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15. HEIRLOOM
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2024-10-29 19:42:56HEIRLOOM:
Something of special value handed on from one generation to another.
The next Friday, I had a surprise visit from my mother. She was with Uncle Reynolds and his wife.
“We won’t be long. We just want you and Adam to come with us to Manhattan,” my mother said.
“What? Why didn’t you tell me immediately?” I protested.
“It was a spur of the moment thing for us. Your uncle has a meeting in Manhattan. We decided to come with him,” Aunt Betty said. But there’s a look on her face that I cannot decipher.
“Where’s Dad?”
There was silence. Then Uncle Reynolds said, “He’s busy. He’s meeting up with some of his associates for the weekend.”
I was not convinced by my uncle’s reply. I immediately felt that something was up. The look on Aunt Betty’s face i
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Knight in Shining Suit 17. CONTRACEPTION
CONTRACEPTION:Part of the honeymoon checklist, if the couple is not yet planning on having babies immediately after the wedding.We dropped off my family at the Waldorf Astoria. Then, Ryder and I drove back to his apartment in silence.We were playing a dangerous game. In truth, no guy would put up with this. Why Ryder was doing so, I didn’t know. And he was doing it so well, and so nicely, it was getting more and more difficult for me not to feel something for him.Damn! Already physically attracted to him; I didn’t want to wish this was all real. I couldn’t take that risk.When he closed the door of his apartment, I turned to him nervously. He was smiling at me mischievously.“Ryder, I can’t really kiss you here. No one is here to see us. No need to put on a show,” I said.He stepped closer to me and tilted my chin gently so he cou
Knight in Shining Suit 18. FLOWERS
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Knight in Shining Suit 19. USHERETTES
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Knight in Shining Suit 21. WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
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Knight in Shining Suit 22. I DO
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Knight in Shining Suit 23. BOND
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Knight in Shining Suit 38. THE VENUE
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Knight in Shining Suit 37. RING
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Knight in Shining Suit 36. PRESENT
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Knight in Shining Suit 35. WEDDING ALBUM
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Knight in Shining Suit 34. SOMETHING BORROWED
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Knight in Shining Suit 33. SOMETHING BLUE
SOMETHING BLUE:The Bride must always wear something… anything… blue. It can be a trinket or undergarment. Some choose to put a blue lining on the wedding garter that they wear under their wedding gown.Ryder.That did not go as planned.Astrid is a little firecracker. You don’t handle her properly, she will explode. And damn! I did not handle that well.I wanted to woo her, show her my charming side, the one that is not uptight and suspicious of all women. The real me without masks and with all my guards down.I thought I was doing a great job earlier in the afternoon. I thought she’d appreciate the movers, but I don’t think Astrid likes owing people anything, especially favors with a financial value attached to it. A very admirable trait.Wow! I have
Knight in Shining Suit 32. SOMETHING OLD
SOMETHING OLD:A bride must also complete her ensemble on the wedding day with something old. It could be an heirloom piece, old jewelry, or anything that the bride owned in the past.Astrid.The following days, I barely left John’s house. Rose was taking care of all the queries for the company. I spoke to my suppliers over the phone. I searched through the net to find a new place with a lower rent.I was getting frustrated because the places with lower rents are really smaller. So it means that I have to rent a separate apartment for myself.“Why don’t you just rent a room instead of a place of your own?” John asked. We were eating pizza in his house.“I suppose you’re right. I mean, I can afford a new apartment, but I don’t want to spend too much on that. I still have a long way to go with my co
Knight in Shining Suit 31. SOMETHING NEW
SOMETHING NEW:Brides are supposed to wear something—anything—new during the wedding ceremony. It can be as small as a trinket, jewelry, an undergarment, or the gown itself.Astrid.I met up with my friends at Starbucks.“So, because Ryder forgot about you, we all have to be sober now?” Dannie asked. I knew what he meant. Since Ryder forgot about me, I had been steering clear of Oil Rig and Rig Style. It was too painful for me to go there. The sweetest guy I’d known didn’t want anything to do with me and looked down at me as if I was the biggest gold-digging slut on the face of the Earth.“No, Dannie. No one is preventing you from getting drunk out of your wits. As long as you don’t do it with me and in any of Ryder’s bars,” I said.“But those are my favor
