Wedding Bells

Chapter 3

After dinner Carter and I continued on our journey towards the Eiffel Tower. It grew closer in the distance as our legs became weaker from all the steps we had taken. We stopped for ice cream our bodies begging for something we could do while sitting down for a moment.

The sights were breathless and the more I thought about going home tomorrow the more I didn’t want to leave. This place felt like a second home at times. I was always traveling here to get gowns, and meet up with new and fun designers for next year's launch. Sometimes the bridal runway shows would be hosted here and those were always a blast. Especially the parties afterwards.

Yet it was nice to finally come to just spend time with the one I loved. To really see what Paris was all about. My heart sank even deeper in my chest as I watch the cascading sunset wash over all the buildings. Dancing along the waters flowing around us.

“I’m going to miss this place,” I mutter, as Carter wraps his arms around me. Out stomachs were now full with delicious ice cream and we were ready to continue our journey towards the tower. My heart racing at the thought of the view. I’d never been able to spend time to see it in person.

“We can come back eventually, maybe the next time you come for a show I will come with and we can make a trip out of it,” I nodded my head remembering the days when my father and I would do the very same thing. Our thought process was always rash when it involved our trips to Paris and usually it ended with us not actually doing anything touristy, it was mostly just a bunch of good food, and watching skinny people get into wedding dresses that were much too large for their tiny frame. I wouldn’t trade any of those trips for a tourist activity anyways.

Things had gotten harder without my parents around. Both my birth mother and my father taken away from me too soon. I was lucky to have someone as amazing as Evelyn though. She was always so supportive of everything I’d wanted.

Carter was there when my father passed away, and I would never be able to repay him for the way he took care of me. He still had both of his parents and with their good health he wasn’t at all worried about losing them any time soon.

“Everything okay?” Carter asked, squeezing my hand firmly as he led me down yet another sidewalk. The tower was so close I could almost feel it. The beautiful architecture towering over us as if it were a giant monster ready to take over the city. I couldn’t help but imagine King Kong next to it, holding the spike at the top as he leans with one foot on the ground. It was better than thinking about my parents.

“Yeah, just caught in my thoughts for a moment,” I smile the best I can, to keep Carter’s spirits high. It’d been a while since I really took some time to think of my father. His memories, and lessons still hung with me so closely to this day.

“Well, let’s go,” Carter mutters, leading me towards the elevator on the north side of the tower. I shook my head in excitement, my feet slapping the concrete behind him as he rush to make it in time. It was nearly dark outside now, and I heard Paris was prettier at night.

My heart was pounding my chest, as Carter paid, carefully making sure he saved enough for us to get breakfast tomorrow morning. Once everything was purchased we were on our way up to the very top.

My hands were shaking as I thought about looking over the edge. I had always struggled with heights, and in buildings it was fine, but when there wasn’t anything more than just a railing to hold you back I would worry.

The elevator felt like it took forever, as it kissed the leg of the building, dragging us slowly towards the top. I looked around any everything I could, trying to take in anything that would show me generally how high we were up. There was nothing though.

Carter must have sensed my nervousness, his arm wrapping around me pulling me into his side as he planted a sweet little kiss on my forehead. Lightning shoots through my veins taking a hold of every emotion in my body amplifying it to a new level. The nerves finally snapping at the weight that was on top of them, sending tingles through my entire body.

I used Carter to help me keep my balance, especially as the elevator begins to slow to an unbearable speed. Finally, once the door opens I was overtaken by the sight of Paris. Uncharted territory that Carter and I just didn't have time to see tonight, but knew it was all as stunning as anything we could manage to stumble upon.

"Holy shit," The words slipped from my lips as Carter pulls me closer to the edge of the railing. My heart flutters in my chest waiting for the moment he lets me go and I find myself falling forever towards the ground. I shook the thought out of my head. Carter would never do that, and though the idea plagued me I did my best to not let it show. His grip still firm on my body.

This was a perk of marrying your best friend, they knew your fears, they knew how to help you when you needed it.

We walked around the corner of the tower trying to take in every angle possible. I wanted pictures, and videos and everything I could get my hands on. Fumbling in my purse, I pulled my phone out of it and quickly held it up to capture the beauty of the last second before the night sky fully took over everything. We were covered in a wave of darkness, the sky holding tightly to all of it's secrets. The stars hidden by the light pollution of the tower and the rest of the city.

I shook my head as a quick breath leaves my mouth startling me with a cloud of smoke. I hadn't realized i'd been holding it.

