henry waits in the ballroom, impatiently tapping his feet on the floor. “where is amber, it shouldn’t take so long to put on a dress,” he thinks. the guests are already trickling in and heading toward the tables where they would wait for the couple to announce their surprise. he greets them, smiling and showing them their seats, while contemplating “where is she, for christ’s sake? she can’t abandon me now of all times. she’s marrying me, she said yes, she can’t back out now”.

his face heats up with the thought that amber is finally, after 7 years of friendship, 4 years of dating, and three months of getting the balls to ask her, said yes to him.

..............................

he looks at his watch; they’re running 10 minutes behind schedule, and if the guests want the cake and food, amber would have to come downstairs at the instant. acknowledging the time crunch, henry stealthily sneaks around the premise (as stealthily as he can because his black dress shoes make too much noise in the empty lobby), casually slipping out of the entrance and into the elevator to see what’s holding his fiance and soon-to-be-wife from being downstairs. he opens the door to their suite and sees amber with a knee length white dress with a blue skirt, her shoulder length hair pinned up in delicate, auburn waves, her face almost devoid of makeup (excluding the hint of eyeliner and red lipstick wait is that really lipstick).

she stood in front of the mirror, awkwardly posing in her white wedges. “i know you’re there henry, don’t think i can’t see you gaping at me like some fish.”

henry closed his mouth (he didn’t even know he was gawking this is so embarrassing). he steps out from behind the door, bashful from spying amber. she glances at him briefly, turning her attention to the mirror, fidgeting with her dress and her simple diamond studs (wow she even put on jewelry too who would have thought, henry pondered).

"please be honest," amber’s wide eyes plead him, "how do i look?"

henry’s brain must have short circuited from the image of the goddess before him because all he could blurt out was, “wow, uh, you look, uh, great, yeah great, superb yeah fantastic baby.”

amber goes back to review her reflection in the mirror, her eyebrows furrowed, unsure of his opinion, “are you sure? this dress doesn’t look too tacky does it?” she asks him, worried about the guests’ response toward her appearance. it’s not everyday amber puts in a dress and makeup, and with the fact that both their families (extended and close) and friends are here, makes amber a little more jittery than usual. the last thing she needs is the audience to elicit some mixed reactions from her feminine garbe, and with her thought process, she would jump to conclusions worrying that she’s not good enough for henry and that saying yes was a whole mistake.

"no stitch", he whispers with a smile, her cheeks blooming in red. "you honestly look fantastic, don’t doubt yourself." he walks over to her, hugging her from behind, his head resting on her shoulder. "you look amazing and gorgeous, ok? ambie, look at me." amber looks at him, their noses touching, her large eyes sparkling in the light.

"amber, i swear to the heavens and back you’re the most sarcastic, confusing, and hypocritical friend, but you’re also the most astonishing, beautiful, caring, and understanding person i will ever have the chance of meeting, and i want you to be by my side for the rest of my life. i don’t care what other people say about your looks, your diction, or heck, even your cooking, because their opinions don’t matter. it’s just us against the world, and we’ll make it through together." henry leans in and kisses her on the nose, causing amber to laugh and shake her head. they hug each other tightly, his arms around her waist,

"now how about we go downstairs and show them who is the new couple in town?" he waggles his eyebrows. amber hits him on the shoulder playfully, walking toward the door. she holds out her left hand for him, her face showing no sign of stress, only determination and excitement. he takes her hand, giving her a smile before they set out to one of their biggest challenges of their lives.

..............................

"hello everyone. as you all know, my name is henry lau," henry introduces. amber snatches the microphone away from him,"and i’m the one and only amber liu." she pauses.

"well, actually, i’m not amber liu." she looks at henry, who has a quizzical expression on his face. "i’m going to be amber lau. welcome to our engagement party everyone. now before you throw a shoe or walk out dramatically, there will be cake, so don’t just leave yet."