Before everyone had cooled down and was ready to enter the church, the music had already stopped. From the very beginning of Mendelson's march, everyone's eyes were not on the aisle but at the back of the church and the entrance. The guests saw that there was some commotion outside of the building, but also that the entire retinue was waiting inside. This brought a shock of consternation amongst everyone as they tried to figure out what was going on.
One of the worried guests even left the church to ask if everything was okay.
“Do you need a doctor? Is everything all right here?” He asked approaching the retinue.
"Thank you for your concern, Sir. As soon as the music starts to play, we will begin with the processions. Please return to your seat.” Immediately, the event planner calmed him down and escorted him back to his seat.
After a while, the music began playing again. As soon as the heavenly voice started singing Ave Maria, all conve
The reception venue was located on the outskirts of the city. It took them almost half an hour to reach the place. There was a lot of greenery around and it looked more like an exclusive sports club or conference hall, maybe a training centre rather than a traditional hotel. Tennis court, a swimming pool and a beautiful park with gazebos, fountain and a lot of beautiful nooks with stunning flora; a perfect place not only for a break, but also for taking photos. It was everything one could dream of, but not imagine such a place to be like. ‘That’s a dream scenery for outdoor photo sessions!’ Jo thought as she wished she could have brought her camera. If only she knew about the trip and the wedding earlier! Looking around at the outdoor scenery, she decided to come back here with her equipment for some photo shoot in the near future. The banquet hall looked simple but was very elegant. It was a huge rectangular room, one longer wall of which was m
“Dance with me.” Mike said arrogantly, approaching Jo who was already at the buffet with refreshments happily eating away. “What is it? An order?” She was appalled at the tone of his voice. Mike just grabbed her hand and put away her plate, and pulled her out of the crowd to a side. “I don’t feel like doing that.” “It’s not a matter of your liking or not!” He announced. “Should I show you my middle finger? You can ask somebody else.” “The newly wedded couple just finished dancing. Now, It’s the time for the maid of honour to impress everyone with her two left feet.” “You can dance by yourself!” “The second, I mean third, dance belongs to us. Don't you know about it?” He looked at her seriously holding her hands. “Oh… I forgot you don’t attend events like that so I have to inform you that we have to dance together in a moment!” “Leave me alone! If you don’t want to be knocked out right now, here; I suggest you le
Jo and Matthew tried to escape the crowd and the reception as soon as possible. In reality, both of them didn’t like events like that, but escaping Natalie’s family and friends wasn’t an easy task. They informed Mike’s parents about the address and the time the wedding was going to take place. She thought that they had the right to know, even if Mike had a different opinion. Natalie’s parents realized that by not attending their daughter's wedding, they were committing a mistake they would never be able to fix. Finally, they both accepted the choice of their daughter and were present at the wedding ceremony and gave her their blessing. The most important part was that Natalie’s father led his precious daughter to the altar. All this was enough for Jo. She was happy and after exchanging courtesies with them, she considered the case closed, but Mike’s mother still wanted to talk to her so Jo had to diplomatically avoid her all evening. Most of t
In about forty minutes, they arrived at a recently opened race track, which looked magnificent from the outside. Mike didn't know it existed; he was shocked to see the place which Jo had chosen to come to as he realized that his car was in serious danger. Jo was already there happily talking to some people. Without much thinking, he got out of Matthew's car and ran towards them. “That wasn’t the deal I agreed to yesterday! Jo, you are ruthless!” He shouted. In a very short moment, he approached the group of amused and laughing people. He stopped and fell silent immediately as he recognised Thomas and his wife Ann, Paul and another pair he didn’t know. In one moment, everyone's eyes fell on him. ‘I turned out to be a jerk again! Who are those people and what are they doing here?’ He thought to himself. Paul was also a good friend to all of them, from the time when they were still in university, but Mike didn’t have much contac
“Why don’t you give your car to Jo for a ride?” Mike asked sarcastically. “I did it. She spent several hours here.” Matthew was very calm, all because Jo had already tortured his car. Mike wasn’t convinced however. “Don’t believe it.” “You are of weak faith, Bro.” “You said it so calmly that I have doubts if she was sitting behind the steering wheel, even for a while.” “You are too emotional about your property!” “Matt, how come you don’t give a shit about your car? Are you a man?” When Mike said that, he carefully observed Matthew's face, which was completely unchanged. He couldn’t believe that his friend didn't care at all about it. “Maybe I am, maybe not… Who cares?” Matthew just admitted casually. “Man!!! Did you give her your car or not?” “A few times, I said, but you don’t listen. After her first ride, she said that it embodies a fascination with cars in its most exclusive and sporty editio
“What is the fucking playboy doing here, Bro?” Matthew whispered straight in Mike’s ear.“How can I know?” He answered honestly and shrugged helplessly.“If you don’t know, then you should find out before we pound him. Or do you want me to fuck you up first?”“Relax, bro. He is just my little cousin!”“Collect your brain cells and use it! He is a well-known playboy, who changes girlfriends more often than his cars.” Matthew knew this would speak to him immediately. Pictures of his cousin in new luxury cars appeared in the tabloids every three-four weeks on average. “Do you want her to be hurt?”“Of course, I don’t!”“We have to join forces and get rid of the playboy as quickly as possible.” Matthew had a plan and he was going to put it into practice, but he needed help.Both of them moved a little from the talking group of
Everyone fell silent with terror expecting bloodshed.‘Oh… Boy, you're digging your own grave! You don't stand a chance in an open confrontation with Mike!’ Matthew thought.To everyone's surprise, Mike remained cool and stoic. He just shrugged nonchalantly as if he was not bothered at all by his cousin and put his hands into the trousers pockets.“It looks like my little cousin hasn't been to the dentist for a long time.” Mike said mockingly with a poker face. “Or is he in urgent need of a plastic surgeon?”Mike looked straight in the eyes of his opponent. This one seemed completely unaware of the oppression he was in or was just playing it too cool.“My face is perfect! My dentition too!” Julian said ironically. “Why would I need any of them?” He added after a moment of hesitation as he nonchalantly ruffled his perfectly styled hair; his lips stretched into a subtle smile.