"This is amazing," Carter beamed, him too searching everything like it was the last thing he was going to see. A hunger to see it all filling inside him as he walks closer to the edge, letting his hands slip from mine. I shook my head, biting my tongue before following him.

"I can't believe I've been here as many times as I had and I've never come up here to look," I growled, mostly to myself, annoyed at my ignorance in all of my travels. I've seen many countries, many cities, and I needed to take more time to really see them for what they truly are. Beautiful places that people get to call a home, places with history, and so much knowledge to share to the world.

I shouldn't take that for granted.

I let out another heavy breath. Allowing my body to fully relax as my legs still felt wobbly from the height of this thing. Carter was leaning against the railing, his eyes as wide as saucers as he turned all around. Looking upwards towards the point of the tower, looking down towards the ground, watching the people who were eager to get up here.

"This place is absolutely breath taking," He muttered. His hands clasped together as if they were cold. I pulled my jacket tighter around my chest, realizing that he was right. It was a bit chilly up here.

A younger gentleman, someone probably in his mid thirties approached us, his voice cheerful as he attempted to carry all of his supplies with him. His eyes were filled with joy, gleaming as a camera hung gently from his chest.

"I have a question for you two newlyweds," Carter and I smiled at each other.

"We aren't married yet," Carter mutters, his eyes shooting towards me as if he was mentally attacking me for saying no so many times. I rolled my very own before looking back at the man.

"We are taking a pre-wedding honey moon, on top of our honey moon in a couple of weeks," The man nodded his head, shock filling his eyes, but he did his best to hide it at all costs.

"That's very lovely, but you two have been married for a hundred years, so don't worry about your eternal time," Carter and I were both on edge now, the thought of bringing something so heavy into the conversation so early seemed strange to us. The man didn't seem to notice, the knowledge much wiser than his yeas.

"Thank you," Carter muttered awkwardly as he reached to grab my hand.

"I'm a local artist here, I don't mean to bother you too much, I recently lost my job and have been trying to build a name for myself on the streets, is there any chance I could take your picture? Paint it and mail it to you in the coming months? It would be a wedding surprise, when it finally gets to you," His words seemed true, but something about the whole thing seemed weird to me. We were really going to allow him to take a picture of us, paint it, study it, do whatever he needed to get it created, and then mail us the painting. There was no way he was really going to do that.

I looked up at Carter somewhat begging he would just tell the man no. I could see it in his eyes though. He was giving this guy the benefit of the doubt and was going to say yes.

"How much does it cost?" Carter questions, pulling out his wallet to grab the cash. I rolled my eyes, knowing that Carter was stubborn and I didn't want to make a scene in font of this man.

"I can do it for a hundred even," The man muttered, his hands still fumbling with all the equipment. "I'm working on painting tonight, so if you give me a second to set up, I can show you some of my work, i'm really an honest man I promise," Everything this guy said, was in attempts to make himself look more trustworthy, but yet my mind was questioning it more and more by the second.

"Sure, we will wait for a moment while you set up," Carter muttered pulling the cash out of his wallet ready to pay the man. I shook my head.

Earlier he was trying to find something we could eat for cheap to save his money so we could have breakfast in the morning, here he was giving away every last dollar we had for some man that wasn't going to pull through on his end of the bargain.

The man set his stuff down, around ten feet away from us, setting up his chair first before pulling a large easel off his back. He hung up some artwork that looked like it was in the large green back he was carrying. My eyes amazed at all the stuff he was able to haul up here all on his own.

"I've been painting for my entire life, but I worked in accounting, recently this year they laid half the company off and I just found it difficult getting another job, the thought of working another day of my life away on something I didn't love drove me mad, I've always loved art. I've always wanted to paint, so why not start, now that I was forced to start over," He nodded reaching his hand out as if he meant to shake Carter's. Carter sat cautiously for a minute before he took the mans hand.

"Oh sorry, I forgot, my name is Alexander," the artist said. Finally settling into his chair to grab his camera. My eyes wandered over the pictures, a beautiful scene of the ocean, dancing in a mesh of blues and greens as it reflects off the lights of the tower. Another, was a pretty girl running through a field of dandelions, my heart racing as I looked at it, my brain trying to count every little flower. How could he have painted so many of them? It must have taken him forever, as each flower looked intricately designed for something so small.

Carter watched carefully as the man, now known as Alexander set up his camera.

