Dan had laughed at her. “It won’t dare snow on our wedding day.” And when that pronouncement failed to calm her, he’d added, “So we’ll get hit with a few snow flakes. They say it’s good luck.”
She had never heard that bit of folklore and was sure he was making it up. Tossing and turning all night, all she could think about was how, if it did snow, the only one who would be happy would be her mother, who would undoubtably take it as evidence that she was, once again, right. To Lillian it would be proof that Emily’s daring nuptial plan was ridiculous, sheer insanity, an event that would make them all laughingstocks.
But the sun did shine, giving Emily great hope that her ambitious scheme might triumph after all.
She turned back to the mirror and lifted the mascara wand toward her eyes. Her hand shook wildly and she decided it was best to go without that final coat. Her hair didn’t look quite right, either, she thought. The salon had made it too . . . fluffy or something. She wasn’t used to the way it looked and hoped her headpiece would smash it down a bit. Her suit had been a good choice, she thought. Cream-colored wool, with a short jacket that had a nipped-in waist and a satin shawl collar, paired with a long skirt. Betty had spotted it for her; she had such a wonderful eye for clothes. Emily added a set of pearl earrings but left her throat bare.
The doorbell rang. It must be Jessica, coming to pick her up in the limo. Emily was glad her sister had arrived early. She needed help with the headpiece—and a calming presence.
Emily swung open the door, glad to see Jessica but surprised to see her daughter, Sara, there as well.
“Is everything all right? I thought you were going to pick up your grandmother.”
“I did.” Sara glanced back over her shoulder. “But she didn’t want to ride in my little car. She demanded a seat in the limo.”
“She’s in there, right now? All alone?”
“The driver is waiting with her,” Jessica explained. “Though I doubt Mother will condescend to have a conversation with him.”
“Oh, dear . . . well, we’ll have to give him a bigger tip, I suppose. Where’s Sam?”
“He’s in town, helping Dan make sure everything is set up right. I told Mother to come in, but she insisted on waiting,” Jessica added. She shrugged. “At least we won’t be holding up everything, wondering if she’s coming at all.”
Emily knew Jessica was thinking back to her own wedding day, when their mother had made a dramatic, last-minute entrance.
“Good point. Well, I won’t be long. I just need some help with this headpiece. Look at my hair,” she moaned as she closed the door. “I don’t know what happened. . . .”
“You look beautiful, Emily. Don’t be silly.” Sara leaned over and kissed her cheek, and Emily felt instantly cheered.
“She’s right. You’re an absolute knockout. Where’s the headpiece? I have some bobby pins in my purse in case you need them.”
Jessica and Sara followed Emily into her bedroom, and she allowed them to work on her, as bridesmaids were supposed to do.
A short time later, Jessica glanced at the bedroom clock. “That’s it, Emily. We promised Dan you wouldn’t be late.”
“I promised him, too . . . though he might die of shock if I actually do get there on time.”
Emily picked up her tiny handbag and cream-colored satin gloves. The florist had delivered their bouquets a few hours earlier, and now she handed out the flowers: cream-colored roses clustered with pale peach phlox and miniature off-white orchids. There was also an orchid corsage for her mother.
Jessica took the clear box. “I’ll give it to her, though I don’t think she’ll want any pins in her fur coat.”
Emily laughed. “It could use a few pins if you ask me. It’s practically falling to pieces.”
They finally left the house and walked out to the car, where the uniformed driver opened the door and waited to help them in. Emily searched his face but saw no sign that he’d been traumatized by Lillian. Maybe her luck was holding.
The back of the limo was the size of a sitting room, Emily thought as she slid inside. Her mother looked very small, perched in one corner of the bench seat that faced to the rear. Lillian sat huddled in her voluminous mink coat and matching hat, both of which harkened back to a style decades past.
“Well, there you are. Finally. I thought you were having second thoughts in there or something.”
“Hello, Mother.” Emily settled herself on the rear seat, facing forward. Jessica sat beside her and Sara sat next to her grandmother.
