Ramifications

I follow Rouge out of the Patels' house, her words echoing in my head. Was she bluffing? Why didn't she warn me ahead of time? Did she really get married, just to stick it to Trish's parents? She's not that reckless, is she? We walk down the street in silence, but the smirk on my sister's face tells me that she's proud of her accomplishments in her war with the Patels.

"You have questions." Rouge breaks the silence by asking. "Let's get some easy ones out of the way, yes, we're really married, legally binding, no, I have no intention of annulling or divorcing, yes, my last name really is Cray-Patel, so is Trish's. Anything else?"

Sometimes Rouge is so insightful I think she's psychic, but those aren't the questions weighing on my mind. "Why didn't you invite me?" I blurt out. I realise how childish it sounds, but we're supposed to be a team... This isn't exactly cooperation. My sister halts and turns to me, her face on of remorse.

"If I could've, I would've, but I had limited time, limited space, I didn't even know if Trish would agree... Believe me, I wanted to have you there." She explains. I believe her, but I'm willing to bet there's other reasons. Still, I get her thought process, can't fault her for being cautious, even in her chaos. "I didn't tell you before we got there because I needed to give Trish's parents the chance to choose me first... If I told you you wouldn't have been able to hold it together." She adds.

Damn, also a good point, I'd have let something slip, I do tend to get emotional when it comes to parents... I may need to see a therapist about that. Either way, Rouge is right, and her plan worked, now it's time for the real questions, the hard hitting stuff that could break us as siblings.

"So, did you take pictures? Did you write your own vows? How did you choose your name? Did you wear a wedding dress?" I barrage her with questions at the rate of a Gatling gun. I know, I know, there's bigger more practical questions, but once everyone else finds out about this it could get super serious, now seems the best time for being excited that my sister got married.

Rouge chuckles at my onslaught. "A couple of pictures, Gabe picked out our dresses, here." She smiles, offering me her phone, displaying an image of her, Trish, Gabriel, and Henry, all dressed up, but what stands out is Rouge's face. I've never seen such pure joy in her eyes, maybe she got married as part of a plan, but it tells me she's definitely happy with the choice. "Trish offered to take my name, but I thought this suited us better. Our vows were... Well, they were just right, it's personal, I'll tell you about them when it's less raw... Maybe." She giggles.

"Vows?" A shocked voice repeats Rouge's wording, causing us to turn to face the intruder. Recognising their face, I'm not sure if it's the best person to see or the worst... I suppose if one sister knows, then the other should too. "Rouge, you got married?" Jenny asks, approaching us.

What on Earth is she doing here? She's carrying a rucksack of some kind, she's not moving again is she? "What're you doing here?" I vocalise my thoughts. Rouge looks as taken aback as me, I'm guessing she wasn't planning to run into anyone.

"I... Was volunteering, at Dani's shelter, she offered me a spot to get some work experience." Jenny clarifies before shifting sharply back to the topic at hand. "Seriously though, did you and Trish get married?" She asks again. Right, I always forget her and Trish are old friends, this is kind of a double whammy for her.

Rouge cringes as she realises she has no way of denying it. "Yes, but you can't tell anyone yet, we haven't let anyone know, it's... Complicated." She pleads. To my surprise, Jenny's face switches from one of confusion to elation. She darts to Rouge and wraps her arms around her neck, giving the biggest, most genuine hug I've ever seen from Jenny.

"I'm so happy for you two!" She smiles, releasing our sister from her grasp. "Don't worry, I won't breathe a word, I will take a look at that picture though, if that's okay?" She asks. Rouge seems perplexed as she offers her phone to Jenny, who squeals in glee at the image. I guess she didn't really expect to have siblings before, let alone in-laws, let alone her friend being her sister-in-law.

"Well, I'm meeting up with Trish to tell her how it went, do you want to come?" Rouge offers. Apparently my attendance is assumed, but I did tell Elise I didn't know how long it'd take, so I guess it's not like I have other plans. Besides, I need to greet the newest addition to our family.

Family tree just keeps on growing.

*

We're meeting Trish at the Free Ride, it's pretty quiet on a weekday, so it's a good place to catch up. As we arrive we see the expected face of Trish, but also an unexpected guest, who greets me with a kiss.

"Hey Lapin, I missed you." Elise greets me. Can't say I was expecting to see my girlfriend here, I was even coming up with 'working late at the office' excuses, I guess they're unnecessary now. "Trish said she wanted to tell me something but I needed to wait for you." She informs me. Rouge and Jenny have already taken their seats at the booth, we follow suit and I wait for Trish to clue Elise in.

"So, Rouge and I got married." Trish states matter-of-factly. Wow. What a reveal. Why do I build things up in my head? It's never as dramatic as I expect. Elise laughs at Trish's statement, until she realises no one else is laughing, that this isn't a joke.

"Wait, seriously?" She queries, trying to find confirmation. Trish raises her left hand, revealing a gold band around her ring finger, Rouge pulls a box from her pocket, pulling from it a matching ring, and placing it on her finger. Wedding rings. Somehow seeing them makes it all feel real... Why do I feel so jealous? I guess I assumed I'd get married before Rouge... There are those expectations again, they're a bitch.

Elise squeaks and grabs Trish's hand to examine the ring. I think you're supposed to ask to see engagement rings, not wedding rings, but I suppose this is the closest we've got.

"Welcome to the family." I laugh, "God knows your old one is still recovering from the shock."

An uncomfortable silence fills the air as I finish my sentence... Right... Only me and Rouge know what happened. She recounts the story, and includes a recollection of the wedding itself for our benefit. Now I really wish I could've been there.

Elise sighs as Rouge finishes talking. "It's a shame you couldn't have a big ceremony... I'd have liked to have seen you walking down the isle." She thinks aloud. "Why did it need to be so quick, anyway?"

"I needed it to be finalised before I could confront Trish's family. The rest of us kind of struck out when it comes to parents, Mum excluded, I just wanted to make sure at least someone had the chance to fix things with theirs." Rouge answers, holding Trish's hand. Yeah, I guess now she can rebuild the bridges and try to find some common ground. Well, without the fear of ulterior motive anyway.

I look at the Cray-Patels' rings as their hands are conjoined on the table, then to Elise.

Yeah.

One day.