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They headed for the elevator, then had a couple of minutes to wait for it to return. By the time they reached the ballroom floor, the last of the guests had been seated and were inside and waiting.
Ray Caldwell was with Gerald Devlin, the event planner. When Gerald saw the girls arrive, he waved them over, then eyed the florist as she handed Liz her bouquet, filled the flower girl’s basket full of flower petals, and handed Rusty her bridal bouquet.
“Perfect,” Gerald said. “You’re all here. The flowers are done. The pastor is in place. The groom just walked into the room and is waiting at the altar. Liz, go find the best man… What’s his name again?”
“Louis Glass,” Liz said.
“Yes, yes, find Louis, please, and get in line. The flower girl is waiting impatiently with her mother. We need to get this show on the road before she plants the petals in one of the urns.”
Lili Glass had just turned four and was so delighted with her dress that she thought she was the one getting married. Then suddenly having flowers in her basket had shifted her focus from bride to fairy.
As everyone began to take their places, Ray slipped his hand beneath Rusty’s elbow. As he did, she saw her father in his face and blinked away tears.
“My darling niece…you are such a beautiful bride. Thank you for this honor,” Ray said, and kissed the back of her hand.
Then the doors to the ballroom opened.
The music began, signaling the beginning of the ceremony.
Liz and Louis went down the aisle side by side, but Rusty was looking for the man standing tall beside their tiny preacher.
This was happening! It was really, really, happening!
She noticed a large number of people who’d been seated on the bride’s side of the aisle, but all she saw was the back of their heads so she assumed they were just more of Cameron’s people.
Lili took off down the aisle toward her Unca Cam, waving and smiling, and then the people began turning toward the aisle to watch, delighted by the tiny girl throwing flower petals on the “green grass” and in wild abandon up in the air. By the time Lili reached the altar, her hair was as adorned as the aisle.
But it wasn’t until Rusty and her uncle moved toward the entrance that she finally saw the strangers’ faces. Only they weren’t strangers. They were her people! The agents she’d known and worked with from the home office in DC. Even Howard and Pickard were there.
She leaned over, whispering, “Look, Uncle Ray. Those are all people from the FBI. Agents I once worked with. How did they know?”
“Cameron invited them. It was a surprise for you,” he said.
Her eyes welled. “There are days when I’m certain I do not deserve him.”
“No way,” Ray said. “He is a good man. He asked my blessing for this marriage months ago, and he is exactly who you deserve.”
And then the music changed.
“I believe this is our cue,” he said as the notes of the “Wedding March” rolled out into the hallway.
Clutching her bouquet with one hand, Rusty slipped her other hand beneath his elbow, and then they crossed the threshold into the ballroom.
For the first time in years, she was pain-and-bruise-free, walking down that aisle with her chin up and her curls bouncing, walking toward the soldier boy who waited for his bride.
Once she reached his side, everything faded into the background but him. He took her hands and then winked as he turned to face her. Brother Farley was talking, his voice rising and falling in grandiose rhythm as he spoke, but she was waiting for her turn. And then it came, repeating the words the little preacher gave her.
“I, Faith, take thee, Cameron…”
Cameron was watching her face as she gave him her heart, absorbing all of the love she was vowing and the trust she was giving and waiting his turn. When it came, he too repeated the words Farley gave him in a clear, sure voice that echoed out across the ballroom just like an echo from the hills.
“I, Cameron, take thee, Faith…”
And it was done.
***
They cut cake and posed for pictures, and then the music began.
