Bird Song (59 page)

I turned to look at Janice, who also seemed very pleased with the outcome of my hair, and proceeded to grab the remaining garment bag from off the closet bar.
 
I pulled down the zipper and gently removed the ivory gown from its vinyl enclosure.
 
It was another strapless gown, beaded with sequins and crystals all along the bodice, followed by a beaded trim, ending in a flowing shower of gauzy material.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Janice cooed as she looked at it from over my shoulder.

“It is,” I agreed, carefully removing the support straps from the hanger.
 
“Is this meant for pregnant women?”

She nodded happily.
 
“I’ve always loved this particular designer, and I cannot begin to tell you how pleased I was to find a maternity wedding dress in just this style.
 
With my blimp of a belly, I need something that can drape over it but not make me look like I’m wearing a tent.”

“Well, I don’t know much about dresses, but this definitely won’t look like a tent on you,” I agreed.

With Katie’s help, we managed to get Janice into her strapless slip, and then together we slipped the wedding dress over her head, carefully pulling it over her belly and hips.
 
I tugged the zipper up behind her and tucked the pull into the cleverly designed seam.

“What are you wearing on your feet, Jan?” Katie asked, turning around to look for Janice’s shoes.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Katie exclaimed, shocked at the idea of walking down the aisle barefoot.

Janice nodded.
 
“My feet are the size of boats, Katie.
 
Nothing I tried on looked right or fit, and since my feet seem to grow more and more bloated each day, I figured if I wanted to be comfortable on my wedding day, I’d be better off going barefoot.

“I already spoke to
Ameila
about it and she said she’d take care of everything, so I’m not wearing anything.”

Katie snorted and shook her head.
 
“How bohemian of you, Jan.
 
I guess it’ll make for an interesting story to tell your grandkids, but I can’t help but wonder what mother would have said.”

“I would think she’d be too busy complaining about my pregnant belly to care about my bare feet, Katie.
 
In any case, help me get my hair out of these curlers.
 
I don’t want to be late for my own wedding!”

Katie and I began to unpin the rollers from Janice’s hair and I watched as Katie quickly brushed out the tight spirals and began to pin them into lovely waves framing Janice’s face.
 
She tucked and tugged until every single strand of Janice’s hair was pinned up in a soft, upswept style that complimented her heart-shaped face.

“Okay,” I said once Katie stepped aside to admire her handiwork.
 
“I don’t know much about what else I’m supposed to do, but I wrote this part down.”
 
I grabbed a pen and a piece of folder paper from my bag and began to go down the list that I had written out.
 
“Now that I’ve helped you dress, I’m supposed to make sure that you’ve got the four traditional gifts a bride is supposed to have before she goes down the aisle.
 
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”

Katie began to fasten something around Janice’s neck and then nodded with satisfaction.
 
“There’s your something old, Jan:
 
Mother’s cameo choker from Gamma Barbara.”

I looked at my list and crossed that out.
 
“Okay, your dress is something new-” I crossed that out as well “-now all we have to do is get you something blue and borrowed.”

Janice laughed and pointed to the back of her legs.
 
“I’ve got blue covered—varicose veins aplenty behind my knees.”

“That doesn’t count, Jan,” Katie scoffed.
 
She turned to look at me and I saw her gaze lower to my hand.
 
“That’s it!
 
Right there, on your finger—you could loan Janice that ring of yours, Grace!
 
It’s blue and it’ll be borrowed.
 
That’s perfect!”

I looked at my hand and saw that she was speaking of the ring that Robert had given me, its deep blue stone shining brightly, even in the poor lighting of the tent.
 
I looked at Janice and saw that she disapproved her sister’s suggestion, but I saw the sound reasoning behind it.
 
I wiggled the ring off my finger and handed it to her.
 
“Here, Janice.
 
It’s exactly what you need and I don’t want you to start off your wedding missing anything.”

I saw Janice shaking her head, her refusal on the tip of her tongue, and I pushed the ring into her hand.
 
“Don’t say no, Janice.
 
It’s my job to make sure you get everything you need to make this day perfect, so don’t help me fail.”

Katie grabbed the ring out of Janice’s hand and began to push it onto her fingers, searching for one that allow the small silver band to slip on.
 
It finally slid down the pinky finger of her right hand and Katie and I sighed with relief.
 
“There,” Katie said, smiling, “everything is perfect.”

The flap to the tent pulled open and one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen stepped through wearing a simple gray dress that would have looked drab on anyone else, but on her, it looked like she was a walking thundercloud, demanding the attention of everyone around her.

“Janice!
 
Aren’t you a vision!”
Ameila
declared, her hands extending to take a hold of Janice’s.
 
“I do believe that James is probably the luckiest man on Earth.”

“
Ameila
, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you’ve done for me,” Janice said with sincerity.
 
“I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

Ameila
waved her hand at that.
 
“Stop—after you went out of your way to invite my family to your home for our first Thanksgiving and Christmas here, the least that I could do was offer you my hospitality.
 
Besides, we’re family, are we not?”

Janice smiled and nodded, and the two women embraced in a friendly hug.

Ameila
turned then to look at me and smiled softly.
 
“Grace, as always you eclipse everyone.
 
I commend your future step-mother on choosing such a fitting dress for you, and in such a striking color!
 
Just wait until Robert sees you in it.
 
