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Twenty-Eight
Vanessa
Mama ran her fingers through my curls, making sure my soft hair hung down my back perfectly. I considered hiring someone to do my makeup, to put fake eyelashes on my eyelids and blush on my cheeks. But when I remembered Bones loved me the way I was, made love to me the way I was, I realized he wouldn’t want me to look like a different person. So I kept everything light, subtle eyeshadow, lipstick, and foundation.
Something more natural.
Mama looked at my appearance in the mirror as she stood behind me. “You look perfect, sweetheart.” She grabbed the back of my train and adjusted it behind me, making sure it looked just right.
“Thanks, Mama.” I picked a formfitting dress, pearl white with sleeves made of lace. The color contrasted against my olive skin, and the diamond necklace my mother loaned me sparkled. I didn’t wear heels, choosing to go barefoot so I could feel the grass underneath my feet as I walked to my future husband.
My mother gripped both of my shoulders then kissed me on the cheek. “Griffin is a very lucky man.”
“And I’m lucky that he thinks so.”
“Are you nervous at all?” She walked to the window and peeked out onto the lawn, seeing the white rose petals on the ground and the white arch my father built with his bare hands. It was the same place where my parents got married, my brother as well. Now it seemed to be a family tradition.
My dress felt tight against my stomach and my heart rate wouldn’t slow down, but that was mere excitement. “No. There’s not a doubt in my mind he’s the man I want.”
She smiled at me. “I didn’t ask if you had doubts. Just asked if you were nervous.”
“Were you nervous when you married Father?”
“Yes,” she answered immediately. “But your father is an intense man. It seemed like I couldn’t walk to him fast enough. He was always disappointed with how slowly I was moving. Being loved by a man like that can be difficult, but very rewarding. Griffin seems to have a lot of the same qualities.”
Bossy. Controlling. Possessive. Yes, he had all the qualities that made him a little crazy. “He does.”
“So be nervous as long as you can. It’s the happiest day of your life—and it’s one of my mine.”
Father came in next, wearing a black suit and tie. His gaze moved up my dress until he settled on my face. A slight smile appeared on his lips, along with a hint of pride. “You’ve never looked more beautiful, tesoro.”
“Thanks, Father…”
He kissed me on the cheek then wrapped his arm around my mother’s waist. “I think we did a good job, Button.”
“Yes,” Mama whispered. “Couldn’t have asked for a better daughter.”
The three of us stood there together, cherishing the final moments when I would be just their daughter, unmarried and without a family of my own. Once I left the house with Bones, I would be having my own children, and things would never be the same. They wouldn’t be worse, probably better, but never the same as they were now.
Mama cleared her throat and moved from Father’s embrace. “We’re getting started soon. I’ll see you guys down there.”
Father kept staring at me, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. He’d never been an emotional man when I was growing up, but ever since Bones came into the picture, he’d become much softer.
“You’ll never lose me, Father.”
His eyes narrowed slightly on my face, touched by my words.
“I’ll always be your daughter…even when you’re pushing eighty and I’m forty.” I repeated the words back to him, trying to make him feel better.
He finally smiled. “Yes…you’ll always be my daughter. The only thing that’s changing is I’m getting a son, a very noble young man. I know I’m not myself right now, but I am happy, tesoro…even if it doesn’t seem that way. A father’s job is to make sure his daughter ends up with a good man… I did my job. It’s something I’ll never have to worry about again.”
“No, you won’t,” I whispered. “How’s he doing?”
“Quiet. He’s been drinking with me and Conway all day. Seems anxious.”
“I’m sure he is.”
“Not that I can blame him…when you’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”
“Father…” My eyes watered, and I immediately blinked my tears away, not wanting to ruin my makeup.
He came to my side and extended his arm to me so I could take it. “Let me give you away to a man who’s earned you, tesoro.”
My father guided me down the steps and to the grass at the end of the porch. He used his frame to support me the entire way, even though I was barefoot and had no trouble.
Had no trouble walking to the man I was meant to be with.
