Athena and Percy met Tabitha at a high end patisserie to pick out their wedding cake. Athena was feeling hopeful that one choice would go their way without anyone’s input—cake taste is personal, no one could tell you you’re tastes are wrong, right?
As they walked in Athena let out a gasp, all the pastries were a little over the top, this was not going to go her way. She let out a inaudible sigh knowing that once again the perfect image of what a wedding to a Duke should look like would be pushed on her.
Athena and Percy sat at a small table covered with white linens as Tabitha went to speak to the owner. Athena looked around taking the place in, a few small tables all covered with the same white linen tablecloths, a small crystal chandelier hung in the middle. This place was too much, would they be able to find a cake that would match their tastes and wedding, or would they be forced into something that was extravagant—simply because she was marrying a Duke. The appearance of the patisserie left Athena feeling disheartened, she worried that their views weren’t being taken into account.
Percy took her hand in his giving it a reassuring squeeze pulling her out of her thoughts. He could see that the input of everyone else on what their wedding should be was really starting to bring her down. He hated that planning their wedding was causing her so much stress. He wished there was a way he could make the planning easier on her, and help her feel less overwhelmed.
The owner came back out with Tabitha, she placed two identical plates down on the table. “Here we have our four most popular wedding cake flavors, white vanilla bean, with vanilla mousse filling and vanilla buttercream, dark chocolate champagne with chocolate mousse filling and vanilla buttercream, lemon with vanilla mousse and vanilla buttercream, and lastly our tiramisu cake. It’s our vanilla cake with a mascarpone filling, and two smaller layers of of an espresso filling.” The owner said pointing at a slice of each cake.
Athena looked at the cakes set before her as she reached for her fork. Well the cake looks good. She took a bite of the vanilla bean first, the cake was dense yet moist. The lemon cake was tart with a balance of sweet. The chocolate champagne cake was delicate and decadent. The tiramisu cake was delectable, the tantalizing flavors exploding on her tongue, she let out a small satisfied moan.
“Which one do like doll?” Percy asked, a smile stretching across his lips at her obvious appreciation of the cake.
Athena blushed when she realized he heard her, she covered her mouth in embarrassment over her reaction to the cake. “The tiramisu.” She replied, her cheeks still tinged pink.
Percy’s smile grew, his dimples on display, “That was my favorite too doll.” He replied, leaning in to place a chaste kiss to her lips.
“So the tiramisu then?” Tabitha asked, breaking them from their own world.
The heat rose on Athena’s cheeks again, as Percy let out a low chuckle. “Yes, the tiramisu please.” Athena answered.
The owner nodded, before heading into the back with Tabitha at her heels.
Percy cupped her cheek, he gently caressing her smooth cheek with his thumb. Before he could say anything the owner and Tabitha returned carrying a large four tier wedding cake. They set it down on the middle of the table and stepped back allowing Percy and Athena to admire it. Athena had to force herself to hold back her grimace—it was beautiful, but not what she was looking for. It was ivory in color, the entire bottom tier covered in frosting flowers with fewer flowers on the remaining three tiers. Each of the top tiers made to look like they were wrapped in thick ribbons.
Percy noticing her hesitation asked to see the next option, remembering that Tabitha had mentioned three options they thought they would love when he spoke to her on the phone.
Tabitha and the owner left to retrieve the next cake. The second cake was quickly brought out and placed next to the first. Athena felt her heart drop when she looked at the second case, she almost felt like they were getting worse. The second cake was a six tier cake draped in ivory fondant, each layer varying in height. The cake was covered in a wide trail of sugar roses in varying hues. She was starting to feel like her wedding was more of a show than a promise to be with the man she loved for the rest of their lives. She found herself becoming more agitated every time someone put their station above who they were as a couple. Athena wanted one part of planning to go without someone pushing the expectations of their titles down her throat. She may be marrying a man with the title of Duke, but he was Percy first, the marriage may make her a duchess—they would always remain Athena and Percy at their core. Why couldn’t other people see them for who they were as a couple instead of who they were by title?
