Kiss Me Not

As soon as the couple kissed in front of the alter, cheers from the guests echoed forth from the sidelines. Evelyn smiled lovingly, seeing her son, Cain, finally being happy with his life. While the entire venue was packed, not a lot of their respective friends managed to come to the wedding. It was already lucky that Kimmy had her family with her, lest they probably wouldn't have managed to fly over due to the fast nature of how the marriage went through.

As soon as the couple finally broke off the kiss, the officiator proclaimed the ceremony over, and it was now time for the reception to begin. The couple made their way to the other side of the small house, where a quaint setup of tables and chairs littered the grass covered yard.

"I hope you all enjoy the festivities," Cain announced on the microphone. "Kimmy and I extend our most heartfelt thanks to all of you for witnessing our wonderful union."

"That's right," Kimmy nodded beside her newly wedded husband. "It means so much to us that you all managed to make time off your busy schedules to watch our wedding."

***

By the sidelines, Sean watched with pride as Kimmy enjoyed her time with her new husband. Sitting at the table along with the rest of her family, he couldn't help but smile as the electric energy of excitement and enjoyment filtered through the air. There was just something magical with witnessing a wedding, and he was sure that his own would probably feel the same way. Maybe it'd even feel grander than this one, or maybe it'd feel a bit over the top. But one thing was for sure, he was going to be married to the love of his life whether anybody wanted him to or not.

"They look great together, no?" Leila chuckled beside him, her hand lightly covering her mouth in a conservative gesture. "I'm glad my daughter found someone for herself. It's a load off my conscience to see her this happy."

"Yeah, right?" Sean chuckled in agreement. "The kid deserves someone to treat her right. While it might've taken a while, they still found each other in the end, no?"

"On that, I agree," Leila warmly smiled. "At least she got a happy ending. I'll take that as a concession to my own failed love life."

Sean frowned at the resignation he heard in her voice. A part of him wanted to just confess his feeling to her right then and there, but he kept himself in check as he simply flashed her a warm smile. There was more to life than just trying to breach the realm of being romantically involved with the one he loved, and he was more than willing to wait, no matter how much time would pass between then and that moment.

"Hey now, you might find the right man yet," Sean chuckled. "Who knows? Maybe he's just around the corner."

"Yeah, right," Leila scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "For all I know, he's in this very wedding right now. He's just sitting there, waiting for me to talk to him."

Sean couldn't help but laugh at her obvious sarcasm. It was kind of painful to hear such things coming from her lips, but he'll gladly take it as long as he was by her side.

"Right? Or maybe he's just not born yet," he joked.

"You want me to be old as bones till I meet my so-called destiny?" Leila chortled, a glass of wine being poured onto their glasses as they chatted. "And that's on top of the fact that I'll look like a cradle robber."

"Well, there are some people that made stuff like that work," Sean smiled with his eyes. "Age is just a number these days."

"That's until the number gets low enough that it becomes a crime," she pointed out with a teasing tone. "Do you want me to end up in jail, Sean?"

"Hey now," he shrugged. "I'm just saying, maybe that's the case with you."

A comfortable silence settled between the two as their food finally arrived. Every one of their fellow guests on their table focused on their own plate, a few casual smiles and banter being shared with their immediate seatmates as they enjoyed the festivities.

"This is great," Leila hummed in satisfaction beside Sean. "So glad they put in my favorite in the menu."

"The kids are good like that," Sean chuckled, his own plate slowly getting devoured as he observed the reception. "Everyone's enjoying themselves, it looks like."

"Which is great. Nobody wants their wedding to be spoiled by something insignificant like food choices."

"Right you are," Sean nodded to Leila. "And it looks like the newlyweds agree as well."

Looking on at the couple's table, Sean smiled as Cain and Kimmy clearly relished the time they had together. Feeding each other their wedding cake, the couple even had a few bits of frosting on their faces as they laughed at each other. It was then that Kimmy turned to face him, their eyes meeting as the young bride gave him a knowing smile.

If Sean didn't know any better, it was like the girl was giving her some kind of approval.

"To be young again, eh?" he joked aloud. "It must be nice."

"What're you saying? You're not even that old," Leila rolled her eyes at him. "You only have that right when you're actually old and greying."

"So you're saying that you're still young then?"

"Well, a bit," she hesitantly admitted. "I'm still fairly spry, and I can still tell that I have a bit of time left in me."

"Time for what?"

"Well…"

To Sean's chagrin, Leila left her statement open, leaving him scratching as to what she actually meant. He thought about asking her for more, but he decided against it. If she didn't want to reveal it just yet, then he can wait. He had all the time in the world.