by Taryn Steele
We have about an hour to spare before we have to be at the church so we take our goodies and go back to Bevan and Lily’s condo where I will be spending the night. Bevan will be staying at our house with Jameson. I follow Lily up the stairs and into the spare bedroom where I will be sleeping. After we drop my bags off, she has me follow her in to her bedroom to show me where my dress has been safely hanging in front of her two closet doors perfectly fanned out on the floor, not a wrinkle in sight. With a big smile, I pull her in to a hug and thank her for keeping my dress safe. I’m so glad she doesn’t have pets otherwise I’d have been worried the whole time it was here.
We go our separate ways to get dressed and freshen up our faces for the rehearsal. As soon as I’m changed in to my blouse and pants I realize I can’t find my heels. I have four different bags with clothes in them, so I keep telling myself they have to be in one of them. But they’re not. I call Jameson to see if they are sitting by the door, so he can bring them with him. I call the house but there’s no answer. I call his cell phone and there’s no answer. I know he’s with Bevan, so I try him.
“Hello?”
“Bevan, are you with Jameson?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“I can’t find my black heels for the rehearsal and I think I left them at home by the front door.” I tell him.
“Ugh, okay. I’ll hand you over to J then.”
“Babe, I can’t find my black heels. Are they by the front door?” I ask.
“I don’t know. We’re halfway to the church already.”
“SHIT!”
Lily comes in to see what all of the commotion is about so I tell her I can’t find my heels I wanted to wear at the rehearsal and all I have are my flip flops. After she’s done laughing at my panic attack she reminds me that we may not wear the same size shoe but we are close enough that she’s sure she has something in her closet that will do for the night. I close my eyes and take a deep breath and smile. Thank God I have her.
I’M PACING BACK AND FORTH at the church waiting on one more bridesmaid. Mallory is driving in from New York, so I’m sure since it’s late on a Friday she’s stuck in some traffic. If she had a cell phone I could call her, but the girl refuses to get one, and I have no idea why. I’ll have to remind her it’s for instances like this, the one and only time I’m getting frustrating looks from our Catholic priest.
Marcie is chain smoking outside, giving me nasty glares. She hasn’t stepped foot in to the church yet. She has made no attempt to hide her dislike for the Catholic religion. If you ask her she’ll deny it’s not just the Catholic religion she dislikes. She’ll say all organized religions. I don’t give a shit. I was raised in this church and always wanted to get married in this church. She and Rick raised Jameson Catholic, so why she has a sudden dislike for it now, I do not know.
Fifteen minutes late but Mallory is here, running in the church full of apologies. I don’t care that she’s late, I’m just glad she’s here. Father Fuller doesn’t waste any time by telling the men to take their places, and he has us ladies lining up in the order I asked for. I laugh a little inside at how nervous my dad appears; little does he know I am too. I’m like my dad in a lot of ways. Tomorrow is going to be a double whammy for both us. We both hate being the center of attention. Walking down the aisle, all eyes will be on us. Oy Vey!
One trip down the aisle, twenty minutes of instruction and Father Fuller tells us we are done and he will see us tomorrow at two o’clock. We invite him to dinner at Russo’s because I was told that’s what you’re supposed to do but he kindly declines. I think Marcie scared him. I don’t blame him one bit.
Everyone is hungry and ready to head over to Russo’s for dinner, and I am definitely looking forward to anything to drink with alcohol in it. Thankfully Russo’s is only a fifteen-minute drive from the church. I’ll have to make sure someone points that out to Marcie, putting down her stupid “Taco Bell in my small-ass-apartment” idea.
Since Kayla was the one who suggested Russo’s for our rehearsal dinner, I made sure to request her as our waitress. For one reason, I trust her to not spit in our food, two she’s our friend and three because of reasons one and two she deserves a good tip.
The dinner is going smoothly. Kayla lets us know the food will be out in two short minutes. I am loving the privacy we have in the separate dining room. There are so many different conversations going on I think Jameson and myself will have whiplash by the end of the night from looking left and right to each end of the table.
Kayla and another waitress come in with large trays of hot food. It looks and smells great. Jameson and I had decided on a variety of dishes, hoping to please everyone. We chose sausage and peppers, pasta, chicken, pizza and salad. We can’t go wrong.
The room is mellowing out as everyone is filling up their plates and their bellies. I’m hearing lots of “Oh, this is good!” and “Yum!” I’m happy we chose to come here. Rick and my dad are big fans of sausage and peppers so I check with them to make sure they have some. They have big smiles on their faces and said it was really good. I’m happy again. Marcie is sitting directly across from Jameson and asks him to pass her the tray, as she’d like to try it. Bevan is telling everyone to butter a roll and put the sausage and peppers in it, as its “fucking awesome.”
In the middle of his conversation we hear coughing and what sounds like spitting. Marcie is spitting out her food on her plate, then vocally expressing her distaste for the sausage and peppers. Just as she is doing that Kayla is coming in to refill drinks. Instantly, I kick Jameson under the table to point out his mother’s inappropriate behavior. Everyone is silent and in shock of Marcie’s childlike behavior. I am completely embarrassed! I excuse myself from the table and go to the bathroom to take a few deep breaths. Shaking my head, I still cannot believe Marcie did that, yet part of me is not surprised either.
