Page 19 of Beck & Coll
The Following September
“Ma, I need you to be still while I add these flowers to your hair. You’re the one who wanted to be a fairy at your wedding,” I joked, which caused everybody to laugh and broke some of the tension in the room.
“Not a fairy.” She waved her hand at me.
“Nah.” Church leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You look like a princess, Mommy.”
“Don’t mess up her makeup, Church. I just spent forty-five minutes doing it,” Perkins complained.
“You look beautiful, Ma.” Bailey added. “Let’s get some pictures.”
We all took a few hundred pictures with our phones, and before we knew it, it was time to help our mother into her dress.
Since it was her first wedding, we had all hyped her up into wearing as humongous of a gown as she wanted to wear. In the end, being the fashionista that she was, she’d chosen a strapless, beaded form-fitting mermaid dress with tulle. With the up-do I’d given her, she was a vision.
“I’ve never seen a prettier bride, Ma,” I said then quickly corrected myself. “You’ve tied Bailey. I never thought I would see a bride prettier than Bailey, and you’ve tied her.”
“You’ve surpassed me, Ma,” Bailey said, shaking her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’re an angel.”
“My girls.” She tried hugging all of us at once, which was something she did often but never succeeded at.
There was a knock at the door.
“Alisha,” Marjorie, the event planner, called out before entering the room. She smiled at our mother. “Don’t you look simply divine? It’s time for the first looks and the pictures with your groom-to-be.”
“We’ll see you at the altar,” Church said, as our mom followed Marjorie out of the room.
I looked around for Beckham, finding him on the porch of the chapel, looking out at the horizon. I went behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“Look at that view,” I commented as I peeked around his body. The sun was strung low, and all of the foliage around the chapel was vibrant with shades of red, orange, brown, yellow, and green. “I love it here.”
Beckham turned around and took me into his arms, before kissing the top of my hair. “Fall will always be my favorite time of year.”
“Why? Because you met me during the Fall?” I teased.
“Yep. The Fall brought you to Jackson Falls, to Manor at Sienna Sunset Resort , and to me.”
He lifted my hand and kissed the three-carat diamond engagement ring he’d placed there four months earlier.
“Thank you for taking a chance on me… on us.” He kissed my lips. “I can’t wait to marry you next month under the autumn sky.”
I stood on my tip toes and attached my mouth to his, kissing him deeply. When we broke apart, I stared into his warm brown eyes.
“I can’t wait for forever.”
The End