On Paper and Braid
(On Paper)
On paper, Aaron and Kaitlin made the perfect couple. They were both blonde, curly haired, and lived in California. They were the same age. They didn’t swim the same strokes, so there would never be any kind of rivalry, no matter how little or insignificant. And the best part was, they would probably have beautiful, blonde, curly haired babies.
Kaitlin and Markus had very little in common. Other than the fact that they both went to prestigious private colleges in California, Aaron had no reason to compare them. Only more often than not, Aaron found himself comparing.
Markus had very flat, dark hair. He was a year older than Aaron. He could, and often did compete against Aaron. And they would never have babies, beautiful or otherwise.
But that moment Markus smiled and gently touched Aaron’s waist, congratulating him on a job well done, Aaron decided that whatever was written on paper could be erased.
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(Braid)
“I want you to be my maid of honor.”
Kerri smiled, continuing to braid her hair as she replied, “No.”
“What do you mean, no?” Misty touched Kerri’s elbow, making the blonde stop in her hair ministrations. “You’re my best friend. I want you to be there when I get married.”
“And I will be there.” Kerri let go of her hair, letting the braid slowly undo itself. “It’ll be the biggest day of your life, I wouldn’t miss it. But I won’t be your maid of honor, because that’s asking me to help plan the ceremony that will take you away from me. It’ll be hard enough just watching, you know.”
Misty sat silently for a moment, staring at her lap. Kerri sighed and leaned over to kiss Misty on the cheek.
“Besides, if you have me walking down the aisle in a dress, I’d probably trip. Mark wouldn’t like that.”
Misty nodded, then motioned for Kerri to turn around. Kerri did, and Misty resumed braiding where Kerri had left off.