Chapter 3 - The Wedding
I woke before sunrise on the wedding day. I was in a small back room wrestling with my tie when Marcus walked in.
"Need help?"
"I raised six girls," I said. "You'd think I could handle a piece of fabric by now."
He fixed the knot for me. "You handled the hard part already. Today's about Nora. But I know what it took to get her here."
I had to blink hard.
The door opened and Ruby walked in like she was heading into battle. "If Diane makes a scene," she said, "I'm walking outside before I say something I can't take back."
Behind her, Willow appeared in a soft blue dress, twisting her bracelet nervously around her wrist. "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Do I have to hug her?"
The room went quiet. I put both hands on her shoulders. "No. Nobody gets a hug just because they share your blood."
Her shoulders dropped, relieved. "Okay."
Sadie kept asking if everyone had eaten, which meant she hadn't eaten.
Then the doors opened, and I knew Diane had arrived before I even saw her — the whole room changed. Voices dropped. She walked in wearing a glittering dress that belonged at a gala more than a daughter's wedding, diamonds at her throat, Grant beside her, polished and expensive, his family trailing close behind.
Diane spotted Nora and threw her arms open. "My beautiful girl!"
Her voice carried across the entire room. "I dreamed of this day," she said, loud enough for Grant's whole family to hear. "You have no idea how long I've dreamed of seeing you like this."
Nora smiled — a smile I recognized instantly. Polite. Not warm. "I'm glad you made it," she said.
Diane touched her cheek, then turned to me. "Robert." Her eyes moved over my suit. "You look tired."
"Fifteen years of parenting will do that."
Grant shifted uncomfortably behind her. Diane's smile tightened. "Don't start today."
"I wasn't planning to."
"This is Nora's wedding."
"I know. That's exactly why I'm here."
Her eyes sharpened. "You always were good at making yourself look noble."
My jaw tightened. Nora caught my eye over her mother's shoulder. Not yet.
So I swallowed the answer I wanted to give.
The ceremony began soon after. Nora slipped her arm through mine, and for one second I saw the girl on the stairs again.
"You're squeezing my hand, Dad," she whispered.
The doors opened and everyone stood. When we reached Marcus, he looked at Nora like he understood exactly what she'd survived without needing her to explain a word of it.
The officiant asked who was presenting her.
I opened my mouth. Nora squeezed my arm first. "The man who raised me does," she said.
May you like
The room murmured. I kissed her cheek and stepped back.
Diane was no longer smiling.
