3 Madness in Christmas River (22 page)

It fit me to a tee.   

As I looked at my perfect figure in the mirror, I thought about how funny life was sometimes.

A few weeks ago, I had been devastated over my destroyed wedding dress, sure that my wedding was ruined along with it.

But now, I realized that there had been some sort of divine purpose behind it.

All along, this had been the dress I was supposed to wear for today.

Even Kara, who hated the idea of me wearing a dress from the 80s, was speechless when she walked in and saw me in it.

“Jesus. You’re a knock-out, Cin,” she said, walking in and holding her freshly-manicured fingers up to her face. “You look absolutely stunning.”  

“She’s right,” Marie said, coming up behind me in the mirror. “You look gorgeous, hon.”  

I reached out to squeeze both of their hands.  

Marie patted the top of my hand and smiled, just a hint of sadness behind her eyes.  

The relationship between Aunt Marie and me would never be the same after everything that had happened. I had seen a side of her that I wish I hadn’t. And I knew something about her now that I wish I didn’t.

But despite it all, she was still family.

And if there was one thing I believed, it was that you stuck by your family.  

And even though Marie wasn’t the person I thought she was, I tried to focus on the good things about her.

What would happen to her in the months ahead was still undetermined. Daniel couldn’t save her from facing what she did all of those years ago. Nobody could.

It was possible that she’d spend some time in jail.

And though I didn’t agree with what she had done, I didn’t want her to go to jail any more than she did.

But sometimes, you had to take what you were given. You had to take responsibility. And you had to be thankful for the good moments you had.

“It means so much to me that you’re both here,” I said

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, honey,” Marie said, brushing away a few tears.

There was a soft knock at the door. Kara went over and opened it.

She started laughing.

“Cin, the handsomest man I’ve ever seen is at the door. Should I let him in?”

“Hell yes, you should let him in,” I said.

Warren stepped inside the room.

He looked more dapper than I had ever seen him. He wore a crisp collared shirt, a pressed brown jacket with slacks, a pair of shiny shoes, and to top it all off, a bolo tie.

I whistled.  

“Well, look at you!” I said, going over and hugging him. “Don’t you look
sharp
.”

He hugged me and then pulled away. He held my arms up and then spun me around, getting a good look.

He shook his head.  

“Cinny Bee, I’m at a loss,” he said. “You’re even more beautiful than…”

He trailed off, tears coming to his eyes.

“If your mother could just see you now,” he said, squeezing my hands. “She’d be so proud.”

Now tears were coming to my eyes.

“Listen, girls, do you think you all could give me and my grandpa a minute alone?” I said.

“Of course,” Kara said, going toward the door. “I’ve got to get changed anyway.”

A minute later, the room was cleared. I smoothed out my dress and carefully took a seat on the sofa. Warren sat next to me.

I took a deep breath.

I didn’t know if now was a good time to talk about it with him. Maybe I should have waited until after the wedding.

But maybe there would be no good time to tell him that I was moving into Daniel’s house.

I had run through all the options in my head at least a dozen times and was prepared to do whatever Warren felt most comfortable with. Daniel was more than happy to have Warren move in with us, but I didn’t know if that was something that he wanted to do.

The other option I thought of was that Warren could keep living at the house we were at, and I’d keep paying the mortgage on it. I could check in on him every day, and it wouldn’t be much different than it was now. I just wouldn’t be living there anymore. 

I loved my grandpa so much. I didn’t want him to feel left out, or that I didn’t care about his wellbeing.  

But getting married meant my life was changing.

Maybe he could see the anxiety of it all on my face, because he started the conversation first.

“I’m glad we have a moment to talk,” he said, patting my leg. “There’s a few things I’ve wanted to tell you, but with everything going on, I haven’t really had a chance.”

I held back on my long speech about how all I wanted was to have him feel welcome and comfortable.

The edges of his mouth drooped, and a sad expression came over his face.