“Well, fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” Lillian cackled at her joke, a quote from an old Bette Davis movie.
Sara refused to let her grandmother get away with such pessimism. “Doesn’t Emily look beautiful, Lillian? That suit is perfect for her.”
Lillian surveyed her oldest daughter with a critical eye. “Not bad. Very nice lines. I’m glad to see you chose something sensible. No use dressing up like Cinderella going to the ball at your age.”
“Emily could have worn a gown if she’d wanted to.” Jessica tugged off her gloves and frowned at her mother.
“What did I say? Why is everyone so touchy today? I’m just trying to pay her a compliment, for goodness’ sake.”
Sara laughed. “Sometimes it is hard to tell, Lillian, you have to admit.”
Sara caught Emily’s eye and Emily had to grin.
“I’ll admit nothing of the sort.” Lillian huffed and rearranged her coat over her bony knees. “I was going to compliment the flowers as well, but now I’m in fear of rubbing someone the wrong way. So I won’t say anything at all.”
Emily noticed the corsage on the seat between her and Jessica. She picked it up and held it out to Lillian. “Here, Mother, I almost forgot. Here are some flowers for you.”
Lillian took the plastic box in her hands and gazed down at it. “An orchid. How thoughtful of you. It’s not the most practical choice for an outdoor affair in this weather, however. I think I’ll put it on later, so it won’t freeze and then turn to mush.”
Emily met her gaze but didn’t answer. Her house was less than a mile from the center of town, but the ride seemed agonizingly long. She twisted her gloves in her hands and glanced out the window. The limousine couldn’t travel on some of the narrow side roads, so they had been forced to take a less direct route.
Lillian cleared her throat. “I have something for you, too, Emily.” Emily felt her heartbeat quicken as she saw her mother’s hands flutter around the black leather clutch on her lap.
Was she going to take out the pearls? Emily wondered. Or was she just baiting her? During all the time she had been planning the wedding, her mother had never once mentioned the necklace. The wedding pearls were a family heirloom, prized by Lillian, who had been denied wearing them herself when she eloped with Emily and Jessica’s father. They had come into Lillian’s possession later, when both her parents had passed away. They were one of the few treasures she had inherited after her wealthy family cut her off when she married Oliver Warwick against their wishes.
Lillian had nearly denied Jessica the use of the pearls because she disapproved so strongly of Sam Morgan. But finally she had given in and Jessica had carried on the family tradition. Emily knew that, despite her barbs, Lillian actually did approve of Dan. Still, her mother nursed old grievances and had never entirely forgiven Emily for running off at age eighteen and marrying Tim Sutton, Sara’s father.
Emily had to admit, she did want to wear the pearls. She had perhaps even chosen her bridal outfit with that piece of jewelry in mind. But she would never admit it to her mother. She had promised herself that if her mother didn’t mention the pearls, she wouldn’t either.
“I don’t believe in all that ‘something borrowed, something blue’ business,” Lillian said as the limo turned on to Main Street and approached the village green. “I had all the necessary ‘somethings’ on my wedding day, and little good did it do me. But, at a certain stage in life, on
e needs to be magnanimous, I suppose. While I disapprove of this public spectacle you’ve chosen to subject us to, you may as well wear the wedding pearls, Emily. I doubt you’ll have another chance at them, quite frankly.”
Her mother thrust out a dark blue velvet box, her face averted so that Emily couldn’t see her expression.
Emily didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She took the box and opened it. There were the pearls, gleaming on their faded satin bed, probably not worth a fortune, as her mother believed, but rich in another kind of value altogether.
“Thank you, Mother. I do want to wear them,” Emily confessed.
As the limo pulled up to the green and came to a stop, Jessica took the jewelry box from Emily’s hands. “Here, turn around. I’ll put them on for you. Just in the nick of time.”
Emily turned her back to her sister and felt the cool necklace on her skin. She touched her hand to her throat. “How do they look?”
