Chapter Twenty-Seven
Eleanor
One year later…
“I’m not really sure that I’m comfortable with this, Auntie.”
I looked at Noah and laughed, shaking my head.
“The last time that I heard that at a wedding it started all this,” I said, gesturing around at the people who were scurrying around trying to finish the final preparations.
“Well, at least that was at a proper wedding.”
“What happened to you?” I asked, looking at him quizzically. “What happened to the nephew who I know who never fit in with all of the expectations, turned your back on the family business to be a baker, and married someone in a station beneath you?”
“Someone at a station beneath me at the company that I took over,” he pointed out. “See? I didn’t completely turn my back on the family business.”
He was arguing with me, but I could hear the levity in his voice and knew that he knew he had been caught.
“Alright,” I said, wrapping my arm around his waist to give him a hug. “You are a good boy.”
“I know.”
I smiled and watched as two men rushed past me with white chairs to set up at the ceremony site. I looked up at the sky, monitoring the clouds that had started forming on the edges of the horizon that morning and were gradually creeping in.
“This is what Hunter and I want,” I told Noah. “He doesn’t like all of the fuss and formality of big weddings. It makes him uncomfortable.”
“But you love all that fuss and formality,” Noah pointed out. “I’ve seen you turn your nose up at an entire marriage because the bridesmaids’ shoes weren’t dyed at the same time and one of them came out a slightly different shade.”
“That’s not necessarily a wedding requirement,” I pointed out. “That’s just tacky. Besides, I went through enough of that with my first wedding. I guess falling in love with Hunter changed me.”
“I hope not too much.”
“You hope not what too much?”
I turned and saw Hunter approaching us. He leaned down to kiss me before shooting a grin toward Noah.
“We were just talking about how much you’ve changed my life,” I said.
“Oh, really?” Hunter asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and sweeping me up against him. “Want to tell me?”
I hugged him back, but shook my head.
“I think that I’ve told you enough,” I said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t want you to get full of yourself.”
Hunter leaned down and kissed the soft spot beneath my ear.
“I’d like you to be full of me,” he whispered.
I gave a gasp of mock horror and then giggled, and Noah shook his head.
“I don’t think that that was something that I wanted to hear,” he said. “So, I’m really glad I didn’t. And on that note, I’m going to go find Snow. The last time I saw her she was wandering through the trees with Robin reminiscing about when we met. I think that she is considering purchasing controlling interest in the Enchanted Woods.”
“Is Fawn selling?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Noah said. “But I think that I, too, changed my partner a bit. She has learned the ways of the takeover.”
“I don’t think that she’d do that to Fawn,” I said.
“I do,” Hunter said with a laugh. “You two didn’t see Snow kick down Lucille’s door when she fired her. That woman is capable of anything.”
“That’s true,” Noah said. “I don’t think that she’d hurt Fawn, though.”
“Maybe she’s going to team up to open a new location.” I said.
Noah looked at me and sighed.
“I don’t know if that’s better or worse.”
He walked away shaking his head and I laughed, cuddling closer to Hunter.
“So what else needs to be done?” I asked.
“The ceremony is almost set up,” he said. “The reception still has a bit to go, but they have some time.”
“And our honeymoon suite?” I asked with a lilt in my voice that came from my excitement at what we had planned for our first night together as husband and wife.
Hunter nuzzled the tip of my nose with his and smiled.
“That’s coming along nicely as well.”
“Good.” I looked up at the sky. “Now we just have to wait and see if it’s going to rain.”
“Well, if it does, it would be appropriate,” Noah said. “Rain has done us well.”
I grinned at him.
“Maybe we should have sent it an invitation.” I kissed him one more time. “I’ve got to go get ready. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Standing at the altar,” he said.
I smiled, letting out a murmur of happiness at the thought. Everything was coming together perfectly. Virgil was finally gone from my life. Lucille wouldn’t be bothering Snow any longer. The island resort was more successful than I ever could have dreamed. Above all, Hunter and I were together, happy, and would soon be married. Everything was settling into place and giving me a glimpse at the type of life that I had dreamed of having for so long.
“Walk me to the tent?” I asked.
“Of course.”
He took my hand and we started toward the large white tent closer to the entrance to the woods where I would be getting ready for the wedding. As we went we passed by the ceremony site, a perfect clearing flanked with wide-stretching branches that dappled the ground with light and filled the air with the scent of autumn leaves, and I noticed one of the workers using a rubber mallet to sink what looked like a small sign into the ground a few feet away from the head of the aisle.
“What is that?” I asked, trying to stop so that I could read it.
“Nothing,” Hunter said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and steering me away.
Not in time, though. I had read it. “Pick a Seat, Not a Side.”
Dammit all to hell.
