Liza found herself with very little left to do for the wedding. She had imagined reaching the end of her endless to-do lists as a moment filled with relief, even jubilation. But the uncertainty of the situation had robbed her of a sense of accomplishment and any personal satisfaction. She couldn’t feel relieved until she knew that all was well between the bride and groom.
She stayed up until eleven that night, helping Claire make a wedding punch, following a handwritten recipe on a scrap of yellowed paper.
“This is your aunt’s recipe, written in her own hand,” Claire explained. “She said that every couple who has been toasted with this punch had a long and happy marriage.”
“Is that so? Does it count if you toast to them before they’re married? We could mix it up and give it a try tonight.” Liza sliced an orange and gave it a good squeeze over a large stainless steel bowl.
“I don’t believe a toast in advance counts for much,” Claire replied. “All we can do tonight is pray for the best. I know it’s hard on everyone. But I pray that all goes according to God’s plan for the young people, never mind our own. We don’t always understand what He wants for us. But ultimately, His plan is infinitely better than anything we can come up with.”
Liza nodded and reached for another orange from the large pile. She knew that was probably true. She just didn’t want to imagine Jennifer’s shock and disappointment if she had to accept a plan that didn’t include becoming Mrs. Kyle McGuire.
LIZA had set several alarms but woke on Sunday morning before any of them went off. She had only managed to get a few hours of restless sleep. She got out of bed, reaching for her cell phone to check the messages. No calls at all. Liza’s heart fell. It was too early to call the Bennets again, but she knew she would have to at some point, later in the morning.
It was dark out, owing to the early hour. But the sun was not likely to shine at all today, Liza realized. The sky was low, a layer of thick gray clouds hanging over the shoreline and sea. Just like the wedding, the weather for today had been hard to predict. Forecasters had all said showers would come, but they weren’t sure when. It looked like sooner rather than later, Liza thought.
Just what we needed.
She pulled on jeans and sneakers, ready to serve her guests breakfast, receive the many deliveries that would come, and help Molly set up.
Liza glanced at the gauzy floral dress that hung on the back of her bedroom door. She had set aside time to dress up for the wedding later in the morning but now wondered if there would be any use for that outfit at all.
WHILE Claire served the guests breakfast, Liza put finishing touches outside and throughout the inn and dealt with the flower delivery. She also found a moment to call the Bennets. Sylvia answered the phone.
“I’m just calling to see how everything’s going,” Liza said.
“No word from Kyle, which is what you’re really asking,” Sylvia said tartly. “If anyone knows where he is, they’re not telling us,” she added. “I’m ready to call the whole thing off. Why subject ourselves to the humiliation? But Jennifer insists on going through with it. So that’s what we’re doing. We’ll be there by eleven, just as we planned.”
“Thank you, Sylvia. I hope things change by then,” Liza offered.
“Join the club,” Sylvia said sadly.
Liza hung up the phone, feeling a pang of sympathy for her.
With all of Sylvia’s concerns about Jennifer’s wedding day, Liza was sure the mother of the bride had never imagined this problem erupting. It made a water stain on the dining room ceiling look completely inconsequential.
Plus there was the added pain of watching Jennifer disappointed and yes, even humiliated in public, if Kyle actually left her standing at the altar.
The florist’s truck was just driving away when Molly’s vans arrived. Liza walked down from the porch to meet her in the drive as Molly climbed down and pulled open the side doors.
“Any sign of the groom?” Molly asked. She was dressed in a black top and slim black pants, as was the rest of her crew.
“I checked in with Sylvia a while ago. No word. But the Bennets say no change in plans.”
“All right then. The show will go on. I give them a lot of credit,” Molly added. “I’m not sure what I would do in their shoes.”
“Me either,” Liza agreed. She checked her watch. It wasn’t quite nine. “We have a little over three hours. I guess Kyle could turn up by then.”
Molly made a stack of white boxes filled with frozen hors d’oeuvres. “Yes, he could. I also know some great charities where we can donate all this food if the wedding is cancelled. Not that you need to tell the Bennets that right away.”
“I understand,” Liza replied. Molly wasn’t exactly pessimistic. But she was practical.