“What a question! They look perfect. A bride isn’t dressed without pearls.” Lillian shook her head in dismay. “If I taught you girls one thing, it had to be that.”
Emily and Jessica glanced at each other, sharing a secret smile. “Yes, Mother. I do believe you’re right,” Emily agreed. She leaned forward and gave her mother a quick hug. “Thank you, Mother. Really.”
Lillian shook her head, as if to shake off an unwanted sentimental lapse. “You’re very welcome. Now, on with the show.”
Emily sent up a quick prayer for courage and stepped out of the car. She felt her eyes widen in amazement. The sight that greeted her was unbelievable. The green was absolutely filled with people. Though every available folding chair within a ten-mile radius had been requisitioned for the event, there were still more people standing than seated, all of them circled around the white gazebo at the center of the park. It seemed everyone in Cape Light—and all their distant relatives—had shown up.
The gazebo had been decorated with flowers and garlands of greenery, and town’s grounds crew had set out a long green runner that stretched from where she stood to the gazebo steps.
She spotted Dan in his morning coat and Reverend Ben at the end of the aisle, waiting for her, and she felt her stomach flutter with nerves.
Sam came to greet them, looking like the leading man of an old-time movie, Emily thought, in his tuxedo and high starched white collar. He kissed her quickly on the check. “Happy wedding, Emily. Everything’s set. We can start anytime.”
Emily swallowed hard. She felt everyone’s eyes on her. People waved at her and lifted their children to see. Some of the faces were close friends and some were strangers. She was used to making public appearances at parades and town events, but this was different somehow. This was her wedding day and these were her guests. She felt a certain, intangible energy rising up out of the crowd, equal parts warmth, love, and good wishes. She felt herself smiling in response, buoyed up by all the goodwill that surrounded her.
It was certainly a strange, even crazy, idea to celebrate her wedding this way, Emily thought. Her mother had not been totally off target there.
But it’s the right way for me, she realized. She would look back on this day with wonder for the rest of her life.
“Sam, why don’t you bring Mother to her seat and we’ll start?” Jessica suggested.
Sam sketched a little bow and offered his arm to Lillian.
“Wait. . . .” Emily stepped toward them. “I have another idea. Would you like to wait up front and give me away, Mother?”
Emily had planned to bypass that tradition but now felt inspired. Why not her mother? Even if she refuses, at least I’ve made the gesture.
Lillian stared at her curiously, suspiciously even, Emily thought. “Well . . . I suppose I could do that. I am the mother of the bride, after all. I should have some official capacity.”
Emily watched as Lillian took a firm hold of Sam’s arm and allowed him to help her up the aisle. “This may take me a while,” she warned Emily over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you at the other end.”
Finally, the music started, and the immense crowd simmered down with respectful silence. Emily watched Sara and then Jessica proceed up the aisle before her. She felt her legs get wobbly.
She pushed herself forward and began walking slowly, staring straight ahead at first, then glancing from side to side. It was so much fun spotting so many familiar faces; she couldn’t resist sending a nod or a glance to so many friends and acquaintances who had come here today: Sophie and Miranda Potter, Grace and Digger Hegman, Molly Willoughby and her girls along with Dr. Harding and his daughter. A little farther down she spotted Tucker and Fran Tulley and then Lucy Bates, waving madly while Charlie stood beside her. He seemed to be smiling a bit under his usual scowl, in spite of himself, Emily thought with wonder. Had he actually abandoned his diner to see her get married?
Toward the end of the aisle, she saw Carolyn Lewis, sitting with her son, Mark. Rachel and Jack Anderson sat nearby, and next to them were Reverend James Cameron and Leigh Baxter, her newborn baby in her arms. Emily had heard the happy ending to that story and her smile grew even wider at the sight.
Finally, she reached the end of her journey. Her mother came to stand beside her, as stoic as a soldier. Dan stood on the top step of the gazebo, beaming down at her. He couldn’t have looked more handsome, she thought, and she couldn’t have loved him more if she tried. He walked down the steps with Reverend Ben, who stepped between them.
