Chapter 16
The day of the wedding
Ella
“I think I might faint.” I sat back down on the padded stool in the dressing room.
“You’re not pregnant, are you?” my mother asked with mild curiosity as she bent over me to smudge blush across my cheekbone.
I brushed her away, laughing sadly. Hailey was. At Mom’s questioning frown, I excused my reaction. “Charlie’s saving himself for marriage.”
Mom raised an eyebrow and got back to rubbing my cheek with her thumb.
“Mom, stop.”
“You’ll thank me when you see the wedding photos.”
I stood, batting her away. She humphed and muttered something that sounded like “bridezilla” as I went to the door. I had been in this room tons growing up, seen endless other bridal parties use this room and seen all kinds of disasters and happiness.
A knock came at the door and I tensed. Dad. He was in his penguin suit, looking so pink-cheeked I wondered if the makeup artist had hit him with some blush. He smiled broadly. “Princess!”
He stretched out his arms. “I can’t believe my little girl is finally getting married!”
I stood to hug him. Mom hissed. “Wrinkles! Just...hold hands or something, you two.”
She flapped her hands in irritation and then, exchanging a knowing look with Dad that sent a chill of worry down my back, mumbled something about checking in with the guests and slipped out the door.
As soon as she was gone, Dad hugged me anyway. I could practically hear his heartbeat thundering against me at the squeeze, his words a hum through his chest to mine. When he spoke, his voice was all choked up. “I am just...so proud. Ella, you are a fine daughter.”
This was what this was all for—to finally redeem myself. I’d dreamed of him saying those words again for years, that like a cursed princess in a fairy tale I would become the real Ella Stewart again once Dad said the magic words.
And honestly? I did feel comfort. But also sick. By doing this, I had once again become the old Ella Stewart...but this did not feel like the real me at all. In fact, it felt like a terrible mistake.
“Thanks, Dad.” Gently, I pushed back, feeling claustrophobic in his arms.
“And I have news,” he said brightly, not seeming to notice or care about my discomfort at all. How strange—it felt like I had a master’s degree in detecting when he was unhappy.
“What?”
He took my hands and pulled me over to the couch. We sat. He took a deep breath. “I sold the club.”
“I...what?” Instantly, I thought of Charlie’s threat.
“Some new developer. And I have to say, we soaked them. My realtor kept telling me and telling me to reduce the price, but I knew the value of Rolling Green, and I am telling you, I was made right with this deal. I’ll crow at this deal until my realtor has to eat her hat. With the commission she makes, I’m sure she’ll do it gladly.”
“Wait, what? You sold...you didn’t sell...?”
“That’s right! I’m officially retired.” He looked around the room. “Let the new guy worry about the water bill this summer! Your mother and I will be in Paris.”
“Dad?” All this and he had sold Rolling Green? My childhood. And now it belonged to Charlie. Guess I could go along with marrying him and have some hope of getting it back...and I guessed having a baby was probably the price. I thought again of Hailey and Jack, my heart twisting with despair and jealousy. How had I messed this up so badly? How was it that every time I walked away, I just got deeper in?
“Oh, don’t do that,” Dad said. “It’s bad luck for a bride to cry on her wedding day.”
“I need to, uh, I need to tell Charlie,” I said, getting up. “He’s your new developer.”
“I’ll go get him.” Dad leaned over and kissed my hairline. “You two have made me so happy! My job is done.”
A few minutes later, Dad returned. “I tried to get him, but Princess, he’s already at the altar. I lost track of time.” He shot his cuffs to show his watch face. “Princess, it’s time.”
“Daddy, I don’t think I can do this.”
“That’s what all brides say.” He pulled me to my feet. “The mayor is out there, so be sure to say hello first thing in case he has to leave early. Now remember, smile.”
* * *
As Dad and I cued upbehind the floral arch at the edge of the green, the bridal march began, loud and ornate. The air smelled like honey, and perfect puffball clouds drifted across the sky.
