Challenge: A wedding

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Karla

            Earrings are important to Sofia Hernandez. She's come to find that—at least in her case—a person looks only as good as their air of confidence and their signature piece. For her, that signature piece is a pair of earrings, which she changes nearly every day. (To keep things interesting, she claims, but everyone knows she just has too many pairs.) And for her older brother, that signature piece is his engagement ring.

That engagement ring is going to be replaced by a wedding band in a few, short hours.

Inside their household, there is a whirlwind of movement, everyone buzzing with energy. All around her, her tías and primasare running in and out of rooms, applying the final touches on each other's hair and makeup. There's an extra hairpin here, and a dab of gloss there. Sofia keeps shooing them out of her room, having been ready for nearly two hours. The one thing she's missing, of course, are a pair of earrings.

She holds the final two pairs in her hands, weighing their pros and cons. Before she can begin to measure their sparkle, her brother walks into her room, reminding her that everyone is getting in the cars and that they're waiting on her.

"Don't worry," she drawls, still seizing up each pair. "I only need my earrings and I'll be good to go. Just give me a minute."

"Sofia," he whines. "I'm going to be late to my own wedding because of you. All of Michael's guests are already at the reception."

Sofia rolls her eyes, knowing that's a lie. She thought the Hernandez clan were notorious for being late, but when she met Michael's family, she learned better. The Wright family easily put them to shame, and Sofia was nothing short of impressed.

"Brandon, my dearest brother, the light of my life," Sofia dramatically begins, stalling for more time, "You worry too much. Michael is probably still in the shower, if we're being honest. You have nothing to be concerned with. Just give me a few more minutes to choose the perfect pair of earrings."

Her brother sighs in exasperation, but he doesn't say anything else. Instead, he eyes the earrings his little sister holds in her hands, squints and thinks, and points to the gold pair in her left hand. Sofia looks at him, nods, and then puts them on.

The moment she's done, her brother is pulling her by the arm and out of the room. Less than a minute later, she's at the front wheel of her white Prius, putting the key in the ignition, and reminding everyone to put on their seatbelts. As soon as she's certain everyone is secured—she has to do a double-take with her little cousin Silvia, who's slick enough to make it seem as if she's wearing her seatbelt when she's not—she hits the gas and drives to the ceremony.

The drive there isn't too long, and the ride is shortened when you have a group of Latinos singing Paquita del Barrio at the top of their longs. Maybe singing "Rata de dos Patas" isn't a good idea, as they are going to a wedding, but everyone is having too much fun. When Sofia peers into one of the mirrors and sees Silvia mumbling the lyrics, she experiences a fierce pride in her little cousin.

"That's how we do," Sofia murmurs, now humming to the final chords of the song.

Less than three songs later, Sofia pulls into the church's parking lot, and everyone scampers out, rushing to get available seats. She stays a bit behind to give her brother a hug. When she spots Brandon, looking dapper in his navy-blue suit, she throws her arms around him, holding him as tightly as she can. Though she'll never admit it, she loves her brother more than anyone. She's still unsure on her beliefs about life after death, but she knows the love she holds for her brother transcends time itself.

Brandon pulls away and squeezes her nose—something he hasn't done since she was sixteen and experiencing her first heartbreak. He then presses a chaste kiss on her forehead, intertwines their hands, and leads them to the church.

He has to go into a side-room with their parents, so Sofia makes her way to one of the front pews reserved for family only. She sits next to one of Michael's aunts, and she accepts the warm, wrinkly hand the lady places on her lap. They speak for a few minutes, exchanging pleasantries and a few jokes about Brandon and Michael.

Their talking stops only when the traditional wedding song begins to play. Like everyone else, they stand and watch in awe as Brandon is led down the aisle by their father and mother. Even from afar, Sofia can see the tears brimming in her father's eyes. It took him a long time to come around the fact that his first-born and only son is gay, and the road to acceptance was made less bumpy when he learned that neglecting Brandon meant losing contact with him—with him and Sofia. Not even two years after Brandon came out, Sofia did too. The difference between their coming out experiences is that, by the time she decided to verbally call herself bisexual, their dad was already used to the idea of Brandon being gay, so it only made it easier for Sofia.

