Bright and Beautiful
Paul and Eva have been engaged for ages, it seems. Esther keeps a close eye on the calendar, as she just wants to get to her own wedding day! There have been a few changes in SiMobile, and this always causes problems. Paul’s family is new in town, so Paul and Eva will be the first to get married in their household. This means that they will have to do the main Marriage Quest, an event that last for ever it seems. As Paul’s family is new, there are no tricks to speed up the process either! Eva grumbles every evening about the length of time each step takes.
“We looked at outfits, we looked at menus. Now we have to look at both again! It’s just never ending… All we want to do is get married and have a life. Why does everything have to be so hard? His parents are getting on, so Paul’s dad is actually ready to retire whenever we get married. The Proposal event went really quickly, but now it’s just one thing after another! Their bathroom is terrible, as they are new, so even a shower doesn’t make you feel that much better!”
Yes, Eva is definitely Miss Stroppy these days, hoping to turn into Mrs Stroppy soon, Esther grins to herself. Well, good luck to Paul, although he seems quite a happy, calm sort of guy. He needs to be too, there is no way they can replace walls or windows, so hopefully he will be able to keep Eva in a good mood. Then they get the wonderful news, the wedding has started! Not long now, Esther sighs a great sigh of relief, not long, and about time too! I wasn’t sure how much longer I could wait!
The day after Eva’s wedding her Permit arrives, and Eva spends the rest of the day snapping and packing, looking stressed in her rush to get out. “I didn’t realise we were that awful?” says Samuel, smiling, although his eyes are just a little darker green than usual. He must be annoyed, to let it get to him! “I have never seen anyone leave this home in such a rush! Paul must be amazing, or his house is like a palace, or…” He stops, for Eva has turned round, her face red, eyes glaring at everyone.
“No, it’s not this house, it’s not this family, it’s this town!” she hisses, surprising everyone with her anger! “We have been doing this wedding event for days and days, just to get married. On top of that, so many things have changed in SiMobile. We heard that it’s almost impossible to have a honeymoon baby now! First you have to do a baby event, and you have to attend all sorts of classes, buy stuff, do events. Then, in order to actually have the baby you need enough tickets to do so, just to prove that you can actually look after a baby! What has SiMobile come to, that they now want all prospective parents to prove themselves! I know there has been a lot of goings on in this town, and some families have more children than they should have. It’s just a silly rule, that will favour the rich and powerful, like…like…well, you know, friends we know of…!”
Eva stops then, going a brighter shade of red, realising that one of the families she was thinking of is her own father’s family, and as Samuel’s mother is her dad’s cousin, it means she grew up in the same house. The others just stare at her, too shocked for a moment to say something that isn’t going to come out all wrong. Samuel laughs, not one of his hilarious laughs though, a funny dry, short laugh. “Ha, you mean like our friends to whose parties we have been? I mean, the parties that you have been to? Like the party recently, where Esther met Magnus? Those sort of friends, with those sort of houses, you mean?”
Eva actually looks down, looking ashamed now. “I am sorry, I really am. It’s just, well…I just…” Eva stops, and swipes her eyes! Eva, the hard as nails Eva is actually crying! It is Samuel’s turn now to blush, and he hands Eva a tissue. “You see, Paul and I were so desperate to get married. We knew we had to do the official quest, and that it would take time. It just hadn’t registered how much time! I felt so bad, for I know Esther has been so looking forward to getting married, and I know you have spent lots of time with Miriam… When we finally got married, we were just looking at the…next ehm…step, and then,” tears start rolling again, and Eva mops away with the rather soggy tissue. “Well, we soon realised that in order to have children, there is a whole boatload of new events, new regulations and boxes to tick! The tickets are the worst, they are hard to get…”
Poor Eva! Esther really feels sorry for her sister. She can understand the pressure although not once has Eva let on that she was trying to do things as fast as possible to help Esther. On the contrary, she kept repeating how important it is to do all steps properly, to not rush a wedding, to really enjoy each day as it comes… Esther sighs, typically Eva, little Miss Windup, she thinks. This business about the needed tickets is bad though, as a lot of young families will struggle! “Oh Eva, how difficult it must be! Don’t worry, everything will work out for the best, you’ll see! Nothing happens by chance, God is in control.” A picture of a tiny silver hammer floats through her head and is gone, but the niggling worry stays behind.
