Layla was clearly flustered. Meredith, Toby and the kids had only been at her parents’ house for five minutes and they’d already done something to set the matriarch off. It probably wasn’t a record, but Meredith had no idea what their arrival did to cause conflict.

“Meredith, why don’t you come help me in the kitchen. Toby, do you mind taking the kids out to the back lawn?”

Toby was quick to steal away the stroller carrying Grace, which he insisted they bring. Meredith had hoped to spend the evening carrying Grace around. The baby made a good excuse for any conversations Meredith wanted to get out of, and it was easier to say she needed fed or changed with her right in her mother’s arms.

“Point us in the direction and we’ll go check things out.”

“I’ll take you,” Meredith said as her mother pointed to their left.

“Like I said, honey, I need your help in the kitchen. Let me know if anything isn’t right out there, Toby. I checked a while ago, but they were still working on setup.”

Toby was quick to kiss Meredith’s forehead and wave for Caleb to follow him. The boy kept giggling about something, which didn’t help the unease growing in Meredith’s stomach.

“Why did you move the party outside? You hate outdoor events.”

Meredith was already being ushered into the kitchen by the time she got to ask the question. Whatever was up with her mother seemed to carry over into the large chef’s kitchen, as people worked at a chaotic speed to get things ready. It seemed a little late in the game for there to be that much disorder going on. Guests were supposed to arrive within an hour.

“I couldn’t stand to be cooped up indoors with the weather as nice as it is outside.”

Having stopped just inside the door, mainly afraid she’d be run over from all the movement going on around her, Meredith watched as Layla went around perusing the different stations. The whirlwind of action had made it impossible for Meredith to see that there was some order in the chaos at first.

The weather outside wasn’t bad, maybe a little on the muggy side, but that didn’t change the fact Layla had vowed when Meredith was ten to never host an outdoor event again. Her mother had been the victim of a popup shower that ruined a tea party the president of a local horticulture committee had been invited to. Layla had been hoping to get her extensive gardens featured in a magazine, but the washout had soured the pretentious president’s decision.

From that day on, outdoor events were considered faux pas.

“Okay.”

Meredith wasn’t really sure what else to say. She’d changed a lot over the years, so she assumed it was possible for her mother to do the same. Indoors or outdoors didn’t really matter to her, so she let the topic drop.

“Are you expecting to entertain an Army battalion or something? I don’t think I remember seeing this much action in the kitchen.”

Counting all the heads, Meredith came up with twenty people running around. Most of the time, the caterers tended to have the food cooked offsite, but every burner on the two stovetops in the kitchen was lit.

“Possibly. I’m not quite sure. Would you mind running up to your old room and changing? I put some other options up in the closet, just in case.”

Layla sounded distracted, which was easy to see why. She kept taking samples of the food as she worked her way around the room, carrying a glass of something with her that she seemed to use to cleanse her palate.

Meredith looked down at the pale pink dress she’d picked out to wear. It wasn’t as fancy as her mother’s, which was a few shades darker, but it was a label she thought her mother would appreciate.

“What’s wrong with my dress?”

“It’s a lovely dress, darling. You know how I am about being matchy, though. People will think we deliberately wore the same color and compare our two dresses all night. I’d like them to focus on other things.”

Sadly, the reason made sense, knowing how Layla’s mind worked. Most people would think the request was stupid, and Meredith wouldn’t argue with that, but her mom seemed to be getting close to some kind of breaking point, and Meredith didn’t want to be the one to push her over.

There was a part of her that was also a little curious what her old room looked like. She couldn’t see her mother turning it into a sewing room or something, but she also didn’t think it would be a museum to her life.

“Are you sure you don’t need my help down here?”

It looked like things were being handled as much as they could, and Meredith was sure she’d screw something up if she was asked to actually lend a hand. That didn’t change the fact that she wanted to offer whatever help she could.

“I’ve got everything under control. You run upstairs before any of the other guests arrive.”

Layla shooed her away from across the room. It was something her mother was an expert at.

