by Dana Corbit
Scanning the rest of the packed sanctuary, she was surprised not to find Zach at all. Anxiety formed in the pit of her stomach, but she tried to ignore it. Of course, he would be there. He’d promised, and she’d believed him. Come to think of it, the other groom wasn’t anywhere to be found, either.
She turned to see if Rachel could clear up the mystery, but a rustling at her feet caught her attention. Meg and Jared’s twins, Luke and Chance, had already turned one of the ring bearers’ pillows into a pretend football and were trying to punt it. Pilar grinned as Meg took her sons in hand and quietly restored order to their tiny tuxedos.
Olivia Cavanaugh pressed by them, looking far older than her seven years in her frilly flower girl dress. She was carefully holding the hand of Rachel’s baby sister, Gracie, who was all dolled up in ruffles and lace.
“Miss Rachel—I mean Aunt Rachel, I see Daddy up there, but I don’t see Uncle Eli.”
Rachel kissed Olivia on top of her light brown hair and then bent to nuzzle Gracie’s curls. “Don’t you worry. Everything’s going to be just fine. You go ahead down the aisle, just like we showed you.”
At least someone wasn’t worried. Pilar sure was, and she didn’t like herself for it.
“Okay, boys, it’s your turn,” Meg told her sons.
“Walk very slowly and then go to Daddy, okay?”
Though they’d practiced the boys’ entrance three times the night before and they’d never gotten it right, the twins made a flawless entrance. As the bridesmaids entered next, Pilar suddenly wished there were more of them so they could stall a little longer.
Where were the grooms?
She flashed a panicked look back to Rachel and her father, Charles, but her friend only mouthed, “Don’t worry.” How could she not worry when they were at a double wedding ceremony and short two grooms?
But as soon as the organ music changed in a signal for the crowd to rise for the brides, the door beside the choir loft popped open, and out came two of the most handsome grooms she’d ever seen. As Zach stared at her in awe, she immediately forgave him for the moments of panic before.
“Are you ready, Princesa?” Salvador Estes brushed aside a tear as he held out his arm.
Pilar smiled up at him and slipped her arm through his. Princess. Her father would always see her that way though she was all grown up. “Sí, Papi.”
Soon she was walking down the aisle to her groom and her future. She could barely comprehend Reverend Fraser’s lovely words as Zach took her hand and stared into her eyes. She never wanted to look away.
Thank You, Lord, for Zach and for Your perfect plan for our lives. I can’t wait to live every minute of it.
At the sound of someone clearing his throat, she jerked her head to look at the minister.
“That was for you, too, Pilar,” Rachel said in a loud whisper that was caught on Reverend Fraser’s microphone.
She felt her face go hot as the crowd chuckled. Zach only smiled when she turned back to him. Somehow they made it through the rest of their vows, and before she knew it, Zach was pulling her into his arms for their first kiss as husband and wife.
“I’d like to present to you for the first time Eli Cavanaugh and Rachel Noble-Cavanaugh and Zach and Pilar Fletcher,” Reverend Fraser announced, already having checked their preferences.
The crowd erupted in cheers as the four of them and their entourage returned up the center aisle. Before any of the guests had been ushered out into the vestibule, Zach wrapped his arms around Pilar and kissed her until she was breathless.
“Hey, you two, quit steaming up the church windows,” Eli called out, but he only turned and kissed his own bride.
Rachel chuckled as she pressed her forehead to Eli’s. “Okay, tell me, dear, where you two were until we came down the aisle. Pilar, here, thought you were standing us up at the altar.”
Eli shrugged. “We just wanted you two to see us during our wedding at the same time that we first saw you. It was pretty effective, wasn’t it?”
She nodded. “Very effective.”
But Zach turned and stared down at his bride. “You weren’t really worried, were you? You had to know I would be there.”
Pilar smiled up at him. “I knew.”
He grinned. “Good, because I was out getting your wedding present ready.”
“Present?”
He pointed to the double glass doors leading to the outside. There on the church’s porch was a picnic basket. Pilar glanced up at her husband and grinned before draping her train over her arm and heading out the door.
“It doesn’t have the same precious cargo as the other one.” Zach lifted the intricately weaved basket and opened it for her to see. Inside this one was a checkered blanket with matching napkins and picnic-style cutlery.
