later. "Well, isn't this just fantastic?" Noelani says with faux enthusiasm.

"It's a good thing we thought to pick up some umbrellas on the way out of the airport," Gaby remarks. "Your father swore he could smell a storm in the distance."

"Speaking of..." Noelani's voice trails off expectantly as they turn to face Alvin with a broad smile. "Dad, please tell me you've got that conch shell of yours squirreled away somewhere. It would be a real shame if we had to give up on the beautiful outdoor wedding of our dreams."

Alvin sighs heavily, pretending to be put out by Noelani's request. "How have you managed to survive all this time without your dear old dad by your side?" He blows melodiously on his shell, and the rain almost instantly clears. Not even San Myshuno's unpredictable weather is a match for his mermadic powers.

With the sun shining brightly upon them once more, their family reunion can resume. Since leaving Sulani, this has been the longest stretch of time by far they've ever spent away from their loved ones, and everyone is more emotional to be together again than they expected.

Well, everyone except Nani's little sister, Kelea, perhaps, who has experienced quite the growth spurt recently and is now firmly entrenched in the hormonal horrors of her teenage years. Despite Kelea's generally miserable demeanor, Nani knows in her heart that her sister is happy to see her, even if Kelea can't admit it out loud.

In fact, Kelea isn't the only one looking a little bit older these days. At first, Nani and Noelani are shocked by how physically different many of their family members look. When they'd been able to see them nearly every day, any changes caused by aging occurred so gradually that they were barely noticeable at all. Now, they are another reminder of just how quickly time passes, a realization which makes them even more grateful for their families' willingness to travel so far for their wedding.

The final members of their small wedding party are, of course, Malia and Javier, whose relationship is still going strong, even though Javier has yet to work up the courage to propose. Both Noelani and Nani are swarmed on an almost weekly basis with texts from Malia full of images of engagement rings she's found online, but she always changes the subject when they urge her to just pop the question herself. She's too invested in the fairytale romance of it all to even consider bucking tradition.

Thanks to Alvin's finessing of the weather, the backdrop for their ceremony is even more breathtaking than they could have imagined, with the sun shining at such a perfect angle behind their heads that it looks like a moment ripped from the pages of a carefully-curated wedding magazine.

Their guests look on, smiling and teary-eyed, as they recite the vows they've both been laboring over for months.

At first, when they decided to have the wedding in San Myshuno instead of Sulani, they thought they might end up regretting it. But the park turns out to be the perfect venue, far enough away from the most bustling parts of the city to be nearly as quiet, intimate, and scenic as any beach on Sulani. The ceremony turns out to be everything they had hoped for - and maybe even a little bit more.

Even so, when it's over, they're glad to have the serious part out of the way so that they can finally relax a bit and spend the rest of the evening simply enjoying everyone's company. They indulge their families by feeding each other a bite of Noelani's honey cake, which thankfully tastes just as good as it looks.

After months of planning and stressing, Noelani is glad that the pressure's finally off. From here on out, it's just good food, good wine, and good company.

And, of course, countless kisses at the behest of their insistent guests, though Nani and Noelani can't say they're solely for the benefit of others. Even after all this time, the sensation of their lips softly meeting is still a thrill.

Since it could be a while before they all get together again, it's important to preserve the moment through photography.

Noelani's family characteristically opts for a sillier pose...

... while Nani's family takes a more reserved approach.

"Where in the world did Malia and Javier sneak off to?" Nani asks. "We have to get a good shot of them, too!"

Noelani scans the room, but the other couple is nowhere in sight. They scratch their head in confusion. "I don't know. They just disappeared as soon as we started taking pictures."

They were so caught up in posing with their families that they didn't notice Malia leave the building and wander dreamily back in the direction of the wedding arch, nor did they see Javier covertly slip out behind her.

Malia is surprised to turn around and find Javier silently following. She thought her departure from the reception had gone unnoticed. He slips his arms around her and nuzzles in for a kiss. "What are you thinking about, babe?" he asks.

"Oh," she replies in a sighing, drawn-out exhale, "it's silly, really. Today has just been so beautiful. I'm feeling a little jealous, honestly. There's a small part of me that can't stop thinking about how it would feel to stand beneath that arch myself."

Javier cocks his head in a curious way. "Hmm," he says ruminatively. "It's funny you should say that because I haven't been able to stop thinking about doing this." Then, in the blink of an eye, he's down on one knee in front of her, gingerly clasping an engagement ring that looks exactly like the pictures she's been obsessing over for months. "Malia, will you marry me?" he asks.

She doesn't even have to think twice. "Yes! Yes, of course I will!"

"I'm not asking if you'll marry me eventually," he clarifies. "I'm asking if you'll marry me right now."

Malia gasps, suddenly unable to form words.

The two of them shout for the others to join them outside, and the guests slowly trickle back to the ceremony space, confused but curious. Malia breathlessly provides a quick rundown of the whirlwind events of the past ten minutes. "Wait a minute," Noelani says, trying to make sense of Malia's frenzied summary. "You're telling me you guys are going to get married tonight?"

"We wouldn't be stealing your spotlight, would we?" Malia asks, suddenly second-guessing their spontaneity. "I know this is supposed to be your big day, but-"

"Are you kidding?" Nani pipes in. "We're so happy for you! This makes the day even more special."

This might not be the fantasy wedding Malia has always dreamed of. There's no big, expensive white dress, and her grandparents unfortunately are no longer here to witness it. But she's committing herself to a man she truly loves and who she knows adores her in return, and, really, that's more than enough. It's icing on top of the cake that she gets to do it in front of a small but important group of people who have become like a second family to her.

Finally, once they've exchanged their own impromptu vows, Malia and Javier pose for a photo, now even more deeply imbued with meaning than it would have been before. Nani promises to send them a copy.

It turns out Nani isn't the only photographer out in the park tonight. All of a sudden, their attention is drawn to an incessant burst of flashes going off near where Noelani is lounging on a bench.

"Paparazzi?" Noelani grumbles in irritated disbelief. "You can't be serious right now." They knew their name was slowly starting to become more high profile, but they didn't think they were this famous. How did this woman even find them? Their life is hardly even scandalous or glamorous enough to be worth selling to the gossip magazines!

The unexpected presence of the paparazzi puts a damper on what was meant to be one of the best days of Noelani's life. It's late when they finally arrive back home, but Noelani hasn't been able to stop ranting. "What right does that vulture think she has to be all up in my face like that? On our wedding day, no less! She ruined everything!"

"Well," Nani says slowly, trying to recover the romantic mood, "not quite everything. I can think of at least a couple places that are still safe from the public's prying eyes..."

Nani is right: as far as Noelani knows, the paparazzi doesn't have eyes on their bedroom - at least not yet. For now, there are still some aspects of their life they can keep safely behind closed doors. They shake off their anger and resolve to squeeze as much enjoyment out of the final few hours of the first night of their married life as they can.

(Again, I feel like I had a lot of dialogue planned for this that I have just simply... forgotten. Another point for procrastination. Someday, I'll learn my lesson.)