Everyone who’d gotten an invitation must’ve come and brought their three closest plus-ones, because every white slatted wooden wedding chair was filled, plus there were people standing in the back. Faces I hadn’t seen in literal years beamed at me. Omigosh, my middle school principal, Ms. Walsh! And I was pretty sure that the young, bedraggled mom with a fussy baby on her hip was Hana Lamb from cheerleading. They stood as Dad and I paused for a dramatic moment just in front of the arch. The photographer ducked into the aisle and took a couple of shots before disappearing into the crowd. Dad and I marched down the petal-strewn path. Silk ribbons and white and cream sprays cordoned off the aisle seats, creating a path to the altar. And every face I saw shone with happiness.
Hailey and Jack were getting married without me.
My eyes filled, and I tried to smile because I was embarrassed about losing my shit. I probably looked like any bride overwhelmed by her wedding day, but inside I was dying. I wanted to turn and bolt. Dad squeezed my upper arm as tight as a blood pressure cuff, so maybe he could tell.
At the front stood Mom and Dad’s pastor, and to the left, my brother Gabe. I knew Charlie stood to the right, but I couldn’t get myself to look at him. Instead, I scanned the crowd. I could barely see past the first row of the audience anyway. I did spot Mary, though. Third row, on the groom’s side. A boy who was probably her son poked his head out toward the aisle for a better view. Mary’s face was pinched in misery. When our eyes met, I felt like maybe my face mirrored hers.
A gentle summer breeze kicked up, rippling across the grass and fluttering the pool water in the distance. And then my short walk to a long conviction was over. Dad kissed my cheek in his showman’s way and, job done, went to sit in the front row with Mom.
Nothing happened. Why was nothing happening? The pastor cleared his throat, and at the same moment I realized I had to take the last step by myself, onto the raised altar.
Charlie must’ve also realized it, because he gallantly reached a hand out to help me up onto the platform. His hands were clammy. In the far distance, the local news van pulled up the drive. They were probably here to do a plug for Rolling Green weddings using our reception footage. Tonight’s six o’clock news would probably feature the lush wedding cake and the rose arch for everyone in town Dad hadn’t invited but still wanted to make jealous. From here, I could see the tables set out on the lawn under white tents. Nearby was a white dance floor near a DJ’s table and speakers, everything festooned with flowers and ribbon.
I must’ve looked like a bride searching for an escape route. The smiles in the crowd wobbled.
I told myself this wasn’t the rest of my life. A divorce with no children and mutual agreement would be easy. This was just a day. This was just a—
“Dearly beloved,” the pastor prompted, and I forced myself to look Charlie in the eye.
He looked like he was gonna hurl on his shoes.
I almost laughed. Wow. This was no girl’s dream—to walk down the aisle and have your future husband look at you like you were a doctor giving a grim diagnosis. But what was I going to do? Humiliate Charlie, the new owner of this place, in front of everyone? Create a scandal arguably even bigger than the last one I’d created here? Charlie had Rolling Green and would surely go through with his threat to out me publicly. My parents would never speak to me again. I had to just get through the next hour...and then the trip to Hawaii...and then the twelve months until we could separate...and then the next whatever until the divorce was final.
How old would Hailey’s baby be by then? How strongly would they have become a family without me?
The pastor was telling some jokes about me when he’d known me as a kid at Rolling Green. He made all the traditional quotes from Corinthians. And then, after we raised our heads, he said, “Should anyone present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimo—”
I turned. I didn’t mean to. I just had to see them one more time, now from the vantage point of the top step, with the crowd seated.
“...ny,” the pastor continued with some hesitation, “speak now or forever hold your peace.”
It was too fast. We were seconds to the part where I would have to say I do.
“I—” I turned back to him.
I turned to Charlie. He didn’t look like he was gonna puke anymore; actually, he looked even worse. The horror and betrayal on his face mixed with relief. Honestly, he looked like a guy who’d zipped his balls into his jeans and the pain was so bad he was actually relieved to find his wiener hadn’t been zipped right off and fallen into the urinal.
