That’s the hard part over with.

The next time I do a writing workshop, I might use this sentence as a story prompt.  The possibilities are endless. It could be said by an exhausted cyclist cresting the top of a particularly gruelling hill. Or a gardener who has finally dug out the ground for a new pond. Or perhaps a set of parents serving birthday cake at a child’s birthday party after the games and gifts are over with.

Of course, if it’s fiction and it’s the story kick off, the expected cake walk won’t happen.  The cyclist will meet a swarm of bees on her downhill glide. The gardener will learn ponds were recently banned by his townhouse strata council.  The parents will face a dilemma when one child isn’t picked up after the party ends.

In other words, things won’t go as planned.   Maybe that’s why overhearing that phrase made me smile.

It was a sunny summer afternoon.  I was walking in the park. Ahead of me were two twenty-something girls, clearly having a good time. They were accompanied by a photographer.

“That’s the hard part over with,” said the just-married bride to her bridesmaid.

“No kidding”, the bridesmaid responded. “It’s a cake walk from here.”

I managed not to laugh. I hope the rest of that bride’s day was a ganache-filled fantasy and all her wishes came true. Because happily ever after is rarely a cake walk.  In fact, it’s probably safe to say she’ll have some hard work ahead.