Soon Eva’s bags are packed, and she says goodbye to them all. Moving to another family can be very hard, and soon the realise that the implications can be terrible. They can’t contact Eva, and she can’t contact them! How sad, only via family members can they keep in touch! Of course, many promises are made on that score! “Well, at least we don’t have to worry about extra quests, tickets and permissions!” says Samuel Vince, smiling around, but Esther did notice his quick look around to make sure Eva had definitely gone…
The house has space! It has gone very quiet, even though nothing much has changed, really! Mind you, Miriam makes up for any missing person, and is happy to fill any quiet moment. Samuel is clearly in love with her, and those two together are working on something, Esther is sure. Before Esther and Magnus have finished their events, Samuel Vince Mortina is strutting round the house in a blue tux, followed by a laughing and shrieking Miriam in a white dress. Their Wedding is Wild… Fortunately, Magnus and Esther have part of the event out of the house, at the Cub where Miriam works. It is very quiet at the club, making Esther giggle to Magnus, “No wonder it’s so quiet, Miriam is at the house!”
Esther thinks about the little hammer a lot; it still worries her. Magnus makes it sound as if it was just a family tradition, a family joke, but does he really see it that way? Esther smiles a little, “He really is a Viking, always talking about stuff he has done, things he can do, deeds to be done…almost as bad as Samuel with his Bringing Justice! He is a kind guy though!” Later that evening Esther is glad of Magnus and his Viking strength, for one of he guys at the Club is becoming a nuisance. Esther can feel herself getting flustered, and just wishes the man would go! Just when she thinks she will need to raise the alarm or something, there is a strong arm around her, and a deep voice challenges the annoying man.
“Leave the girl alone, you’ve done enough harm for one night, making a fool of yourself, annoying a lady. No go home, sleep it off, and behave yourself like a gentleman next time. You will be in serious trouble if I still see you in two minutes…” The man doesn’t need two minutes, and within a few seconds he has left the Club, heading towards the brand new bus stops Esther spotted on their way to the Club… Magnus turns her round, his face all smiles again, his voice still deep, but warm, rumbling, breathless… “You never worry about anything whilst with me, dearest Esther,” he commands, smiling, “I will take care of you, and I will make sure that nobody can harm you! Don’t worry about the guy, he won’t be back tonight. I love you, Esther, did I tell you already this last half hour?”
Esther laughs then, relieved that her Viking stepped up so nicely, and protected her. Relieved to see his caring face, and amused by his sweetness. “You only told me three times this half hour, you’re slipping!” She tells him, “Thank you, my dearest, for being my protector, I enjoyed that! I thank God for you every day; I thank him for your handsome face, and your strength, and your amazing warm heart…” She smiles at him, and is a little surprised and hurt to see his eyes darken a little, his broad smile slipping just a tad. “What is wrong? Have I said something to upset you?” she asks, quickly reviewing her words. What is it? She thinks, what did I say?
Magnus sighs, holds her a little tighter, and says, “I don’t quite get why you would thank God for me? I mean, our marriage was all arranged by our parents, we agreed, we met at the party, so why thank God? Also, I was the one that sent the guy packing. He ran off, because of me, not because God brought thunder down on him. I was here, at the Club, with you; you’re my fiancée, almost my wife. So of course I would come to your rescue, and I will always do so. It’s my duty and delight,” his smile is a bit broader, definitely his eyes look more mischievous, “definitely an delight, to protect you, to be with you, to keep you safe. You know, at home Bjorn and I used to do lots of wrestling. Well, you know how big he is, but I didn’t lose that often…!”
Esther giggles, men and their games… Then she turns serious again, because what he has said is serious, and she wonders how to explain, without offending him. She groans, “Lord, do I really need to explain all this? Can’t I just leave it, and explain another day, in another conversation, or can’t somebody else explain…?” She knows the answer though, and actually blushes a little for she feels a bit of a coward, backing out of an awkward conversation! “I know what you are saying, and I do understand. However, I believe God ordains things, brings things about, orders things right. So I truly believe that our meeting up, our arranged marriage, is a gift of God. You are a gift of God, and I love you even more because of that!”
She stops, wondering how Magnus will react. He is very quiet for a moment, thinking about her words, turning them round in his head, in his heart. Then he grins at her, “Well, I can definitely live with the idea of being God’s gift to you! That’s pretty cool, and does a lot for a man’s ego!” He hugs her, spinning her round and round, all serious talk forgotten, for the wedding is at the door, it will be a white dress for her, a tux for him…then they will be husband and wife!
The wedding is wonderful, even though it’s a formality in SiMobile but to Esther is the most wonderful of events, as it is an event done with Magnus. He looks incredibly handsome in his tux, and she feels like a princess in her white dress. The time speeds by, the event seems short because of its beauty and sweetness. Esther’s face aches from smiling, her eyes hurt from the camera flashes, her feet are sore for they danced too much, and the entire event wears her out. Magnus is over the moon, he loves his tux, but wears his red jacket for part of the event, explaining that the red looks great with her white dress!
Esther notices his eyes though, and it actually thrills her as well as making her nervous. Magnus watches her, a lot. Not just in the normal way, like he always does, with pride and joy shining in his big eyes, but more thoughtful at odd moments. Esther is secretly thrilled, for she can tell that he is actually thinking about the incident at the Club, and her explanation. She can tell that he watches her, to see how she lives out her words. This is what makes her nervous, for she knows how small things can really upset her. She tends to worry about small issues, knowing it’s wrong, but seemingly unable to stop herself from doing so.