“Who gives this woman away to be married?” Reverend Ben asked.
“I do,” her mother said firmly. She turned to face Emily and Emily saw her mother’s chin quiver. Her mother touched her shoulder then leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “Be happy, dear. You’ve earned it,” she said quietly.
Then she took Emily’s hand and gave it to Dan. “Take good care of her. She’s a jewel, you know.”
Dan looked shocked speechless for a moment. “I will, Lillian. Believe me.”
Sam came forward and helped Lillian to her seat, and Reverend Ben led Emily and Dan up to the top step of the gazebo.
The blessings and readings went by in a blur. Emily kept thinking she was glad she had decided to videotape the event, after all. Her mind was spinning so wildly, she couldn’t take it all in.
“. . . And do you, Emily, promise to take Dan, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
Emily stared into Dan’s eyes. “I do,” she said.
Simple words that somehow held all of her heart. She slipped his wedding band onto his ring finger as he had already done for her.
They stood for a moment holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. They were married and Emily felt wildly happy, floating ten feet off the ground.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Reverend Ben said in his sonorous tones. “You may kiss the bride.”
Dan didn’t need to be told twice. He slipped his arm around her waist and planted a deep kiss on her mouth that nearly made her swoon.
The crowd cheered and clapped and when Emily finally looked up she found confetti and streamers flying through the air. Out on the dock, a cannon sounded. It was the town’s cast-iron antique, usually reserved for the Revolutionary War enactments and the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.
What a nice touch, she thought, and wondered who had arranged it. It had to be one of her friends at the village hall.
“Ready?” Dan asked her quietly.
“I’m ready if you are.”
He hooked her arm in his and they started down the steps, then down the long aisle of onlookers. More confetti, birdseed, and streamers pelted them. Friends burst through the ranks to give unauthorized hugs and kisses and to shake Dan’s hand. Emily felt as if she’d just won the presidential election, the Nobel Prize, and the Miss America Pageant, all rolled into one. It was wild. It was rowdy. It was spontaneous. It was pure joy and truly the happiest day of her life.
Just behind the noise of the crowd,
she heard a dull hum. She looked up at the sky and at a distance across the harbor, she spotted the plane approaching. Sam, bless his heart, obviously heard it, too. It was one of his jobs as a groomsman to make the announcement, and he now jumped up to the microphone.
“Your attention, please. The bride and groom would like a photograph with all their guests as a remembrance of this happy day. A plane is approaching in about . . . thirty seconds, and we’re all going to be in an aerial shot. Please stay right where you are. Everyone on the green will be included. All you need to do is gather a little closer to the gazebo, look up, and smile.”
Sam paused and looked over his shoulder, checking the horizon for the plane’s progress. The group had gone relatively quiet now and everyone could hear the low thrum of the small plane’s single engine.
Emily noticed people pointing up at the sky. Dan slung his arm around her shoulder and shook his head. “You didn’t tell me about this.”
“It was Sara’s idea, a wedding gift. I couldn’t say no, could I?”
Dan laughed. “I guess not. . . . But don’t be surprised if it’s on the front page of the Messenger tomorrow.”
“Oh . . . goodness. I didn’t even think of that!”
Dan laughed at her surprise and hugged her even closer. “Too late now.”
“Okay, here he comes,” Sam coached the crowd. “Five, four, three, two, one! Everyone shout, ‘Good luck, Emily and Dan!’ ”
The crowd responded and just as the plane swooped low over the green, Emily heard the roar.
“Good luck, Emily and Dan!”
Emily looked up too, conscious only of the great shout around her, Dan’s loving embrace, and the clear blue sky above. She felt surrounded by the love and goodwill of her family and friends and the joy of the day, and she felt God’s love pouring down like the brilliant white sunshine.
She felt truly and deeply happy.
A Christmas Promise Page 31