Meredith sighed and turned around to head back out to the foyer and the winding staircase that led upstairs. Growing up, Meredith had never seen the reverse side of how people without at least a million-dollar bank account lived. She thought everyone had fancy chandeliers and staircases made of rare wood.

The idea of giving Caleb and Grace everything they ever wanted was something Meredith fully believed in, but she felt she could do that without expensive cars and miniature ponies. She didn’t fool herself into thinking things would remain as they were back home.

If Toby was moving in, which there really wasn’t a question as far as that went, then they needed a bigger space. It was probably time to take a harder look at getting electricity and plumbing run up the mountain too. As Grace got older, those two things would more than likely be important, as well as another bedroom.

They were in for a lot of changes. Meredith was set on making sure those changes didn’t change who she’d become. She still wanted to be known as the tough as nails woman who doesn’t give a crap what other people think about her.

“Hey, before you go in there, I have a question I need to ask you.”

Toby’s voice caught Meredith off guard. She spun around, with her first reaction to punch whoever was sneaking up on her. She’d been almost daydreaming and hadn’t realized she was already in front of her old room.

Meredith was going to say something about him needing to wear bells on his shoes, but when she looked down to where he knelt on the floor, her right arm went to her chest as her heart started beating erratically. Tears rushed to her eyes as she tried to calm her breath.

“Your son has told me you’re going to hate me for this, but I thought we should make it official before we head back home. Meredith, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and the kids. We obviously don’t have to be married for that to happen, but I’d like us to be. In fact, I’d like us to get married today.”

Meredith’s mind went blank before Toby said a word. Any thoughts she had were gone and all that was rolling around in her head was the fact that he’d said he wanted to get married today.

Toby had a black box in his hand, which he opened to reveal a set of rings. There was a diamond, but it was small enough that it didn’t look like it would weigh down her finger. At the same time, it wasn’t just a chip.

“What do you say? Will you marry me?”

Nodding her head for a second, Meredith let the logistics of things sink in and started shaking her head. She couldn’t doubt his seriousness about getting married, and she’d told herself she would say yes when he did ask her. It wasn’t the act she was saying no to. It was the impossibility of being able to marry that day.

“As much as I like your gumption, there’s the whole license thing we have to take care of first. I know from experience that they make you wait a day to use one and we haven’t even picked one up.”

Toby took out the solitaire portion of the set and put the box on the ground. Taking her left hand, he slid the ring on her finger. It was a little loose, but it wouldn’t immediately fall off.

“I’ve taken care of everything. Charlie got a judge to get us a waiver and perform the ceremony. All the official paperwork is taking care of other than your signature. Your mom’s worked her butt off to make sure everything is perfect, and behind that door you will find no fewer than three dress choices, all of which I’m told will make you look like a princess.”

Kissing her hand, Toby pocketed the box and got to his feet. He pulled her a little closer to him and gently kissed her forehead.

“All we need to know is whether you’re up for it. Like I said, Caleb told me that surprises aren’t your favorite, but I’m hoping this doesn’t turn out like him cooking you breakfast in bed. So, what do you say?”

The tears streaming down her face didn’t show any signs of stopping. She reached up and pulled Toby’s head down so she could kiss him on the lips.

Her head kept trying to come up with a reason to say no. She didn’t have her past standing in her way, Caleb seemed to be okay with it, and her heart told her it belonged with Toby. Other than the fact that he sprung the surprise on her, she was coming up empty. As she pushed him back, her head moved up and down.

“I’m pretty sure my mom would kill me if she went to all this work for me to say no. When did you tell her about your plan?”

Meredith was sure the party had always been set up to be a wedding. Her mother had invited her three days prior, which was a tight deadline, but seeing Layla in the kitchen it was easy to see how she could pull it off.

“This morning.”

Sputtering, Meredith started shaking her head again. The license being an issue was one thing to work out, but to throw off a full wedding, which she was sure she’d find when she walked outside, was insane.

