"Are you ready?" she asks.
I bite my lip, steal one last glance at myself in the mirror, and then nod. "I think so," I reply, and she grabs my hand and tugs me towards the door.
I can hardly believe this is happening. The last two months have been the craziest of my entire life – putting together a wedding from scratch. But Juniper helped me figure out the colors, Cliff weighed in on the cake, and of course, when it came to the question of the church, there was only one answer – my father is going to marry us in his beautiful parish, the midday light picking out the glimmers of gold strewn around the pews as everyone waits for me to arrive.
My father still believes that Cliff and I have been chaste until marriage; no need for him to find out that the very first time he met his future son-in-law, I was naked in his cabin, hoping that I wasn’t going to get busted.
All that matters to me is that my father seems to love him as much as I do, that Cliff fits in so beautifully with the world in Cherry Falls – even if I intend to live up in his cabin with him, to get a little space and figure out just who I am outside of the expectations down here.
But for now, I intend to indulge all of those expectations, and give everyone a wedding to remember. I know that this is fast, but it’s right – Cliff and I have no reason to wait to share our love with the world, and I do not intend to go another day without being able to call him my husband.
Goldie, my other bridesmaid, is waiting for us at the entrance to the chapel – she beams when she sees me.
"You look beautiful," she tells me, and I steal one last glance at my dress. I really do love it. White and lacy at the top, with gorgeous pink flowers – like the wild roses on the mountain trail leading to where I gave my virginity to the man of my dreams – stitched all the way down the skirt, it’s perfect. I can’t wait till Cliff sees me in it...
And, a moment later, as the door opens, he does.
Gosh, he looks so handsome in his suit. He and the groomsmen are wearing pink ties to match the theme; not that I expect to be able to convince Cliff to get into pink much in the future, but that’s fine by me. My burly mountain man, all wrapped up in his beautiful suit and his pink tie.
The ceremony, as we requested from my father, is quick and to-the-point – Cliff holds my hand the moment I join him on the altar, and he can’t take his eyes off me for a moment even as my father speaks. I know how he feels. Hard to believe that this is real. That we really found each other.
When my father gives the order to kiss the bride, Cliff catches me around the waist and pulls me in close. I know that he has plenty of intentions for me tonight, and I smile into the kiss, letting him hold me. I have one last surprise for him today – one last thing to share before the day is over. Though I am going to wait till the two of us are alone for that.
The reception is a whirl of people offering their congratulations, telling us what a beautiful couple we are, and I can tell from the look on Cliff’s face that he wants to get out of here and get me alone as soon as he can. We haven’t bothered to pick a honeymoon destination – we're just going to his cabin to spend the next few days unbothered by anyone. He’s all the vacation I need.
He drives me back up there, one hand on my thigh the whole time, the first chance he gets, and he carries me over the doorstep and into the living room, his strong arms wrapped around me.
"I have something to show you," I giggle, as he plants me back on my feet.
"Oh, yeah?”
I reach into my purse, and hand him the small plastic strip that I have been carrying in there since yesterday – I am not sure how I have been able to hide the news for so long, but now, I don’t have to worry about that for another second.
"What’s...?” he begins, but as he looks down at it, something clicks in his head. It’s a positive pregnancy test – an announcement that our family begins here.
Slowly, he lifts his gaze to meet mine again, his lips parted in shock. I slip my arms around his shoulders and snuggle against him.