Sweet Hallucinations

"Not now. Not now," I beg. I feel my expression freeze in a feigned enthusiastic smile. I quickly glance behind Paul again. She's there, wearing a bridesmaid dress. It looks perfect on her- red in perfect contrast to her dark hair, her dark lips, her red cheeks. Why did she have to show up today? She was been away for weeks. She's got that sly grin which tells me she knows something. What is it? Whatever she knows, I can't let it get to me and I have to save face in front of everyone. I smile but joy is quickly escaping me. I'm losing my grip on reality. My face feels heavy and warm like I'm melting. Plop. I feel something heavy land on my head. Plop plop. Natalie giggles and points to Paul's ear. Coated in delicate white frosting, his cartilage collapses under the weight and falls onto his shoulder. His earlobe threatens to fall off but is held on by a few crumbs. Cake. Cake. Cake. Why the cake of all things, Natalie? Why?

Paul smiles endearingly, unaware of the rainbow sprinkles hanging errantly off his eyelashes. As I lean in to kiss him, my brain is filled with a breath of warm almond wedding cake. I close my eyes and hold my breath to seal our wedding vows and to push for an end to this hallucination. Paul's sweet sticky frosting lips give way to a warm supple crumb cake. I sigh, feeling love in the moment I've been waiting for- married at last, but panic sets in as I start to inhale and my nose is filled with sprinkles and that displaced cake icing.

Sensing my panic, Paul gives my hands an encouraging squeeze. My hands disintegrate, my fingers turn to mush in his grasp, and my wedding ring falls to the floor with an audible "Plop. Ting!" I bend down, searching for the ring, but only feeling the sponge texture of my flesh.

Paul meets me on the floor, "Are you okay? What are you doing?" "Natalie," I whisper, "It's stupid. I'm sorry. She turned everything into cake. I dropped the ring. I'm sorry."

Giggles echo in the venue. I look out to the crowd in time to see Paul's dad being scolded. Natalie is behind him digging into a healthy slice of his face.

Paul wraps me in a soft and mushy hug, displaces my frosting hair by kissing my head and pulls me down the aisle. There are no cheers as we walk by. Makes sense because cake can't talk.