The silence was loud, almost deafening as her toast popped from the toaster, her teeth biting at her lip as she started to butter it. This all would have just been better if he wasn't here. Why had the doctor had to call him to the hospital the other day while she was there? She would have been more than fine to know the news by herself, if only so that she could figure out a way to tell him about the baby, because, despite the fact that their relationship was no more and definitely not like it used to be, it still was his child and he deserved to know about it no matter what. But Hope knew that she would have waited to tell him; probably would have waited until she was further along, maybe even showing a little before she told him. At least, more than likely anyway, they would have actually been divorced. He probably wouldn't have been living with her, and they both still would have gone their separate ways. Yes, a child would connect them together no matter what, but at least it wouldn't have led to this.
Hope shook her head at the thought, frowning as she sighed before she put her food on a plate, grabbed her orange juice, and then headed back up the stairs after putting the butter away. She didn't want to stay down there and eat. It would be too much, and she didn't want his presence to bother her as much as it was with being in the same room as he was.
---
As time wore on, Hope finally readied herself for the event. After taking a shower, doing her make up, and doing her hair- pulling it into a neat, though almost messy, bun while she tucked some hair in front behind her ear- she put her simple black dress, it relatively fitted on her, that reached to just above her knees on. Despite herself, she continued to look at herself in the mirror, hoping that eventually a bump would begin to form in her stomach region in a few months. But then, as she did look at herself, she thought of Will and that other woman she knew he was seeing. While she had never seen her before, she often wondered what that woman was like. Was she prettier, was she curvier, hair longer, smarter? Was she able to have children easily, to where she didn't have to try different fertility treatments, money wasted since it hadn't worked for her? What made Will drawn to her?
To be honest, that was a question she didn't want to be answered. Because why would she want to know why that other woman was able to pull him into her bed even when he still had her? Her lips pinched into a frown at the thought, her brows furrowing before she took a breath and looked away from the mirror. It didn't matter anyway, she told herself. Will had that other woman, and that was that. Fine. Let him be like that. She didn't want him anymore. Or at least that was what she tried to convince herself of.
Putting her heels on, she looked to the clock to see that it was five minutes to three, and after seeing the time she couldn't help but nod to herself. Right on schedule. It would take an hour to get to the venue, and while she wasn't looking forward to the drive with Will, she knew that she was just going to have to deal with it. She headed down stairs then with the rest of the equipment that she still had left to put into the car, this sense of wariness still coming to her but she pushed the thought aside and just continued about. It would go away, she told herself, once she started actually working. It always did. "Come on, Will," she called out with a sigh as she headed to the closet by the front door so that she could get her coat. In all honesty she knew that the coat wouldn't be of much use to her, seeing as the venue was all indoors and with all the walking around she was planning on doing there was no doubt in her mind that she would become hot, or at least warm, it was still good to keep it around. After all, it's not like she was really wearing anything that was made for the cold, but she digressed. "It's time to go and I don't want to be late."
---
Just as she had thought, the ride her been silent save for the little music that played in the car. She didn't try to speak with him, and he didn't attempt to speak with her, which Hope was completely fine with. It's not like they had much to talk about anyway, seeing as she personally didn't want to know what was going on in his life any longer. She didn't care, so she just let him be.
"You don't have to come in- no, actually, I don't want you to come in. There's no need of you getting in the way, and I refuse for that to happen." Finally she turned to look at Will after having parked the car, the parking lot that the venue sat it nearly empty save for a few cars that were already there. No doubt the mother and father of the bride, the bride herself, her bridesmaids, and then the groomsmen and groom already there. She raised her hand to look up at her watch, furrowing her brows. "It's three fifty five, the wedding starts at six, and you don't need to be around until then. I don't care what you do; you can sit in the car for the rest of the time, you can walk around, or you can take the car and go somewhere else. Just don't go far, because you need to be back by, at the latest, five forty." Looking up from her watch, she looked back over to Will, the gears in her mind going on with how she wanted things and what she had to tell him. Professional, even with him, just be professional. "To get to the ceremony, just head through those doors over there, go down the hall to the right and then turn left into the double doors. I'm sure there will be signs or people escorting others to the room, but just keep that in mind. You'll be sitting in the very back on the bride's side. So just try to make yourself invisible, and just sit there. I doubt if I'll need your help with anything." And, without so much as waiting for him to say anything back, she got out the car, headed to the trunk, grabbed the few things she had to get, and then walked away.
---
The ceremony had been beautiful, not that Hope had thought anything different. The venue itself was beautiful for that matter, with white candles lined down the aisle, the lights dimmed in the room, different variations of white and and off white flowers strung down the benches that had been placed in the area. Candles also hung over their alter as well, with those same flowers woven into it. And while Hope had an inkling of a thought that that may be a fire hazard, she just hoped that nothing would happen. A giant window stood behind the alter, showing that outside of the large open space, a few trees spaced here and there, with snow covering the ground, the sun in the background dipping back into the horizon as they said their vows to one another. It was just what the bride had wanted, she remembered her having said at some point. For the sun to be setting as they were to be joined as man and wife, for the sky to be an orange, almost purple color with stars just beginning to peak into the sky as the snow still glittered with the little light that was still to be there.
And Hope used all of it to her advantage so that she could get the best pictures.
Since her decline in marriage taking pictures of a ceremony had always been a little more difficult for her. It just always reminded her of her own wedding. While it hadn't been nearly as extravagant as this, not even half way, it had still been nice, and she loved it. She had loved Will at that point, and back then that was all that mattered to her. She had been so happy that day, and it almost hurt to see others so happy when getting married. How long would they last though? Would they make it long, or would this joining only be short lived? She could never say. But, as always, she reminded herself that she had to be professional and not let her emotions get the better of her. She had to get her personal life out of this, and keep up with what was going on around her so that she could have the opportunity to take the best pictures of the best moments. It was her job, after all, and as she told that to herself, she also told herself to not look once at Will.
---
After the ceremony had ended and after the pictures of just the bride and groom and all the bridesmaids and groomsmen along with the mother and father of the bride and groom, the reception had started and it was a jovial occasion. The reception area was in the same building as the ceremony had been held in, however this room was bigger, still decorated beautifully. The first dance had been done, the bride had danced with her father, people ate... That had been one of the hardest things to deal with here, the smell of the different foods. It made her feel sick, but she continued to drink her water to wash the feeling away, which would inevitably show itself back in a matter of moments. But she couldn't leave, she knew she couldn't. Her feet were beginning to hurt as well as the night wore on, to which she knew she should have worn different heels, and she had forgotten to bring her back up pair as well. Great...
She took a deep breath as she watched more people approach the dance floor, taking a quick snap shot of that before she knew she had to sit down somewhere, because along with the feeling of her feet hurting, something else wasn't right. It was almost like she had the same feeling as she had when back at work with that little bit of light headiness. When she found an empty chair towards the back of the room, herself always wanting to keep herself separated from the friends and family of the wedding, she took another breath as she tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. Her hands shook a little, but she shook her head, grimaced, and leaned back in the seat. She just needed to take a little break. Yeah, that was it. And then she could get back to work.