“I think it’s time we leave these people to their party, don’t you, Gordon?”
I’d forgotten about him. I think everyone had. I look and am surprised to see him still there. He’s regained some of his composure but his face is still red and blotchy. His mouth turns down in a frown.
“I’ll be along shortly,” he says. “I’ve got some business that needs finishing.”
Trish stops in front of her husband. Her eyes are shrewd and penetrating. “I think, Gordon, you’ll find that the board of directors and I are quite capable of handling the day to day operations of the company.”
His eyes bulge. He opens his mouth to speak again, but Trish cuts across him.
“No more games, dear. They’re so dull. Time this one came to an end.”
He looks like he badly wants to argue with her but nods curtly and turns away.
“Cadence, sweetheart.” Trish embraces her daughter then takes her face in her hands. She looks proud and happy. “That’s my girl,” she says, smiling.
The intimacy of the moment between mother and daughter nearly chokes me. Not since I was a little girl have I wished so hard for my mother to be here with me now. I twist my hands. I feel every emotion I’ve ever felt running rampant through me. I’m not sure whether to laugh, cry, scream, or faint.
Trish releases her daughter and stops before me. “You took my advice I see. Staying to fight your battle, rather than risk dying on the stage.”
I stand up straighter. “It was good advice.”
“Of course it was, darling. It came from me.”
When she at last puts her arm through Gordon’s and guides him down the path I feel like I’ve just climbed Everest. Looking around me, I know I’m not the only one confused but overjoyed by what just happened. Trish’s mysterious entrance and exit has left us all quietly astonished.
But another good thing about my family is they always know what to say to break an uncomfortable silence.
Patsy walks in front of her sisters and comes to stand in front of Alex. She grabs him by the jacket and pulls his stunned face down for a kiss. “Welcome to the family, baby.”
Chapter Eighteen
Here Comes the Redneck
“Just fiddle with it.” Paige cranes her neck to the side to look behind her.
“Baby doll, I can fiddle with it all day long. It’s not coming up.” Jolene releases the zipper on Paige’s beautiful wedding dress and steps away.
The bride looks like she’s ready to break down. Brook struts forward. Her black shiny dress falls halfway to her knees, which is positively church-like for Brook. “Hand me that wire hanger.” She points over my shoulder.
I hand it to her and watch as she places the pointed end through the small hole on the zipper’s head. “I learned this trick in nineteen eighty-four.” With the hanger secured to the zipper, she instructs Paige to lift her arms over her head and suck in like she’s drowning. Paige does as instructed and the zipper, which had been stubbornly stuck halfway up, zips closed.
“Thank you Aunt Brook,” Paige says tightly through small breaths. She skims her hands down the front of her pleated skirt, admiring her reflection in the mirror.
“No problem, sugar.” Brook swaggers over to Jolene and me and hands her sister a ten-dollar bill from inside her cleavage. “May twelfth. Double or nothing.”
Jolene accepts the bet and stashes the money inside her own bra. I wonder what would happen if someone were to hold my aunts by the ankles and shake them? An entire savings and loan might fall out.
“Charlie?”
I spin. Cadence stands behind me in her matching red bridesmaid dress. I can’t believe she called me Charlie. She holds out a small bouquet of multicolored roses.
Not for the first time this week, I wonder, who is this person and what has she done with my trust-fund tormentor? I take the flowers she offers.
“She looks beautiful, doesn’t she?” I follow her gaze to where Paige is standing. Ken’s mother is carefully placing the comb the veil is attached to in her sleek low bun.
“She does.”
I’m still a little shell shocked from everything. Gordon’s threats, Cadence standing up for me and my family. Our eyes meet nervously. I know I need to word my question tactfully, but my inner trailer park gets there first. “So what’s with your mom?”
She smiles, unfazed by my bluntness. “Mama’s always got an ace up her sleeve. That and she’s chairman of the board.”
I should really bite my tongue. “Then why didn’t she stop him from forcing Alex and you into a marriage contract?”
Cadence brings her bouquet to her nose, inhaling the sweet scent before answering. “She’s my mother. She wants me to be happy.”
