by K. Aybara
“Shut it, Tuck. One day I hope you know what I am feeling right now.”
“You know what I want to be feeling? I want to be feeling all three of those girls we had for you at the bachelor party. Damn, those were some hot girls. Blonde, brunette, and redhead. Man, you had your pick. We were really hoping to see that old Luke come out for one night, weren’t we Ryan?”
“Hell, we figured after that first bottle of Jameson we might be able to get something of the old guy out of you. We started on that second bottle and the most we ever saw you do was grab a little tit, well I guess it wasn’t really little.”
“Hey, I did not grab anything. That other girl put my hand there.”
“Well, you sure didn’t move it away.”
Zane yelled in from the bedroom, “Guys, leave him alone. That is probably the first time he has touched a set of tits in five years. Cut him a break.”
“So I guess you are saying that we shouldn’t start ridin’ him about how jealous we were of that redhead ridin’ him in that lap dance. I mean, hell, I thought I was going to come just watching it.”
“Tuck, we all know you did. You never got a lap dance, so that wet spot on your shorts had to be from you.”
“Man, I told you, I spilled my beer when the blonde took her top off. I totally wasn’t expecting that third nipple.”
“It was a mole you moron!”
“Oh, that explains, well, never mind. I’m going out for a smoke.”
Breck, who had been sitting quietly on the couch stood up and followed him. “Hold up man, I’m coming too.”
Once the door closed, I looked around at the other guys. “Is Breck always this quiet now? He didn’t used to be, but he doesn’t really seem to be with it lately. I know I haven’t been around much, but it just doesn’t seem like him. You all don’t think he is still mad at me over the whole Jill thing do you?”
Zane walked into the kitchen to grab another beer. “Luke, don’t let it get to you. He moved on from Jill a long time ago. He just isn’t in the best of places right now. He tried proposing a couple weeks ago to his girl and she shot him down. Kind of hard to be in a wedding and be happy right after that happens.”
“He should have said something. He didn’t have to be in the wedding. He didn’t even have to be here.”
“He didn’t want you to think it was all about Jill. Just don’t tell him I said anything. Let him have a few more beers and he will be fine today. Just give him his space.”
“I guess, but damn. He could have just said something.”
Ryan chuckled. “And since when have you known Breck to not be so hard headed? I mean, that is why you slammed his head into the window and not Chuck’s pride and joy of a bar isn’t it? You didn’t want to hurt the bar.”
“Fuck, I wouldn’t want Chuck coming after me if that bar got damaged. He and I put a lot of time into making that thing ourselves, but I’d still be dead if anything happened to it because of me.”
Zane popped open his second beer. “By the way, I got your crap packed for you. It’s getting to be about time for us to head over to the church. Ryan, why don’t you grab his suitcase and you guys can take it out and throw it in the car. I guess you can drive mine, I’ll ride with Luke.”
“Why do we have to take it out? I’m enjoying my beer.”
“For one, because I packed it all for Luke’s lazy last minute ass. Secondly, because if we leave now, Luke is buying lunch before we get to the church.”
“Why didn’t you say so? We’ll get right on it.”
“Whoa, wait a second, I’m what? I am not buying lunch for those guys. I wouldn’t have any money left for the trip.”
“Don’t worry about it, I got you covered, but I expect to you to pay me back.”
My brother slapped me on the back and we started to walk out of my apartment. As I looked around, I realized that when I get back this would not be just my apartment, but our apartment. This was the last time that I could call a place just mine, but that’s okay. I would finally have a place that felt comfortable calling it home. Funny how that worked—same place, but completely different atmosphere.
AS WE STARTED TO HEAD OUT OF THE SALON, I looked around at everyone. We may all be in yoga pants and sweatshirts, but we were all beautiful. I was so happy to have such great friends surrounding me today. They truly had become like sisters over the years.
I decided I better text mom real quick to make sure they had everything and let them know we were on our way to the church. They should had already been there, but knowing my mother, she forgot something. She always forgot something.
Thankfully it wasn’t very far to the church from here. I couldn’t wait to see if they were getting everything decorated. I knew my aunt would do an awesome job! As we pulled up to the church, I saw her at her car getting some more stuff out of it. She saw us parking and started to walk over. Oh no, what’s wrong? Tell me something isn’t wrong.
I tried to stay optimistic, “Hey Aunt Megan, how are things going?”
“Don’t you all look gorgeous? They are fine darling, but you need to go in the back.”
“Why, is there a problem? Is something wrong with the decorations?”
“No, the garden is fine, everything is beautiful so far. I just want you to be as shocked seeing it as Luke is when he sees you.”
“Are you sure everything is okay?”
“Cailyn dear, I have everything under control. Just make sure you send one of the girls in first to make sure Luke isn’t out roaming the halls. I’m not sure if he has shown up yet or not, so you may want to get inside quickly just in case.”
I gave Aunt Megan a hug and turned around to the girls, “Liz, will you go make sure Luke isn’t inside so that I can get into the room without being seen?”
“Sure thing. Come on, Celeste, let’s make sure the coast is clear.”
