Memories of the wedding

The top tier of a wedding cake is gathering dust on a high shelf. A miniature woman with long dark hair grasps her bouquet as her groom wraps a protective arm around her waist. She won't ever let go of those flowers. He will never let go of her. For all eternity, she will keep trying to hold onto those flowers and will convince herself she didn't buy the bouquet. She will tell herself he gave them to her and hope there will be more to come over the years. He will forever hold her in his grasp and will try hard to hold on to what he thought they shared the day they wed. Flowers never cross his mind, only she does.

Little fake pearls elegantly drift in loops, the icing piped to match the drooping pearls. Where once there were green sugar roses holding the string of pearls in place, now there are dusty grey blobs that vaguely resemble the roses they once were. Time has been cruel to the tier and still the bride clutches her flowers, still the groom clutches his new wife. They stare out at the future, no smiles marring their unlined faces and they know what to expect though they will never admit it. He will long to hold her close as he did on the day they wed. She will long to smell the flowers he never brings.

He will wonder why she prefers to wait until he's asleep before she comes to bed. She will wonder why they never go out for dinner. They are melded together by a promise, never knowing the pain a promise can bring.

The woman replicated on that cake had asked for bells on the cake and had felt like crying when she saw the little man and the little woman so much like her groom and her. It was eerie. Her dress was uncannily like hers: off the shoulder, clinging softly at waist and hips, down to the hem where it flowed out behind her. His tuxedo was identical to her new husband's. His hair blond, hers a reddish brown. Their eyes are blue. How like their living counterparts. It was a surprise: the miniature bride and groom.

"I saw this little cake topper and I couldn't believe how much they looked like you two, so I made the change for you. Aren't they beautiful? So much better than bells," her mother-in-law stated.

Her new daughter-in-law nodded, her mouth too numbed to speak. The young husband shrugged and said, "Whatever." He couldn't see what his bride saw. He didn't see how sad they looked then, how sad now as they look out with empty eyes on a bleak future.