1 Misconstrued

When Marvin and Gabriella separated, their breakup was mutual. Both were in their teens, didn't really know the value of a relationship and just ended it abruptly. They met again couple years later. Now, as mature adults with respective jobs, they talked in a civil manner. Marvin was getting married and Gabriella was invited.

Many of Gabriella's friends and colleagues thought she'd turn down the invitation. And that made her more determined to attend the wedding and show everyone she was mature enough to bury the hatchet with Marvin despite their past experience.

On the wedding day, Gabriella woke up early with a fresh start. She had tea and crumpets for breakfast from a nearby diner, then went shopping for new clothes to wear on the wedding. She looked around for quite a while and finally settled for a new shirt, a pair of whitish-yellowish formal trousers, a pair of sneakers and a coat for the chilly weather that set in at night.

It had been noon by the time her shopping was done, and she was hungry. She went back to the diner where she had breakfast earlier and ordered French onion soup and lamb shanks coated and surrounded with a delicious sauce.

After the hearty lunch, she was full and tired. She headed home. She felt sleepy, but thought instead to iron the shirt and the pair of trousers first. So she did just that and then crashed in her bed.

When she woke up, it had gone dark. She looked at the digital alarm clock beside her bed. 8:15pm, it read. Gabriella was absolutely stunned that she managed to sleep for a solid 6 hours, and it wasn't even during nighttime. She got up from her bed quickly, straightened her rough hair as much as she could, washed her face, applied very little makeup, donned her new clothes, shoes and coat and took a taxi to Marvin's house. She was certain she was gonna miss the main wedding ceremony. "Damn my sleeping habit.", she thought.

But as she rushed to Marvin's house's back (where the wedding was taking place) yard upon reaching, she had realized she missed a lot more. Not only did she missed the main wedding, but the toasting for the newly wed couple too. As embarrassment devoured her from the inside, everyone turned a hostile eye on Gabriella,thinking she came late on purpose as a form of humiliation to Marvin. Gabriella slowly walked towards Marvin, trying to ignore the others as best as she could, and tried to apologize. "It's way past 9, Gab. What do you want me to say about this?", said Marvin coldly. Gabriella felt like she was sinking in a nonexisting quicksand. Marvin's wife, however, seemed like an understanding woman, and tried to make Gabriella less uncomfortable by addressing everyone that it was all right. Gabriella might've had her own reasons for coming late. But it was only as useful as lockpicking a door with the holding end of a spoon. Gabriella, now clearly on the verge of breaking from pure misery, wanted to end things quick. She congratulated them wished the both of them good luck in their endeavours, and then left abruptly.

As Gabriella walked, searching for a taxi to take her home, two things came in her mind. One, a nice warm shower once she got home. And two, the fact that Marvin of all people misunderstood her, but a woman she never met until tonight gave her support and acted rational. She felt hurt by it all, for some reason. She rooted for that warm shower to wash away the pain that was now lingering inside her.