It turned out that I didn’t need to send the rain a formal invitation to the wedding. It came anyway. I was sitting at the edge of the chair in front of the vanity set up in the tent, ensuring that my makeup was in place, when I heard the first tell-tale drops hitting the fabric roof. I turned and looked out of one of the small clear plastic windows in the side of the tent and saw streaks of water streaming down. I should have been upset. All of the bridal instincts in me were saying to freak out and start flailing just for the sake of showing my disdain for the fact that my perfect wedding day was being ruined. But all I could do was smile.
Fortunately, all around me my bridal party was picking up the slack for me. High pitched voices were squealing and I heard one of the very few friends that I had managed to hang on to throughout my young adulthood and marriage to Virgil starting to hyperventilate. I stood and rushed toward her, gathering the skirt of my gown up to keep from tripping on it. That was one thing that I was not about to compromise on. I might be getting married out in the woods, but I wasn’t giving up the chance to wear a gown. It might be silver and be a more fitted style than my original vanilla fluff cupcake supreme style that I had worn when I was twenty and marrying Virgil, but I felt sexy and beautiful, and most certainly looked like a bride rather than a mother-of.
“It’s alright, Vera,” I said, reaching out to take hold of the woman’s shoulders to try to calm her down. “It’s going to be fine.”
“But it’s raining,” she wailed.
I nodded.
“I know,” I said. “I hear it. But that’s OK. It’s just rain. Just water.”
“But your wedding!”
“My wedding is going to go on no matter what. It doesn’t matter what kind of weather is happening. I am marrying Hunter today even if there is spontaneous eclipse and earthquake and I have to roll down the aisle to the light of cell phones. I’m getting married. And I’m going to be happy. A little bit of water isn’t going to stop me.” There was a rush of wind from outside and the rain started pelting the walls of the tent. “A lot of water isn’t going to stop me.”
Vera nodded.
“OK.”
“OK. Now, how long until the ceremony starts?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“See? Plenty of time. I bet that by the time the ceremony starts, the rain will have passed us by and we’ll just get to enjoy all of the wonderful smells and cool air. Let’s just go have some champagne and toast my last few minutes as a single woman.”
That seemed to perk Vera up and we headed for the lounge area that had been set up with plush white couches and ottomans at the other side of the tent. I settled onto one of the couches and accepted a crystal flute of champagne from the attendant, happy for the blend of my style and Hunter’s style that we had achieved when planning our wedding.
By the time that I was finished sipping the champagne and had enjoyed a few last-minute hugs and congratulations from the women in the tent with me, I knew that I had been absolutely right about the rain not being as bad as it was once the ceremony started.
It was twice as bad.
“What do you want to do?” Sarah, the wedding coordinator, asked as she approached, gripping her walkie talkie in her hand like it gave her life.
“Where are the guests?” I asked.
“We herded them into the lounge tent,” she said.
I sighed. Well, this was all going straight to hell. The lounge tent had been designed as a mid-point between the ceremony itself and the reception, but now it had become a gathering vessel for my soggy wedding guests, who were undoubtedly imbibing in some of the drinks that were stored there.
“And Hunter?”
“Standing at the end of the aisle with an umbrella”
That’s all I needed to hear.
“Bring me out there,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
“Look, nothing is going right already. It’s all kind of fallen apart.” I had a fucking ‘Pick a Seat’ sign. “Why not just go with it?”
“But your dress,” Vera said, starting to fall apart behind me again. “And your shoes.”
“It’s a dress and shoes,” I said, remembering the shoes that I had tried so desperately to cling to when I was first on the island with Hunter and Gavin. “It’s going to be fine. You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to, but my wedding started five minutes ago and I’m not going to wait around anymore. I’m going to walk out there and marry the gorgeous man who is waiting for me.”
I reached out and grabbed the bouquet from the table beside the entrance to the tent. Straightening my shoulders, I stepped out of the tent and into the pouring rain. It streamed down on me and I laughed into it as I hopped into the decorated cart that would whisk me to the path near the ceremony site. The rain was still thundering around me when the cart stopped and I stepped down onto the soft leaves at the head of the path. Hunter was standing at the end of the aisle, the chairs empty on either side, talking to the officiant from under the umbrella he held. As I started down the aisle toward him, the officiant nudged him and Hunter turned to me.
I heard his laugh above the sound of the rain and he tossed his umbrella aside. The rain pelted down on him as he ran down the aisle toward me. We met in the middle and I reached out to wipe away the rain that gathered on the lenses of his glasses. I had gotten accustomed to his glasses and now I loved them as much as I love him. They were a part of him, something that made Hunter the man I adored above anything and everything that I had ever known. He smiled at me through the rain and I knew that our wedding couldn’t be more perfect.