Liza helped Molly get settled, then went upstairs and dressed. When she came back down again the wedding guests staying over at the inn were sitting in the front parlor, dressed in their finery. They seemed content watching the musicians who were to play during the ceremony unpack their instruments.
The Bennets soon pulled up in a long white limousine. Liza felt a clutch in her heart as they got out. Frank came first, followed by Sylvia and, finally, Jennifer, trailed by Meg and two young women in very similar dresses. They had to be the other bridesmaids, Jennifer’s cousin, Elena, and her college roommate, Carrie, Liza realized.
Jennifer was wearing her glamorous makeup and a hairstyle that made her look like a fashion model. While the women walked toward the inn, Frank went to the back of the car and took out a big garment bag, which he carried with care, draped across his outstretched arms.
The sight was touching and Liza hoped with all her heart that all this care and preparation were not in vain. But time was running short. So short . . .
As Jennifer approached, Liza could see she’d been crying. She looked like a puffy-eyed, forlorn-but-determined princess.
Liza’s heart went out to her.
“Good to see you, Jennifer.” Liza gave her a quick hug. She wasn’t sure what else to say. “Come on upstairs. Your room is ready.”
“Great. I’d better put the gown on. It’s getting late,” Jennifer replied.
“Yes, it is.” Liza quickly agreed with her, then glanced at Sylvia. Jennifer’s mother gave Liza a look and shrugged. Obviously, no one was willing to state the obvious: It seemed highly unlikely that the wedding would take place as scheduled—or that the wedding would take place at all.
Liza turned and led the way upstairs. She had prepared a suite on the second floor for Jennifer and her bridesmaids. The rooms and private bath were ready, complete with cold drinks, snacks, and bouquets of white roses.
Jennifer, Meg, and even Sylvia, all looked very pleased with the room.
Liza felt relieved. “If there’s anything you need at all, just let me know.”
“We will, Liza. Thank you. Time to get the bride dressed now,” Sylvia said with a quick smile. She began to unzip the garment bag that held the gown.
Liza shut the door quietly, leaving Sylvia, Jennifer, and her bridesmaids to continue through the wedding rituals. As if by completing all the steps, it might somehow conjure the groom, she thought. An “if you build it, they will come” attitude. If only Kyle would heed the call.
She glanced at her watch. Perilously close to high noon.
As Liza came downstairs, she heard the sound of many voices and found the inn full of wedding guests. A young woman approached her, leading two little girls by the hand, one on each side. The woman bore a striking resemblance to Jennifer, what Jen might look like in twenty years or so, Liza thought. The little girls were also dressed for the bridal party. The flower girls, she realized.
“Jennifer and the bridesmaids are all upstairs, second door on the left,” Liza told her.
“Thanks so much. The girls are getting a little overly excited down here. We could use some quiet time before the ceremony.”
“Good idea,” Liza agreed. She smiled at the flower girls as they passed by, their satin dresses puffed with crinoline, flower-covered headpieces trailing ribbons. They looked like two little angels, she thought. And they could all definitely use some help from that quarter right about now.
Claire and the catering helpers were ushering the guests outside. A few of the older guests balked at the cloudy weather and chose to remain in the sitting room and on the porch. The others were offered drinks and mingled on the back patio and in the garden.
Past the beds of roses, peonies, tiger lilies, and hydrangeas, rows of folding chairs had been arranged with a long aisle in between that led to the small wisteria-covered arbor where the couple would say their vows. The arbor was just large enough to cover the wedding party and the minister.
It was already a quarter to twelve. Many guests had taken their seats. Two of the groomsmen, dressed in tuxedos, were giving out programs to guests and helping them find seats. Liza guessed that Frank had instructed them on their duties since there had been no chance for a rehearsal.
She could hardly believe it but everything was in place and it all looked perfect. Just as perfect as all the pictures of weddings she had studied online and in magazines. The tent, the tables, the folding chairs with the tulle bows and fresh flowers. The arrangements of hydrangeas and roses, the tuxedoed bartenders and waiters at their stations, the musicians tuning up. The pleasant scent of food warming, the tinkling sound of glassware and silver trays clanking in the kitchen.
