The couple's wedding was originally intended to be small and intimate, with just family members and a few close friends in attendance. But over time Olive felt more and more pressured to invite everyone she knew, so as to not make anyone feel left out. So the guest list grew, as did the size of the venue and the amount of food needed. Haiden couldn’t help but worry about the financial aspect, as the burden fell mostly on his shoulders. But he wanted to give his fiancée her dream wedding, so he obliged. He just wanted to make her smile.
Olive had been caught up in the mayhem of wedding preparation and was not herself. She and her soon-to-be hubby were having spats more often than before. She figured it would all blow over soon. "When I’m sitting on the beach during our honeymoon, everything will be all right," she thought to herself, "weddings are stressful and this is normal." But during the week prior to the ceremony, it didn’t feel normal. The couple was distant and didn’t communicate well. In fact, poor communication had been the cause for all wedding-related turmoil. If Haiden had spoken up about his preferences sooner, and Olive had been clear about her expectations, the fighting would have ceased. But they chose to be passive in hopes that the problems would solve themselves.
On the 16th of June, the day before Haiden and Olive would tie the knot, the two surveyed the wedding plans one last time. Haiden looked over the costs and couldn't help but think 'extravagant.' Olive looked at the seating charts and the menu and couldn't help but think it wasn't enough. As she voiced her concerns, Haiden erupted. His pent up anger spewed out like lava and a shouting match began. They would both immediately regret their words and actions, but the damage was done and Haiden stormed out, uncertain about the future. Olive couldn't help but cry as she looked over the wedding plans. "Did I get carried away?" she questioned herself.
It didn't take long for Haiden to realize his mistake. "How could I yell at her like that? She's the person I care about most in this world," he asked, swallowed up by guilt. Olive pondered similar thoughts and reflected on the earlier days of their relationship, remembering vividly their first night together in their apartment. They slept on the floor while noticing the barren walls and chipped paint. "It's perfect," he had said to her. "All we need is a plant to liven the place up. That's all it needs." So he went out and bought a fern for their new place, and it became a symbol of their love.
Olive knew that she had lost sight of what was important - she and Haiden being together, being one. It didn't matter the size of the wedding or what food was served, what mattered was that at the end of the day they would be married. And so Olive left the house to run one last errand before the wedding.
She arrived home some twenty minutes later, with a fern in hand and sore, red eyes. She'd been running the day's events in her head over and over and couldn't feel worse. Haiden still wasn't home and she began to worry. "Maybe he won't come back. Did I ruin everything? Why did I buy this stupid plant?" Tears formed in her eyes again as she thought about life without the man she loved. Then, his car rolled into the driveway. He had a look of remorse on his face that matched hers. At the sight of one another, they both smiled.
He stepped out the car. Before any words were shared, he wrapped Olive in a warm embrace. Before he could say anything she ran inside. Out she came with the fern, "All I need is you. Everything else is secondary. All I need is you."
He smiled warmly and opened the back seat of his car.
He leaned in and pulled something out -
A beautiful, lush, lovely fern.
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