Every wedding we’ve held here has been breathtakingly beautiful, but today’s is my favorite.
“Stop!” Cami grabs my hand and pulls me away from the window. If you ask me, she’s going to steal the show in her hunter-green junior bridesmaid dress. “He’s going to see you, and that’s bad luck.”
I wrinkle my nose at her. “You think so? Even though we’re already married?”
She props her hands on her hips. “I know so.”
On the other side of the room, my bridesmaids, Savvy, Abbi, and Stella, have their heads together and are whisper-arguing about something.
“Girls?” I pick up my short lace train and make my way to them, trying not to get distracted by my new, super-hot wedding night shoes. “What’s going on?”
They jump apart faster than teenagers caught at the drive-in.
Savvy steps forward. “There’s someone here to see you.”
I laugh. “Okay, then, send them in.”
Savvy looks to the other two then back to me before shrugging and opening the door.
“Grammy!” Cami says, bouncing on her toes beside me.
My hand goes to my mouth immediately at the sight of my mother, dressed for the occasion in the signature beige lace of mothers-of-the-bride everywhere.
She grips her purse in both hands and her eyes fill with tears as she looks at me. “Oh, Brinley, you look just lovely.”
I’ve been planning this day for months and made every decision for every detail with love and anticipation. I thought I’d planned the perfect day. I’d dismissed the heartache over walking down the aisle alone, but now that she’s here, I can’t deny how much I’d like her by my side.
“I’m so sorry,” Mom blurts. “I’ve never been strong like you, but I left him. Finally, I did it, but I understand if it’s too late. If you can’t forgive me.”
She’s imperfect, and she enabled my father’s verbal and emotional abuse for years, but she’s my mother, and by being here, she’s asking to be part of this family I made for myself. We make our own family. Maybe Mom needs to learn that as much as I did.
She draws in a breath and her shoulders tremble. “It’s up to you whether I stay or go, but I’d really like to see my daughter get married.”
“They’re already married,” Cami says. “They just wanted to make their promises again, since they did it without me last time!”
The tension in the room breaks, and we all laugh.
I nod. “Would you want to walk me down the aisle?”
She covers a sob. “Yes. I’d like that very much.”
The processional music starts on the patio, and Savvy says, “That’s our cue!”
All the bridesmaids grab their flowers and file out, one by one. Then Cami takes her turn, tossing me a final grin before she pushes out the doors.
When the music changes, I take Mom’s arm, and my staff opens the double doors wide for us. I see the shock on Marston’s face when he sees Mom at my side, but he smiles and nods. Because he’s my family and he loves me, even when it’s hard. It’s the sight of him—that nod, that easy smile, that warmth in his eyes—that roots me in the moment and unfurls love in my chest.
We stop under the arbor, and Mom kisses my cheek before taking a seat at the front.
Marston steps forward and bends to whisper in my ear, “You are stunning.”
I whisper back, “Wait until you see me in nothing but my new shoes.”
His gaze drops to my feet, hidden beneath my lace gown, then slides to the doors. “Is now an okay time for you?”
Laughing, I grab him by the tie and tug him down to kiss me, and my daughter shouts, “It’s not time for that part yet!”
I laugh and kiss my husband anyway. And there, in front of our lake and our family, I promise to love Marston Rowe forever. With every little piece of me.
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