Inara slowly raised the glass to her lips and took a sip, praying that it wouldn’t be bitter because she had a sweet tooth.She didn’t like any drink that wasn’t sweet. Which was why when Zee would take all those bitter alcoholic drinks, she always went for any vodka or alcoholic drink that was at least sweet like Smirnoff Ice or Gordon’s Spark. She didn’t like red wine either. The ones that she had tasted were still not sweet. She would pick ice cream over it any day.Surprisingly, as she let the tiny quantity of wine she had sipped, flow over her taste buds, she found that the drink wasn’t bitter as she had suspected. Thankfully, she took another sip, before placing the glass on the table. Lemuel had his gaze on her the whole time, keeping her in a constant state of nerves.“Was that bad?” he asked.“No.” she answered, shaking her head.“Tell me why.”She lowered her g

Inara and her choir colleagues rose to the applause of the congregation, ready to present their piece for the evening Church Service.She loved the choir because it was where she could momentarily forget problems and just participate in being part of the music.Today was a free day before Lemuel’s family would meet hers the next day and nervous as she was about that, she had decided to forget about her present problems.She adjusted her robe, straightening it presentably and stepping up to the microphone as the keyboardist began playing the keys to the hymn I’ll Stand By Until The Morning (Fierce and Wild The Storm is Raging). When he cued her in, she sang;Fierce and wild the storm is ragingRound a helpless bark,On to doom ’tis swiftly driving,O’er the waters dark! The rest of the choir joined her at the chorus: Joy, behold the Savior,Joy, the message

In the cool of the day around 6:00 pm, Inara peeked from her room window as two SUVs, black and white, pulled up before her home. Then a red one, the one she was familiar with, pulled up last. It made her heart beat faster, knowing that it was him in there. And she couldn’t help but touch the ring that he had slipped onto her finger. It clung to her skin, constantly reminding her of him.Her family had already pre

Inara’s dad informed her the next morning that Lemuel had insisted on funding the wedding arrangements and had already wired some good money in. Inara went to her room and texted;Thank you for the fund.Few moments later, he responded with;Good Manners.Afterwards, she received a call from a strange number and picked it up.“Hello.”“This is Cassy Blake.”Inara was shocked. Cassy was her bully in junior high. Cassy and two other snobbish girls called Eve and Amy had always made her life a living hell. They had often called her a fatty and messed with her lunch box until Zee who had come in as a new student, stepped in and made them back off. It was how she and Zee had become friends. She wondered why Cassy would be calling her.“Hi Cassy.” She said, not sure what to expect.Cassy laughed in her familiar high-pitched voice that had Inara putting the phone some distance away from her ear. It sounded like sirens wailing up close. Then she returned the phone to her ear as soon as the lau

Zee had managed to get Inara to stop crying during the drive and they reached Inara's home at about 8:30 pm.Inara took off the bridal shower tee-shirt and dumped it on the floor of the truck, hating it with every fiber of her being.“I’ll trash it for you.” said Zee.