Groomless - Part 3 (20 page)

Luke held me close, and I felt him nod. “Do you like it?”

“Well, it’s a whole lot better than ‘Baby Got Back’ or ‘I Get Around.’” I said, laughing.

“Yeah…or ‘Hollaback Girl.’”

I could only offer him a half-smile as more tears poured out of my eyes. “Sorry. I guess I’m a little emotional,” I said, trying to regain my composure and make sense of everything I was feeling. I felt everything all at once, a hurricane of every possible emotion: fear, hope, sadness, and gratitude.
If this dance is the last thing we ever have, I’ll still be lucky to have had it,
I thought but didn’t have the courage to say.

“I picked something else too,” he said.

“I know. Your taste in ice sculptures is astounding. George Lucas would be proud.”

He laughed. “Not that.”

“What then?”

“I’ll show you in a few minutes. First, you have a promise to keep. The next dance isn’t for me,” he said as the song trailed away.

Right on cue, as the Beach Boys sang their last note, my father unhooked his oxygen and made his way to the edge of the dance floor.

I hurried over to meet him, took his hands, kissed his cheek, and whispered in his ear, “Are you sure you’re okay without your tank?”

“This is the most okay moment I’ve had in a long, long time,” he answered, grinning at me.

“I love you, Daddy,” I said, smiling brightly, without a tear in sight.

The opening strains of Beyoncé’s “Daddy” swirled around us as I rested one hand on his shoulder and placed my other in his for a sweet, old-fashioned dance. I watched the tears gather in his dark eyes that were so much like mine, and I smiled and nodded at him. There was nothing to say, for we were already saying it all, without even speaking a word.

“You’re going to make a beautiful bride,” my dad said.

“Thank you.”

“Your husband will be the luckiest man in the world.”

I smiled. “That’s so sweet, Dad. I know it’ll be years away, but I can’t wait to get married.”

He winked. “It might be sooner than you think.”

I chuckled. “Maybe.”

For the next few moments, I didn’t see the camera flashes. I didn’t hear the people chattering and whispering and sniffling. I was just there with my daddy, my hero, experiencing the moment we had both been waiting for, a gift to us both. It was truly priceless, and I cherished the wonderful moment as a tear fell down my cheek. Everyone in the ballroom was crying, so touched by our emotional dance. My dad was the first man in my life, and I had always been his little princess. From infant to toddler, tween to teen, he had been there, playing a huge role in the person I became. He supported me, taught me, and encouraged me, and he made a huge impact on my life. We had always had an incredible bond, and he was my world and meant everything to me, a lighthouse shining brightly in even the darkest of nights.

More tears fell from my face as I looked into his eyes in that heart-melting, emotional, sentimental, precious moment. I’d never forget the games we played and the times we’d shared. He was always around for me and loved me unconditionally. His words of wisdom were always such an inspiration to me. He always made me believe I could do anything.

As I danced with him in a song that seemed to last forever, I thought about more of those moments. I remembered when he brought home Sparky, a yellow lab and the first dog I could call my own. Dad taught me how to blow up empty soup cans using firecrackers and mud puddles, something Mom wasn’t really fond of. He taught me that everything would taste better with cheese on it except for chocolate cake. He taught me how to play chess and was there when I rode my bike for the very first time; I didn’t even know till I was halfway down the street that he had let go, and when I looked back, there was Daddy, cheering me on.

He was still proud to call me his daughter, even after I ruined Thanksgiving dinner so horribly that we had to order pizza. I remembered our nature walks and how much fun they were, how we rescued a butterfly from a spider web and how happy I was when we let it go and watched it fly away. He never laughed at me when I did stupid things, like when my friends and I tried to get the perfect tan by laying on strips of tin foil in our neon bathing suits, covered in baby oil and with our hair soaked with lemon juice. My father was a daredevil himself, a risk-taker, so he didn’t even get mad at me when I swam all the way across the lake or dangerously dived off some of the cliffs. We used to love to play Monopoly, and he always seemed to get the lucky roll that landed him right on Boardwalk. He didn’t get angry when I foolishly let go of the fancy kite he paid so much for and it ended up a mangled mess in some telephone lines; he just smiled and told me it would eventually free itself and fly away to Heaven.

