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Katy snickered. For the last hour or so, she’d been sitting in front of the mirror. People were coming into the church; she could hear them, even though she was in one of the church’s back rooms. And her cousin Sherry, who had a salon up in Columbus, was doing her makeup.
“Mom, calm down,” Katy said to her worked up mother. “That’s what she’s doing… That’s what she’s doing.”
“I know, Katy,” Linda said. “I know. You know I just want to make sure you look your best. I’ve been to a couple of weddings where the brides could’ve used a little constructive feedback.”
“Linda, you’re not over there talking about me again while I’m standing right here, are you?”
Katy laughed out loud, causing her cousin to pull the eyeliner stick back away from her face for a moment. She had forgotten her Aunt Claudia was in the room. The 55-year-old woman, who was often called “Foxy” by people who grew up knowing her, had been married four times. Not one marriage lasted five years, but the last marriage – the fifth guy – she had a wedding. Katy vividly recalled the family feedback, so to speak.
Linda waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, Claudia… Not right now. We all already talked about your wedding and how you were up there looking like a Cher Halloween costume. Enough already. Everything isn’t about you, Claudia.” She shook her head.
Claudia bickered with her sister Linda for a while then there was a tap at the door. Instantly, the room got quiet. Katy stared on at the mirror while Sherry was finishing up with her blush. “You really do look beautiful,” Sherry said. “You look like a doll.”
Katy had been waiting six long months for this day. She promised the kids that she would get with the school so they could get pictures from today. It was so cute how some asked if they could come – something she wouldn’t forget. Katy thought about all of this while she looked at the door in the mirror. Her Aunt Claudia had jumped up out of her seat and was now making her way over to answer.
“Yes?” Claudia asked. “Who is it? The groom isn’t supposed to see the bride before the wedding.”
“Oh, Claudia, hush up,” Linda snapped. “Do we need to go over John?” This was Claudia’s second husband, which she married when she was 25 years-old. “I recall a certain bride and groom being missing for a while. We won’t talk about how Aunt Lula had to find them in a car in the church parking lot.… And how they had jumped to the fun part of the honeymoon.”
Katy’s mouth hung open in shock. She quickly turned around and looked at her Aunt Claudia. “Aunt Claudia? Are you serious? Is what she’s saying true?”
Gasps and giggles erupted from the other few ladies – cousins and aunts of Katy’s – as Claudia turned away from the door, rolling her eyes. “Katy, I hate to say this but you might really have a fight in the parking lot at your wedding.” She shook her head and sat back down. “Let’s just hurry up and get to the reception so I can get a drink. I’m going to need one.”
Linda opened the door and found herself looking into her husband’s eyes. Richard smiled. “I know the rule very well.” Linda smiled, remembering her own wedding day.
“Katy, it’s your father,” Linda announced, opening the door and allowing the man inside.
Katy looked in the mirror at her father and how he commanded attention and respect entering the room. Her mother quickly motioned for the other women to give them some privacy. Several seconds later, Katy and her father were alone. Richard walked up to his daughter and kissed the side of her head. Katy looked down at herself then up at her dad. “So… How do I look, Dad?”
“Katy, you look absolutely beautiful,” Richard said. He then grinned. “You look just like your mother on our wedding day.”
“Oh, Dad,” Katy said, sighing and rolling her eyes. “How did I know you would say something like that?”
Richard chuckled then pulled a picture out of his pocket. He handed it to Katy. Katy smiled, seeing it was a picture of her parents on their wedding day a little over three decades ago. Katy studied her mother’s doll face then looked up at her own in the mirror. “Okay, maybe I do.”
“Not maybe, Katy,” Richard said. “You do.”
Richard shared some words of wisdom with his daughter for a few minutes then let the ladies waiting outside know they could come back into the room and finish up their work. “I’ll be waiting.”
The next twenty minutes zoomed by. Women darted around the room making sure Katy was ready then time came for her father to walk his daughter down the aisle and give her to Brennon. The music started; Katy approached the entrance of the sanctuary then wrapped her arm around her father’s. She took a deep breath then he guided her out through the double doors.
***
Katy and Brennon looked at one another then smiled when yet another relative approached their table, demanding a picture. The wedding reception was going just as planned. While the ceremony took place at a well-known cathedral downtown, the reception took place at a banquet hall Brennon’s father had reserved for other kinds of events to do with his job in the past. The banquet center was known for its older, castle-like mystique. Its large banquet hall’s back wall was lined with French doors that faced the river.
Brennon nodded Katy then pointed toward her father. “I didn’t know your mother and father could dance.”
Katy giggled. “Yeah, they used to go dancing. Let’s just hope they don’t break anything out there.”
The couple chuckled then Katy saw Eve coming up to the table. She hadn’t had a chance to catch up with her until now. Eve had to do something with her mother so she couldn’t stop by the dressing room before the ceremony.
Katy stood up and embraced her best friend. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
Eve smiled. “Don’t worry about me, Katy. Look at you! You look so beautiful. I was out there taking so many pictures. I so like cannot believe this still.”
Katy laughed, holding her dress train out to the sides then playfully dipping like a princess. “Yeah, I know the feeling.” Katy then thought of something sarcastic she could say that would be doused with irony. “So, what are you waiting on, Eve? We’ve got to get to finding you a husband.”
Eve squinted at Katy then shook her head. “Look here, Little Missy. Nope. That’s not the game we’re going to start playing. I’m working on it, I’m working on it.”