When all the women went to change, Matthew pulled out Mike, almost by force, from the male’s company. He wanted to discuss some strategy, and most of all, prevent his cousin from publicly losing some teeth or a few bruises.“I understand that you can’t tolerate him. He gets on my nerves too.” Matthew tried to be reasonable.“My hands are itching to ‘correct’ that charming smile. I wish I could kick his pretty butt!”“We don't know if there are a few paparazzi lurking nearby. I bet he is just waiting to be attacked by you.” Matthew paused for a moment to give him some time to consider the consequences.“Hmm…”“A black eye, or just a smart face of the famous playboy, wouldn't come off the front pages of the tabloids for the next few days. But what about your reputation? Is it worth it?”"Giving him a good thud is priceless, Bro!”
“We already had dinner; Martin took care of our meals today.” Jack informed them.“Good guy! He also brought food for us.” Patrick realized that they had such a good time that he didn't even call and thank them for the catering. “I should call and at least say thank you.”“I already did that. We will have the catering all week.”“Sounds good, but I wish I could make use of the kitchen here too.” Patrick had some plans.“Why don't you spend your holidays far away from the kitchen? There are so many beautiful places to visit around. Besides, I'll take care of Mike.” Jack really wished that they would have a good time.“We cannot burden you with caring for him. We have to get a nurse tomorrow. And you should travel with us.”Jack was glad to hear that he wouldn't have to babysit Mike even though that one didn’t cause him any problems throughout the day. He had a great time with the bunch of big kids, and he wanted to spend some time traveling around too.Besides, his boss had clearly mar
Jo was extremely happy to see the hammock outside in the beautiful surroundings. She immediately started walking towards it.Behind her were Patrick and Matthew. When they made sure that she was comfortable, they started to unpack and unfold the garden furniture.In the next half an hour, they had dealt with most of the setting up. The patio immediately changed its face to an elegant and, above all, a comfortable place to relax. A few wooden deck chairs with a low table and umbrellas were placed near the swimming pool.The guys also put a long wooden table with eight chairs under an electric marquise, parallel to the glass wall of the villa and of course near the kitchen and dining room doors.“The table looks so good!” Jo commented from the hammock.“I feel like I am on a boat.” Matthew joked.“The owner loves sailing, so you are right. Only the wooden steering wheel is missing.” Jo laughed. She also noticed so many things related to marine life.“A wooden steering wheel sounds good.