“Thankfully, your mom seems to like me, and she loves you. So, if you’re not ready for this step in life, don’t worry about her reaction. Of course, you’ll have to deal with me sobbing for the foreseeable future, but I want to make sure this is what you want.”

Meredith nodded her head again. She was starting to feel like a bobblehead.

“I love you, Toby. You are the man I’ve been looking for all my life, but too afraid to find. Of course I’ll marry you.”

Toby clearly thought there was a chance things would turn out differently. He took a deep breath and sniffled. Even though she didn’t see any clear signs of tears in his eyes, she could tell there was emotion fighting to be let out.

“Okay, now that that’s all settled, I’ll leave you to what’s behind door number one. I’m told it’s bad luck to see you in your dress and I have to get in my tux anyway. Meet you outside in about thirty minutes?”

Meredith thought the suit he was wearing was plenty for a quick wedding, but she didn’t have time to tell him. He gave her a split-second kiss and turned her around to face the door, adding a small smack on her butt to get her moving. He was running down the staircase before she could tell him to watch it.

“She said yes!” he screamed for anyone who was listening.

Things sort of went on cruise control once she opened the door. Not only were there dresses to pick from, there were three women inside to help her with her hair and getting zipped into her dress. Jen was one of said women, and she seriously needed some kind of medication to take her energy down a few notches. It felt like she was the one getting married.

After her hair was tortured into a style she couldn’t possibly recreate even if her life depended on it, Meredith slipped into the dress she thought highlighted her tastes the best. Her mother had provided four dresses to choose from, all white, with various levels of lace.

The dress molded to her skin was asymmetrical with a tight bodice studded with beads. The skirt formed a wide circle around her. It was big enough she wondered whether she’d make it through the door.

“Everyone decent in there?” A knock accompanied Meredith’s father’s words. “There’s a groom downstairs that seems to be a little antsy. He said something about his bride maybe realizing how crazy a spontaneous wedding was.”

As far as she was concerned, Meredith was ready to go, so she walked over to the door and opened it. Her father stood on the other side in a tux with a white carnation in his boutonniere.

When she’d left, his hair didn’t have the gray around his temple and his face wasn’t as tanned and wrinkled. He wasn’t as vain as Layla, so he let the aging process take over. It reminded Meredith of how much she’d missed over the years.

“I love you, Daddy,” Meredith said as tears resurfaced.

She’d thought she had gotten them all out of her system, but they had no problem returning. Meredith held out her arms and stepped closer so she could hug him.

“Hey, now. Stop that crying. If I get tear stains on this tux, your mother will kill me.”

Meredith snorted. He was right, but she wasn’t ready to let go, especially not when he wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back.

“I was so stupid thinking running away was the answer. I should’ve just told you I didn’t want to marry Perry.”

“Hush. We wouldn’t be here today if the past was any different. We would’ve come and got you years ago if you didn’t prove you could live on your own.” Michael moved his hands so they were on her upper arms and pushed her away a little. “Watching from afar, I can’t remember a time I was prouder of you.”

If his goal was to keep her from crying, his words weren’t helping matters. She didn’t know what else to say, so she took his offered arm and let him lead her down the staircase. The path to the back patio doors was lined with white rose petals. As they got closer, the opened doors revealed dozens, if not hundreds, of white chairs with huge pink bows tied on the back of them.

Layla was a miracle worker. There was no question about that phenomenon if she was able to pull off what looked like a fairy tale wedding in a day. Once Meredith saw Toby standing at the end of a white aisle, everything else faded away. She found herself picking up the pace as she fought to get closer to him.

When they finally made it through the dozens of rows of chairs, Meredith let go of her father and reached for Toby. She tried to make her smile as wide as his, but it seemed impossible.

“You ready for this?” Toby asked as he took her hand and squeezed tightly.

Looking out in the crowd that had gathered, people she either barley knew or didn’t know at all, Meredith focused on Caleb leaning against his grandfather and Grace in Layla’s arms. Toby would never take credit for it, but without him, Meredith’s life would have always been only half full.

“I think I’m ready for just about anything, as long as you never let go of my hand.”

 

 

THE END