"I'm Carter, and this is my lovely fiancee...wife, Erin," Carter stumbled over his words, not sure what to call me in front of the guy that wasn't happy with the news that we weren't married yet.

"When is the wedding," He mumbled making sure the setting were perfect.

"In two weeks exactly," I muttered. My heart skipping a beat at the though of the next two weeks flying by. We had planned our wedding for right after Hell Week in hopes that it would keep us distracted while we waited for the fun stuff to start. So far it'd left a cloud over us, looming at all the work that needed to be done, which had helped keep the excitement down. Even if only for a moment.

"It's been years coming though," Carter leaned towards me wrapping his arms around me as he pulled me closely into him. Alexander quickly snapped a photo, the shutter sound taking over everything. He glances down at his camera and looks carefully over the image.

"That one is perfect thank you," He smiles, a wide toothy grin. Holding the camera close to his chest. Carter and I stare for a moment as if we were waiting for him to show us the image, but he never turned to camera around to do so.

"Don't we get to see it?" I question, the anxiety building up inside me. My brain still distracted by the beautiful sights, the sounds, the smells of Paris.

"Yeah, when the painting arrives to you in the mail. Please give me a few months before you call asking for it, as It will take a little bit to capture the true love you have between eachother on the canvas," He smiles, holding out a card with all of his business info on it.

"Wait, that is it, you aren't going to start it tonight?" Carter questions, handing the money to the man. I mentally slapped myself wanting to scream at Carter for being such an idiot when it came to this transaction.

"Thank you," The man whispers as he takes the money, "I'm going to paint another image tonight, hopefully one I can sell to these guys," He searched the top of the tower, watching carefully as people searched their surroundings.

"Are you going to take pictures of them too?" Carter seemed upset, but mostly confused. I knew I was feeling the same feelings as him, not sure why it was going to take so long, also not sure why the guy wasn't going to start on it tonight, would he hold up his end of the bargain? A million questions were running through my mind as the scammer begin to paint his first line on the clean white canvas.

"Let's just go," I whispered, realizing it wouldn't be good to cause a scene. Carter shouldn't have given him the money, there should have been more that went into a transaction like this.

"No hold on," Carter tried to stay quiet but his own nerves were getting the best of him as well.

"Sir what else do you need from us?" He tried his best to stay calm the man looking at him as if he had just interrupted the king.

"I just need your information, a good address, and phone number that I can call with questions and mail the finished painting too. Trust me you are getting a screaming deal," The man muttered before turning back to his painting. Carter grabbed the clipboard the man had pointed to, and quickly started filling the information out. I rolled my eyes distancing myself from the two boys.

That was one thing I loved about Carter, he always wanted to help, and was so trusting of everyone, even if it was to a fault. Carter found his way back to my side fairly quickly as we walk around the edge of the tower for a little longer.

"You know we aren't getting that painting right?" I question. Carter nods his head kicking at the ground as if he was disappointing himself.

"It's okay though," I muttered, making sure to add on to what I had previously said. I didn't mean to make him think I was angry with him. I was a little confused as of why he was willing to spend our last big of cash, but not angry.

"I guess we will see what happens," He tried to place the best smile he could on his face, holding his head up as he took my hand and led me towards the elevators. "I think it's time we get back home and in bed so we don't miss our flight tomorrow morning," I nod in agreement. Our flight wasn't too early but it was early enough that I would need sleep here soon.

We pushed ourselves back in the cramped elevator and yet again I was amazed at how Alexander had gotten so much stuff up here all by himself.

Carter's hand wraps around mine, as he leaves small kissed on the back of my head. Holding me close to him as if he never wanted to let go. The elevator lurches downwards suggesting that it was going to be a long ride down as well.

My heart was filled with so much joy and confusion. I knew we weren't getting the painting but for some reason I wasn't mad. Everything felt like it was right, and exactly how it was supposed to be. Things were normal, falling into place. In two weeks I would marry my best friend, and we would live happily together. It was like nothing could possibly go wrong in my life at this given moment.

Hopefully nothing would go wrong in the next few weeks. Things would run smoothly for the wedding, and Hell Week.

Suddenly the nerves hit my body like a racing horse at top speed. My mind remembering the fact that there would still be so much set up I would have to do and Carter and I would be jet lagged from our flight home. My body was starting to ache at the thought of sitting on a plane for that long, only to head straight to work and work until my bones were numb.

We hadn't thought too much about this trip when we booked the tickets, but now I was kicking myself in the backside for now giving us some more time to relax when we got home.

What kind of idiot would plan a trip like that?