”Are you worrying about Mike?” Patrick asked, seeing consternation and some kind of sadness on Jo’s face.“No, I am not worried about that asshole. He deserved it.”“Nobody deserves anything like this, badass.”“That’s not what I meant.”Patrick looked at her expecting some more explanations.“He shouldn't have gone out with you the previous day. He knew it perfectly well, so it was one hundred percent his fault. So, in that sense, he deserves it.”“I agree, but still, he is a man. You don’t understand male pride, badass.”“I understand him more than you can imagine. It’s just his fucking character.”“All of us, we have ‘interesting’ personalities, badass. For most of the people around us, we are assholes.”“I am not questioning it, Pat.” She hesitated for a moment. “But this fucking macho is one of his kind...”Patrick was speechless. He couldn’t argue with that. While he had a lot of understanding of the people around him, Mike was still a special case to him. But still he tolerated
Right after breakfast, Jack took Mike to the clinic. The atmosphere instantly relaxed inside the villa. They were still sitting at the kitchen table with tea and French pastries and discussing how to teach their dear friend a lesson.“You are a poor teacher, Matt.” Jo said, very disappointed with her friend. “These pancakes are awful.” She winced as she ate, wondering where Mike went wrong with that very simple task.“Am I really a poor teacher?” Matthew mocked in a slurping voice. “Or maybe our friend is a bad student? Did you consider that?”“Could we leave aside his cooking skills, guys?” Patrick exclaimed. “The main thing is that the guy can cook, so he will not die of hunger. That’s what matters!”“Really? Did you try that?” Jo pointed at the pancake.“No, and I'm not going to. I watched the anguish when Jack was consuming it. In general, he is not very picky about food so it must be eatable.”“Well, you have to try it.” Jo wanted to force him and put a piece of pancake on a fork
Mike was the first to get up. He was not able to accept ‘the doing nothing’ state and being attached to one place, to his bed, any longer.Slowly, without making any noise, he trodded downstairs. It wasn't too complicated with the help of crutches.He found the perfect order and plenty of food in the kitchen.‘These stocks were made, probably with me in mind. They want to leave me again." He assumed looking at the refrigerator full to the brim.He decided to prepare something for everyone. His skills were far from Matthew's, but after all, he could prepare something nonetheless.He made pancakes, and a typical continental breakfast: fried bacon, sausages, black pudding, some stewed mushrooms and tomatoes. He also made a smoothie out of whatever greens he could find in the refrigerator.“Good morning!” Patrick’s voice disrupted his work on the fruit salad.“Good morning.” He wasn’t happy to see him. “Did you sleep well, man?” Mike asked ironically. He really wanted to ask if he had goo
Mike felt much better after a nutritious lunch. There was no sign of a hangover; the only thing that bothered him, even after strong painkillers, was the ache in his ankle.He was changing the ice packs, and putting on more anti-inflammatory creams, but it didn’t help much. As soon as he was trying to put his foot flat on the floor, he saw ‘all the stars in the sky’ from pain.He didn't know if he would trigger the alarm again by opening the bedroom door, and he didn't feel like testing it.He went out onto the terrace a few times, but it was too hot to stay there.‘Why do I have to sit alone, in a deserted place like that?’ He thought. ‘I didn't have to travel so many kilometers to be accompanied only by empty walls. Did I?’ He wondered looking around the empty room.‘It is no different from my everyday life. Should holidays be like that? Do I deserve it?’ Hundreds of thoughts swirled in his head.Despite his exhaustion, he couldn’t sleep. There was no TV in the room, and watching mo
Mike was lying on his stomach with his head covered with a pillow, asking the heavens for silence. He had never imagined in his life that he would ask for such trivial things. He didn't know for how long he prayed, but he was at the end of his tether. Even if he wanted to leave the house to relocate somewhere in the garden or on the terrace, to not hear the alarm, he was not able to move that far jumping only on his uninjured leg.‘I know it's my fault, but why doesn't Jo have any pity on me? I always thought that she was an angel with a golden heart, but why is she heartless now?’ He made assumptions. ‘She knows I have a goddamn hangover. Plus, I smashed my ankle. Isn't it enough punishment for me to be here, in the middle of nowhere, alone?’Mike thought about so many things looking for a solution and he was really desperate. Finally, some clue appeared in his sore brain. He recalled that when Jo was taking a shower, there was absolutely no noise outside, so there must have been g
Mike was really pissed off. He screwed up his vacation, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to accept and bear with it. As soon as he heard that the car drove away, he got up and jumped on one leg to his suitcase, and pulled out clothes which would be less obstructive in his general movements like, a loose T-shirt and short cotton shorts. He hung his ironed clothes on the armchair standing next to the bed. He returned to the bed and unwrapped the bandage. His ankle didn't look the best. The hematoma was visible on the entire surface of his ankle, despite the already quite large swelling. Considering the state of his injury, he was sure that the best solution after all was to stay at home. He lied down, tipping from side to side impatiently for a while, but couldn't fall asleep. Too many thoughts swirled in his aching head. He got up and decided to change the atmosphere of the semi-dark room a bit. ‘Damnit! It's so dark here!' He muttered under his breath and opene
As soon as Jo realized what had happened, she lost her good mood. ‘It was predictable! Will this asshole ever grow up?’ She cursed under her breath. She felt guilty about letting him come out of the house in such a bad shape at all. She blew into Mike's bedroom, without even knocking the door beforehand, like a hurricane with a destructive force. She was ready to deal properly with her rebellious, bullish friend and all his faults, who tried to disguise from her the fact that he had sprained his leg. The image she saw right after opening the door made her feel sick, as she predicted. She was truly disgusted. Mike's hair was still wet after the shower, and his face was perfectly shaved. He was dressed in a white polo shirt, perfectly ironed, and baggy khaki cargo pants. He was sitting on the bed with his left leg propped up on the bed. His pants were rolled up as he was bandaging his ankle. On the bed, she also noticed a tube of very strong painkiller ointment. “What a fucking as