Zinnia's Wedding Crasher

Zinnia.

Flowers.

I hated flowers.

My loathing for flowers was palpable.

I cast a contemptuous glance at the people clicking beautiful pictures on the garishly decorated photo booth, which was festooned with a variety of pink and white roses—in keeping with today’s wedding theme color. How could people embrace flowers so fervently—and those cloying roses in particular?

Nevermind. It was of no consequence to me.

“Zinnia, dear,” I heard a familiar female voice call out from behind me; I spun around, plastering a saccharine smile on my face. “You did a remarkable job. Everyone is praising your selection and arrangement of flowers. Word seems to have spread about your work here; should you require it, I can easily recommend your services to others.”

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Kapoor,” I said suavely. “After all, this is my best friend's wedding—of course, I had to give my best effort.”

Mrs. Kapoor gave me an approving smile. “I know that, but dear, why are you addressing me so formally? I told you to refer to me by my first name."

“I would be more than willing, however when working on assignments I prefer to preserve formality until the task at hand is completed.”

The fine lines around her eyes crinkled as she tilted one eyebrow upwards mockingly. “So you plan to continue referring to me as 'Mrs. Kapoor' until Kavita's wedding is over?”

I nodded silently in agreement, eliciting a low chuckle from Mrs. Kapoor.

“In that case, considering how professional you are being, why don't you hand me some of your business cards so that I am able to properly advertise your excellent work; I am exceedingly pleased with your efforts thus far."

"That will do," I responded and took out my phone from the pocket of my jeans, sending the picture of my online visiting card. Mrs. Kapoor's phone chimed, and she checked it, only to find a text from me. Before she could say something, I said, "You should give this to the guests instead. They might lose the visiting cards, but this online one will be saved in their gallery."

Mrs. Kapoor laughed at my words. She placed her hand over my head—this was something they would do as a sign of blessing me, so I didn't mind. "I am proud of you, Zinnia. Informing the guests through social media didn't even cross my mind. Now I will promote your shop on all of my social media."

"Thank you."

She glanced at me from head to toe before saying, "Now go and change your clothes. Almost all the people have arrived."

"Yes, I am just going to check on Kavita once and see if Zara got ready. Then she can keep Kavita company while I check the arrangements for the last time after getting ready," with that, I walked inside the mansion, leaving the fully decorated lawn, where the wedding was supposed to take place.

I stepped into Kavita's bedroom, which was swarmed with young girls—Kavita's cousins who had come to the States from India just to attend the wedding. All the pairs of eyes turned to me.

"Girls, let the bride have a breather," I announced. "Also, I heard the groom's family will be here shortly so there are some rituals y'all have to perform from the bride's side, right?"

Her cousins nodded and rushed out of the room.

My eyes went to Kavita, who was decked up fully wearing a white long dress, which was called a lehenga. Her hair was designed with a bun thoroughly, and her makeup was on-point.

Before I could open my mouth to say something, Kavita looked at me and narrowed her eyes. "What took you so long to meet me today?"

I raised my hands in surrender. "I was busy with the arrangements."

"Where the heck is that, Zara?" she inquired.

"She didn't get ready yet?" I asked, getting confused. As I took my phone to call Zara, the door opened, and a woman appeared with a smile on her lips. She was wearing a light-pink full-sleeve gown along with a designed hijab. She didn't apply a dark shade of lipstick as she hated applying makeup in the first place.

"I am so sorry, guys," Zara mumbled, making her way to us.

Kavita crossed her arms against her chest, a frown appearing on her lips. "It's my big day and my two best friends aren't by my side. How can I survive this day?"

Zara and I exchanged a look and smiled. Kavita was definitely getting nervous, and as her best friends, we knew we should stay by her side all the time. However, the workload was heavy. It wasn't easy to organize an Indian wedding in the United States. Moreover, I had to give her relatives the Indian wedding vibe.

Zara was my assistant as I was the event planner by profession.

"Kavita," I started speaking and making my way to her. "You are looking absolutely gorgeous. You are going to be the bride everyone will be jealous of, trust me. This will be the wedding of the year."

"Yes," Zara chimed in. "You have no reason to be nervous. You got this."

"And if something happens, just show us a sign and we will help you out in a heartbeat," I reminded Kavita. "You do remember the sign, don't you?"

"Yes," she answered with a brief smile.

The three of us crossed two fingers on one hand and showed it to each other, bursting into laughter.

"I can't believe we fixed this sign since we met the first time," Zara commented as we laughed for some more. "By the way," Zara glanced at me and continued, "Now that I am ready, I can stay with Kavita. Go and get ready, Zinnia."

"Yes, please," Kavita uttered.

"It will only take me a few minutes, don't worry you guys. I will just slip into my gown and be done," I announced and got out of the room, making my way to the guest room where Zara and I were staying together for the wedding.

