{"id":606,"date":"2011-09-06T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2011-09-05T19:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=606"},"modified":"2013-09-27T16:49:23","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T23:49:23","slug":"french-toast-and-a-day-to-remember","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=606","title":{"rendered":"Season 4: Episode 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Ana opened her eyes blearily and looked around the room, not really taking in where she was. She had the strangest feeling like she was doing something today\u2026 something important? Then it hit her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoly shit! I\u2019m getting married.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWassamatter?\u201d asked Willow from somewhere underneath the duvet on her side of the bed.<\/p>\n

Ana sat bolt upright and pulled the covers off Willow\u2019s head.<\/p>\n

\u201cWake up, wake up,\u201d she sang, poking Willow in the ribs and jumping up and down on the mattress. \u201cYou have to wake up now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow peered at Ana, momentarily perturbed that someone could be so chirpy without having their requisite morning espresso. Then she too threw off the covers and sat up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re getting married today,\u201d exclaimed Willow, jumping out of bed and shaking off the last vestiges of sleep.<\/p>\n

She stepped into her fluffy slippers and joined Ana in her wild dance around the room until Mia knocked on the door. Mia had always been a morning person and looked as though she\u2019d been up for hours, despite the fact that she was still in her pyjamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Ana,\u201d she called, grabbing her hands and twirling her around. \u201cYou\u2019re getting married today!\u201d<\/p>\n

The three girls fell onto the bed, giggling like a bunch of teenagers discovering what it feels like to have a first crush.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need food!\u201d cried Willow, as though no-one before her had ever had such a good idea in their whole lives. \u201cI don\u2019t care that you have to fit into a wedding dress this afternoon, Ana! I\u2019m making french toast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana didn\u2019t complain. When Willow offered to make you French toast, you just thanked your lucky stars that you had tastebuds.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

A few hours and multitudes of piping hot French toast later – with proper maple syrup and fresh berries – it was time for Ana to get ready. Her dress had been created by a local designer who specialised in \u2018special occasion\u2019 frocks. It wasn\u2019t a traditional wedding dress per se: There wasn\u2019t a meringue in sight, nor was there a veil, but Ana had opted for a beautiful, heavy ivory-coloured brushed silk that had been fashioned into a gown just perfect for her. The neckline swept across her collarbones, emphasising her flawless d\u00e9colletage, and the fabric hugged her slim body to just below the knee. Down her back were a line of 55 silk covered buttons.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom\u2019s going to have fun getting you out of this tonight,\u201d said Willow with a giggle as she meticulously fastened each with a loop of silk ribbon.<\/p>\n

Ana swept her hair up and held it in place with an art deco white-gold and sapphire hair clip that she had picked up from an antique store only a few days earlier. As she hadn\u2019t found her grandmother\u2019s brooch, this would have to do for the something old, and the coloured stones would also act as the something blue. She applied a small amount of make-up, preferring to let her clear complexion show through, and stepped into the Louboutins that she had splurged on for the day, justified by the need for something new. Willow fasted a delicate white-gold chain bracelet around her wrist, a gift she had received from her parents when she graduated from university.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere. Something borrowed,\u201d she said, choking to fight back the tears.<\/p>\n

Ana stood back and beamed at her friends. \u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia and Willow were momentarily speechless. They had never seen Ana – or anyone for that matter – look as beautiful as she did right now.<\/p>\n

A knock on the bedroom door startled them. It was Sarah, whom none of them had seen yet today as she\u2019d been out at the hairdresser all morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Ana, you look incredible,\u201d she gushed. \u201cAnd I have a surprise for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She held out her hand, which was closed into a fist, palm up. Very slowly, she opened her hand, one finger at a time, to reveal the brooch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did you find it?\u201d Mia gasped.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was under a loose edge of carpet in my bedroom,\u201d said Sarah, handing the piece of jewellery to Ana. \u201cI found it this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God, that is so lucky,\u201d said Willow turning to Ana. \u201cIsn\u2019t that so incredibly lucky?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana nodded, the sick feeling returning to the pit of her stomach. \u201cLucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on,\u201d said Willow, \u201cLets put this on you, and then we have to go!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t want to keep Tom waiting at the aisle now, do you,\u201d added Sarah lightly, a frozen smile on her face.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Ana soon forgot about the brooch and Sarah. The ceremony was perfect – sweet and humble and by the end there wasn\u2019t a dry eye in the place – and the afternoon champagne party they had opted for was in full swing.\u00a0 Everyone was having a spectacular time, and for Tom and Ana it was so wonderful to see all the people they loved together in one place.
\nAs expected, Willow had done an amazing job choosing an eclectic and delicious menu for the afternoon: Antipasto platters brimming with goodies; quinoa and pecorino risotto balls; single servings of warm borscht with creme fraiche; and champagne, lychee and vanilla miniature cupcakes were among the highlights of the day.<\/p>\n

Johnny had organised an outstanding collection of wines including his friend Claude\u2019s seductive pinot noir and a locally produced sparkling that was so good it made you want to laugh and cry at the same time.<\/p>\n

After the speeches – which had everyone in peels of laughter – Ana announced she was going to throw her bouquet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not sexist or relationship-ist here,\u201d she laughed, giddy from the champagne and the love that was pulsating through the air, \u201cI don\u2019t care if you\u2019re single, married, male or female. If you want a pretty bunch of flowers then feel free to fight for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone gathered behind her, each good-naturedly jostling the person next to them for what they assumed would be the prime spot. Ana tossed the flowers into the air and they sailed in a perfect arc over the top of the clawing hands and straight into the arms of Mia, one of the only people who hadn\u2019t joined the throng. A cheer erupted from the crowd as Mia stood there blinking, not quite sure exactly what had happened, clutching the poesy.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuess we\u2019re going to your wedding next,\u201d shouted Tom as he wrapped his arm lovingly around his new wife and kissed her deeply.<\/p>\n

Mia was grateful that the attention had been diverted from her, and she lifted the bouquet to her nose, closing her eyes and inhaling the sweet scent, a smile forming on her lips. Her eyes fluttered open as she felt someone staring at her.<\/p>\n

Johnny.<\/p>\n

She had managed – quite successfully – to avoid him for most of the day, not wanting a confrontation at Ana\u2019s wedding. Instead of turning and scowling as she expected him to, he lifted his hand to his lips and – almost imperceptibly – blew her a kiss, before turning and disappearing back into the crowd.<\/p>\n

From across the room, Willow was the only other person who had noticed this exchange.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ana opened her eyes blearily and looked around the room, not really taking in where she was. She had the strangest feeling like she was doing something today\u2026 something important? Then it hit her. \u201cHoly shit! I\u2019m getting married.\u201d \u201cWassamatter?\u201d asked Willow from somewhere underneath the duvet on her side of the bed. Ana sat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[200],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=606"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1240,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606\/revisions\/1240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}