“What things?” I asked.

“Well, first, I want to say that I’m sorry about the whole Sully thing. I—”

“Why on earth would you apologize to me about him?”

He rested his head glumly on the palm of his hand.  

“I should have seen him for what he was,” Warren said. “I should have protected you from that corrupt son of a bitch. You know, if he were here right now, I’d—”

“I know you would,” I said. “But sometimes you just get blindsided by a person. And in this case, we all were.”

He looked out the window.  

“Sully’s going to get his,” I said. “Daniel will see to that.”

He sighed.

“I’ve just known him my whole life,” he said. “It seems like you should know a thing or two about a person if you’ve known them since you both were wearing short pants.”   

“It’s behind us now,” I said, patting his hand. “Let’s not look back, okay? Just forward, from here on out.”

He nodded, then exhaled slowly.

“Well, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about,” he said.

The sad expression was still there on his face, and it was beginning to scare me.

“What is it, Grandpa?” I asked.

He looked up, forcing a smile.

“Maybe it’s all these old memories that keep coming up with you getting married,” he said. “I’ve just been thinking a lot about your Grandma Mae lately. About the honeymoon we took. She was a real adventurous soul, your grandma. She loved life so much. I guess I’ve just been missing her a lot lately. I always thought she’d be here getting old with me. I didn’t think I’d be alone at my age.”

He squeezed my hand.

“I’ve just been thinking that I might not have that many years left on this earth, and that, well, hell, I oughta make the most of them, don’t you think? I better live while I still can.”

My stomach tightened.

“What are you saying?” I asked.

His eyes brimmed with tears.

“I’m leaving, Cin,” he said. “I’m leaving Christmas River.”

Chapter 67

“What?” I said after a few moments of stunned silence.

“I’m going to Scotland for a year. Larry and Sheila are coming too. Larry’s got some cousin that started up a brewery there. We’re going to go learn about beer in the old country.”

I looked down at the ground.  

I hadn’t seen this coming at all.

It took me a few minutes to collect myself.

“But… but do you think that it’s a good idea?”

My mind was overwhelmed with worried thoughts. Images of Warren tripping down some old flight of stairs, of him slipping on the old cobblestone, of him drinking too much in a pub and not being able to find his way home.

Of him falling into a vat of beer.

I didn’t like thinking in such terms, but Warren was old, and he was getting older every day. He had lived with me the last few years because I was worried about him. Now he was moving halfway around the world, thousands and thousands of miles away.  

“But what if—”

“Cinny,” he said. “A person has to live. That’s what your grandma always said. And since she died, and since your mom died, I’ve felt like I lost a little bit of spark in my life. It’s time I get some of it back.”

“But—”

“I know, I know,” he said, patting my hand. “But I’m going to be okay. This is just the kind of thing an old man like me needs.”

“I’m just worried that—”

“Everything moves, Cin,” he said, interrupting me again. “Life’s a river, and your old grandpa’s been stuck in the reeds too long. You’re moving on with your life, and I realized that I have to move on with mine too, as long as I’ve got one to move on with.”

I bit my lip, a few tears spilling over the rim of my eyes, trailing down the side of my face.

“Now, c’mon,” he said, brushing them away and smiling. “We can’t have the bride crying.”

I nodded.

“Daniel and I had planned on you living with us,” I said. “Are you sure we can’t talk you out of this? What about when you come back?”

Warren shrugged.

“I’m not planning that far ahead,” he said. “I think I’ll just let the wind take me where it will, like the free man I’ve always wanted to be.”

I let a few moments pass while I tried to stop the flow of tears.

I let out a short, sad sigh.

He was right.

No matter how much I would worry about him, Warren was his own man. And he had to do the things he wanted to do. He had to do the things that made him feel alive.

And even though I was sad, I was proud of him for doing something like this.

For having the courage to live.

I wiped away the tears. 