“She thought you’d be happy with a man who married you because of a business deal?” I wince as the words leave my mouth. However Cadence treated me in the past, she was as much a victim in Gordon and Juan’s scheme as Alex. Maybe more so, considering she had no say in the matter. “Sorry, I don’t know why I said that.”
“It’s all right.” She smiles down at her shoes. “The truth is I asked her not to get involved. She was against it from the start. I…well; I thought I could make him love me. He’s always been so kind and…. Well,
you
know. He’s a wonderful man. Mama tried to talk me out of it but agreed in the end to let things take their course.”
Our conversation pauses as we both try and find our way toward whatever new path we’ve been set on. Cadence has been my enemy for long enough that I don’t know where we go from here. On the other hand, I know I can’t start a new journey without finishing an old one. I reach out and take her hand. “I’m sorry, for everything.”
Her hand briefly squeezes mine. “Me, too.”
I smile and turn, but she says, “Wait.”
She bites down on her lip then turns her bouquet sideways and produces a gold ring from within the folds of white ribbon wrapped around the stems. She hands it to me and I take it reflexively. It’s Ken’s wedding ring. I look at her, the question on my lips.
“Paige should never have asked me to be Maid of Honor. She needs her sister by her side up there.”
“But--”
She shakes her head, silently asking me not to speak. “I’m twenty-five years old. I’ve never stood on my own two feet before. It’s time to start facing up to who I am and who I want to be. Just--” She pauses, pressing the pad of her finger against the corner of her eye to prevent a tear from falling. “Just promise me something.”
I’m so shocked all I can do is nod.
She takes a deep breath, steadies herself and smiles. “Stop letting other people walk all over you. It’s an embarrassment to southern women everywhere.”
Now there’s the Cadence I know. I clutch the smooth wedding ring in my hand and purse my lips together. “I’ll do my best.”
She gives me a parting grin then joins Paige. I look down at the ring. Never in my life have I been taken so unawares. And she doesn’t even have dimples.
“Hey you.” Alex leans down to kiss my cheek.
I’m offended on Ken’s behalf. The groom ought to be the best looking man at his own wedding. My date has gone and ruined it for him. Dressed in a black tuxedo, his dimples set deep into his cleanly shaven face, he looks like he’s getting ready to walk down the runway. I wonder what my cousins will think of him without the Smelly Jelly splattered all over his shirt.
I return his smile shyly. “Hey back. You about ready to walk me down this here aisle?”
He squints at me. “I thought Chase got the honor of having you on his arm?”
“Well, he did.” I wrap my hand around Alex’s bicep. “But then Cadence went and anointed me Maid of Honor for the day.”
His eyebrows practically disappear into his hairline. “That doesn’t sound like Cadence. Are you sure you didn’t lock her in a bathroom somewhere?” He looks around at the mingled bridesmaids and groomsmen.
Cadence is standing with Chase on the other side of the foyer. I catch her eye and she raises a corner of her mouth at me. “As you can plainly see, she’s present and in one piece.”
“Then would you mind explaining--” He whispers the words in my ear. “--how you got the better of her?”
His breath tickles my neck. I look into his dark brown eyes. They’re happier and brighter than I’ve ever seen them, like a light’s been switched on inside him. “I’m glad you have so much faith in my fighting skills but it was all her doing. I think she’s trying to find her way. Starting out by doing something good is a wise decision.”
“How’d your sister take the change?”
“She ruined her mascara. I swear, that girl is always crying.” I think of the rollercoaster of emotions I’ve been on for months now and blush.
Classical music floats through the open French doors. I look around for Paige and see her and Daddy in a private moment at the back of the processional. I pat Alex on the lapel and move toward them. Being that I share a gene pool with Brook, Jolene, and Patsy, I have no problem ignoring intimate family moments.
Paige spots me coming and fans herself with a large bouquet that matches the color of mine. “Oh no, you don’t. I only just fixed my mascara.”
I lean in to kiss my father on the cheek. He, being from a genetically superior line, leaves us alone to talk privately.
“I’m not here to make you cry, I promise.” As soon as the words leave my mouth my own eyes begin to tear up. My chin quivers. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m so happy for you.”
Paige presses her fingers beneath each eye then punches me in the shoulder.
“Ouch! What’d you do that for?”
“I told you not to make me cry!”