“I object!”
I knew that voice without seeing his face. Jack. I whirled toward the sound, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I didn’t even try. He stood behind the last row of seats. There was a very audible gasp.
My heart leaped. Tears of total, overwhelming joy ran down my face.
“You!” someone hissed, and I was pretty sure it was my dad.
“I’m in love with Ella,” he shouted from behind the back row.
Hailey stood next to him. She waved her arm over her head. “Me too. I object as well. Ella, I love you. Don’t do this.”
There was an even bigger gasp from the crowd, a rustle of people moving, conferring.
“Stop!” Dad stood, shouting at them. “That doesn’t count. You don’t count!”
Mary popped out of her seat, just a few rows from us. “Me too! I object!”
Dead silence then. Guess the crowd was all gasped out. In the lull, someone who sounded a LOT like Theo Benedict snarked, “Oh my God. This is hilarious.”
“Not to her!” Mary yelled. “To Charlie. He’s in love with me. And I’m in love with him. Say it, Charlie. Tell them.”
She pointed not at any of my family or my side but to the stern Sticht faces in the front row. Next to me, Charlie wheezed with anxiety. His eyes darted from her to them, panicked.
I reached for his hand and squeezed. Charlie was a blackmailing asshole, but he had also been my partner for a long time, and at this moment, I could see that he was in the same terrible position as I had been...and I had done some pretty shitty things in the name of serving my family too. Maybe we could help each other.
There were escalating murmurs that threatened to boil into drama at my actions, but what I said to him was, “Don’t lose your chance.”
He squeezed back and let go. “She’s right. I love Mary.”
That’s when my dad cannonballed up the steps of the platform, tripping once and recovering just in time to punch Charlie right on the chin.
A moment later, Mary tackled my dad, trying to pull him off Charlie. So of course, I had to get in there and protect my dad. I mean, he was a self-serving asshole, but he was still my dad and too old to take a beating from a lively 30-year-old.
The audience fell into chaos, people laughing and talking angrily and circling the edge of the platform, not sure how to intervene to get Dad off Charlie and Mary off my dad and me off Mary. Someone grabbed me by the waist and hauled me back into the front row, where seats were toppled in the grass from people getting up to join the fray.
“Lemme go!” I wriggled around.
“No,” Jack said.
I went limp, kissing him hard on the mouth, hands cupping his face, unable to stop myself. When the kiss broke, I asked, “Hailey?”
We turned to see her dodging Theo, who held up his phone, taking video of the scene, laughing in his goofy way, a very handsome Lucas Rivers at his side. Hailey made it past him and stood a few feet from us.
Over her head, I spotted the state representative and his assistant heading for the parking lot, looking as though they didn’t want to be caught on camera at this mess. Crouched next to Dad on the altar platform, my mom was tending to what looked like a real shiner of a black eye Dad was developing, and Mary was on her knees cradling a hapless Charlie.
Hailey raised her eyebrow like she was going to make some smart-assed remark, but when Jack unlocked his hands and stretched an arm out to join us, I followed suit, waving for her to join. Hailey gave a ragged sob and ran into our arms. Jack and I closed the circle, wrapping her up tight as we covered each other in kisses. I could feel the stares, but for the first time, I didn’t care. No, it was more than that. I was proud.
Someone clawed me away, and I knew from a lifetime that the hand belonged to my father. He was red in the face with fury.
“You dirty liar.” Even with everything else going on, the crowd turned its attention on us. “You said you were better. You lied in front of me and your mother and God. You should be ashamed.”
“You should be ashamed.” Jack stepped forward. “You’re too bigoted to see what a wonderful, smart, caring person your daughter is. She was going to throw away her happiness for your comfort, and you were going to let her.”
“You!” Dad waved an angry finger in Jack’s face. “This is your fault!”
“No Dad, it’s yours.” My brother Gabe’s voice carried, flat and factual. “If you had even once learned to accept your children for who they are, you could’ve had everything. Instead, you’ll end up with no one and nothing.”