“You’re not good enough for my boy.”
July 5, 2003
WEDDING DAY!
Lisa wakes me up around 5am and tells me to get my butt in the shower while she makes some coffee. When I get out she goes to Dunkin Donuts to get us all some breakfast before Debbie the hairdresser shows up.
The morning is chaotic! Debbie is late because a client of hers wanted her hair done for a hospital procedure. Who does that? And why would she agree to that knowing about my wedding? She’s known me all of my life, I thought I would get a little special attention today.
Well, I guess we can eat while we wait. I only wish I had an appetite. I’m too nervous. I need alcohol and a cigarette.
Once Debbie finally arrives to do my hair I show her the picture from my trial with her last month of what I decided, so she can start.
Karolyn sits down at the table with me and tells me how great my hair is looking. Debbie thanks her, and then says she wonders if it should go higher. Karolyn nods her head in agreement and says, “Absolutely!” Go higher? What does that mean? My hair isn’t supposed to be high!?
A few minutes later Debbie tells me I’m done. I stand up and go to the mirror on the wall and gasp. I can feel the tears start to well up in my eyes. This is not what my hair is supposed to look like. I look like Cher in the movie “Mermaids”. Why do I have a beehive? I’m about to freak out. I run upstairs to the spare bedroom and call Jameson. Lily yells up to me asking if I’m okay. I yell down to her I’m fine. I don’t want her to come up here right now. We’re behind schedule and Debbie is supposed to do her hair next so we can go get our makeup done.
“Hello?”
“Hi babe.” I say, squeakily.
“Are you crying?” Jameson asks.
“My hair is so fucked up. I have a fuckin’ beehive! That’s not what I showed her! I told her to do what was in the picture and this is not at all what the picture looks like!”
“It’s okay hon, it’s gonna be okay. Just tell her you don’t like it and you want what you showed her in the picture.”
“Okay.”
“How is your
morning going? Did you get any sleep?”
“Everything is fine here. I slept okay.”
Lily comes upstairs. She can see I’m upset. Her hair is done and looks great; a cute up-do just like she wanted. I told the girls I didn’t care what their hair looked like. They could do whatever they wanted.
“Babe, I gotta go. We have to head to get our makeup done.”
“Okay. I love you and I will see you at the church!”
“Okay. I love you too! Bye!” I tell him.
“Hillary, what’s wrong? You don’t like your hair, do you?” Lily asks.
“No, it’s fucking horrible! This is not what I wanted! This is not what I told her or what I showed her in the picture. She was listening to Karolyn, not me!” I shout.
“Don’t worry. Go smoke a cigarette and I will talk to Debbie. We’ll go get our makeup done and when we come back we’ll have her fix your hair. It will be okay, I promise.”
I hope she’s right.
When we walk out the door to get our makeup done Debbie promises me she will fix my hair when we come back and it will be perfect. She said not to worry. I’m trying to believe her.
Karolyn walks in as Lily is getting finished. Her hair looks cute too, and Jameson’s cousin Amy walks in behind her.
What the hell?
“Oh-my-god, what happened?” Lily asks Amy.
“She burnt my forehead with the curling iron.”
“What the fuck is up with your hair?” I ask.
“I don’t know. She asked me what I wanted, I told her I didn’t care. She said she had a cool idea and this is what she did.”
Amy stands in front of me with two twisted buns on either side of her head. She looks like an alien version of Princess Leia from “Star Wars”. I can’t even worry about Amy right now. I just want to get out of here and get my hair fixed. Thank God, I love my makeup.
Once Debbie is done with everyone she calls me back in the dining room. She doesn’t say a word while re-doing my hair; which is unusual for her, because normally she is a chatterbox queen. She just focuses on getting my hair right. It’s not exactly what I wanted to but it’ll have to do because there is no time left.
As soon as I run upstairs to put my dress on, the florist shows up with the flowers. They refuse to leave until I see the flowers and approve them. I have total faith in The Secret Garden Floral Shop, and don’t feel the need to approve them but I do. I appreciate the courtesy they have for me as a paying customer. They are gorgeous; everything is gorgeous. I love the white and red sox lilies in my bouquet. I love all of the different colors of flowers in the bridesmaids. There is a bright yellow sunflower in each bouquet, bright pink and orange Gerbera daisies, and a couple of very pretty African violets. I just love all of it!
It’s total madness at Lily’s condo. The photographer is here; my flower girl Rory is here with her mom, my parents are also here along with my grandmother.
I’m starting to freak out now!
“Lily!” I yell.
“What? What’s wrong?” She asks.
“I’m freaking out! Please come outside with me. I need a cigarette!”
My dad joins us, and my mom stays inside annoying the photographer about pictures. I knew she would do that. I already warned her she did not pay for the photographer, so she does not get to pull him everywhere she wants getting pictures. I also told her I warned him about her too, so he already knows to ignore her direction.
