Heart On Fire

by A. L. Cook

  “That’s a part of Daniel’s receiving blanket,” Rose told her, her gorgeous brown eyes sad. “The first blanket we wrapped him in after he was born.”

  “Oh my god, Rose,” Erin breathed, feeling more tears of her own start. “Oh Rose, thank you so much.” The butter-soft cotton suddenly felt like the finest of silk in her fingers and she pressed it briefly to her lips.

  “I wanted to keep it small,” Rose told her, “so you could maybe pin it under your dress or something and not have it mess with your colour scheme.”

  “I’ll treasure this forever,” Erin swore. “Thank you so much for giving this to me.”

  “For what it’s worth, I think Daniel would have liked Cam. I could see them getting into trouble together.”

  Erin laughed and wiped her eyes, still clutching the blue square. “So could I,” she said drily. “Guess I have a type after all.”

  Rose laughed too and handed Erin a tissue. “I’m sorry I made you cry on your wedding day,” she said.

  “I’m not,” Erin replied. “I’m so glad you’re here, and Jon, of course.”

  “So are we, dear.”

  The door to the cabin opened and Shelley stuck her head in. “Can we come back in?” she asked. “Because the wind out here has some real bite.”

  “Yes, of course,” Rose said, standing up and moving to the kitchenette as she surreptitiously wiped her face. “Are you all ready for breakfast?”

  They all shared freshly baked ham and cheese croissants, fresh fruit salad and mugs of hot coffee, as well as a selection of handmade chocolates and chocolate-dipped strawberries. Someone had turned the radio on to a station which seemed to be exclusively playing love songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s, and they all took their time with the meal, chatting, laughing and teasing Erin. Miranda took a million photos, Maggie told dirty jokes and Shelley kept tearing up every time she said something like ‘meant to be’ or ‘soulmates’. It was fun, and it was affectionate and loving, and Erin basked in it.

  Eventually, after having a champagne lunch on the shore, the women returned to the cabin to begin getting ready. They gossiped and chattered as they did each other’s makeup, and Erin grinned at Shelley’s reflection in the mirror as the brunette ran a straightener through her hair.

  “Would anyone like to place a bet on Mikey’s proposing to Shell?”

  Shelley yelped as she got a bit too close to her ear with the straightener and flushed bright red. “Hey! You’re the one getting married, we should be talking about you!”

  “Before Christmas,” Miranda laughed.

  “New Year,” Maggie called from the bathroom where she was getting changed.

  “Thanksgiving,” Erin added.

  “The end of the night,” Rose said, smiling when everyone turned to look at her. “I’ve seen how that boy looks at you, Shelley; I think it’s killing him to have to wait this long.”

  “I don’t think so,” Shelley muttered, still flushed. “I mean yeah, he looks at me like he’s starving,” she conceded to much laughter, “but I don’t think he’ll propose any time soon. We’re in no hurry.”

  “Did you know that Cam asked me for that ring just after the first Christmas Erin spent with us?” Miranda asked pointing at Erin’s engagement ring. “He planned to marry her that early, so I wouldn’t be so sure.”

  “What?” Erin asked, surprised. “Really?”

  “Oh yes,” Miranda smiled. “After that forest fire, when you two came and picked up the boat for your trip away. I gave it to him then.”

  “Why?” Erin asked curiously, clipping her hair back in the barrette that Miranda had given her. “Weren’t you worried?”

  “Of course she wasn’t worried,” Maggie said, coming out of the bathroom in a beautiful black pantsuit with an emerald green silk shirt beneath the jacket. “That boy hadn’t dated a single woman for any longer than a night or two in years, and then all he can talk about is ‘Erin this’ and ‘Erin that’ and ‘Erin is so wonderful’ and ‘how do I convince her I’m not a total chump’.”

  “There was a lot of that, yes,” Miranda agreed wryly as Maggie took a seat on the loveseat next to her. “But it was the way he was so careful with you that really gave it away. I love my boy, but he was absolutely more of a good time than a long time type of guy, if you catch my drift.”

  Erin snorted. “I knew that,” she said, glancing down at the ring on her finger. The enormous ruby shone beautifully. “I didn’t know he’d had it for that long, though.”

  “I think he wanted to give you the time you needed,” Miranda explained.

  “Could he be any more perfect?” Shelley sighed. “Okay, almost Mrs,” she added. “Time for you to sit in the chair.”

  “Way to make it sound like an execution, Shelley,” Maggie laughed.

  “Close enough,” Rose chuckled.

  There was a knock at the door and Miranda answered it to find a short woman with a couple of cameras slung around her neck and a padded bag on her hip. “Hi,” she said with a wide smile. “I’m Kendra, I’m the photographer.”

