"Whatever assignment"...

The princess of the family is getting married this weekend.  For months I have been worrying about my weight and being the “greeter of the wedding”
Let me back up.
easter sunday
“I feel so bad that I couldn't have you as a bridesmaid, but I could only have two!” -C
“It's really not a problem, I promise I am not hurt… its a big family celebration and we will all be in it together even if not all of us get to wear matching dresses.” -K (really I thank GOD that I was not asked to be a bridesmaid, J is really about to kill herself becuase of you bridezilla).
“Well, I know that you are lying to me and I know that you really wanted a part of it so I have come up with a solution!”-C
(oh shit…)
“I want you to get there early and help decorate of course and be a part of getting hair and make up done… BUT I want you to be the Wedding greeter!”-C
“The what?”-K
“I want you to stand at the guest book and make sure that everyone signs in and that you get a picture of everyone that comes in.”-C
(J is trying to stiffle a laugh)
“And I want you to be in charge of my train all day”-C
“Oh, ok”-K (really? that was all you can say? you are so lame).
present
last night I went to M's house and we tried on clothes for like an hour.  I found pants to borrow right away but the shirt was not so easy.  M has large breasts, and everything i put on made me look like I was attempting to hide a gut or something. Finally we settled on a silk tank-top with splashes of red on roses with black straight leg dress pants.  i look real butler like… after all isn't that really what I am dressing for, a butler job at my princess cousin's wedding?
really though, M had to assure me a thousand times that I didn't look fat and that I would be just fine. and that no one would know that I was borrowing clothes for her wedding… I mean really M understands she can't always buy groceries either.  At least neither of us have children to support. 
M and I go back to pre-Kindergarden.  We both emotionally supported eachother through the years.  There is a unbreakable bond when you and your close friend start working at a busy bar/restaurant when you are 13… especially since you are sacrficing your highschool weekends in order to earn that green dollar for school or fancy shoes or whatever reason it might be.  Maybe mom and dad just can't feed you anymore.  But what really sucks is when you finally graduate higschool and now yourweekend life becomes your everyday life and for us that meant we were working everyday.  Working for rent, food, and education. And then the princesses of the family, who didn't work in highschool gets married and they expect everyone to be enthralled at the prospect of their wedding. 
Disclaimer- i love my family's princess very much, she just drives me nutso sometimes.
NOT to mention the fact that I have to drive 2 hours to get to the ceremony and then I am expected to stay and help clean up because I am one of the few that does not drink.  Who thought I would get punished for choosing to not drink alcohol? Interesting… my sentence is not a healthy liver but rawther solitary confinment with $100 centerpices that need to be wiped down and packed away… oh and please remember to pick up all the empty booze bottles and plastic cups.
Thanks.
Suppose any one will even ask me to dance? Probably, at least princess's brother will be home from Iraq… he was definately not a prince mind you.  Always quite and shy, a nerd really, got picked on A LOT and his younger cousin (me) always backed him up.  Now he is a Marine and doesn't need my help any more.  Isn't it funny how people turn out? Isn't it?
Do I get her a gift?

Re: "Whatever assignment"...

Kimberly, I LOVED reading this voice.

She's like a breath of fresh air, comes across as honest and authentic with just enough detachment from herself and her surrounding to be able to tell us about it in a very alive and funny way.

She comes alive so well thanks to little details like the worries about her weight (who couldn't relate to THAT! ;) and the wonderful samples of dialog, showing so much about the interaction without needing to spell things out. The way they try not to hurt her feelings, the way she sees through it all and pretends to not be hurt. Or later, how the fact that she is not drinking burdens her with yet more obligations… very well done, all of this.

I loved the dialogs combined with inner dialog, her thoughts on being the butler of the wedding, borrowing clothes, and very much the last bit about the marine cousine… made me VERY curious to learn how it goes on. Lots of potential here, so many possibilities to open up into scenes and zoom into specific, sensual detail…

I noticed I was totally drawn in when the writing was directly about what happened 'now', like the immediateness of dialog, or how she tried on clothes, her thoughts and fears. The pieces giving background information, explaining relationships and stuff, didn't strike me as equally powerful. Background information tends to slow me down and interrupt the flow of the story for me - my initial writing ideas usually start off the same way, lots and lots of things that could be explored and zoomed into, once I'm able to slow down and focus on a specific scene.

I would just love you to dive in somewhere and walk us around, letting us see what she sees, letting us eaves drop on her true thoughts while she is trying to behave appropriately… I love how she seems to see through people and think it would be a lot of fun to see her doing her butler job and get to know the bride and her family and everybody else by her wedding greeter assignment. Alone that scene could provide you with enough material to write a whole novel on what is going on in that family… :)

I would also love to hear more about the marine cousin, how his experiences have changed him, how she perceives him now. Oh, there are so many ways this could go…

And, does she get her a gift? And what might it be? You have me hooked!

A lovely piece, a lovely voice, very much fun to read. Would love MORE!

:)

Re: "Whatever assignment"...

thank you! After I was done I felt like I had blabbed on and on and on for twenty minutes! good to hear positive feedback! I missed being around!

Re: "Whatever assignment"...

Hi Kimberly,

What a great dive in! I love this assignment because anything goes (or comes up). I really enjoyed reading this. I love the voice of the ‘I’ character, especially the inner dialogue. There is a lot of humor and sarcasm there that I appreciate a lot. I felt drawn in by the story. I liked the fact that ‘bridezilla’ was given the title of princess cousin. It is such a simple title, but sooooo telling about her personality. The conversation between the princess and the ‘I’ character was just classic. I felt like I was a fly on the wall during it.

I think you did a great job creating tension and that awkwardness that goes with family weddings. I found by the end, I was wondering how it would all go – would there be some unforeseen calamity at the wedding that would either be humorous or disastrous? I want to know! I also wanted to know more about the cousin who is now a marine and doesn’t need the ‘I’ character’s help any more.

There is a really interesting dynamic being set up with this piece, one that you could go back into and develop even further, not just the story but the characters themselves.  I loved the last question too by the way - do I get her a gift. Just fabulous!

Yes to echo Gabriel – more more more please!
Great job!

Leigh-Anne
xo