Our long car trips were amazing, always loads of fun. We always planned to leave at seven a.m., be really close to leaving by eight, but usually only took off around noon. We put gas in our car and fueled ourselves with Starbucks coffee and Egg McMuffins. By the time we actually left our house and got through the drive-thrus to hop on the freeway, our car already looked like we had been living in it for weeks.

It brought another tear to my eye to realize my dad would not live to see another holiday. He had always loved Christmas, and he especially loved whipping out the colorful wrapping paper, ribbons, and tape and wrapping anything and everything he could get his hands on. He even individually wrapped my stocking stuffers, and at Easter time, he wrapped the candy in my baskets. He loved to see my face when I opened my things up and squealed in delight.

On Sundays, I'd climb into the La-Z-Boy recliner to watch football with him. I was happy to act like one of the guys, stuffing chips in my mouth and screaming for touchdowns, and all his buddies thought I was absolutely adorable. I wanted to go everywhere with my Dad, and when I couldn't, it broke my heart. I sure was Daddy’s little girl.

My dad had touched my life in a remarkable way. During all my worst times, my tragedies and trials and losses, he embraced me with all the love and support I needed to carry me through. He taught me, in word and deed, all about the power of love, hope, and faith. The strength he had exhibited during his own difficulties, especially the loss of his dear wife and even the illness that would take him from me, was something I would never forget, an admirable quality I only hoped I could imitate in life, if only in a small fraction. He was hardworking and honest, a friend to all, and I was proud to call him my father. That man I was dancing with, for the very last time, was my dad, my hero, my mentor, my defender, and my best friend. He would always be in my heart, no matter what I did or where I went, even if that nasty sickness took him from me.

Suddenly, the song ended, and my dad spun me around and looked at me with a huge smile on his face. “Thank you, my girl,” he said. “You made my last dying wish come true. I couldn’t be happier.”

I hugged him, then stepped back to take a long look at him. My heart melted as I wiped a tear from my eye, and I then helped him join my grandma and my aunt at their table.

I was surprised when the DJ called Luke and me to the center of the ballroom, and I looked at Kate, then Luke, wondering what they were up to.

“That’s us,” Luke said, touching my arm.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “We already had our dance, right?”

He grinned. “You’ll see.”

I smiled. “You are definitely full of surprises, Luke. What’s this all about?”

“I told you I picked something else, other than the Beach Boys and Darth,” he said. “I just settled on that song yesterday, if I’m being honest, but this is different.”

“Different how?” I asked, arching a suspicious brow at him.

“Different because this is a choice I made when I was seventeen years old. It’s about time I do something about it, don’t you think?”

“Huh? I don’t know what—”

Before I could utter another word, Luke reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a white velvet box. He flipped the lid open, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There, in that tiny box, was the little promise ring, the one he’d given to me at graduation, the one I’d thrown at him in anger. The gold band brought back so many memories. Before he broke my heart, I refused to take it off. There was still the tiny diamond chip, a placeholder for the engagement ring he wanted to buy for me when he could afford one. I remembered checking my hand constantly, always paranoid that I would lose that precious thing every time I washed my hair in the shower. I worried so much that it, along with my dreams, would be washed down the drain. That ring was the most precious thing I’d ever been given, until the night he broke up with me and I threw it at him.

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, trying to fight the flood of terrified hope, the love that rose in my chest, but I couldn’t convince myself that it wasn’t real.