Walking along the outside of the church waiting for the all clear, I started to realize that it wouldn’t be long and I would no longer be Cailyn Donnelly. In just a few hours, I would be Mrs. Cailyn Roberts. It’s going to take me a while to get used to that.
“Hey, Cailyn, come on. The coast is clear. Get in here before they show up. We haven’t worked so hard to make this day perfect for you so that you can ruin it standing out here daydreaming. I bet you are thinking about Luke between your thighs again, aren’t you?”
“Celeste, please, seriously… Stop. My mom is probably around here somewhere and she does not need to hear you talking to me about that kind of thing.”
“I don’t know, I saw your dad in there, but I didn’t see your mom anywhere. You go on to the dressing room and I will see if I can hunt him down again and find out where she is. I know she is going to want to come be with you while you are getting ready.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Walking through that door into the church made it all feel so real. Not that it didn’t feel real before, but now, for some reason, I knew I wouldn’t leave this place today the same person. I’d never felt it before today, but there appeared to be so much power humming through the church as if all the people that were no longer with us, but were married here themselves had returned to watch over us and wish us well. It gave me chills as I walked through to the room where I would be getting ready.
As I opened the door, I saw my dress hanging there, it’s pure white, glowing as the sun came through the window shining down on it, reflecting off of the beadwork. I walked over to run my hands over it. I almost couldn’t believe it was really sitting there. Celeste said Daddy was here but where was Mom? I heard a knock on the door and it cracked open.
“Is everyone decent?”
“Yes, Daddy, it’s just me right now. Where’s Mom at?”
“You know her, she would forget her head if it wasn’t attached I think. She forgot her cell phone, so she ran back home to get it.”
I guessed that explained why she didn’t answer me earlier when I texted her. “Why does she need it? She coul
d have done without it today.”
“She wanted to have it in case you needed something before you got here. Also, she thought some of the family from out of town may get lost, so she wanted to have it in case they called her. She should be back any minute.”
“Okay, Daddy.” I walked over to him, wrapping my hands around his waist and burying my face in his chest. I felt him wrap his arms around me, rubbing my back. “Daddy, I will always be your baby girl, right? Even though I’m getting married and moving out?”
“Of course, sweetheart.” I couldn’t contain my tears as he gently hugged me and repeated the words he had told me all of my life, “No matter how big you get, no matter how old you are, you will always be my little princess, and you will always be safe wrapped in my arms tightly next to my heart.” He kissed me on top of my head, “I love you, my precious little gift from above.”
The door opened without a knock. I wanted to turn and yell at whoever interrupted my time with my daddy. I was so scared, so nervous. I needed his arms around me to help me be strong. I heard my Aunt Megan, “Terry, can you come out here, we need to talk.”
I thought something was wrong when she walked over to the car earlier, but I thought I was overreacting. The tone in her voice, there was no doubt in my mind that something was wrong right now, and it was something bad.
“What is it, Aunt Megan? What’s wrong?”
“Dear, it’s nothing. I just need to talk to your dad about something. Please excuse us.”
“I will be right back, Cailyn, as soon as I take care of whatever it is, and I promise I will take care of it so that you have a perfect wedding day. I will be right back.”
“Daddy, if you see the girls will you send them in so they can get ready? They will have to be ready before me for their pictures.”
“Sure thing.”
Aunt Megan and Daddy walked out the door and closed it behind them. I listened for a minute to see if they were talking right outside the door, but I heard nothing so they must have walked away. I’m sure it was nothing. She probably just needed a tall guy to hang something up. I’m sure that’s what it was.
AS SOON AS THE DOOR CLOSED, Megan grabbed my wrist and walked away. I guess we wouldn’t be talking about whatever it was until we got away from Cailyn. “What is it Megan? You look like you have seen a ghost.”
“Terry, I just got a phone call. When I looked at my phone it said it was Aileen. I answered it thinking maybe she was telling me she was on her way, but it wasn’t her. It was a police officer.”
“What, why is there a police officer calling from my wife’s phone? What happened? Is she okay? What is going on, Megan?”
“Aileen was in an accident. Evidently she was leaving the house and someone ran the stop sign and side swiped her. She is going to be fine, but the car is not.”
“If she is fine, then why was the officer calling? Why did he call you and not me? I need to go be with her. Where is she at? ”
“The officer called me because I was the last number she had called. She called me this morning to tell me you all were going to be leaving the house and see if I wanted you to pick me up something to eat. He said she is going to be fine though. He was calling because he found the phone after they had already taken her to the hospital, but he wanted to let the family know.”
“What? THE HOSPITAL? I thought you said she was fine. I’ve got to go.”
Megan grabbed my arm tightly, halting me in the middle of me trying to run out the door. “Terry, what you need to do is go back in there and be with your daughter. I will go get Aileen. If Cailyn finds out from anyone other than you, it will be devastating. She is already going to feel like her wedding is in jeopardy of not being the fairy tale she has dreamt of her whole life. If you leave, she is going to worry about what will happen if you get in a rush and have an accident too. So you calm down, go in there and hug your baby girl, and you tell her it will be alright. I will go get Aileen and bring her back safely.”