“So when do you leave, old man?” I asked.

“January,” he said.

“So soon,” I said.

“Naw,” he said. “It’s been twenty years coming.”

He put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me tight.

It was hard, moving on with life. It was so easy to stay in the same place when it became comfortable and easy. But if you stayed in that place long enough, the joy and zest of life faded a little bit. Without adventures and changes in the scenery from time to time, life could grow stale and old.

And even though it was hard, sometimes moving on meant letting go of something, or someone, a little bit.

I would have to let Warren move on.

Just like he would have to let me move on.

“I’m proud of you, old man,” I said.

He smiled, and then kissed me on the cheek.

“Not as proud as I am of you, Cin,” he said. “Not by a long shot.”

Chapter 68

“I want to take you somewhere.”

I was more tired than I had ever been in my entire life.

But I also hadn’t ever been so happy.

And I didn’t want the night to end.

The wedding had gone off without a hitch. The day had been crystal clear, all bright blue skies and silver snow. We said our vows in Christmas River’s Catholic Church. The aisle was lined with candles, poinsettias, and white roses, courtesy of Penny the florist, who had really come through. Sunlight streamed through the church’s stained glass, and everyone I loved most in the world was there with us.

Daniel was looking more handsome than I’d ever seen him in his suit and cowboy hat. When he saw me walking down the aisle, there were tears in his eyes.

Huckleberry was the ring bearer, and trotted up to the altar like he was born for the job.

I trembled as I gazed deep into Daniel’s eyes, and we promised to always take care of each other. To always be there for one another, no matter what. Through sickness, health, and Gingerbread Junction competitions.

For the rest of our lives.

In that moment, I felt that even though I was in my mid-thirties, my life was only just beginning.

The reception was just as lovely as the ceremony and was held in the Christmas River Lodge’s majestic grand room. There was a crackling fire, good music, dancing, and plenty of delicious Pacific Northwest food and drink. The finished Cinderella gingerbread castle that Kara and I had made for the wedding sat proudly by the cake, and was by far the grandest gingerbread house we had ever made.

Warren had brewed a keg of special wedding beer just for the reception, and judging from the feeling of joy that filled the room, all of our guests were thoroughly enjoying the brew. Which inflated the old man’s ego to no end.

Even the sour Mrs. Billings, who I had invited out of sheer politeness, cut a rug out on the dance floor after having a pint of ale.  

It made me happy to no end seeing that everyone was having such a wonderful time. And when I saw Owen and Chrissy dancing together during a slow song, I knew that he was on the track to recovering from his heartbreak.

And that she was, too.

I thought about what Owen had said about love. How it was no good, that you fell in love with the wrong people and only ever ended up getting hurt. That love only ever made a fool out of you.

And maybe he was right.

But as I swayed with Daniel during our first dance to the soulful singing of Otis Redding, I realized that even when you got hurt, love was worth it.

For a moment as perfect as this, it was all worth it.

By the end of the night, I was exhausted. I felt like I had been spinning and twirling for hours, dancing on the clouds.

The night boiled down. All the guests left, and it was time for Daniel and me to call it as well. But instead, he told me to grab my jacket.

That he wanted to take me somewhere.  

And even though I was beyond exhausted, I didn’t want the night to end.

I didn’t ever want to lose the magical feeling that was stirring in my heart.

Chapter 69

I bundled up in a fur-hooded knee-length down jacket. I grabbed the present that I had wrapped earlier, stuffed it inside the coat, and met Daniel outside by his car.

We drove for a while toward Christmas River in the darkness. We finally pulled off to a side road, and then he parked the car on the shoulder.

I looked around, unsure what we were doing out in the middle of the woods.

“You know, there’s a fire going back in our lodge room right now,” I said, rubbing my hands together for warmth. “Sounds pretty good right about now.”

“C’mon,” he said. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

I smiled, a sense of anticipation and excitement growing in my chest.