“I can get you a better ring than this now,” he said, drawing a light round of laughter from the crowd, “but I want to ask you with this one because I put this ring on your finger the day we graduated. Five years ago, I gave you a reason to walk away from it and from me. The thing is, I won’t ever do that again. A promise is a promise, Jay. I meant it then, and I mean it more now. You’re the only woman I would ever want as a bride, the only person I want to share my life with. Planning this crazy fake reception just reminded me of how alone I’ve been without you, of how much I’ve missed you. I didn’t even realize how much of a piece of me you are until I bumped into you again, in a bridal shop, of all places. You asked me for a favor, and you just stormed back into my life and filled all the empty spaces I didn’t even realize I had. You make me laugh, and you don’t take any shit off me. You even call me Mr. Tits, and I don’t mind a bit.”

The people in the crowd burst out laughing at that, except for my aunt, who only held her hand over her mouth and said, “Oh my!”

When they quieted down, he continued, “No one else knows me like you do. No one else would lie about her own birthday just to freak me out. No one else would look up from the strain of pulling all this together, just to give her dad a perfect goodbye, and made sure there was something on the menu specifically for me. When you came out of the fitting room in this dress, with that starry look in your eyes, I knew I would give anything in the world to have you. I wanted you to look at me like that again, after all those years we wasted. No one and nothing else will ever be as important to me as you are, Jay. It just took me way too long to realize it.”

I pressed my fingers to my lips, not sure whether to weep or laugh. Suddenly, it wasn’t fake at all. It was real all along, from the moment I left him that message. I really never was groomless, and in the end, the joke was on me.

Luke dropped to one knee before me and took my hand. “I will love you forever and always. Will you marry me, Julia June Cross?” he asked.

His smile was so heart-wrenchingly uncertain that I wanted to kiss him right then and there. I didn’t hesitate one second. I just dropped to my knees, with that vast, silken skirt billowing up around me like a giant marshmallow, and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I don’t know what’s worse, the fact you’re proposing to me while I’m wearing an actual wedding dress or the fact that you said ‘Mr. Tits’ in your romantic speech,” I said, then kissed him. “But I’ll take it. And as for a better ring, there isn’t one. You gave me this one first, and you kept it all these years because it meant something to you, because it meant as much to you all along as it meant to me back then. I couldn’t have done any of this without you there to hold me up, make me laugh, making this as okay as it can be for me and my family. I’m already yours, Luke. I have been all along. You just never noticed until now. I guess the wedding gown got your attention.”

“I want you to know that I already asked your dad’s permission.”

“How gentlemanly of you, Mr. Tits,” I said with a coy smile, causing the entourage of people around us to laugh again.

Luke looked over at my father, who had stars in his own eyes. “Wanna tell her what you said to me, Dean?”

Dad smirked. “I said, ‘It’s about time you got your head out of your ass, boy.’ At least he’s a Mets fan, girlie. And look at this party he threw? Can’t do much better, if ya ask me.”

I laughed at his natural bluntness, something I’d obviously inherited from him.

“That’s not all, Jay,” Luke said.

I rolled my eyes and looked at him curiously. “What else could their possibly be? This is already the icing on the cake, no pun intended.”

“I don’t just want to marry you, Jay. I want to marry you
tonight
.”

“What!?”

“Hell, we have everything. There’s cake and plenty of witnesses, and even Lord Vader and the Trumpster are here. I took the liberty of having our legal department work up the license for me. You just need to sign it.”

“You’re kidding,” I said, astonished.

“Nope. This way, your dad can really walk you down the aisle. I’m sure Liz will let you borrow the bouquet again, just for the ceremony,” he said, looking over at her.

She nodded and held the peonies out in front of her, but I didn’t fail to notice her white-knuckled grip.

I covered my mouth with both hands and choked out a sob. I never could have dreamt up a wedding so perfect. I was about to marry the man I loved, in the most spectacular venue I ever could have imagined, in a dress and shoes and a hairpiece far more expensive than I could ever afford on my own. Not only that, but my daddy was going to be there to see it.