Tabitha looked at Athena’s face, her lower lip pulled between her teeth, her face showing her frustration to the seasoned wedding planner. Tabitha motioned to the owner to go back for the final cake. The two woman quickly returned with the third and final cake, setting it next to the first two. Athena felt her frustration grew to astronomical proportions, they were never going to understand them as a couple, never stop pushing the expectations of a noble wedding on them. Her fingers curled into her palms, forming her hands into fists as she took in the final cake. The six tier cake was draped in white fondant, each layer boasting an intricately detailed design. Three of the layers were decorated with white fondant forget-me not flowers, draping around the cake as if it were a fabric valence. The three remaining alternating tiers were decorated with ovals boasting another forget-me not flower in the center of each oval, tiny dots circled each oval. The top of the cake was adorned with large white fondant roses, with a sprinkling of forget-me not flowers. The cake was beautiful, all three of the cakes were beautiful, but they didn’t fit who they were as a couple.
Athena felt hot angry tears sting at her eyes, her manicured nails biting into the fleshy palms of her hands. Why wouldn’t they just listen to what they wanted? She felt the anger and resentment for every suggestion that ignored what they wanted, for every ‘we know better than you’ look. Their thoughts and feelings were valid, in fact they were the only opinions that mattered—it was theirwedding. She felt the rage boiling in the pit of her stomach—how could they keep dismissing their thoughts and feelings over their own wedding? They were making her grow to hate the planning process of her own wedding. They were tainting what should be an expression of her love for Percy and his for her. All their “helpful” meddling was leaving a bad taste in her mouth, she was starting to question if they should even continue planning the wedding. Every condescending look and comment made the wedding planning less bearable, and less them. She hated with every fiber of her being that they were effectively ruining what should be the most joyous occasion in their lives.
The anger rose through Athena, she was vibrating with a contained rage, rage at everyone putting them last in their own wedding. She flexed her hands, her eyes landing on the beautiful white cake that was just brought out, her hands instinctively dug into the pristine layers, clawing at the perfect over the top, not them cake that was being forced on them. She looked at the once pristine cake, the top two layers torn apart, but it was still too perfect, she gripped the base of the cake and heaved it at the wall, letting out a high pitched scream as she did. The cake collided with the wall landing on the floor in a mess of fondant, buttercream and cake.
Tabitha and the owner looked at her with wide eyes, as she broke down in front of them. Neither of the had never seen a bride fall apart like this before.
Percy placed a comforting hand on Athena’s arm, grounding her. She looked at him blinking, as if she was coming out of some sort of daze, “I just want simple, a simple cake, nothing over the top.” She sobbed, bringing her face into her cake covered hands.
Tabitha and the owner nodded, before heading to the back room for a final time. They took their time, trying to keep Athena’s request in mind, twenty minutes later they returned with a fourth cake. The cake was a large three tier cake, with tall layers, completely covered in a buttercream frosting, the icing swirled imperfectly—yet it was still somehow perfect. The cake was adorned with three fresh pale pink roses on the bottom tier, two pale pink roses on the the second. It was simple, as Athena raised her head from her hands, her face covered in icing and cake crumbs, she let out a sigh of relief, a smile forming on her lips. The cake was perfect, exactly what she was looking for. She nodded her head in approval, unsure of her voice after crying silent frustrated tears for the last twenty minutes. She wiped at the tears on her cheeks, smearing the cake across her cheeks.
Percy’s heart had broke when he saw her fall apart, she shouldn’t be feeling so stressed planning their wedding, it should be a time of joy. He had felt helpless, for the first time unsure of what to say to help her feel better. He had spent the time she cried just silently holding her, trying to offer her a small comfort. They should be having fun planning their wedding, their life, their future—not falling apart because of the pressure everyone else is putting on them. This day was supposed to be about them, not anyone else, he was determined to find a way to de-stress his beautiful bride and help bring back the joy into planning their wedding.
