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“Switch pajamas with me,” Ansley says as I braid Maxi’s hair.
“No, these are fine,” Maxi says.
“You need to be wearing the one that saysbride, and I’ll wear the one that saysbridesmaid,” Ansley insists.
Once I get the hair tie in place, Ansley’s mom hands me a box.
“What’s that?” Maxi asks.
“It’s a tiara. I wore it on my wedding day, and I brought it just in case Ansley wanted to take her veil off at the reception. Now, I know I was guided to bring it for you.”
Maxi begins to sob. “This is too much. It’s all too much.”
I walk around and kneel in front of her chair. “Maxi, sweetheart, it’s not too much. It’s just enough. I know you don’t want some big to-do, but whether you realize it now or not, you’re going to want to take pictures to remember this day. So you can show them to that baby when they ask about the day their mommy and daddy got married. So, wear the pajamas that saybride. Wear the tiara that intuition told Ansley’s mother to bring. Accept the rings from Sara-Beth and Hilton and let us stand in the gap for your mother.”
I take her face in my hands and wipe her tears. “She’d be so proud of you and so excited that you found a man who will love you and her grandchild the way you deserve to be loved.”
Maxi nods. “She would love Corbin.”
“I know she would.”
“Will you give me away?” she asks.
“Oh, sweetheart, I’d be honored to do that for you and for your momma.”
“Thank you.”
“Okay, time’s a-wastin’, and you have a groom waiting for you who’s gonna turn into a pumpkin at midnight,” Erin says.
Maxi’s eyes go wide. “How do I look?”
I place the crystal-encrusted crown on her head. “Perfect.”
“Okay, I’m ready. Will one of you take my phone and call my sister and tell her what’s going on? Then, we can FaceTime so she can watch us sayI do.”
Taeli walks over and picks her phone up from the table. “I got it.”
“And I’m ready to video the whole thing,” Erin says.
I take her hand and help her to her feet. Sara-Beth hands her a bouquet of poinsettias, white roses, red berries, and pine cones.
“It’s beautiful. Where did you get it?” Maxi asks.
“I might have raided the reception centerpieces the florist sent over.”
Maxi shakes her head and tries to give it back.
“They sent extras,” Sara-Beth assures her.
“Oh.”
Maxi raises the bouquet to her nose and smiles. She nods at me, and we lead her out to the elevator and up to the glass tower.
When the door opens, we see that the boys are already there.
They’ve lit dozens of candles and placed them all around the room that has been decorated for tomorrow’s ceremony.
The girls rush past us to the altar, where Corbin waits in his own pair of dark blue silk pajamas with a red rose pinned to the lapel.
