Boobala Darling Wins a Cruise: Part 7 of 9 (A fictional story set in Brooklyn)

Doomsday: She’s as good as dead.

Boobala had gone to the mall after school to buy her wedding outfit and try on some makeup. The vendor experimented with the cosmetics and Boobala was overwhelmingly pleased with the results. She took some home so she could apply it as the vendor taught her. The next afternoon, after school, she went back to the mall with cosmetics. It was the first time that Boobala put on makeup in front of people. She felt a bit self-conscious. She had also been working very hard to lose weight and firm up, which she managed to hide from Mom’s prying eyes with baggy clothes. Wanting to look tempting for Harry on her wedding night, she decided to buy some sexy lingerie. She couldn’t believe how expensive everything was and how quickly the money had gone.

Little by little, Boobala had been taking some of her clothes out of the house, taking them to her small apartment in her backpack. So far so good. She was doing well keeping the secret from Mom. Harry, acting like her big spender, told her not to worry about her clothes, that he would buy her whatever she wanted after they were married.

To cover her tracks, Boobala told Mildred as she left the house for the store that Myrtle had invited her to dinner. She would probably be home late. She was going to go to the mall to pick out a gift for them. Mildred, who had no reason to doubt her daughter, told her to have a good time.

As soon as Mildred left the house, Boobala ran to the apartment to get ready. She was feverish with excitement. It was her wedding day. She was the first to arrive at the Justice of the Peace. Harry came running in a few minutes after she did out of breath, holding some fallen flowers that looked like they had been ripped off a tombstone. Billy Boy and Sheryl followed him as his witnesses, muttering that they had to park several blocks away. Harry was wearing jeans with holes and dirty sneakers. With his backpack in hand, he asked the Wedding Officiant where he could change his clothes. When he came out, he was wearing his wrinkled gray silk suit with a pink shirt, tie, and dress shoes. He seemed terribly self-conscious and uncomfortable. He felt like a freak. He hadn’t noticed Boobala when he first entered, but when he saw her now, he was surprised by her transformation. She looked extremely pretty with shoulder-length curly brown hair, she wore cosmetics and no glasses. Her eyebrows were mostly plucked and painted, making her hazel eyes look bigger with the help of a bit of eyeshadow, mascara and eyeliner. She was dressed in a light blue body-hugging body-hugging suit. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She even had beautiful round breasts. Her heels made her look taller. “Wow,” she said. She wanted the ceremony to be over so she could get down to business in earnest. ‘I guess I won’t need Stefania tonight,’ he thought to himself.

The wedding officiant asked Boobala and Harry to stand in front of him, asking them to remove their rings as the ceremony began.

“If there is anyone here who feels these two should not get married, please speak up now or forever hold your peace.” Boobala was terrified by the question, thinking that Mom would come out of the shadows protesting the marriage. After a moment of silence, they began to breathe easy as the Officiant continued his speech.

“Do you, Harry, take this woman as your lawful wife?”

Harry, gathering courage, said “Yes, I do.”

“Please put the ring on her finger.”

Harry was so scared that he started sweating like a storm. Interrupting the ceremony, he loosened his tie, unbuttoned his collar, and discarded his suit jacket. How he wished he could put his ripped jeans and tennis shoes back on. Boobala’s face turned bright red in embarrassment. Boobala got distracted when he saw the gang. It looked like something he picked up at the dollar store along with the wilted flowers. Harry, sensing her agitation and fearing that Boobala might change her mind, put his arm around her. “Don’t worry baby, I’ll buy you a ring that’s 100 times better than Myrtle’s when we can afford it.”

The Officiant, clearing his throat, looked at the couple and said, “Please, can we continue with the ceremony?”

“Yeah sure,” Harry replied.

“Boobala, do you take this man as your lawful husband?”

After a moment’s hesitation, he said “Yes, I do.”

“Please put the ring on your finger.”

“By the power vested in me by the great State of New York, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your beautiful bride.”

Boobala Sarah Finkenberg couldn’t believe she was now Mrs. Darling Boobala. Such a married woman. She finally finished.

Harry ran out of the room to change back into his ripped jeans and sneakers. Boobala was disappointed that they didn’t even get their picture taken. They had to walk six blocks to where the car was parked. What a couple they seemed, Harry in her ripped jeans and her limping in her suit and heels. The silence in the car was awkward. You could feel the tension in the air. Even Billy Boy’s raunchy jokes backfired, making him feel like an idiot. Finally arriving at the apartment, Billy Boy left them and said, “Hey, Harry, do you want me to buy a pizza and a couple of beers?” To which Harry shrugged, he looked at Boobala and replied, “Yeah sure, why not.”

No.: 9 (9-11-2011)

To Be Continued: Part 8 of 9 of Boobala Darling Wins a Cruise