###

I was wearing a peach pink, deep V-neck floor-touching gown that flowed smoothly from my waist while my hair was tied into a messy bun with a pencil. I did very light makeup and applied a nude pink-colored lipstick.

Currently, I was standing on the lawn, waiting for the bride to arrive, as Kavita's relatives were busy with the rituals they had to do with the groom.

Soon enough, the groom sat in his place and the priest started to chant some mantras before calling out the bride. Meanwhile, my eyes wandered around, checking whether everything was perfect or not. The lawn was filled with people.

Everything was going smoothly until my eyes fell on a person, who looked heavily out of place amongst the sea of smiles and happy faces. He was wearing a black mask, looking here and there anxiously.

Not wanting any trouble, I walked toward the man, to be sure whether he was from the groom's side or not. Because he couldn't be from the bride's side, that I was sure of.

The man didn't notice me as he was standing behind the photo booth decorated with fresh flowers, so I tapped on his left shoulder to get his attention by standing behind him.

He turned to me with a sudden jerk. His hazel eyes showed the sign of momentary fear until they turned normal with a sigh.

"Oh," he let out with a husky voice.

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh?"

"You scared me, kid."

I was offended by his choice of words. Just because I was five feet three inches and he was hell taller than me didn't mean I was a kid.

"Who are you calling a kid?" I placed my hands on my hips.

He looked at me, amusement lingering in his eyes. "Don't tell me you aren't fifteen or sixteen."

I formed a ball with my fist and said, putting on a smile, "From which side did you come to the wedding? The bride or the groom?"

"The groom," he uttered without any hesitation.

If he had answered that he was from the bride's side, I could've easily caught his lies. Despite the fact that he said he was from the groom's side, I was finding it quite hard to believe. My instincts screamed that this person was a danger and I knew my instincts were never wrong.

"I assume you are from the bride's side?" he inquired, bringing me back from my trance.

I gave a curt nod. "Take off your mask."

"What?"

This time, I said sternly, "Take off your mask."

"You know, this is COVID times, and it's—" I cut his words short.

"All of us here are vaccinated, and I am the event planner, so I assure you that I can recognize every person who is attending this wedding. I want to see if you are really one of the people on the guest list or not," I lied bluntly. Of course, I didn't know who was attending from the groom's side, though I knew how many people were there. But if this man was lying, he would hesitate to remove his mask.

He chortled, much to my dismay. "Why don't you ask for my name instead and check it on the guest list?"

"What if you saw the guest list and chose the name of a person who didn't appear yet for yourself?" I pointed out, which made him arch an eyebrow at me.

"Smart kid, I see."

I rolled my eyes. "Take off your mask and show me your face."

He sighed and started opening his mask.

As soon as I saw his face, my eyes widened.

Zinnia.

Handsome.

He was super-duper handsome.

If I started describing him, I would run out of words. All I could say about him was, that his strong jawline made him look terribly hot.

“Hello?”

I snapped out of my dreamland as soon as he snapped his fingers in front of me.

“In whose thoughts did you get lost?” he teased.

“I… sorry,” I managed to say and averted my gaze at that instant.

“So do you believe I am from the groom’s side now?”

“Yes. Enjoy the wedding,” with that, I walked away from him.

He was definitely from the groom’s side because he was so confident. He even showed his face without any hesitation. I doubted him for no reason.

I looked at the place where the groom was sitting; it was called Mandap, according to what Kavita taught me. I decided to stand near Mrs. Kapoor who was standing near the madam along with the other guests.

She noticed me and whispered, “Where were you?”

“I was checking whether everything was in place or not,” I answered politely.

“You have checked so many times, Zinnia, dear,” Mrs. Kapoor uttered, “We trust your work. So stress yourself less and enjoy your best friend’s wedding.”

I nodded with a smile.

“Please bring the bride in now,” the priest said, looking at Mrs. Kapoor.

Mrs. Kapoor glanced at me and I understood her signal. I went inside the mansion to bring Kavita.

It was Kavita’s wish that her two best friends, Zara and Zinnia, would bring her to the mandap.

“Are you ready, Kavita? It’s time,” I informed her once I stepped into her room.

She sucked in a deep breath and let out, “Let’s go. I am ready.”

Zara looked at me and smiled while I did the same. We couldn’t believe that one of us was finally getting married. Though it was early since Kavita was only twenty-three years old, she decided to marry her family friend, Nehal Singh.

We started to walk toward the mandap, and Kavita held our hands tightly with her cold hands. She was nervous and it was obvious.

As soon as we made Kavita sit on the mandap, my eyes fell on five men entering the wedding. They seemed like thugs and when I saw the pocket knives in their hands, a gasp escaped my lips.

“What happened, Zinnia?” Zara asked me.

“Everyone’s focus is on the bride and groom now, so make sure none of them lose their attention. I have work to do,” I informed Zara and walked towards the group of men, who were trying to fit into the wedding ceremony, hiding their knives but I saw it already.