I heard voices as we started back up the aisle and I looked behind us to see our wedding party running down the aisle, speeding around us so that they could take their positions at the altar crafted from fallen branches, ivy, and flowers. Hunter and I laughed and paused to allow them to settle before going the rest of the way. I thought of my father as I walked, wishing that he could be there with me. There was another flash across the aisle and I saw my brother, Noah’s father, drop down to sit in the front row on my side of the seating.
At least he knows what he’s supposed to do.
Seeing him brought tears to my eyes and I concentrated on the feeling of my arm through Hunter’s to get me through the rest of the walk to the aisle. I could feel my other brother there with me, walking along beside me. Hunter and I had gone back to the lake the day before, leaving a wreath of the flowers that my brother would have worn as a boutonniere. It made me feel closer to him, connected even through the years, so I didn’t feel as though I was embarking on this new chapter of my life without him.
By the time that we got to the altar, many of our guests had rushed out of the tent to fill the seats and watch our ceremony. The rain continued to pour throughout and I could taste the drops on his lips as we exchanged the kiss that sealed our marriage. As we started our way toward the lounge tent, however, the drops slowed and the skies cleared, suddenly brightening into the rich glowing sunlight of late afternoon.
After the sun went down I sat on a log looking into the dancing flames of a campfire. Many of my guests stood around the edge of the fire, allowing the heat from the flames to dry their clothes. Those who built the campfire had had the foresight to cover the pit and the surrounding area with large, waterproof tents early in the day to protect it so the ground was dry and the fire was raging, creating the perfect backdrop for our reception. I could hear the music streaming from the dancefloor several yards away and the air was rich with the smell of roasting marshmallows and melting chocolate.
This was so far beyond anything that I would have imagined for my wedding, but that is precisely what made it exactly what I wanted. My first wedding had been everything that I had always dreamed of. The dress. The flowers. The elaborate parties. The lavish meal. Diamonds dripping from my guests. I had everything that I could have wanted, except for the groom. That wedding had been all that I had dreamed of, but had given me the marriage from hell. Maybe having a wedding that had only glimpses of what I would usually have planned would give me what really mattered…a marriage that would give me joy and fulfillment, and allow me to do the same for my husband. It was that intention that caused me to stop thinking about the strict traditions and etiquette rules, and instead plan a wedding that emulated Hunter and me and that our guests would actually enjoy.
Instead of sneaking out to the parking lot to drink liquor. With the groom. Damn. Red flags.
“Marshmallow?”
I looked beside me and saw Hunter settling onto the log holding a stick. A glowing marshmallow was impaled on the end and I was fairly confident that it was going to burst back into full flames any second. Thank goodness we had gone for metal sticks rather than being authentic to my childhood campouts. I reached up and peeled off some of the molten marshmallow, quickly sucking it off of my fingers to soothe the stinging of it burning into my skin.
“Thank you, Mr.” I said.
“You’re welcome, Mrs.” he replied, smiling at me.
I never thought that I was going to be a “Mrs.” again. For a long time, it wasn’t something that I thought that I would ever want again. Now, though, it was all that I could need. Rather than being a label, a collar that kept me tied down, it was a sense of fulfillment. I watched with amusement as he struggled to pull off some of the marshmallow and get it into his mouth without it sticking to all of his other fingers and his clothes. He finally conquered the treat and I saw his eyes flicker quickly to the edge of the woods and then back to me.
“Did you notice?” he asked.
“What?” I asked.
He repeated the flicker with his eyes and I followed it, noticing a figure lingering in the trees just barely outside of the circle of light from the fire. It stepped forward and I could tell that it was a man just before I noticed that it was Gavin. He met my eyes and nodded, and I nodded back before he sank backwards into the darkness of the woods. I didn’t know where he was going, but I knew that it would be a long time before I saw him again, if I ever did. Though I hadn’t noticed him at the ceremony, it warmed my heart to know that he had been there. After everything that we had gone through together, even the worst, darkest moments, it felt like he needed to be there, as if to prove that everything was going to be alright.
Before he could say anything else, I noticed Noah and Snow walking up to us. We stood to talk to them.
“I think it’s about time that I get these two ladies home,” Noah said, gesturing toward Snow.
She looked down briefly and ran the hand that wasn’t holding Noah’s over her round belly. Though she was smiling I could see the exhaustion in her eyes and knew that she had had enough of the day. She was only a few weeks away from delivery and I knew that she needed her rest.
“Thank you for all everything,” I said, opening my arms to her.
“Of course,” Snow said, accepting my hug warmly. “Congratulations.”
We stepped away from each other and Noah scooped me into his arms.
“Love you, Auntie.”
“Love you, too, Honey.”
He gave me a tight squeeze and kissed my cheek.
“Be happy.”
I stepped out of his arms with a contented sigh.
Be happy.
“I will,” I promised him. I wrapped an arm around Hunter’s waist and leaned over to rest my head on his chest. “I will.”