“Fine, but you be careful. You get her here in one piece. Is the bar set up yet, I think I need a drink.”
“You do not need a drink this early, Terry Donnelly. Just take a few deep breaths and get back in there. I’ll be back as soon as I can be.”
I buried my face in my hands. I knew I should have gone back to the house with her, but she wanted me to stay here in case Cailyn arrived before we got back. If I were with her this wouldn’t have happened. I couldn’t think like that right now though, I just needed to take a couple deep breaths and get back in there to my baby and tell her what was going on. This was going to be very difficult.
As I was walking down the hall, I saw Luke and the guy’s walking in. “Luke, don’t go too far. I need to talk to Cailyn, but we need to talk too.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Donnelly.”
I wondered if that boy was ever going to stop calling me that. I respected him for it, but after today, there was no need for it. Then again with the past he had with his father, I guess I could understand why it wasn’t easy to call someone Dad. That’s a discussion for another time though.
I raised my hand to knock on the door, but just before my knuckles made contact the door started to open.
“Oh, I’m sorry Mr. D, I didn’t know you were there. Rhylie, Liz, hurry up with those dresses. Mr. D is back.”
“Don’t worry about it, Ashley. If you all could excuse us though, I need to have a talk with Cailyn.”
“Is everything alright? You don’t look like everything is okay. Come on girls, everyone out. They need to talk.”
As everyone was leaving the room, some with dresses half on and trying to zip them as they walked past, while others carried their shoes for them so they could hurry out. They look at me and I could tell from their faces that I am not going to be able to hide my concern when Cailyn sees me. I stepped in and she was hurrying towards me knowing that something must be wrong if I was making them all leave.
“Daddy, what’s going on? What’s wrong? Don’t you dare tell me it is nothing! I am tired of everyone trying to convince me that things are going to be perfect for my wedding day and hiding all these things from me. I want to know what’s wrong now! Look at you, what is wrong?”
I wrapped my arms around her. A tear slid down my cheek and landed on her head. Looking up at me she said, “Daddy, are you crying? What’s wrong? Where’s mom at? Why isn’t she back by now?”
“Shhh. Cailyn baby, your mom was in an accident.”
“What?! Is she hurt? We need to go to the hospital. The wedding can wait.”
“Cailyn, breathe. Your Aunt Megan says she is going to be fine and she is on her way to go pick her up at the hospital right now. The wedding will go on. I know you were going to let your mom help you get ready in the dress and all, but go on and let the girls help you get started. When your mom shows up I will send her in to help with the rest. I’m sure she is fine, honey.”
I squeezed her tightly against my chest. My sweet baby girl. I didn’t know if I was holding her tight because of the accident or the wedding. “I’ll send the girls back in. It will all be fine honey.”
“Daddy, please don’t go. Please just hug me right now? I feel safe in your arms. I’m already scared today, and now this. Just hug me Daddy, please?”
I could feel her tears as they started to seep through my shirt. I pulled out my handkerchief to let her wipe her eyes and blow her nose. Leaning down, I placed a kiss on her forehead. “Sweetie, it will all be fine. Aunt Megan is going to bring your mother to the church safely and she will be here to see you get married. Don’t worry about anything, you just finish getting ready.”
“Okay, I love you Daddy.”
I hoped it was all going to be okay. I didn’t know what I was going to do if Aileen was seriously hurt. Why hadn’t Megan called me yet and told me what was going on? I might as well go talk to Luke. He needed to know what happened to Aileen and to expect a few bumps along the path today.
Walking out the door, I saw all o
f the girls just standing there. “You all might as well go back in and finish getting ready.” I pulled Ashley over to the side. “Ashley, Mrs. Donnelly is going to be a little late. Do you think you and the girls can help Cailyn start getting ready? She should be here soon, but I know it is going to take a while. I’m going to go update Luke. Cailyn can give you all the details.”
“Sure thing, Mr. D., we will take good care of her.”
WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO? My own mother may not even make it to my wedding. This was horrible. This was the worst thing that could happen. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks knowing that the mascara was leaving trails down my face. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and hide in a corner somewhere.
Hearing the door open again after Daddy left, I knew it must be the girls. I couldn’t let them see me like this. I tried to wipe the tears away with the handkerchief, but I was sure that only did more damage to the makeup. Of course Liz was the first to notice.
“Cailyn, honey, what’s wrong? Your makeup… We are going to have to redo it all. What happened?”
“Mom was in an accident. We don’t know exactly what happened or how badly she is hurt, but Aunt Megan is on her way to pick her up from the hospital. She is not supposed to be too badly injured though, so Daddy said the wedding will go on as planned. I wanted to postpone it and go to the hospital to be with her.”
While Liz was going to dig out her makeup kit, Ashley walked over to me and gave me a hug. “You know your mom is one tough lady. I am sure she is fine, and she will be back here before you know it with hardly a scratch on her. Now, let’s get you ready and beautiful so that when she gets here you are ready for her to finish up the last few things.”
“Alright, girls, you all finish up getting ready while I work on Cailyn. We need to be ready for our pictures when Mrs. Donnelly gets here. Time may be a little tighter than planned, but we are still going to make it work.”