Why were they here? I had to make sure they didn’t ruin Kavita’s wedding.

I approached them as they stood at one corner, trying to blend in like the guests, but their eyes were constantly searching for someone.

“Hello, I am the organizer of this wedding,” I said to them with a smile. “I hope you are enjoying the wedding.”

“Yes,” one of them replied, not really paying attention to me.

“Are you looking for something? It feels like there is some shortcoming in my arrangement with the way y’all were looking around the surroundings.”

One of the men cleared their throat and said, “Actually, we were looking for one of our friends who got lost at this wedding. He was wearing a black mask.”

“He also has brownish hair, maybe copper brown,” another man added.

They were definitely talking about that guy who called me kid. But he said he was from the groom’s side.

“Are y’all from the bride’s side?” I inquired with a smile.

They shared a look with each other, and all of the five men nodded their heads.

So that guy was a liar. He wasn’t the bride or the groom’s relative. Rather, he was the wedding crasher, along with these five men standing in front of me.

Why did they have to crash the wedding organized by me, that too of my best friend's?

“I didn’t see anyone like that yet,” I informed them. I didn’t know the entire story and these men seemed dangerous. I had to talk to that guy first before giving his information to others. I added, “But I will let you know if I see him.”

The group of men smiled at me, which didn’t seem friendly at all, but I returned a friendly smile and walked away from them.

I had to look for that hazel-eyed guy. He had too many questions to answer.

I felt I would find him near the photo booth, so I went there to look for him first. That was when my eyes fell on that man, standing in one corner, leaning near one of the oversized pure white ceramic vases.

“I knew you were a threat to this wedding.”

He almost jumped hearing my sudden voice. When his eyes fell on me, he heaved a sigh in relief and removed his mask.

“It’s you, kid. Thank God.”

“Who are you?” I asked directly.

He furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean by that?”

“A group of five men just entered the wedding and they are looking for you. I saw them having pocket knives in their hands. So either they are the criminal or you. But you seem too innocent for that, so you better tell me the truth now,” I let it all out at once.

“I seem innocent?”

I was dumbstruck at his words. Out of all the sentences I said, the only one he heard was he seemed innocent? Was this guy for real?

“I can’t deal with this anymore. I am telling those guys that you are here. The end.” I was about to go away, but he grabbed my right wrist and stopped me.

“You can’t do that, woman,” he said sternly.

This time, I looked at him in amusement. He called me a woman instead of a kid. It meant the matter was more serious than I thought.

“So why are you here and who are those men?” I asked, crossing my arms against my chest after freeing myself from his grip.

He sighed. “They are just some muggers and they wanted to take my stuff. I did what a sane person would do, which is run. This was my first time in New York, so I had no idea where to go, thus I ended up crashing this wedding. I am sorry.”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at his story. “You… you… ran…” I said in between my laughs.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “I am sorry I cannot fight five people at once because I am not the male protagonist of a novel. In real life, people run.”

“Anyway, if they are muggers, shouldn’t we do something so that they get out of this place? They might ruin my perfectly organized wedding,” I uttered as the realization hit me hard. I had to make sure they didn’t do anything.

“They won’t do anything to the people here because it’s a wedding and people of multiple professions are present,” he informed me, which calmed me a bit.

“Then why are they looking for you? They should’ve left you alone once you ran.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t only run with my stuff, I stole their wallets too.”

“What?” I almost hollered, but he placed his index finger over his lips, indicating me to lower my voice. “Why did you steal from the muggers?” I whispered.

“I wanted to give them a taste of their own medicine.” He shrugged his shoulders, not even showing the tiniest bit of guilt or regret for his actions.

“No wonder why they are chasing you,” I muttered under my breath. “Now what?” This time, I looked at him.

He twitched his lips and thought for a while before saying, “Now, you will help me out.”

“How?” I went straight to the point. I had to help him out because those muggers might ruin Kavita’s perfect wedding.

I glanced at Kavita and Nehal getting married while the guy whispered into my ears, “You will go to the muggers and say that you saw me going out of this place.”

My breath hitched at our closeness. I glanced at his eyes and breathed out, “How will they believe me?”

“Run towards them and say that you saw me going out. They will believe you in a heartbeat if they see you panting. They will think you ran to them as soon as you saw me.”

“That’s a good idea.”

My eyes looked for the group of muggers, but a panic engulfed me when I didn’t see them standing at their place anymore. Where did they vanish?

“Hey, where did they go?” I asked and turned my back to the mysterious guy, only to find him pulling me into the photo booth.

“I am sorry,” he mumbled and leaned closer to my lips, making my heartbeat run a marathon.

Immediately, I shut my eyes.

A hand caressed my cheek, then I felt something on my lips.

Was this how my first kiss would go?