“You just have the jitters, girl. It happens to lots of people. You’re not even twenty-five and you’re committing your whole life to one guy. I think it’s natural to wonder if you’re making the right move.”
I was nodding my head, even though no one could see it. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I’m right.” After a second, she asked, “Are you maybe still hung up on Zack?”
I knew deep down she was right. Even after feeling like I hated the man and even after all the bullshit we’d been through—and even though he had a serious girlfriend living with him—some stupid part of me deep inside entertained the notion that we would try again. Because some stupid fucking part of me believed we belonged together.
“Yes. I think that’s maybe why.”
“D…Zack would be a shit husband. You know this. He never treated you right. And you can excuse his behavior based on his alcoholism, but he doesn’t deserve a pass.”
“You’re right.”
“Yep. Braden is the perfect guy—Grade A Husband Material. Zack is Grade D, baby. Women would fight over a guy like Braden—and you’d be crazy to let him go.”
He really was the perfect man—and Roxy was right. Zack was not the guy for me, even though some dumb part of me was still hung up on him. Thanks to my dear friend, I resolved to be the best possible wife I could be and I would be gratefulthat a man like Braden had fallen in love with me. I would make this work.
Even though I still wondered if we were right for each other.
Twin Lakes,Colorado, would be any girl’s ideal wedding spot. The view was breathtaking—pristine blue lakes only outshined by tall peaks, some of the state’s highest. I remembered being there one time when I was a teenager when my grandparents had taken my mom and me on a weekend trip to look at autumn leaves. When they took us, we usually went to places a little closer by, but that particular year, they took us into both Chaffee and Park counties, up and down and all around—and the site of Twin Lakes at the base of the notorious Independence Pass had always stuck in my memory.
So when my mother had suggested it as a venue a year earlier, I hadn’t hesitated. In fact, that was probably the one thing I hadn’t wasted time pondering. Braden had jumped at it too, telling us that the lakes there fed into the Arkansas River not far from the headwaters—the same Arkansas River that flowed through the north side of Dalton that he loved so much.
My mother had also managed to find an officiant who lived in nearby Leadville—and that was good, because, with our entire wedding party spending the night in the tiny town of Twin Lakes, we had taken up every last bed for rent. Any guests coming to the wedding would have to stay overnight in Leadville, Buena Vista, or drive that morning to arrive at one PM. If it had been later in the year, they could have camped but it was still too cold. As it was, we weren’t going to have the outdoor wedding I’d wished for, becausethe forecasted high for that Saturday was 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
But, before all that, we had the rehearsal. When I saw the spot, I knew I owed my mother so much for all her time and effort. It wasn’t enough that we’d paid for it all. She had gone above and beyond the call of duty. The venue was a huge barn with a breathtaking view of the lake, and it didn’t take long for me to figure out that this barn had never been used to store animals. It had been created as an event venue. They had a large grassy meadow where they often held outdoor weddings and that would have been perfect, but it wasn’t warm enough for us. Instead, they’d set up a huge heated tent in that space so it was the best of both worlds. It had huge windows made of vinyl, so we could still see the surrounding beauty as we said our wedding vows and, afterward, our reception would be held in the spacious barn.
My mother told me they usually had everything, including the wedding, in the barn for events held this time of year—but she’d known my dream had been to be outdoors—and the tent was the closest we’d get.
The photographer, also there to get candid pre-ceremony shots, promised we could try to get some photos outdoors if we could all handle the cold, using the pristine lakes and majestic mountains as backdrops.
Of course, it would depend upon if the women in the party—who didn’t have tuxedo jackets like the men—could handle it.
Still, before that, as we drove up to over nine-thousand feet in elevation, my breath hitched. The first thing that caught my eye as we began to climb was the sign announcing Independence Pass was still closed for winter, making me wonder when it would open. Would we have to deal with snow?
Twin Lakes itself, though…it reallywasthe perfect spot, even if the timing wasn’t ideal. There was snow everywhere except on the highway and the peaks were capped with it. The lakes still had ice on them, although much of it had melted along the shore.
As Braden pulled up to the lodge where we’d be staying, I said, “Maybe we should have chosen Hawaii.”
When we got out, he paused at the trunk of his car. “I dunno, Dani. I think this is pretty perfect.” With that, he put an arm around me and kissed me on the temple in reassurance. “Besides, I’d marry you anywhere. All that matters is the pictures we get for our kids to see down the road.”
Fuck.Kids?We’d talked about maybe having children in the future…but saying something like that freaked me out a bit.
After unpacking in our separate rooms, we met up and headed to the venue. After the wedding, Braden would be moving to my room and, the next morning, we’d head for I-70 and take it to Denver International Airport to begin our honeymoon. Fortunately, my mother was going to take the wedding dress home so I wouldn’t have to lug it to Mexico and back.
Slowly, the wedding party arrived at the venue, and it felt like we’d doubled the population of that tiny dot on the map: first, there was my mother and her boyfriend. I’d only learned the day before that she was dating the principal of the school in Nopal—and it had been hush-hush initially because he was in the middle of a messy divorce. He hadn’t been the principal when I’d attended but had only taken the job two years earlier when his family had moved from Holly, a town close to the Colorado-Kansas border, famous for being the lowest spot in the state.
Then there were the guys—Zack and Cy. Both were allowed plus-ones, but neither brought anyone with them…and I wondered why Zack hadn’t brought Ellie along. Cy had joked about “meeting women,” and maybe he’d been serious about it. Then there was Roxy, who brought her new boyfriend Dean from the nu metal band MAIMD, and Braden’s immediate family—mom, dad, and sisters.
But that wasn’t all. We’d chosen as the ring bearer and flower girl Braden’s second cousin’s adorable four-year-old twins, so also along were his second cousin and his wife, plus two other children. Then, of course, my grandparents were there. My grandpa would be the one walking me down the aisle.
We’d planned to have the rehearsal at four o’clock that afternoon and most of us checked into the accommodations we’d booked beforehand. The folks in charge of the wedding were located down a side road about half a mile from the center of town. We’d have both the wedding and reception there—the reception and meal in the barn itself—so, although we’d have all wedding activities there, we’d be eating our rehearsal dinner in Twin Lakes at a restaurant that could accommodate us all.
Again, my mother had gone above and beyond. Because of that, I’d asked her to think about where she and her boyfriend would like to spend a week over the summer, all expenses paid. At first, she told me no, because she’d enjoyed planning it, but the more I asked, the more I could tell she was thinking about taking me up on the offer. It probably hadn’t hurt when I’d said, “If you don’t pick a place, I’ll pick one for you.”
Everyone gathered at the venue and, once the officiant arrived, a kind middle-aged man many women might consider asilver fox, we all headed inside to practice.
And it was a disaster—but, more than once, the officiant assured us that a bad rehearsal meant a perfect wedding.