“But I figured we could make some of our own memories to go inside it.”
“Thank you. Thank you.” Pilar leaned forward and kissed her husband right over the top of the basket. He seemed startled but delighted that she’d enjoyed his gift.
Hearing laughter behind them, Pilar and Zach turned to see Eli and Rachel playing peekaboo with Gracie, the child both of them adored.
“I bet we won’t be the only ones with a house full of kids,” Zach whispered in her ear.
Guests started pouring out from the sanctuary then, so they gathered for the receiving line. Pilar accepted the hugs, kisses and well-wishes with enthusiasm while sneaking occasional peeks at her new husband. Each time she glanced at him, he was looking back.
The guest list was like a who’s who among Chestnut Grove’s elite as well as its regular folk, thanks to Eli and Rachel’s wide list of friends. Pilar did her best to make small talk with Mayor Morrow and his wife but it was much easier to laugh with their charming black-haired youth minister, Caleb Williams. As he kissed her cheek, she wondered why someone hadn’t already snapped up the handsome man of God.
When Ashley Harcourt came through the line, proudly carrying Gabriel, both Zach and Pilar hugged her at once. Pilar dropped a kiss on the baby’s head, pleased he was going to get to grow up in a family that loved him.
“And these are your parents,” Pilar said before Zach had the chance to introduce Will and Carol Fletcher. She would have known them anywhere. Will looked like a silver-haired version of his son, and Carol, who had almost-black hair with barely a hint of gray, looked out at her with eyes so similar to the ones Zach constantly focused on her.
“Thank you” was all Carol said before drawing Pilar into her embrace. She knew immediately she would love her new mother-in-law.
“I can’t believe it. You’re here,” Rachel exclaimed as she threw her arms around a strikingly handsome man with black hair and huge hazel eyes.
She turned to them. “Eli, Zach and Pilar, I’d like you to meet my favorite cousin, Andrew Noble.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Andrew said as he shook their hands.
Rachel’s cousin barely had time to offer his congratulations before she pulled him back over. “Aunt Clara said you were, and I quote, ‘unavailable’ when I sent the invitation. Are you taking more assignments that you won’t tell me anything about?”
Andrew smiled. “We’ll talk more at the reception.”
Rachel grinned back at him. “And you still won’t tell me anything.”
When the last of the guests had come through the line and had headed into the church hall for the dinner reception, Zach reached over and took Pilar’s hand.
“I love my gift,” she told him. “It’s perfect.” And so was their romance that had begun with a baby on the doorstep and had led them to the altar.
He kissed her forehead. “You’re perfect.”
She shook her head. “Not at all. You just love me.”
“You, Mrs. Fletcher, are right about that.”
Epilogue
Anne was already waiting at their usual table and holding a menu she wouldn’t order from when Meg arrived for Sunday brunch at the Starlight Diner. Meg couldn�
��t get over how small and alone her friend looked in that huge booth all by herself.
That wasn’t fair, she reminded herself, as she made her way back to Anne. Just because she was happily married didn’t mean she needed to push that status on everyone she knew.
Lowering her menu, Anne stood to give her friend a hug. “You’re here!”
“Barely. Are you as exhausted as I am?”
Anne nodded and folded her hands by her head as though she could sleep right there at the table. Then she opened her eyes. “Wait. You forgot to recognize our buddy James.”
“Oops.” Meg turned and gave an exaggerated salute to the photo of fallen actor James Dean. It was part of their tradition, and she had the feeling tradition was going to be important to Anne for a while, now that three out of the four friends were married.
“Where do you think they are now?”
Meg shrugged. “Zach and Pilar are probably getting the worst sunburn of their lives in Jamaica, and Eli and Rachel are probably sitting around with their teeth chattering and wishing they’d brought parkas and mittens to Cape Cod.”
Anne chuckled. “Some romantic you are. I feel sorry for Jared.”
Meg laughed with her. “Okay, Pilar and Zach are sitting on the beach, wiggling their toes in the sand and holding hands. Rachel and Eli are snuggled up by a crackling fire sharing their hopes and dreams for the future.”
“That’s better. I guess we can keep you.”
“You’d better.”
