Mom headed toward the front staircase. “Please, Julia, come upstairs. Let’s have one wedding that isn’t a farce.”
My feet stayed resolute on the marble floor of the foyer. “I agree. I want a non-farcical, non-grand-production wedding. Van and I are leaving.”
“You’re what?”
“Leaving.”
“No, not again,” she said, her eyes narrowing.
As I was about to respond, the door behind me opened. Dad was the first to enter, followed by Van and finally, Marlin Butler. I watched for a sign from Van, one that he was unhappy with Marlin’s presence. After all, he’d never hidden his animosity for the Butlers. I looked for the clenching of his jaw or the tightening muscles in his neck. There was no outward sign.
Either Van truly was a master at keeping his emotions in check or this was an alternate universe, and everyone knew it but me.
“Van,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I was just telling Mom there’s been a mistake, and we’re leaving.”
In two strides he was beside me. His long fingers wrapped around my wrist and his words were clipped. “Sometimes life throws curveballs. If you marry Donovan Sherman, you’ll need to be able to handle them. Tell me you can handle this one.”
If I marry Donovan Sherman?
Why is he speaking in third person?
Blinking, I stared up at his features. “Something is wrong. I want to speak to you privately.”
His voice lowered. “We’ll have plenty of private time on our honeymoon.” After leaving a chaste kiss on my cheek, he stepped back.
Dad’s smile was ear to ear. “Little girl, I don’t care where you marry.” He looked to Van and back. “I’m just so happy that Donovan convinced you to include us. My dream is to walk you down the aisle to a man you truly love.”
Before I could respond, Mom reached for my hand. “Come, Julia. I’ve sent Georgette a text message.” She turned toward the men. “The judge will be here at noon and the guests should begin arriving. Please, make yourselves at home. Gregg, be sure the caterers are prepared with finger foods and champagne as guests arrive.”
Dad waved his hand. “Ana, Rosemary has it under control.”
Mom’s head shook. “We may be longer than I expected. We have a lot of work to do upstairs.”
Before turning toward the staircase, I watched as Dad led Marlin and Van toward the back room, undoubtedly toward his well-stocked bar. As they disappeared through the archway, I decided that despite the hour being before noon, a drink wasn’t a bad idea.
“I’ll take some champagne,” I said under my breath. As I followed Mom up the stairs, I added, “I don’t need Georgette. If Van wants to marry here, I’ll marry just as I am. He knew I wanted a small wedding.”
“Oh, it will be small compared to what...” Her sentence trailed away before she regrouped. “On such short notice, it is a scramble, but I do believe we can get a nice crowd. As your dad said, Rosemary is calling our friends, but dear, understand, it isn’t because it’s you and another wedding. It’s a workday and the timing…”
When we entered my bedroom, my feet stopped, my boots seemingly glued to the carpet. It wasn’t the nearly empty shelves or the sensation that I was again Gregg and Ana’s little girl. It was that lying upon my bed was my wedding gown, the one I’d chosen for my wedding to Skylar. The breakfast Van and I had delivered to the hotel room before checkout churned in my stomach. “No.”
It was the only word I could think to form.
“Julia, I spoke with Donovan about it. He wanted to have a dress delivered, but well, this gown is perfectly good, it’s altered to fit you, and we did spend...”
Lifting my hands to the side of my head, I pressed inward as I slowly spun around, taking in my childhood room and the items I’d chosen to leave behind. Upon the shelves there were books I’d loved as a child and pictures I’d decided not to take to Ashland. The drapes and bedspread were the ones I’d wanted when I entered high school. This was my room and yet at the moment, I felt like a traveler to a foreign country.
Perhaps it was that after packing many of my things yesterday, I never imagined being back in this room so soon. My mother’s voice was speaking. I heard it in the distance, but I wasn’t listening to her.
A dull buzz sounding within my ears had her and the rest of the world muted.
It was as if I were in an alternate reality.
Trapped.
Taking a deep breath, I stopped and lowered my hands. With one more look at the wedding dress lying on the bed, I reached for my mom’s hands. “Mom, stop. I don’t want this.”
She stood, her neck straightening as her expression changed. Gone was the anticipation of a wedding or her need to make me presentable. The transition took milliseconds, yet I saw each and every one of the metaphoric wheels turning within her head. “Well, Julia, I’m glad you can finally admit it.”