“The music?” I said.
“I’m sorry!” She sighed. “I loved ‘You Are My Sunshine’! It’s one of my favorites. But Jonathan says it reminds him of Vacation Bible Camp, which he hated. I hope Colin won’t be upset we’re changing it.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “He’s gone.”
“What?” Her eyes went wide. “What happened?”
How to even explain? Liz was bustling through again. “He just…,” I said. “We’re not mastodons. As it turns out.”
“Anne? The makeup artist is ready for you!” someone yelled from upstairs.
“We need more champagne!” another voice added.
But Anne was still looking at me, concerned. I thought of that day in the attic, how she’d pulled me close, promising it would all work out. Back then, I knew exactly what that would look like.
“Go get married,” I said. Then I reached out, giving her that hug back, and more, before she did.
Whizzzz.Uh-oh.
I looked at Lana, who was at the bottom of the steps, greeting guests as they came up from the dock. As a woman in yellow reached to take a program, a hummingbird darted over their heads, clicking.
“Was that a bug?” Her husband, at her side, was now swatting the air.
“Nope,” Lana assured them, even as another one zipped past. “Ceremony is inside. Don’t forget to sign the guest book!”
More people were coming up the hill. By the water, I could see Ben behind the wheel of a golf cart. So far, again, I’d only glimpsed him from afar, the chaos and energy of the day blocking out all else. By now, though, I was thinking distant what we were supposed to be. Even if it, like so much else, was the last thing I’d expected.
Colin was gone. I’d gotten to know my mom in a way I never would have imagined. A loss, a gain. Who knew where I could go from here?
“Program?” Lana was saying again. Nearby a hummingbird dive-bombed a woman in pink, then flew off over the house. She didn’t even notice.
“Has the minister showed up yet?” Liz asked as she appeared next to me. A bright corsage of moonakis flowers, fully bloomed, was pinned to her bodice. She squinted. “Oh, Cardoon found him. Thank goodness.”
I turned to where she was looking, just down the hill. Sure enough, there was Cardoon, coming toward us in a nice suit and tie. I’d never seen him in anything but his Tides uniform.
“Wait, what?” Lana was equally surprised. “What’s he doing here?’
“Anne and I invited him last night,” Liz replied, waving at them with both hands to hurry up. “He’s been so helpful. Truly a godsend.”
“Guest book! May I?”
Jeremy was in front of me, also in formal wear. My mom claimed she’d invited him as a thank-you for all his work onthe plant stuff. As I handed him the pen, though, I wondered if that was the sole reason.
When I looked back up, Cardoon was climbing the stairs, basically herding the minister ahead of him. In the distance, Ben and the golf cart were heading back to the dock.
“Guest book?” I said, holding out the pen.
“Ah,” the minister said. “A lovely tradition.”
As he bent to sign, Liz appeared in the door again. “Let’s get everyone in now, can we? We’re about to begin.”
Cardoon ignored the pen when I offered it. As he went inside, I looked again at Lana, who was biting her lip. Clearly, he still wanted more than a program.
“You okay?” I asked her as another hummingbird zoomed past. She looked up at the trees, swaying over us.
“Just thinking about falling leaves,” she replied. She took a breath. “Let’s go in.”
We did. On the porch, we found Kasey distributing flowers to the bridesmaids. Their dresses, A-line and blue, were so beautiful.
