Courtship
Tabitha is standing in the foyer, envelope in hand. Her face feels flushed already, her hands are shaking, and that is even before she has opened the envelope! She recognises the type of envelope though; they are the type that normally contain invites. Party invites from friends, wedding parties, food parties, studio parties…sometimes birthday parties. Times with friends, times to socialize, opportunities to meet and greet. Most of all, chances to meet up with promised spouses.
“Is this it, then?” she whispers, “Will this be the time when I will meet Richard Knight? Will he have been invited too? Will we both get in before the party is full? Or before Sims Mobile Government in their unerring wisdom cancels the party…!” She turns the invite round in her hands, hardly daring to open it. This is going to be the day where life as she knows it will end. She will no longer be just Tabitha Mortina, she will be Tabitha Mortina, Richard’s girlfriend…then his fiancée, then his wife…
She swallows hard, “Am I ready for this? Can I actually do this? Lord, I’m scared, I can’t do this alone, it’s too uncertain, I’m too unsure of myself and who I am. I need to trust You, I know, but can I, even in this…? This is big, but I suppose in the grand scale of life it’s minuscule, and You are beyond it all, so is this small matter safe in Your Hands?”
She sighs, yes, her head knows it is, she knows she should trust, but to actually do it is not as easy as it sounds! She turns half towards the lounge to open the letter when she notices Chris. He is leaning against the doorpost, sneering. “Don’t tell me you’ve got the religion bug as well?” he says, his voice grating and nasty sounding, “I thought it was just my mum affected by it…Nobody is going to help with you getting married, you know, it’s all up to you. As it’s not that big a deal, you won’t need the help either, which I suppose is the good news in all this!”
He saunters off, his unpleasant laugh lingering in the silent foyer. Tabitha stands still, feeling dejected, hurt, angry…and more scared than ever! “Trust”, she mumbles, “come on Tabitha, just Trust, how hard can it be?” She takes determined, deliberate steps towards the lounge, ready to open the envelope.
It is an invite, of course. It’s a food party, thrown by Sierra Chisholm. That doesn’t fill Tabitha with courage at all. She imagines attending a party, where Sierra is the one to welcome you, and introduce you to the guests. Her hearts starts beating overtime again, this whole marriage thing really is more scary than she imagined! Just the initial meeting up is fraught with difficulties, let alone the courtship itself! She checks the date, the time, wondering if she really, really needs to attend, or whether there is another way of meeting Richard Knight, some quiet, private way, out of the public eye, and even better, out of Sierra’s eye…
She knows there is no way out, even though she might not be able to go to the entire party, as she will be at work. Chris will be at work as well, which means that both of them will turn up in their work clothes. Great. Knowing Sierra, she will look like a queen, and she will feel like Cinderella before the Fairy Godmother got to work… Tabitha sighs, sticks the invite on the fridge, and gets ready for work, her mind preoccupied, her hands still shaking a little…
Tabitha keeps her eyes on the clock. Tonight is he night of the party! She is so nervous, many of the photo shoots have to be redone, her hands are shaking, her legs slower than she thought possible. She keeps touching her hair, rubbing her hands dry on her simple skirt. Two more clients…one more…it’s a retake though, as something goes wrong with the camera, and polaroid photos keep flying at the client, without Tabitha being able to stop them…
It is time! She takes a deep breath, legs unsure of which way to move, hands cold and damp, and there is Sierra’s house. Sierra’s mansion, she corrects herself, the place is absolutely stunning. So is Sierra, greeting her, eyeing her simple clothes… “Well, you’re in luck,” she says, making it sound like the opposite, “one of the sticker options is ‘casual’ so you’ll add quite a few to your collection, no doubt…” she smiles, but it’s a smile that makes a girl feel anything but warm!
