THIRTEEN
Lauren
On the morning of the wedding, Kate's suite has become a controlled hurricane of champagne, hairpins, and opinions. Carolyn and Ginger are making significant inroads on the champagne as we all stand around my scooter.
It’s actually less of a scooter and more of a knee-mounted shopping cart. Four chunky wheels, padded knee rest, handlebars, and a small black wire basket on the front that currently contains my sparkly clutch purse and my dignity, in that order.
“What's a wedding without a little quirkiness?” Ginger says serenely, waving her champagne flute in the air.
“A bow. It needs a bow,” Natalia agrees, studying the scooter with the gravity of an art director while tapping her chin with her index finger. “Very chic. Verystatement.” She pauses. “I've seen worse things at weddings. I'vebeenworse things at weddings.”
“Flowers would look pretty woven into the basket. Does anyone have a hot glue gun handy?” Ginger says.
“Yeah, Mom, I’ve got one in my purse,” Natalia deadpans.
“Or we could zip tie a cupholder to the handlebars,” Sadie says cheerfully. “So you can keep your drink with you at all times.”
“I once went to a wedding on Halloween,” Natalia adds. “The bride and groom dressed as a bride and groom and surprised everyone by actually getting married right there.” I blink, wondering how this story is relevant to the fact that I'm about to wheel myself down the aisle on a scooter like a five-year-old on Christmas morning.
Or perhaps I could sit on it. I try that and nearly fall over.
“No, no, no,” Natalia says, helping to steady me.
Somehow the pale blue of Natalia's hair exactly matches our chiffon bridesmaid dresses, and the effect is stunning. I would look okay too, if it weren't for the black boot cast strapped around my foot and ankle.
I sigh.
“Give it a whirl. Please?” Kate begs.
With a little push of my left foot I surge forward on the tile floor of the suite and make a few wobbly circles around a recliner.
“It's kind of fun, I guess.” This is Kate's day, not mine. I need to stop being so precious about it. “And at least I can steer. Check this out.”
I turn left with ease and don't topple over. Success.
“It's so much better than the crutches, Lauren,” Kate says. I'd been practicing on the crutches all morning and couldn't quite get the hang of them. When I'd tried to wrangle them alongside my long flutter-sleeve dress, I'd nearly toppled over.
Okay, I had gone over. Onto the sofa. Thank God only Kate witnessed that particular moment.
I maneuver the scooter into the suite's small kitchen and glide back to Kate. “I'll use the scooter. I'll leave my dignity here in the room.”
My phone, which is also sitting in the little wire basket attached to the handlebars of the scooter, pings. It’s my youngest sister Jessie.
Hey can you call mom today? She's been weird and I don't know what to do and you always know what to do.
I stare at it for a second. Jessie is eighteen, sweet, and about to leave for college, and has spent her entire life letting me handle things so that she wouldn't have to. I can't even be angry about it, not with our disorganized parents.
I'm at Kate's wedding today, I type back. Call me tomorrow and we'll figure it out together.
I put the phone away before she can respond. Today is not the day.
Natalia laughs and winds a white ribbon through the wire basket. “Oh, pfft. It's Cypress Grove. We don't do stuffiness here. We relax and have fun and we don't give a crap what people think. Half the people at the wedding will be witches.”
Kate comes over. “Truly though — you don't have to go down the aisle if you don't want to. You could sit in the front row. Or Max could carry you.”
I shake my head, although the thought of being in Max’s arms makes me smile. “I'm being a baby. The pain's practically gone today…” this is a lie, “and I want to be up there with you. You need someone beside you. Plus, I have Damien's ring.” I pat my silver satchel.
Truth is, I wouldn't miss this for the world.