Seeing their papi tear up with pride...it's a sight to see, and she's proud to experience it.

Their mother looks more stoic, her face full of glee, but clear of any other expressions. She's a woman of few words and fewer emotions, and still she looks like the happiest she has in a while. Seeing her glow with this much radiance makes Sofia be even more cherry.

Then there's Brandon himself, who looks indescribable. Brandon's eyes are set on Michael, and Michael's eyes are also set on Brandon. The gaze they share is soft and mutually affectionate, that's the only way she can word it. They look so in love, and this is only their beginning. As Brandon walks closer and closer to the altar on which Michael stands, Sofia can almost see their future together unravel, open for all to see and partake in.

"I love their love," Michael's aunt whispers to Sofia, squeezing her hand tight.

Sofia wants to say the same, wants to say more, but all she can do is nod. Nothing can distract her from seeing her brother exclaim his eternal love for the man that means everything to him; nothing can distract her from Michael's softening expression, the tears that trickle down his face, and his wide, bright smile.

It's beautiful and lovely, and it makes her feel beautiful and lovely too.

The ceremony passes quicker than she expects, but if it went any longer, she knows Brandon and Michael would have enough words to exchange to fill the time. When Michael and Brandon walk out hand-in-hand, everyone stands, cheers, and follows them outside. They're being taken to the party in a separate car, but they wait for everyone to gather outside the church before they ride away.

Being Brandon and Michael, they don't have a horse-drawn carriage, or even a Buggy with empty aluminum bottles tied to a rim, to take them to the reception. No, because they're Brandon and Michael, they ride on Brandon's motorcycle. When they finish waving and Michael wraps his arms around Brandon, they ride away, their guests and families continuing to wave.

Sofia makes her way to her car, waiting for her family members to pack in and put their seatbelts on. Again, she has to make sure that Silvia is strapped in. When everyone is secure, she follows the trail of cars leaving the parking lot.

No one in the car remotely listens to the music she's playing, everyone engaged in conversation about the reception. Silvia and her old sister Isabella start giggling hysterically when Sofia makes a joke that she didn't see anyone attractive her age and that hopefully she would see someone at the party.

"It's not that funny, chamacas," Sofia says, looking at them through the mirror's reflection. When they erupt into another fit of laughter, she finally asks, "What? Was there like a really hot guy and I missed him?"

Silvia covers her mouth with her hands, and Isabella is forced to reply. "No, not a really hot guy. But there was a really pretty girl, and she kept looking at you. We asked her why she was looking at you, because it's rude to stare, you know?" Sofia nods, and Isabella continues. "She said she was looking at your earrings, but I think she was lying."

Sofia nods solemnly. "My earrings are just that powerful, I knew it!" She smiles smugly to herself, and then turns to her little cousins, "I guess I'll have to find the girl and tell her it's rude to stare and lie. Do you think so?"

Isabella and Silvia nod, and then ask her to put more Paquita la del Barrio. And who is she to deny them Paquita?

Only two songs into her favorite Paquita album, Sofia pulls into the hall's parking lot. Once more, everyone scampers out and flees every which way, leaving Sofia alone to find her own way.

When she makes it inside, she is lead to her seat by a waiter. Before the waiter leaves, he hands her a menu to order from. Though she already knew what was going to be served and had a general idea of what she wanted, she still takes her time, debating between the rosemary lemon chicken and the grilled barbecue salmon. In the end, she settles on the chicken and a glass of water.

She orders her meal, and in the meantime decides to talk to some of the people at the table. She recognizes two, who are groomsmen and good friends of Michael. She asks them if there are any surprises coming with Michael and Brandon's first dance, but their lips are sealed. She only raises her eyebrows at him, and they do the same, playing her game.

"Fine, be that way," she jokes. "But don't expect better treatment when you want to dance with me."

The table erupts in laughter and she does too, knowing she wouldn't be this bold under any other circumstance. She tends to shy away from men and lean towards women, but she decides to flirt and be coy anyway. Tonight is going to be a fun night, and if that means dancing with a few groomsmen, that's more than okay with her.

