My head shook before anything came out of my mouth. “I can’t. Even if I wanted to, and I don’t, what about Mama? I can’t just leave her.”
“Your mother has her own sins to atone for. She never should have stayed in the state, within his reach, although I’m not sure it would have mattered. But she could have made sure to get you out. I only wish I’d been strong enough to do it earlier.” Then he was the one to shake his head, eyes distant as if he was looking back on a memory. I was familiar with the condition but rarely saw it on others, that being-lost-in-your-own-head expression. But I was more confused than ever and had so many questions. Getting answers wasn’t meant to be though. “So be it,” he said, snapping back to the present. “I see that it’s too little, too late, but at least I tried.”
And then he walked right back out, leaving me to stare after him until the door banged shut, eliciting a full-bodied flinch from me.
There weren't more than a few moments to gain my composure, and I still hadn’t quite managed it when Nina came back...with Mama in tow. I nearly rushed to give her a hug, momentarily forgetting that she hadn’t allowed that even before our falling out, not since I was a child, but I’d missed her familiar presence. She looked good, actually, and I was grateful again for Jerry. She was dressed in a lacy skirt and jacket combo that suited her, and her hair had been dyed, making her look years younger. But the anger in her made-up eyes had me flinching yet again. This time back a couple steps in anticipation of a physical assault.
“You stupid girl, I told you not to do it! Now you’ve dragged me into your mess, you little whore!” Her voice rose with each word, as did the flush of her skin until it crept up to the tops of her rouged cheeks. Her finger stabbed the air to punctuate her insults, and I wondered why in the heck anyone had thought it a good idea to bring her here.
“That’s enough, Judith! You were warned to be pleasant and to support your daughter, or would you rather I ring Mr. Hamilton?” Mama paled fast enough I worried she’d get dizzy. I wondered which Mr. Hamilton, but I wasn’t about to ask...or get within slapping range despite her abrupt docility.
“Why—what? How did you get her here?” Not that I was upset by someone wanting me to have family at my wedding, but I’d have gone for Sylvia over Mama anytime.
“Don’t worry about it. We have to get you out there for the ceremony and pictures. Your mother was being difficult until Mr. Hamilton had a talk with her.” Dirk likely wouldn’t have bothered with her if she were throwing a tantrum, so I figured she meant Winston Sr. Mama seemed scared at the mention of him, but if it kept her in check, I wasn't about to question it. “Turn,” Nina ordered, forcing me to concentrate as she pulled the veil around me after securing it with combs and pins.
I didn’t get to ask anything else or even catch more than a glimpse of myself in the mirror before Nina directed both me and Mama out of the room and to the congregation hall. And finally, there was Dirk. My fiancé awaited me in the usual place for a groom, and the music started as soon as the wedding planner handed me my bouquet of roses and mums.
Pictures were taken as I walked down the aisle with Mama, and I was glad for the shield of lace that hopefully prevented anyone from seeing my shaky smile as we passed Winston Sr., the hired help, and of course, our bodyguards. One noticeably absent person was Rafe, but even curiosity was too much for me at that moment. My happy occasion had been ruined three-fold, and it was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other without melting into a puddle of tears. But then I was finally close enough to Dirk to see his happy grin that reached all the way up into his blue eyes, and some of the weight lifted. He loves me, and I won’t ever let him go or do anything to change that
.And here I was about to tell you to make a run for it. It’s your funeral, girly. Enjoy the honeymoon. Well, after Auntie Flo makes her departure.
I swore I heard a snicker, but I ignored it all the best I could and concentrated on my future.