Page 129 of Peaches & Pistols

I shake off the memory of everything I’ve lost and look towards everything I’ve gained.

The wedding guest list is the Andersen crew. Our little foursome, Walter and Cecelia, Reid and Izzy, Delilah and Connor, James, and Livy. Even Sam’s widow, Connor’s older sister, Quincy came to support us. It can’t be easy attending a wedding after being widowed so recently, and so young.

“Harper darling, you look beautiful!” Cecelia coos over her granddaughter.

My older daughter chose a magenta, chiffon flower-bearer dress. Twirled strips of chiffon drape around the skirt with adorable crystal beadwork along the neckline.

“Thank you, Grandma.” Harper blushes deeply.

“What about me, Gramma?” Everly, the baby of the family enters the fray, never one to be left out.

“Everly sweetheart, you’re just lovely. So pretty,” Cecelia says, biting back a smile at my little girl, who’s soaking up the attention.

She took a different approach dressing for the wedding. In spectacular fashion, Everly will be joining Harper as a flower-bearer in a glitter-saturated lime-green ball gown. And of course we couldn’t leave the shop without the coordinating rainbow sash.

Everly never ceases to surprise me, but I wanted to be sure this is the dress she wanted.

“Is this the dress you want, baby?”

“I love it, Mama, it hurts my eyes!” Everly exclaimed, never happier.

“Well, alright, let’s get it to the register.”

Life will never be boring, that’s for sure.

Greyson and I told everyone, including the kids, they could wear anything they wanted to the wedding, as long as they felt good in it. We called it “Dress up your cowboy boots,” meaning today, everyone is in their best pair.

“Did I hear two little fairies are dressed and ready to go outside?” James pops in, hand covering his eyes as if he isn’t allowed to see the flower-bearers before the ceremony.

“Uncle James!” The girls nearly tackle him to the ground, and within seconds, his starched, dark blue Wranglers are covered in neon green glitter. He just smiles, hoists Everly off the ground up onto his hip, takes Harper by the hand, and skips from the room.

“Damnit! Where’s my phone? I would’ve loved to get Corporate Cowboy recorded skipping. Fucking skipping.” Livy laughs, dabbing happy tears from her eyes.

With the tiny tornadoes officially occupied, the grown-up girls can get ready. Livy snaps into boss-bitch mode, my unofficial wedding coordinator for the day.

“Delilah, you’re on hair. Izzy, you’re on makeup. Cecelia, you’re on jewelry, accessories, and shoes. I’m going to get my ass in gear so I can get out there and make sure your wedding goes perfectly.” Livy hasn’t taken a breath once, I swear.

“Livy.” I take her by the hands, miming deep breaths until she joins me.

“I have no desire for this wedding to be perfect. My last wedding was ‘perfect’, and I felt like I was walking to my funeral. Stay with us, we can all get ready together. Please.”

“Alright, twist my arm. But seriously, Cecelia went all out on the food and drinks, and I think we’re all starving, so I’ll go get us a sampling.” She blows me a kiss and is out the door.

We laugh and pick at the mouthwatering assortment of goodies Cecelia cooked up as we get ready. My three best friends chose completely different dresses, but that complemented them perfectly.

“Zip me?” Izzy looks over her shoulder to Delilah, who’s right there to help.

Izzy’s dress is a bubblegum pink wrap dress in the softest stretch fabric. Simple, but stunning. Her hair’s in a side fishtail braid with flawless makeup.

Delilah chose a fabulous yellow floral high-waisted skirt atop a light blue bodysuit. Her straight platinum-blonde hair flows like water down to the small of her back.

“Ugh, you both have no business looking as good as you do,” Livy jokes, hopping on one foot, slipping into her other cowboy boot.

“Shut up, you’re one to talk,” I throw out, and everyone laughs.

A year ago I never would’ve had the confidence to say something like that as a joke. A smile stretches across my face knowing I’m healing bit by bit.

Livy didn’t come to mess around, girlfriend came to impress, though I’m not sure who. Her fire-red hair is plaited in a complicated up-do, and she has lethal-winged eyeliner.