Less than half an hour later, their meals are served, and everyone digs in. By the looks of it, nearly everyone got the chicken, but a girl a few places to her right has salmon on her plate.

"Hey," Sofia says, trying to make eye contact with the girl. When she achieves this, she immediately forgets what she was going to ask. "How...heh, how—"

She sputters for a few seconds, completely distracted by the girl's beauty. The girl chuckles and takes mercy on Sofia. "How's the salmon?" she provides.

"How's the salmon?" Sofia repeats, and then begins to blush. "I mean, yeah, what you said."

The girl laughs, her shoulders rising, her face scrunched. "The salmon is delicious. Want a taste?" The girl cuts a piece off with her knife and spears it with her fork, leaning over the table and trying to feed it to Sofia.

The blush Sofia has is almost as red as her dress, but she has enough wits about her to say no. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Are you sure?" the girl asks, an eyebrow raised. She shoves her fork closer to Sofia's face, but Sofia shakes her head. "Okay. But I'm just letting you know it's amazing! Probably the best salmon I've had in ages."

Sofia simply nods, suddenly clueless on how to continue conversation. Instead, she shoves more buttered asparagus into her mouth, now having an excuse for being silent and awkward. The girl also continues eating her salmon, but she does look at Sofia from time to time, a glimmer in her eyes and a sparkle in her smiles.

The table is cleared as people finish their food, and instead of starting conversation with the girl, or asking someone what her name is, she turns to and continues talking to the groomsmen. This time, however, she's a bit hesitant on her flirting, self-conscious about the girl finding her ridiculous—or worse, into guys only.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turns around and finds the girl standing behind her. "Do you want to dance, by any chance?" she asks.

Sofia nods, already standing up and shoving her chair aside. "I'm Sofia, by the way. I'm Brandon's sister."

The girl has a shocked expression and then begins laughing. "Ohh, so you're the famous Sofia! I'm one Cassidy, one of Michael's friends. We were actually each other's beards during high school, but that's a story for a different time. He's told me so much about you—in relation to Brandon, of course."

"Cool, cool," Sofia replies, mind racing with questions.

What did Michael tell her, exactly? What did he infer? Why did he talk about her so much? Is this girl also gay? Did Michael do this on purpose, talk up Sofia to Cassidy and then sit them at the same table? Or was this Brandon's doing?

None of the questions matter, however, when the two make their way to middle of the hall and start dancing. A few younger couples and a bunch of Michael and Brandon's younger female relatives stand up and join them; even Michael's aunt, the one with whom Sofia sat at the wedding reception, is dancing by herself in her own little corner.

The music is loud enough that they can horribly sing along to the song without their voices being judged, but it isn't so loud that they can't hear each other talk. They exchange answers to simple questions—like how they're enjoying the music and reception in general—and they continue dancing throughout. They don't stop until Cassidy says something weird.

"I like your earrings! They're super cute!"

Sofia lights up like a Christmas tree. "Thanks!" If there's one thing she could talk about forever, it's earrings. She, however, doesn't have a chance to say anything more, because Cassidy is making her cough.

"I think the owner is cuter, though, if that counts for anything."

Sofia starts laughing in between her coughs, making her look messier and more awkward than she is.

Immediately, Cassidy pulls her from the center of the dancefloor. "I'm so sorry! Michael told me that you're...into girls, and that you're single! I'm sorry! It was an honest mistake, I'm sorry."

She regains enough control to sputter out, "No! No! You're fine. Like, really fine. I am into girls, and I am single. I just didn't think you were, and I didn't think you were going to say that after calling my earrings cute."

"Oh!" Cassidy exclaims. "Cool."

"Yeah," Sofia nods excitedly, "Really cool."

The two continue nodding at each other and erupting into laughter. Eventually, they get over themselves and go back to the center of the dancefloor, jamming to songs that they don't know the lyrics to but sing anyway. As they dance, Sofia's earring bounce with every step and spin and twirl she takes.

Earrings...they're important to Sofia Hernandez. She's come to find that—at least in her case—a person looks only as good as their air of confidence and their signature piece. In the years to come, she follows her brother's footsteps: one signature piece is exchanged for another.

Earrings are important, but not as important as rings, and not as important as the people who share them. 

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Dragon

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