Ashling

She’d done nothing to plan it but spend an afternoon with Grandma Hoolihan buying a dress. Jessie made secret phone calls, quick trips without her, and generally acted like he was having a great time.

She didn’t ask any questions about her wedding day. She just knew the man at the end of the aisle was something more than she’d ever dreamed. And he was different than anything she could have conjured up as a kid in Ireland.

But Jessie Hoolihan was who she wanted, now and forever. So the details of flowers and venues and songs didn’t really bother her. She’d spent a summer doing that for other brides, and she could happily let it all go for her own wedding.

Maybe chocolatiers didn’t eat chocolate. That’s all she could compare it to.

Just before noon on the day of her wedding, less than one week since she’d said yes to Jessie, Grandma Hoolihan and her sister, Auntie Irene, showed up at the apartment. Jessie had left her in bed that morning and told her to just go with the flow. So she did. She’d showered, eaten a little breakfast, and waited for her Fairy Grandmothers.

“We’re here to get you to the beauty shop and then the wedding. My grandson insisted on this limo business,” Grandma Hoolihan said.

Auntie Irene, who was a carbon copy of Grandma Hoolihan, chimed in, “Apparently you win one of those belts, and you act like a fancy pants.”

“Apparently,” said Ash.

The three of them drove to the local salon. Ma Chere House of Beauty had been setting Grandma Hoolihan’s hair for decades. They did again for this big day. The beautician decided loosely pinned curls piled on top of her head would be the perfect bridal hairdo.

“That’s just lovely. Now we also have whiskey.” Grandma and Auntie Irene approved the hairdo, and they also knew how to do it up. The three downed a shot as the beauty shop crew did their makeup and helped her get into her dress.

At three fifteen, Grandma announced that they had better get a move on.

“Your wedding is at three thirty. You want the hands of the clock going up, not down. Down is bad luck.” Auntie Irene explained what good and back luck was and Ash listened dutifully. The whiskey had done its job of taking any nerves away, and she felt mellow.

“Oh, you’re going to want to blindfold her,” Grandma said.

“Don’t worry, girl, it’s not like fifty shades of old lady. Jessie just wants you to be surprised.”

“Okay then.” Careful not to mess up her hair, the women produced a silk blindfold, and she rode to her wedding with no idea where it was actually going to take place.

It was a short drive. The car stopped.

“So can we take the blindfold off?” Auntie Irene asked.

“Yeah, the jig is up,” Grandma said. They removed the blindfold and confusion set in.

“We’re at the O’Shea’s?” She had no idea why they were there at the flower shop. She’d not wanted to look at the place since Aunt Theone had sold out and effectively destroyed all the work she’d put into building the business.

“It’s not O’Shea’s anymore, but it is where you’re getting married.” Todd Barton and Coach Boggs appeared and helped all three of them get out of the limo and into the shop. It was strange to see everything just as she’d left it. Aunt Theone had sold it lock, stock, and barrel, apparently.

“So your wedding is up these stairs.” Coach Boggs said.

“We’re going to help the ladies get up there; you need to wait here for just a second.”

“Uh, okay.” They left her alone in the flower shop. She was getting annoyed. The mellow vibe was starting to dissipate. Why were they here? What possible start could this give them? A place where she’d worked like a dog to have her dreams crushed. She was trying not to lose her temper when she heard a familiar voice.

“Come on now, girl. We’ve got a walk to take.”

“Daddy!” She rushed forward and hugged him.

“Goodness, you’re too skinny,” he said and held her at arm's length to get a proper look.

“What in the world?”

“You are in love with that Jessie character, right? He says so, and he paid for us to be here, and insisted, really. Your mom’s up there flirting with a bunch of American bikers, it’s shameless.”

“Uh, yes, I do love him, and he did plan this entire day. I just can’t believe he got you here.”

“It’s not the only surprise, girl, many more ahead for you today, I think. Now we’ll catch up during that father-daughter dance Americans like so much. For now, we need to get you down the aisle, and your mother needs to remember she’s a married woman.”

“Thank you, Da, so glad you’re here. It’s so good to see a face from home.”

“I think your home is here now. Let’s go.” She took his arm, and they walked up the flight of stairs. She could hear music playing; it was live music, a violinist and something else. Good Jesus, it was a harp.

They stepped into the warehouse space, and her breath was literally taken away. It was filled with flowers, everywhere she looked, the favorite arrangements she’d made all summer for other brides. She looked around to the people and saw Colleen, Alisa, and Gus. They had to have done the flowers. She wanted to run to them and hug them. She saw Craddock and Cassidy, and there were the pretty Joelle Powell and her sweet daughter; she saw Sawyer, and so many people she’d started to know and love here. Her mother was crying and sitting next to Grandma Hoolihan and Auntie Irene. Everywhere she looked she saw people she loved and flowers.

And then her eyes found Jessie.

He was there, standing at the end of the aisle waiting for her. He was so handsome, so rugged, and so perfect in his suit that everything else faded away.

Her da placed her hand in Jessie’s. He’d planned the perfect wedding for her. She would spend the rest of her life saying thank you in a thousand ways.