He promised to be very good and not peek—it will definitely be worth the wait.”

Finally, she turned to address Katie, who seemed too shocked to do anything but stare in awe of the ethereal beauty that was
Ameila
.
 
“You must be Janice’s sister, Katie.”
 
When Katie only managed to nod,
Ameila
grabbed her hand in a reassuring gesture.
 
“I am
Ameila
, a family friend.”

I bit back a snicker when Katie couldn’t muster anything other than a squeak and then looked at
Ameila
.
 
I suddenly felt the urgent need to ask her about Lark jump to the forefront of my thoughts.
 
And then I saw it—it was so fast, I would have missed it if I had been as entranced by her as Janice and Katie were—she shook her head quickly, a warning not to broach the subject.
 
I frowned, but nodded in understanding.

“Well, I just wanted to check on the bride and let you know that your groom is waiting for you,”
Ameila
said with a forced smile that still managed to take your breath away.
 
“Grace, when you hear the music start, I want you to walk out of the tent and follow the white runner towards the gazebo, alright?”

“Alright,” I agreed.

“Katie, since you’re walking Janice down the aisle, I want you to count to twenty after Grace leaves and then it’ll be your turn.
 
Take slow steps so that the guests can appreciate Janice’s dress.”
 
When she noticed Katie’s downcast expression, she smiled at her and added, “We also want everyone to take notice of her hair and makeup, since you did such an excellent job on hers.”
 
She made it a point to emphasize “hers”, and then turned to leave.

“The next time I see you, you’ll be Mrs. Janice Shelley,” she said with a wink just before she exited the tent.

Janice beamed at those words, a delighted glow appearing on her face.
 
I took heart in that and waited for my cue.
 
As soon as I heard the music, my legs pulled me forward, and I was nearly out of the tent when Katie cried out, “Your shoes!”

Quickly, she found the box and helped me slip them on, helping to steady me as I teetered dangerously.
 
“Are you okay?” she asked after a moment, and I nodded.
 
“Good.
 
Now, hurry!”

She gave me a good shove and I stumbled out of the tent, my arms flailing like two demented windmills.
 
I would have fallen flat on my face in front of the guests had it not been for the strong hand that managed to grab a hold of one flapping arm just before my nose made contact with the white runner beneath my feet.

“You, my dear, are in need of an escort.”

I stared down at a pair of perfectly polished shoes and knew instantly who it was that had rescued me from making an utter fool of myself.
 
“You must be addicted to saving me,” I said jokingly as I raised my head to stare into his pewter eyes.

“I might be the one in need of saving by the way you take my breath away,” he replied, helping me to stand upright.
 
“However, there’s something that’s just not right.”
 
With lightning fast hands, he pulled out something from the pocket on his jacket and began to wipe my face.
 
Though he was quick, he was also infinitely gentle.

He stood back, scrutinizing me with a sight I knew could detect even the most microscopic of flaws, and sighed in satisfaction.
 
“That is much better.
 
I don’t like it when I cannot see your freckles—they are some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.”

A head popped out from a slit in the tent and we both turned to stare at Katie, who looked furious that I hadn’t managed to take one step beyond the tent yet.
 
“Why are you still here?” she snapped before turning to look at Robert.
 
Instantly, her demeanor changed and a smile began to spread across her face.
 
“And who are you,” she asked in a sultry voice.

I decided right then and there that I didn’t really like Katie very much.

“Hello,” Robert greeted, the smile he gave in return turning her cheeks bright crimson.
 
“My name is Robert
Bellegarde
; this is my family’s retreat, and this-” he looked at me with loving eyes “-is the love of my life.”

I choked on his words, and he gently patted my back, the smile never leaving his face.
 
Katie’s did, however, and for a split second I was reminded of another bottle-blonde who hadn’t taken the news that Robert had chosen me to fall in love with that well.

“The music has started—you should get going,” she said to me curtly before pulling her head back through the slit.

Robert chuckled as he held his arm out to me and I took it obligingly, grateful for his help and glad that he didn’t like the new and improved me; the old me suited him just fine.

I looked towards my dad standing at the top of the gazebo, anxiously awaiting his bride, and I nodded.
 
“Yes.”

We began walking, Robert’s pace matching mine step for step, and I smiled—a silly, goofy, weird and altogether un-Grace-like smile—and I didn’t care.
 
My dad looked so happy and young that I could almost picture what he had looked like when he had married my mom.
 
I saw Stacy sitting in the second row, her pale face glowing from her own brand of happiness.
 
She winked at me and nodded to her side.
 
I looked to the seat beside her and felt a burst of joy within me as I saw Graham sitting beside her, a coy smile on his face.

I turned to look at Robert, whose wide grin was enough to draw forth a rush of heat to my face that had nothing to do with the people staring at the odd couple we made.
 
Robert led me to my designated spot below the steps leading up to the gazebo and then took a seat next to
Ameila
, the only other unoccupied seat.
 
I felt a slight twinge of dismay, but as the melody playing changed to a more romantic tune, I shook the thought out of my head.
 
This moment was all about Dad and Janice.
 
There would be time for questions later.

Having never been to a wedding before, I had no basis for comparison when it came to how the vows and the ceremony went for Dad and Janice.
 
But from what I saw, what I heard, and what I felt during the brief ceremony, I knew that Dad and Janice had just shared one of the most happiest moments in their lives.