It was business as usual, but we managed to get things cleaned up and close the café half an hour early that afternoon. We gathered what we needed for the wedding and rushed up to Scarlett’s new home with only three hours until she was supposed to be at the church.
Ada Lou’s truck pulled out behind us when we passed the trailer park, making a short convoy of four. Scarlett was the first one out of her car when we reached the white-framed house with a wide front porch and a fenced yard. It was uncanny how much it reminded me of the house where I had grown up, right down to the white wrought-iron gate that squeaked when she opened it.
She motioned for us all to follow her, and she unlocked the front door. “Y’all come on in. We still don’t have a lot of furniture, but theMendoza family all helped us get the walls painted and new flooring put down.”
“Honey, all that can come later,” Nancy assured her with a pat on her back.
Ada Lou brought in a pan of still-warm cinnamon rolls. “Right now, the important thing is a bed. You’ll get bruises if you have sex on the floor. And a table to put these on. You have to remember to eat.”
Rosie shocked us by saying, “Women cannot live on sex alone. Scarlett must have food.”
“I cannot believe you said that,” Scarlett gasped.
“Me neither,” I said.
Tressa giggled, and soon all of us were laughing.
When the noise died down, Rosie said, “I’m not a nun. I know what sex is, and I should warn you that if you try it on the kitchen table, you will get splinters on your bottom.”
“Have you been drinking?” Nancy asked in a low voice.
“Spoken like a true smart aleck.” Ada Lou held up a palm and high-fived Nancy.
“Not a drop,” Rosie said. “I’m helping Scarlett get over her nerves. Laughter is good for a bride on her wedding day, as well as it is for the soul. Now, I’ll put on a pot of coffee, and we’ll have a cinnamon roll. Then Scarlett is going to take a shower. Carla, your first job is to be sure that she puts on deodorant. We can’t have a sweaty, stinky bride walking down the aisle in that beautiful gown.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “I’ll personally hand it to her and watch while she uses it.”
Scarlett set a wooden mug tree with six mismatched cups hanging from it on the table. The scent of coffee blended with the cinnamon rolls. “I thought we might need a little jolt of caffeine, so I got it ready to go before I left this morning.” She brought out a stack of paper plates and napkins. “We will buy real dishes when—”
Her phone rang, and she pulled it out of the hip pocket of her jeans. “Hello, darlin’. I’m home and the ladies are here with me.”
Everyone sat down around a table with six chairs except Tressa. She waited for the coffeepot to stop gurgling and filled all the cups. By that time, Scarlett had ended the call and joined us.
“Grady told me that it’s a good thing we haven’t bought a lot of stuff, because there are already two tables full of gifts and there’s more coming,” she said. “I can’t take all this in.”
“You are marrying into a family and community that loves you,” Ada Lou said. “Now, let’s get busy on these rolls. Scarlett doesn’t want to be late for her own wedding.”
In that moment, much like the revelation I’d had at the church, there was no doubt that Lady Luck had not deserted me but brought me to a new family and community—exactly like she had all the women sitting around the table with me. This was where I wanted to live the rest of my life and raise my and Jackson’s children.
Scarlett and Grady’s wedding was the exact opposite of Frank and Paula’s, which had been held at Aunt Minnie’s house. The whole congregation seemed to be bursting at the seams with love and smiles. No one was half lit like they had been the day that Frank stumbled over his vows.
The front pew had been reserved for our family—Ada Lou, Nancy, Rosie, Tressa, and me, with enough room at the end for Jackson.
“Do you still want to go to the courthouse?” he whispered.
“I do not,” I said without a split second’s pause. “And now I understand what you mean about raising a family here.”
“Are you ready to do that now? The church is decorated and the preacher is here.”
“This is Scarlett’s day, not mine—and besides, I want your mother to like me someday. I don’t see her in the crowd, do you? She might throw a hissy fit if her only son gets married in a small place like this, but she would definitely never forgive me if we didn’t let her be a part of the ceremony.”
“You’ve got a point there,” he said with half a chuckle.
The background music from “When I See You” by Aaron Watson filled the church. The words had already begun when the preacher and Grady came from the choir section to stand between the two candelabras. All the lights were switched off except for the spotlight at the very back of the church. Candles in the windows and at the front of the church gave a warm glow to the small building. Then the back doors opened, and there was Scarlett, standing there like an angel in white bathed in the spotlight.
Grady slowly walked down the center aisle toward her, mouthing the words to the song the whole way. When he reached her side, the preacher raised his arms in a gesture for everyone to stand. Grady tucked Scarlett’s arm in his, and together they made their way down the aisle, arriving in front of the preacher at the very moment the song ended. Scarlett handed her bouquet to Rosie, and the couple turned to face each other. They held hands across the space separating them with their eyes locked on each other. I wondered if they felt like they were the only people in the sanctuary.
“Who gives this bride to be married to this groom?” the preacher asked.