The photographer comes outside and tells me his ideas for pictures here. I quickly tell him I am not the typical bride. I do not like the stupid pictures of me looking in the mirror at myself with my mother in the background looking back at me. I don’t want the picture of me looking out the window pretending I’m looking at something either. He thinks I’m funny. He seems happy because I assume he knows I’m gonna be a piece of cake. Glad to know I can please someone today.
No one has questioned me yet if I still want to go through with this and have to live the rest of my life with an extremely vocal mother-in-law. I’ve guarded my heart my entire life like some deep dark secret. Jameson is the first one I ever really let in on that secret. I trust him with it.
The limo arrives and I want to get out of here ASAP. We scramble, making sure we have all of our flowers, our purses, cigarettes and lighters too, of course.
The limo driver is very nice, asks if we need to make any stops along the way to the church. Everyone waits for me to say something because they all know I’m sad my grandfather won’t be at the wedding. If we weren’t already running late I would have stopped to see him, but we just can’t. I know he’s with me in spirit and I will make sure he sees all the pictures. Grandma Nowal will show him hers until I get back from the honeymoon.
OH-MY-GOD. WE’RE HERE. We’re really here.
We decide to stay in the limo while we watch people arrive. I see our Bevan and groomsman Ronny walk out of the church and walk up to the limo. I roll down the window, and they say “hi” and smile. They both tell me how beautiful I look. That makes me happy. I ask them how Jameson is and they assure me he is fine. I give Bevan my engagement ring because I want to put both rings on at the same time when we say our vows.
Before I know it, the limo driver is opening the door and all the girls are hauling out leaving me for last. The photographer wants me to stay in so he can get a picture of me getting out. The driver gives me his hand and assists me and my huge dress. My dad is waiting right by for me. I love my dad. This is totally not his thing, and it’s not mine either, so at least we have each other for this part, being the center of attention.
Before I can even move or say anything the photographer puts his camera down and says, “Oh no!”
What? What’s wrong? I’m looking around but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.
He comes running over to me and moves my dress. “You have car grease on your dress from the limo.” He tells me.
“Oh-my-god! No, no, no! Son-of-a-bitch! Why is this happening to me?”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Don’t worry. We can hide this in the pictures.” The photographer tells me.
“I haven’t even walked in the church yet and my dress is already ruined!” I shout, on the verge of tears.
My bridesmaids just stare at me in shock not knowing what to say or do. My dad looks at me and says, “Hillary, don’t worry. It’s not a lot. No one will know it’s there.”
“Yeah, but I know it’s there.”
I turn around to look at the open door of the limo to see where the grease could have come from. I can see the driver appears nervous like he is to blame. We can’t do anything now. It’s time to head in to the church.
We walk into the church and get lined up. I am panicking. I hate being the center of attention. I know my dad is nervous too. I don’t want to walk down the aisle. I can feel my chest getting tight. Everyone is going to be staring at me and I hate that feeling.
My dad interrupts my thoughts. “Ready, Poopsie Bear?” Dad asks.
Aw, my dad used to call me that all the time. He really knows how to pull at my heartstrings. I take a deep breath, and say, “Yes. Let’s go, but not too fast, okay?” I’m so nervous.
The doors open. I can feel everyone’s eyes burning a hole in the back of my head as we walk down the aisle.
I can see Jameson smiling at me. I’m almost there I keep saying to myself.
When we meet Jameson at the front my dad gives me a little kiss on the cheek, shakes Jameson’s hand and goes to his seat. Just like we practiced the night before we kneel down at the altar per Father Fuller’s instructions.
“I’m horny.” I whisper to Jameson.
He starts laughing, then I start laughing. Father Fuller keeps talking, not noticing us, thank God. No pun intended. I can see Bevan and Lily are looking at us trying to figure out what they missed.
Before we even realize how much time has passed the infamous question comes from Father Fuller. “If there is anyone here who feels thes
e two should not be married, speak now, or forever hold your peace.”
All eyes are on Marcie.
To be continued.
The End
First and foremost, I have to thank my husband and daughter. I spent a lot of time away at my desk putting this book together. If it wasn’t for their understanding and support I could not have made it through.
Judy, you were my life-line. I needed extra support and I got it from you. You helped me clean up my mess without knocking me down. You were praising and encouraging me along the way. I’d be pulling my hair out without your help. Thank you so much.
Kristen, thank you for calling me out on my overuse of exclamation points. You were on top of everything and quick to respond to all of my questions. Thank you.
Linda, thank you for letting me send you dozens of emails asking for your feedback. You have been such a wonderful support system, always cheering me on. I am so lucky to have you in my life.
Steph, I know I probably drove you crazy texting you and emailing you question after question. I appreciate your help so much. Thank you for always being honest and guiding me in the right direction.
To my beta readers, a lot has changed in this book since you first read it. I couldn’t have made any of the positive changes without your input. Thank you.
To my book cover models, Joe and Jess, thank you for being such good sports. Be ready to do it again for book two!
Thank you to everyone who has supported me during this adventure.
Connect With Me At:
http://authortarynsteele.com/