Miranda Jones approached them then, carrying two glasses of water when she could easily have balanced four or more.
“Afternoon, ladies.” She looked back and forth between them. “Small crowd today.”
Meg smiled. “Intimate.”
“Yes, intimate.” The waitress glanced around the room as if suddenly uncomfortable before returning her attention to the notebook in her apron. “May I take your order?”
Meg went with tea and toast, sorry she’d eaten so much rich food at the reception the night before.
“I’ll have a double bacon cheeseburger and fries,” Anne chimed, though the waitress had probably already written it down and Isaac Tubman was probably already in the kitchen flipping the burger on the grill.
As Miranda started to walk away, she turned back. “How was the wedding?”
“Beautiful and long,” Anne told her. “I have the blisters on my feet to prove it.”
“I wish I could have made it, but I had to work.”
Meg nodded and wished the single mom had found a way to get the night off. She didn’t seem to have much of a social life outside the diner. “I’m sure Rachel and Pilar missed you. They probably missed Sandra, too. Have you heard anything from her? How’s her chemo going?”
Miranda smiled. “She’s hanging in there. She’s going to try to come back to work next week, so I’m sure she’ll be serving your table again, like usual.”
Funny, the waitress’s voice sounded wistful. Maybe she’d enjoyed getting to be the one to serve them in Sandra’s absence. Had she hoped they would become closer friends, especially since they were all about the same age? The truth was she didn’t know an awful lot about Miranda Jones, but she decided she wouldn’t keep it that way.
When Miranda shuffled to the kitchen, Meg turned back to Anne, who was frowning. “Everything has changed, hasn’t it?”
She shook her head. “No. Not really.”
But Anne crossed her arms and leaned back into the seat. “Everyone’s going to have more family obligations. Getting away for brunch isn’t going to be as easy.”
Meg’s heart went out to her friend, who was feeling unsure of herself. She’d always wished she could do or say something to convince Anne that she was beautiful inside and out, that the orthopedic shoes didn’t matter. Maybe if she believed it, she would stop trying to disappear into the crowd by wearing plain clothes and no makeup.
“Anne.” She reached over and touched her friend’s hand. “Jared and I have the twins. I still almost never miss brunch. It’s important to me. I know it’s just as important to Pilar and Rachel.”
She shrugged. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. Would there ever be a question about that?”
After that, brunch went smoothly, with Meg describing some of Luke and Chance’s antics and Anne chatting about the positive comments she’d been getting on Jared’s newspaper series.
“I just wish Zach could figure out who broke into the office and set the fire so we could get past all this negativity,” Anne said over her last French fry.
Meg nodded, figuring if Anne could ignore the significance of those tampered birth records, so could she for now. Until the many questions involving those records were answered, she doubted things would ever return to normal at the adoption agency.
When they were finished eating and Meg could no longer fight off her yawns, they decided to head home.
She gave Anne a quick hug. “For one more Sunday, you’ll have to put up with just me again, but then we’ll all be back together again.”
Anne nodded, her worried expression softening. “You’ll be in after church, right?”
“Right after.” Meg was so tempted to invite Anne to church again that she had to bite her tongue to stop herself. She’d tried a few times since she and Jared had starting attending together, but Anne always had other plans. Pushing her wasn’t going to help. She would come to God when she was ready.
“I’ll save the booth.”
“I’ll see you then if not before.”
With a wave, Meg headed out the restaurant door, but her friend hung behind. She wanted to turn around and go back, but she never wanted her friend to suspect that she might feel sorry for her. She loved her; that was all.
As she climbed into her car, Meg glanced one more time at the nearly empty diner. Coming out the front door, Anne smiled at her and waved. Meg smiled back, feeling much more confident about her friend. She felt certain God had something special in store for dear sweet Anne. He certainly hadn’t let any of them down yet.
Meg yawned again and pressed her hand to her tummy. The tea and toast hadn’t done the trick. She still felt queasy. As she drove, she did some mental calculations. The answer to her math made her smile. Maybe a trip to the drugstore was in order. She just might have some great news for Jared and the boys.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Dana Corbit for her contribution to the TINY BLESSINGS series.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0355-6
ON THE DOORSTEP
Copyright © 2005 by Steeple Hill Books, Freiburg Switzerland
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