“Forget the boat,” Emerson said. “You’re not wasting all that Veuve.”
She hoisted it onto her hip and handed it to Mark. “There, honey,” she said.
He kissed her softly. “You’re going to let me do it? Spear the magnum with the sword?”
She nodded. “I was hoping you would do it tonight instead of at the wedding, since this is sort of our kickoff.”
That clever, clever girl.
“September 22 is going to be the best day of my life,” Jack said in my ear.
I would drink to that.
THIRTY
emerson: a love like that
Istill remembered the morning of September 11, 2001, like it was yesterday. I was a bundle of excitement, prancing around the house in my angel costume. For some unknown reason, Mom had finally decided to let me act, even though she had been so against it for years. I had gotten the starring role of the littlest angel in the school play. I straightened my halo one more time before I walked into the kitchen, where, as usual, it felt like more was happening than on all the streets of Manhattan combined.
I thought Caroline looked so cool in her lace-up jeans and popcorn shirt that were all the rage. Mom was saying, “Take the eyeliner off, right now,” and Sloane was saying, “Mom, I totally forgot that I have to take two dozen cookies for the field trip today, and I told them you would chaperone.”
She sighed. “After Emmy’s play. We’re all going to Emmy’s play first.”
That was when my dad came in and swept me up off the ground and said, “We sure are.” I gave him a big kiss on the lips and threw my arms around his neck. “I love you, my little angel,” he said. “And I’m so proud of you.”
“I love you, too, Daddy.”
Then he kissed Caroline’s cheek and said, “I love you, too, even if you’re wearing too much makeup.”
And he kissed Sloane’s cheek and said, “And I love you, and I will bring the cookies for your field trip to the play so Mom doesn’t have to do that.”
Mom put her hand over her heart and said, “My real-life Prince Charming.”
He winked at her, pulled her close, and kissed her on the lips. “You, my darling... I may love you best of all.”
“Hey!” I protested.
“Not as much as I love you,” Mom said. She kissed him one more time and then went back to making sandwiches and packing backpacks and cleaning up breakfast. I remember thinking then that I wanted to be just like my parents when I grew up. I wanted to find a love like that, a marriage like that. I wanted to have a home and kids and a family who loved one another, who created mass chaos in the mornings.
“See you in a couple of hours,” Daddy said. “Break a leg, Em!”
Those were the last words my father ever said to me. That had to mean something, didn’t it? At least, it did to me. It was those last words I heard echoing in my mind when I boarded a plane to LA instead of going to UGA. It was what I heard when I spent all my tips on acting lessons and endured the humiliation of the worst parts imaginable because I believed that they might lead to something bigger. I always believed that my dad was leading me, that he was guiding me down the right path. He had wanted me to act, hadn’t he? Could there possibly be any other reason those had been his last words to me?
It was almost as if I could hear my late father’s voice in my ear now, saying, “Break a leg, Em!” as I stood in the guesthouse bathroom getting ready for my engagement party.
I had thought that after years of auditions and getting parts and really putting myself out there, I was beyond jitters. But my hands were shaking so badly I could barely get my earring in. Caroline had surprised me that morning with a huge pair of mother-of-pearl flower earrings, which were the only accessory I needed with my loose bun and white maxi dress.
“I’ll help you,” Caroline whispered, putting the earring in my ear.
“Did you feel like this?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Honestly, no, but look where that got me. I don’t think nerves are a bad thing.”
“It’s like it’s real now, you know? We’re going out there in front of all our family and friends, and there’s no turning back. This is actually happening.”
Caroline smiled. “Hon, I’ve spent the past two months doing nothing but work on this wedding. There’s no turning back now, for more reasons than one.”
“Speaking of,” I said, “were you able to get that flower crown that Vivi wanted?”