  Miranda smiled. “Come on in, the bride is just starting to get ready.” She checked the time and went back to the door. “Honey, I’m just going to go and fetch the flowers,” she told Erin. “I won’t be long.”

  “Thank you,” Erin smiled, sitting back as Shelley began applying foundation to her face and Kendra began setting up.

  *

  The preparation was soon done, and it was almost time to leave for the ceremony. Shelley finished zipping up Erin’s dress and carefully pulled her thick red hair from over her shoulder to fall down her back in relaxed curls. Erin turned around and Shelley stared.

  “Erin- wow,” she managed. “You look… Nope, can’t get past ‘wow’.”

  “I’d say we make a good pair, then,” Erin told her, because you look incredible too.”

  Shelley smoothed her hands down over her hips, settling the rich mulberry-coloured fabric of her bridesmaid dress. It was a beautiful, simple A-line dress that finished at the knee that made her feel sexy and powerful, and she loved it. But today wasn’t about her, so she just shook her head and turned Erin by the shoulders so they were standing together in front of the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door.

  “Holy…” Erin trailed off as she drank in their reflection. “Shell, you have truly outdone yourself with this,” she said, gesturing to her own face. She looked stunning, absolutely incredible, and she thanked her lucky stars for Shelley and her obsession with YouTube makeup tutorials, because she knew there would have been no way to have managed the same look on her own.

  Shelley had given her a deep red lip, a shade or two darker than the bridesmaid dress, and a soft pink blush to highlight the creaminess of her skin. But it was the eyes that Erin was fixated on. A dark plum was carefully applied to her lids, with a perfect tiny wing of eyeliner and lashings of mascara. She looked powerful and mysterious, and she loved it.

  She shifted a little under the weight of her dress and smiled. Cam was going to love it. It was a simple strapless sheath that hugged her curves and ended at her ankles, with a wide sweetheart neckline, thin straps and a low-cut back. It was fairly simple in design, but that was just the under-layer. Over the top of the sheath was the real feature of the dress: a gossamer-fine layer of lace, scalloped around the neckline and with tight sleeves to the wrist. It was simple, classic, and stunning, and Erin knew that Cam was going to go mad for her when he saw it.

  “You ready?” Shelley asked, watching Erin’s face.

  “Oh yeah,” Erin grinned in return, gathering the fabric of the dress up as she turned to leave the bathroom, only to hear raised voices coming from the cabin. She shared a worried look with Shelley and opened the door, stepping out to find-

  “Ebony?”

  The vampy woman standing in the middle of the room was momentarily speechless, then plastered a sickly smile on her face. “Congratulations, Emma.”

  Erin didn’t bite. “If
you’re looking for Cam, he’s not here.”

  “What? No, I just happened to be on a trip here with my boyfriend when I recognised Miranda and thought I would pop in and offer my congratulations.”

  “That’s very kind, thank you,” Erin told her, keeping her voice neutral. “Now if you don’t mind, we’re about to leave.”

  “Why don’t I walk with you-”

  “I will throw you into the ocean if you so much as think about,” Maggie said cheerfully, pushing past Ebony to take Erin by the shoulders. “My god, girl, you’re absolutely stunning. That man of yours won’t know what hit him.”

  “Thanks, Mags,” Erin smiled, attempting to ignore Ebony.

  “You really do look spectacular,” Rose added, getting to her feet and joining Maggie, helping to create a barrier between Erin and Ebony. “But come, we need to get you up to the lodge, and then we can take you to Cam.”

  “Okay,” Erin said, picking up her bouquet of wildflowers gathered from the area. She made sure she had everything, slipped her feet into her borrowed shoes and followed Shelley out of the cabin as excitement and nerves began to fill her belly.

  This was it; she was actually getting married!

  Their small party made their way up the path to the lodge, photographer in tow and happily snapping away, but they didn’t get far before Erin realised Miranda wasn’t with them. “Hey, where’s Miranda?” she asked, turning around, just in time to see Cam’s mom walking towards them. “Everything okay?” Erin called as the other woman drew closer.

  “It is now,” she said decisively. “Ebony and I had a little chat.”

  Erin laughed. “Remind me never to mess with you.”

  “That’s what moms are for,” she said sweetly, making Erin laugh again and Maggie snort.

  They approached the lodge and found two staff members waiting for them. The two men led the small group to a pair of golf buggies which had been adorned with wildflowers and white ribbons. The five women posed for some photos while they were there before piling in and being chauffeured along the track south towards the campsites. They moved slowly to take care on the track that was not much more than a gravelly walkway, but made steady progress through the trees.

  Shelley was humming ‘Going To The Chapel Of Love’ as they went, and Erin felt her nerves increase as they got closer.

  “Hey,” Shelley whispered, nudging Erin. “You doing okay?”

  “Yeah,” Erin replied, somewhat breathlessly, “just a bit nervous, you know?”