Gabe put his hand on my shoulder.
Dad turned back to Jack. “Get off my property or I will call the police and have you arrested.” He fumbled, pulling his phone from the breast pocket of his suit.
“Actually, it’s my property. You leave.” We all looked at Jack like he had lost his freaking mind. He didn’t waver. “I’m TriPointe. As the new owner of Rolling Green, I am asking you to leave.”
“That’s utterly ridiculous!” My mother had come to full attention at Jack’s claims. “We have been owners of this golf club—”
“And now you’re not. You were paid fair market value. And until you can follow the rules of this fine establishment, you need to leave.”
“Wha—” Mom blustered, puffing out her cheeks. She turned to Dad. He flushed guiltily. “Is that true?”
I turned to Jack. “You? I thought...”
Jack squeezed Hailey closer, then reached for my hand. It was clear from her face that Hailey was just as surprised as I was. “It’s in my name. And in your name. And yours. The three of us will be listed as co-owners as soon as you do the paperwork. It’s my intent to give it to the two of you as co-owners.”
“Jack, how did you—?” I began.
Right over me, Hailey said, “Jack, what the fuck?”
Jack grinned, blushing and embarrassed. “So I have this thing where the more I try to give money away, the more I make somehow. It’s like when I don’t want it, I fall ass-backward into it. So what better way to try and get rid of this huge pile of cash in my account than to give it to the people I love most in the world?”
Hailey hitched a sob and threw her arms around him, saying over and over, “Are you for real?”
He let go of my hand and pulled me into the hug. He kissed my cheek, and I moved to kiss his mouth.
“I will not allow this.” Dad’s voice shook.
Jack broke the kiss. “I love your daughter. If you can accept that, and if Ella approves of you and accepts your appology, you’re welcome back into our lives. But I won’t have that kind of bigoted talk here.”
Dad turned his attention to me. “Don’t you let him talk to your father like that.”
“He’s only telling you the truth, Dad.”
Dad’s face went red, as dark and dangerous as the last time, when I’d thought he was going to die. “You. Are. Out. Tonight. Don’t ever come back to the house. Don’t call. Don’t ask me for money. Don’t send me a Christmas card. And don’t come crawling back when you realize what you’ve done to the people who raised you.”
Deep in my secret heart, all these years, I’d believed he would love me more than he hated gay people. But he didn’t. He turned on his heel and stalked down the path, spine straight, head raised.
“How could you do this to him? To us?” Mom asked.
“I’ll never put anyone over Hailey and Jack again.” Even though my heart was breaking for my parents, it was true. I’d made that mistake over and over, and I’d been lucky enough to get one last chance to make it right.
My mom hurried down the path after Dad.
Hailey pulled me close, until our foreheads touched. “Ella. Ella, I’m so sorry they—”
I tilted in to kiss her, hyperaware that my relatives, friends, and everyone I knew was either staring at me or watching my parents rush off. “Don’t be. I’d rather have you.” To everyone else, I yelled, “Let’s have cake!”
The chaotic remains of our wedding party cheered and headed toward the tables set up on the far decking by the lounge. How strange and amazing—even if my parents couldn’t find it in their hearts to stay, loads of people did. My brother was here, standing next to Theo and Lucas. My mom’s side of the family had stayed, my cousins and nieces and nephews queuing up excitedly for sweets. Smiles met me at every turn. The waiters brought out champagne. While Charlie and Mary spoke in hushed tones, arguing with his family at the altar, Hailey showed Jack and me how to cut the cake, and we sliced into it. The DJ started up the music. Jack fed me a piece of cake. I fed Hailey a piece. Hailey fed Jack. The wedding photographer snapped photos as we kissed, all three of us together. All around us got dead quiet.
People started clapping. Just the same applause you’d expect at a wedding when the bride and groom kissed over cake—mild approval for love. But so supernormal. For us. For the three of us.
And no lie, that cake was delicious.