The big test arrives soon after their glorious wedding. There is a small family celebration, as both Magnus and Miriam have been granted their Moving Permits, and both have walked in with huge suitcases. Now the four of them are sharing the big house, they decide to have a proper Wedding Reception. Miriam is very keen, “Ohhh, I love parties! My parents only had the one, just for Paul and Eva to meet, and for me to meet up with Samuel! It was a tiny party, hardly anywhere for guests to stand, the house is so minute!” Her head back, she roars with laughter, nudging Samuel with her elbow at the same time.
It takes a while before both have finished laughing, and then bit longer before they’re all ready to carry on the planning. Esther loves style, she loves long dresses, graceful garments, showing class. She prefers a wedding party where all the guests turn up in their best outfit, refined, pleasant, and for everyone to just have a wonderful time. Magnus doesn’t mind at all; he has been to all types of parties, his family do wild parties and classy parties, so as long as Esther is happy, well, he, Magnus is thrilled. That leaves Miriam and Samuel. It is Miriam who pipes up, making Esther gasp with her proposal, “Let’s have a really bright one, you know, a fun one! Everyone gets to wear whatever they want as long as it’s colourful, and just have a uproarious time!”
Samuel is laughing, and agrees straight away. Miriam and Samuel do a high five (really? Esther just about manages to stop the eye rolling) and cheer, and start discussing possibilities straight away. Esther hesitates, but decides to give it a shot, “Are you sure? I mean, don’t we normally wear a wedding gown type dress for the Wedding Reception? You see, it would make it feel more like a Reception, won’t it? Well, what I mean is, a lot of people wear really bright clothes anyway, they might want to wear something…chic…something stylish I mean…” She stops, blushing, struggling to sound upbeat, openminded, as if she is totally up for the weird and crazy, but just wanted to mention the…normal, proper option as well.
It doesn’t work; Miriam laughs her wild laugh again, and vetoes it straight off, “Nooooo, that’s so stiff and starchy, you don’t want that! Our friends love a bit of a laugh, don’t they? I mean, everyone knows that people in big houses get up to all sort of…hahahah…well, fun, for want of a better word! Let’s do it! I can’t wait, it’ll be hilarious!” Magnus watches Esther, she can feel his eyes, watching her, assessing her, remembering her bold words and great claims. So, if what she said is correct, then this is also in God’s control?
Esther struggles, she has to give in to the others and the party invites are sent out, calling the theme Bright and Beautiful. The last bit was a concession to Esther, as some people do like to dress up in style, even Miriam admitted that much. Esther has to think about this big question though, and she just finds a quiet spot, right behind the Granny Annexe. She sits down, feeling herself relax; the sun overhead warming her bones, the waves hitting the beach, calming her, restoring her. “Lord, I don’t understand. You said all things work to the good of those that love You. You promised that not a hair can fall off our head without Your knowledge. You said not a sparrow can hit the ground without Your consent. So how does that work with things like…like stuff I don’t want?”
Esther feels herself calming down, relaxing, peace rolling over her like the waves rolling over the nearby beach. The sound of the waves rolling, washing the beach, makes her think of her auntie’s favourite hymn, ‘When Peace Like a River…’ and she realises that it has a good part of the answer to her question. “Of course,” she whispers, “of course, it keeps repeating, ‘It is well with my soul’, so of course, part of the answer is that God doesn’t give us a perfect life on earth. The best is yet to come, and this world is a fallen world, so there will always be grief and evil. God is still in control though…”
Esther smiles, and rolls onto her front, feeling her face starting to have a familiar tightness, which means the sun is turning her skin a bright red. With the party coming up, that is not such a great thing to happen. “At least it will be bright,” she suddenly giggles, then her face lights up a bit more, “Yes! That’s it! Joseph! He actually explained to his brothers and told them that they meant the whole throwing-in-the-pit incident for evil, but God meant it for good! The incident brought Joseph to Egypt, got him into prison, ordered it so he got to meet the cupbearer and explain his dream, who remembered it rather late and that brought Joseph before Pharaoh to explain Pharaoh’s dreams, who made him governor of Egypt, which made Joseph save his family! Wow, what a long line of incidents, all terrible, sad, painful…but meant for good! All under God’s control…”
She smiles then, relieved that she has managed to work it out in her own heart; grateful for the quiet moment of reflection. Suddenly she finds herself looking forward to the Reception, wandering in her mind’s eye through her wardrobe, wondering if amongst her very sensible collection of clothes there will be something Bright! She finds herself rushing over to the house, caught up in the whole spirit of the party, looking forward to meeting the guests, showing off her amazing husband, dreaming of, no trusting in, a Bright and Beautiful future…