  “Why? You and Cam are the kind of couple marriage was made for.”

  Managing a weak smile, Erin pulled the small blue kerchief from where she had tucked it into the bodice of her dress and began wrapping it around the stem of her wildflower bouquet. “Same old fears, I guess,” she said, not meeting Shelley’s eyes. “My last marriage didn’t turn out so well-”

  “Stop,” Shelley said, startling Erin. “Don’t. You taught me the value of living in the now, so take your own advice and do it. You and Cam love each other. It’s a bit gross, actually.” She laughed at the look Erin gave her. “At the engagement party, when Cam was really drunk towards the end of the night? He told me that he believed you coming into his life was predestined. I mean, there was a whole heap of other soppy stuff at the same time, and a lot of it was hard to understand, but the gist of it was that everything he had done in his life, everything that had happened in yours had happened because you and he were meant to be together, on, like, a universal scale.”

  “He did not,” Erin laughed, her butterflies shrinking away.

  “Oh he most certainly did,” Shelley confirmed. “Trust in him, Erin. That man is obsessed with loving you, and anyone with eyes in their head can see that you’re just as bad.”

  “Gee, thanks, Shell,” Erin laughed again, pinning the blue fabric carefully with Maggie’s brooch. “You’re the queen of motivational speaking.”

  Shelley looked smug. “Of course I am, I’m like the idiot whisperer.”

  “Hey!”

  “Oh my god we’re almost there!”

  Sure enough, they were approaching a small copse of spruce that marked the edge of clearing that the ceremony was going to be taking place in. The lodge staffers pulled to a stop and moved through the trees to make sure everything was ready to go. Erin soon found herself in the middle of a huddle of happy women, all of them chattering a mile a minute.

  “Okay, enough,” Miranda eventually called, raising her hands to get everyone to settle. She then took Erin’s face in her hands and smiled beatifically. “Beautiful girl, I am so excited to welcome you into our family today. I can’t imagine anyone better suited for Cameron.” She pulled Erin close for a tight hug, before stepping back. “Good luck.”

  Erin smiled in reply and watched as Miranda took a step back. She then found herself being fiercely hugged by Rose. “Oh, my darling,” Rose said shakily, her eyes filling again with tears she tried valiantly to keep from falling. “Your happiness is our happiness, Erin. Jon and I both love you very much.” She kissed Erin on the cheek then left to join Miranda, the two women making their way out to the assembled guests who were waiting.

  A low whistle reached Erin’s ears and she turned to see Mike coming towards them, looking handsome in his dove-grey Chinos, white shirt and tan suspenders. His mulberry bow tie was a perfect match for Shelley’s dress, and he looked incredibly handsome. “Erin, you look beautiful,” he called as he strode towards them. “I think you just made me a hundred bucks.”

  “Looking pretty damn good there yourself, Mike,” she returned. “And what’s this about money?”

  Mike grinned. “Cam was stupid enough to bet that he wouldn’t cry. I don’t like his odds. Hi, gorgeous,” he added when he reached them, taking Shelley’s hand and kissing the back of it, his eyes hot as he drank her in. “You’re a vision.”

  Shelley giggled, leaned over and whispered something in Mikey’s ear that made him blush bright red, then stood back looking very pleased with herself. “So, are we all ready to go?”

  “Oh, uh, yeah,” Mike managed to get out, mentally shaking himself to focus. “Yes, we’re ready when you are. I’ll just give the guy with the speaker the signal, he’ll start the music and then you’re up.”

  Erin took a deep, calming breath, held it for a count of three and then released it again, closing her eyes to centre herself and gain some calm. “Okay,” she nodded, grinning at Shelley’s excited bounce while she switched her engagement ring to her right hand and watched as her best friend took Mike’s arm, allowing him to escort her to through to the trees. A moment later she heard soft music begin, an orchestral version of ‘Beethoven’s 5 Secrets’, and her nerves made a joke of her previous calm.

  Maggie took her hand and squeezed it firmly. “There is so much love between you and that fool boy,” she said gently, “that it’s like being in a room without air around you, at times. Have faith, girl, and let that guide you.”

  “You’re so wise, Mags,” Erin said, gratefully for the blunt advice.

  “Of course I am,” Maggie replied tartly. “I’m older than god; I have no excuse to be anything but wise.”

  Erin chuckled. “Come on, let’s go get me married.”

  “With pleasure,” Maggie smiled in return, and they followed the same path Mike and Shelley had just disappeared down. They caught glimpses of the guests through the trees as they reached the edge of the copse, and after checking to find her bridesmaid and groomsman halfway down the aisle already, she didn’t even hesitate, barely leaving Kendra enough time to get into position as she slipped her arm through Maggie’s and began her own walk down the aisle.