We smile bleary eyed at one another.
“You’re such a good sister, Charlie. Hell, you’ve been more like a mother to me than a sister.”
I swallow the lump in my throat.
“Thank you, for everything you’ve done for me. I love you more than words can say.”
I reach out and use my thumb to mop up a tear before it can fall down her face. “I love you too. Mama would be so proud.”
Paige bites down on both cheeks, gathering her calm before speaking. “I know she would. She’d be proud of you, too.”
“Me? All I’ve done is cause a big old mess and nearly ruin your wedding.”
She shakes her head tenderly. “No. What you did was show me, and everyone in this place, that how you love is more important than who or why. You’ve taken care of all of us for so long now, Charlie. It’s time for you to let us make a mess of things and focus on your own future.” She inclines her head toward someone behind me.
Alex is there, watching me. I still can’t believe he loves me. That he’d go against his family to be with me. It’s just like Shakespeare, only without all the hard to pronounce words.
“What’re you going to do with all that man, big sister?”
I smile at my plus one. “Just love him, I guess.”
Wade sways on the stage, a glass of amber beer clutched in one hand and a microphone in the other. “I’d like to make a toast,” he slurs to the crowd.
The partygoers fall silent. I grip Alex’s shoulders, horrified at the spectacle before me. Jolene was ordered to not let any of the boys out of her sight.
“To my cousin,” he says, toasting Paige and slopping beer on the stage. “You’re a fine lady and that there fella’s lucky to have ya.” More beer spills as he gestures at Ken.
I leave Alex and make my way quickly to the stage. “Wade,” I whisper. “Get down here right now!”
Wade turns drunkenly toward the sound of my voice. He doesn’t lower the microphone from his mouth as he speaks. “Oh, hey there, Charlie. Shhh, I’ll just be a minute, givin’ a toast here.” He straightens back up and throws his beer hand out to the side. The alcohol splashes onto the floor inches away from the bandleader. “As I was sayin’, Paige is a great girl and she’s a beautiful woman. If she weren’t my cousin, I’d-”
I leap onto the stage and grab the microphone. Wade sways dangerously but regains his footing before falling over. A hundred and fifty pairs of eyes are now focused on me.
Shit. I didn’t think this through.
I smile dumbly at the sea of faces turned toward me. Someone in the back yells, “Speech!”
My saliva always works overtime in moments of panic. By the time Wade prods me forward with a hearty shove to the back, I feel like I’m in danger of drowning from the inside out.
I bring the microphone to my face. “Hi.” My word echoes loudly in the stillness beyond the stage. “I’m Charlie, Paige’s older sister.”
Cousin Willy whoops loudly from my right.
“I wasn’t supposed to be the Maid of Honor tonight. It was supposed to be my sister’s best friend, Cadence Spelling. But she gave it up for me.”
What the fuck am I saying?
I spy Alex in the crowd. He grins supportively. I focus on him and continue. “We were enemies before last night. Then she did something really…courageous. She stopped hiding behind the image people have of her and stepped forward to start something new.” I search for her among the wedding guests, spotting her near the champagne tower. She looks pissed.
I change direction.
“When our mother died, I thought I had to give up my chance at ever having a future of my own. I thought giving up my future was the price I had to pay to make sure my family was happy.” I find Paige. Her expression is warm and thoughtful. “But that was an excuse I hid behind so I wouldn’t ever have to face loss like that again.”
I pause. The thundering in my ears gives way to the muffled chirping of the crickets in the lawn. “My sister was the brave one. She always went after what she wanted, no matter the risk.” I nod toward Ken. “Ken’s got no idea what a stubborn mule he’s just married.” A smattering of laughter moves through the crowd. “But he’s lucky to have someone so brave on his side, and she’s lucky that she found someone so patient and kind, who can pull her back down to earth when she gets too high.”
I lower the microphone to my chest, not knowing where to go from here. The truth is, I never thought I’d be here. I went against all my instincts when it came to Alex, and we both came so close to losing each other. Whenever I’ve thought about my parent’s relationship, it’s always been about their ending. The pain my father felt when he lost the one person in the world he thought would love him forever. I never gave much thought to their beginning. About the love and laughter that filled our home when she was with us.