Chapter Nineteen – Frankie

The last of the dog show visitors had left over an hour ago, and Frankie was standing with a towel wrapped around her head, looking in the mirror, no longer sure who the person staring back at her was. Since meeting Adam, she’d changed. Just like Jenny, she’d grown more self-assured, and organizing the dog show with Adam had made her aware of how compatible they were. There was no longer any doubt that they belonged together. Yet as she traced the line of the silvery scar that ran along her chest, she was reminded of Delia.

“I hope you are watching down from somewhere you are both together,” she said quietly to her reflection.

Then she turned and left the en-suite bathroom. This was her day, and she was going to enjoy it.

“Here’s the bride.” Catherine greeted her.

“Where’s Ruth?” Frankie asked.

“She just had to pop out for a moment, she’ll be back soon.” Catherine ushered her into a chair in front of a mirror. “Hair and makeup and then we can get you into your dress.”

“Is Jenny getting ready, too?” Frankie asked. Perhaps Ruth had gone down to meet her brothers and sisters. If they had arrived. If not, they might miss the ceremony.

“Jenny has her dress on, she just needs her hair curled. And don’t forget her tiara,” Dani replied as she came into the room. “Right now, she’s busy scolding Jason for crumpling his shirt, and giving him very precise instructions for his job as ring bearer.”

Frankie burst out laughing. “I can’t wait to see them both.” Since this was a simple wedding, they had decided that Jenny and Jason would be the only ones to walk with Frankie and Ruth down the aisle. Not that they really had an aisle. Her stomach turned over with nerves.

“Here. Julius sent up some champagne, it will steady your nerves.” Dani passed her a glass.

“Thanks, Dani. I need to thank Elizabeth for the flowers, too.” Elizabeth, who had fostered Jenny and Jason before they were adopted, had made beautiful bouquets from flowers picked in her own garden. Frankie was incredibly thankful to all the people who had helped to make this day special.

Taking a sip of champagne, Frankie wrinkled her nose as the bubbles popped and fizzed in her mouth. She wondered how Adam was feeling, and whether he was already waiting for her.

“Did someone order a hair stylist?” Henrietta, who was known as Henri to all her friends and clients, entered the room with a flash of super white teeth.

“Me!” Frankie raised her hand.

Henri giggled. “Did Ruth train you all to raise your hands before you speak?” She swept her perfectly dyed and effortlessly styled hair to one side. Henri was the most glamorous person Frankie had ever met, yet she was down to earth and friendly to everyone. It was difficult to guess her age, but Frankie imagined she was in her late forties, and single, as she told anyone who was willing to listen.

“Do you want champagne?” Frankie asked as Henri combed out her hair.

“I’m a professional. No alcohol will pass my lips until you, Ruth and Jenny are perfectly styled. If Jenny’s tiara isn’t straight, she’s never going to forgive me.” Henri worked her magic, her fingers moving quickly and confidently as she dried off Frankie’s damp hair and then began to coil it into soft curls that hung around her shoulders.

“It looks wonderful,” Ruth complimented as she entered the room. “Very romantic.”

“Just like Adam,” Frankie said as she turned her head from side to side.

“Happy?” Henri asked as she made the finishing touches to Frankie’s hair, adjusting the flowers that she’d worked into the style. “All we need is your veil.” She fixed it in place and then stood back and admired it. “Beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Frankie hardly recognized herself.

“Okay, swap places and I’ll do Ruth’s hair while Catherine does your make-up.” Henri organized them all so that in no time Ruth and Frankie were ready, their hair and make-up perfect, while Jenny had her hair curled, and her precious tiara, which had been given to her by Fiona and Harlan, fixed on her head. “Are these real diamonds?”

“No,” Ruth said quickly. But they all knew that the dragons would never have anything other than real gems in their possession.

“I look like a princess,” Jenny exclaimed as she stared at herself in the mirror.

“Yes, you do,” Frankie agreed. “I suppose it’s time to go. Can you help me with my dress?”