Tabitha goes inside, wanders round from room to room, meeting up some very kind people, singing in one room, watching the cake in another, and slowly feels herself relaxing. She spots Chris at one point, off in another room, looking grumpy and out of place in the happy crowd. Then everything changes, it seems even birds stop singing, and she feels as if everyone in the party is holding their breath…
Some young people in superhero suits have walked in. A slender girl with beautiful hair and smart glasses, and a very kind smile walks into the room where Chris is. “Hello, you must be Chris, I hardly recognised you with your hair like that. It suits you!” Tabitha hears her clear, crisp voice, not a high voice, but sweet and melodical, reminding her of the sound of a flute.
Then she forgets about the girl, as she sees the next guest arrive. It is a strong, muscly young man, also in a green superhero suit, his handsome face pleasant, eyes bright and understanding. Richard Knight! Her betrothed is here! Tabitha feels her legs staring to shake again, her feet glued to the floor, her breath coming in small gasps. Her Richard is here, now the courtship will officially begin. He walks straight up to her, his face smiling, eyes alight.
“Hello,” squeaks Tabitha, “Hi, Mr Handsome…!” The flirty introduction is made, the course is set. Now it is just a matter of time before she will be wearing a white dress, facing him in a tux…
The evening passes in a whirl of emotions. Tabitha can’t remember any of the conversations; some weren’t worth remembering, she is sure of that. Richard is gallant and kind and a great listener, and Tabitha feels herself relaxing as the evening carries on. Every now and then she catches a glimpse of Chris, although each time she spots him, she actually has to look twice, he looks so different! Gone is the scowl and permanent frown, his eyes are smiling, and even his mouth is definitely curving upwards…Who’d have thought it possible!?
The party is over before she knows it, and it all seems like a strange dream, sweet, but gone, like the Cinderella story, she thinks to herself, when she wakes up in her large bed. Reality soon knocks on the door, though, as both she and Chris begin the day with meeting up their betrothed spouses. The conversation is rather awkward at first, and a bit shallow, like discussing holiday plans at the little table, or cooking her favourite dessert.
Soon the courtship gets more involved though, their first kiss, almost inappropriate touching, a squeeze, whispering sweet nothings… Tabitha finds herself enjoying the courtship, revelling in Richard’s attention. He is such a handsome man, she thinks, I feel totally unworthy of him! He is so kind and sweet, and although he didn’t appreciate my poetry reading, he has been very good about it. She must admit, the poem she had picked wasn’t the best “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Dream…” isn’t the most manly of poems, but then, it was the first one Google presented to her on her phone…She started reading it off the device before she really noticed what it said. Richard noticed all right, and quickly stopped her! Saving her the embarrassment, no doubt…!
The time flies by, and before she even manages to catch her breath, she gets the official Government notice: She is now Richard Knight’s Fiancée… wow, she gasps as she reads the notice, this is so amazing, it’s like living a dream, I just love him already! All my worries on that score are definitely ungrounded. He is the most wonderful young man in Sims Mobile, I’m sure, and I feel richly blessed…!
The courtship is a wonderful time, one that she will always treasure in her heart. She enjoys the cups of tea, the snuggles on the sofa, and the slow dances together. Chris seems to be having a great time as well, and Tabitha finds herself breathing a prayer for him, “Please, Lord, let Victoria be the one to bring him healing and happiness…let her be the one to soften his heart, to make him see the world in a kinder light…”
Then, before Tabitha even realises their relationship had deepened to such a level, they are wearing the Government issued wedding apparel. Her dress is lovely, and Richard looks even more handsome in his wedding suit than he did in his superhero one! She can’t take her eyes off him, hugging him, whispering, imagining the big day, enjoying the flowers… It will be a long wait till the end of the wedding day, and then, soon after that, Richard will move in, they will be husband and wife! Tabitha is beyond grateful and excited, her heart is about to burst with happiness, and her jaws are aching already from smiling the biggest grin ever, like the Cheshire Cat, wondering vaguely how long she’ll manage to carry on grinning without needing corrective surgery…Life is good, oh yes, life is great, from top of her mountain anyway!