“Well, the wedding has begun. With or without the groom,” Claire said, coming up beside her. “It would be hard to stop it now, even if you wanted to.”
“Yes, it’s really happening,” Liza had to agree as she looked around. All the weeks of planning, researching, worrying were over. It had all come down to this.
Trying to stop it now would be like trying to hold back the tide. But if Kyle didn’t show up . . .
Reverend Ben suddenly appeared. He walked out the back door of the inn and came toward her. “Liza, may I have a word with you?”
“Yes, of course, Reverend. Let’s step over here, where it’s quiet,” Liza suggested. She led the reverend to the edge of the garden, knowing this conversation probably needed a private spot.
“I’ve just spoken to Jennifer and her parents and Kyle’s parents, too.” Liza had not met Kyle’s parents yet but knew that they, too, were members of Reverend Ben’s congregation. “No one has heard from Kyle. In fact, you seem to be the last person who saw him or spoke to him after he and Jennifer parted on the beach on Friday.”
“I guess so. I had no idea at the time that their argument was going to be so . . . irrevocable. I would have made sure he waited for her. Or persuaded him to go find her.”
“Of course you would have,” Reverend Ben replied. “Who could have predicted this? I’ve advised the bride and her parents—and possible in-laws—to consider calling off the ceremony. It is just about twelve o’clock,” he noted, glancing at his watch. “But they want to wait a bit. Especially Jennifer. I think you may have to announce a delay.”
“All right, I can do that. And I’ll do what I can to amuse the guests.”
“Very good,” Reverend Ben agreed. “I know you’re in a difficult spot.”
“Not as difficult as the spot that Jennifer is in,” Liza said. “It might be easier if she would just accept that Kyle’s not coming.”
“She still has great faith in him,” Reverend Ben replied. “It’s hard for me to suggest that her faith might be misplaced. I’m going back up to talk to her. Would you like to come?”
Liza wasn’t sure what she could do but decided she should see Jennifer and her family again, just to ask if they needed anything or wanted her to make any change in their plans.
She entered the inn and went upstairs with the minister. The ground floor of the inn was filled with guests, who all seemed to be having a fine time, largely unaware that there was a delay or any problem at all with the wedding.
Liza knocked once on the door to the bridal party’s suite. “Jennifer? It’s Liza and Reverend Ben. May we come in?”
The door quickly opened. “Come in, please,” Sylvia said. Her glamorous glow was mostly worn away. She looked rumpled and exhausted. “Maybe one of you can persuade her,” she added.
Liza took in the scene, Jennifer surrounded by her bridesmaids, her mother, two aunts, and her father. Everyone looked very frustrated and grim. Even the flower girls, who were lying on the floor in their beautiful dresses, coloring. One of them tugged on their mother’s gown. “When can we go down and be in the wedding and throw the flowers?” she whispered loudly.
Their mother waved at them, signaling the little girl to be quiet.
Jennifer didn’t notice the exchange. She wasn’t looking at any of them. Her expression was stoic, resigned. She sat at the dressing table, looking into the mirror, trying to repair her tearstained makeup.
Megan sat next to her on the oblong stool, speaking softly and rubbing Jennifer’s bare shoulder.
“Jen . . . please. You know I wouldn’t say this if I didn’t absolutely have to. I’m the last person in the world who wants to see you unhappy or disappointed. But I think you just have to accept it now. It doesn’t mean that you’ll never marry him,” Megan hastened to add. “But probably not today. It’s just better for everyone if we stop hoping and waiting. We just have to accept it now. I’m really sorry, but it looks like Kyle isn’t coming, Jen.”
Jennifer shook her head. “I know you all mean well. But I know Kyle will be here. He would never leave me at the altar. We had a horrible fight but . . . he just wouldn’t do that to me. He still loves me. I know it. I know it in my bones, in my heart. In my soul. He’ll be here,” she insisted, looking around at the group. “You don’t have to wait with me if you don’t want to. But I have to wait. Because I promised him I’d marry him today, and I know he’ll come.”