She’d left her dress until the last minute, scared she might spill her champagne on it, or get mascara on the white silk. With the help of Ruth and Dani, she stepped into her dress and pulled it up. Dani’s nimble fingers did up the small buttons, while Ruth went around pulling the skirt out so it sat beautifully around her.

There was a short train, which trailed along the ground. The bodice was fitted and embroidered with tiny flowers. It was a simple, but stunning dress. “You look like a princess, too,” Jenny told her.

Frankie took hold of Jenny’s hand and then reached out for Ruth, who wore a stunning lilac floor-length dress. “We all look like princesses.”

Dani dug out her phone from her purse. “Let’s get an unofficial photo of you.” The three of them stood together while Dani took a couple of photos.

“So, the question is, do you have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue?” Henri asked as she packed away her gear. She was joining the other guests for the wedding ceremony in the Gothic folly.

“I think so.” Frankie looked down at her dress. “My ring is old, my dress is new, I have blue flowers…and I suppose my heart is borrowed.”

“That heart is all yours,” Ruth told her. She took a ring off her finger and offered it to Frankie. “Wear this for the day.”

“It’s Mom’s ring.” Frankie was about to tell Ruth she couldn’t accept it.

“I want you to wear it. You can give it me back after the ceremony. I want you to have all the luck you deserve. And it will mean Mom is with you, too.” Ruth lifted Frankie’s right hand and slid it onto her finger. “There.”

“Thank you.” Frankie flung her arms around Ruth’s neck. “For everything.”

“I love you, too, and I’m so very proud of you.” Ruth sniffed loudly. “We should go before my make-up runs.”

With kisses and wishes of luck and happiness, the others left the room. Jenny waved goodbye to them all and then took a deep breath. “I suppose I had better go and find Jason.”

“Yes, where is he?” Frankie asked.

“Downstairs. I had a couple of jobs for him to do.” With a final check in the mirror, Ruth and Frankie headed for the elevator. Waiting on the ground floor was Emily, who was managing the hotel while Julius and Adam were at the wedding.

“You look amazing, Frankie,” Emily commented. “Jason and Jenny are through there, waiting in the garden.”

“Thank you, Emily.” Frankie took Ruth’s hand and they went outside. Beside her, Ruth seemed to buzz with excitement. “Are you okay?”

“Absolutely.” Ruth pushed the door open and held it for Frankie.

“Oh my goodness!” Waiting with Jenny and Jason were her other brothers and sisters. “You all made it! And you’re all dressed like Jenny and Jason.”

“We all match,” her sister Sarah said, giving a twirl.

“We thought we’d surprise you. We all wanted to walk our little sister down the aisle.” Luke, her eldest brother, kissed her.

“What do you think of the garden?” Greg asked as the others parted to reveal a line of fairy lights hung from poles that must have been hastily erected while she changed.

“Did you do all this?” she asked Greg who was a landscape gardener by trade.

“Only the best for you.” He took Ruth’s hand. “Come on, big sis’, time to give her away. And I approve, by the way.”

“You met Adam?” Frankie asked.

“We did. He helped organize everything.” Luke and Greg moved to the back of the small group as they began the walk down toward the Gothic folly, which had been transformed, too. As the sun crested the mountains, it cast a ruddy glow across the lawn, and the lights twinkled like a thousand stars.

With Jenny and Jason directly behind them, Frankie and Ruth reached the entrance of the building and paused. There waiting for her, in the place they had shared breakfast only hours earlier, was Adam. Next to him stood Julius, and filling the domed room were their immediate friends and family.

As she walked up to Adam and took his hand, Ruth let her go. But Frankie knew they were always going to be joined by love. Not as strong as the mating bond, but equally as important were those who loved you, from the cradle to the grave.

Frankie placed her hand on her heart. At last, it didn’t feel restless. As she said her vows, she finally felt whole, complete. And loved. Very, very loved.