CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CAROLINE
†
I’M THE PROUDEST MOMMA in the world, and I won’t hear anything bad about my kids, but just between us, I wish they’d stop getting married in crazy, tropical places where I have to get on at least two planes and book a long vacation to attend their weddings.
Nevertheless, wild horses wouldn’t have kept me from being there, though, that sunny April afternoon as I fixed my daughter’s veil in the bedroom of her overwater bungalow in Saint Lucia.
She looked at me with worried eyes as I concentrated on fitting the silk over the intricately woven style of her dark hair. “Is it okay?” she asked me.
I smiled at her. “It’s beautiful,” I said. “You look so stunning I don’t even have the words.”
I stepped back to look at her as she rose from her chair. The bodice of her laced Maggie Sotero gown gave way to a beautiful, figure-hugging skirt that clung to her slim body. With the veil over her face, she was the picture of elegance and sophistication, but underneath it, she was still my little girl, and like all mothers, I shed a tear at the sight of her.
“Don’t cry, Mom,” she begged, putting her arms around my neck. “You’ll start me off, and I can’t let my mascara run onto this dress.”
“Oh, I’m not really crying,” I said, dabbing my eyes with a tissue. “You just look so stunning. I can’t believe the day’s really here.”
She took my hands and kissed them over the silk of her veil. “You look beautiful too, Mom,” she said. “Dad would be so proud of you.”
I smiled. She was right. John would have loved nothing more than to walk into the room and see his little girl looking so happy on her wedding day. I thought back to my own wedding, home in Nebraska, and how nervous I’d been to get to the church and walk down the aisle to the only man I’d ever loved. He was taken from me far too soon, but today wasn’t the time to be sad. I could only be happy at the thought of the years we’d had together and how our marriage had produced our two beautiful children.
Looking at my watch, I snapped out of my reverie and went back into Mom-mode. “Come on,” I said, handing Nicole her bouquet of white roses. “You don’t want to keep him waiting now, do you?”
“No,” she said, and she took a few deep breaths. “I can’t believe this is really happening, Mom.”
“Well, you need to enjoy every second,” I told her. “Today will fly by so fast, so hold onto every moment. Now, come on. Where’s Mia?”
“She’s already there,” Nicole replied. “She’s just texted to tell me she’s waiting with everyone else. Jake’s there, thank God.”
“Of course he is!” I exclaimed. “And he’s waited long enough!”
We walked along the wooden walkway, over the turquoise waters, and I held up her train so that it didn’t disappear between the wooden slats. Over in the distance, on top of the hill, we could see the white archway of the wedding altar, and I hoped that my future son-in-law wasn’t peeking down to see his bride before she arrived or I’d have had a few stern words to say to him.
We climbed into a black Bentley and drove slowly up the grassy path to the top of the hill. I stole a glance at the cell phone in my purse and smiled at the text message I’d received moments earlier. Everything was going according to plan.
When we stepped out of the car again, I heard Nicole give a squeal of surprise, and she forgot she was wearing a wedding dress and high heels because she ran over to someone and flung her arms around him. I knew who it was, and as they broke apart again and looked at me, I waved and beamed over at my beautiful son.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” Nicole cried. “I thought you said you weren’t sure you’d be able to make it!”
“Are you kidding?” Brandon asked. “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. I’m just glad you chose today, though. In another two weeks, Clea wouldn’t be allowed to fly. She’s already thirty-four weeks, so the doctor wouldn’t have let her get onto a plane much later than now.”
Giving Brandon a hug, I then turned to Clea and kissed her, unable to stop myself from placing my hands on her round belly. “I can’t wait to meet my grandson,” I said. “How are you feeling, honey?”
“Exhausted,” Clea said, but she smiled. “And I’m excited, too. I just want little Kingston to be here already.”
I looked over at Brandon in desperation but his look told me everything.
Don’t say anything, Mom, it said, we haven’t definitely decided on a name yet.
I narrowed my eyes, hopefully communicating telepathically to my firstborn that there was no way I was going to have a grandson named Kingston. I had a very small window to convince Clea that she should choose something else. What on earth was wrong with giving kids a normal name these days?
There was no time to go into it now because the wedding was about to start. Nicole looked at her brother. “I was going to walk down the aisle by myself,” she said. “But it’d mean the world to me if you were the one to give me away.”
Once again, I had to pull the tissue out of my purse. I had a feeling I’d be doing that plenty of times all day, and I kissed both my children before I walked toward the seated guests who were waiting for the proceedings to start.
Clea waddled next to me, and I certainly felt sorry for her, having to carry the weight of the baby. If this kid was anything like his father, then Clea was going to meet a bruiser of a baby. Just from stroking her bump, I guessed ten or eleven pounds at least. I crossed my legs at the very thought.
As we took our seats at the front, I looked up at Jake. He looked so handsome, in his smart suit, his beard clipped short and neat. He looked at me as though to check she really was there and really was about to turn the corner and walk toward him. With a smile and a wink, I put his mind at ease, before the woman officiating the ceremony asked everyone to get to their feet.
With a violin solo playing the most beautiful piece of music I’d ever heard, Mia began the proceedings by walking toward us in a pretty lilac dress, holding a small bouquet of flowers. Behind her, my daughter drifted down the aisle as though she were walking on a cloud… on the arm of her brother.
I couldn’t have been more proud of the two of them as Brandon shook hands with Jake, clapped him on the back, and then handed his sister over to his best friend, trusting that he would look after her forever.
As the two of them said their vows, I knew that Jake meant every word, when he promised to protect, love and honor his wife for the rest of his life. As he slipped the white band on her finger, lifted her veil and kissed her as we applauded, I knew that Nicole would never know a happier moment.
She’d certainly found herself a hunk, too. I couldn’t fault her taste.
They were man and wife, and they walked back up the aisle together under a shower of rose petals. I kissed the two of them as they passed me, and watched them walk off for their first photographs together as a married couple.
Then I turned to Clea.
“Let’s talk,” I said, as we slowly followed the wedding party. “I’ve got some baby names I’d like to run past you before you burden that poor unborn baby with the name, Kingston.”
~ fine ~