60
The day of their wedding had finally arrived. They’d had a late night at Johanna and Geoff’s the night before, where their families had met for a loud and wonderful dinner. Geoff had gone overboard, making far too much food, but the abundance had only added to the sense of occasion.
With two late nights in a row—first dancing with their friends, then the family dinner—Aurelia was happy for a lie-in.
Deciding not to buck tradition, Oliver had spent the night at Jack’s, so that Aurelia woke up to Fezz and Biscuit nestled on the bed next to her, taking advantage of his temporary absence.
Aurelia had a leisurely breakfast, took Biscuit for a long walk, then was home in time to let Antonia and Julia into the shop.
Julia helped Aurelia with her makeup (with promises not to follow any strange makeup tips she’d picked up from her teenaged friends), while Antonia managed her hair—nothing too fancy, just something to feel a little different and special in honor of the day.
They were there as Aurelia stepped into her dress and helped her with the buttons at the side as her fingers were shaking slightly in her excitement.
Antonia put Johanna’s clip into her hair, just above one ear, and admired it as it caught the light in the mirror.
Marigold’s bangle danced around Aurelia’s wrist as she got ready, and she felt her mother’s pearl drop earrings give a slight swing every time she moved her head.
Each bit of the women in her life made her smile, though she’d freely let the tears flow over her tea that morning.
She’d accepted that the day would be one of highs and lows as she worked through her excitement at tying the knot with Oliver and her sadness at not having her mum or Marigold there to share it with her.
Once she was nearly ready, Aurelia shooed off Antonia and Julia to help gather everyone in the square below, secretly wanting a few minutes on her own.
Walking to the full-length mirror in her bedroom, Aurelia ran her eyes over her reflection: there she was, standing in a wedding dress on her wedding day.
With the upheaval and uncertainty of the past few weeks, and the grief and magic of the past few years, she’d found the man who she wanted by her side for whatever lay ahead in her life.
She almost wanted to pinch herself to confirm the day was finally here, then laughed out loud at the idea that she was having trouble processing something so normal when she’d gotten used to watching fictional characters materialize from print at night.
She took one last look, then went down to find her father.
Aurelia spotted him standing at the front of the shop, looking out the window toward the square and absentmindedly shuffling the change in his pocket. She stepped onto the spiral staircase and cleared her throat dramatically, and he turned at the sound.
“I didn’t want you to miss my My Fair Lady moment,” she said. She took each step slowly and lifted her arms out to the sides to show off her dress.
“I’m glad you warned me,” her dad said softly as he watched her descend.
She could hear the tears in his voice before she got close enough to see them in his eyes.
“What do you think?” she asked gently.
“Lovely. Just lovely,” he said as he pulled her in for a hug. “The dressmakers did a marvelous job, didn’t they? It’s just like hers.”
“I did have them make some changes,” Aurelia told him apologetically.
“No, but it’s an ode to her dress, isn’t it? I think you’ve done it one better.”
“I wish Mum were here,” she said in a whisper before stepping back.
“Me too,” her father agreed. “But if you can see characters in this shop at night, I think there’s a good chance she’s here today in some way, don’t you?”
Aurelia nodded and put her hand to her chest, as though pulling her mother close, wherever she was.
“Well, what’s next? Are we walking over now?” he asked lightly, clearly trying to keep them from getting lost in sad thoughts and memories.
“Not just yet. Antonia said she’d send Max over once everyone’s arrived.”
“Good. Then I have a few minutes left to impart some wedding-day wisdom.” He took a deep breath as he caught her eye. “You know I like Oliver, but—more than that—I like what he’s brought out in you: the best parts of you.”
Aurelia bit her lip, trying not to let the tears that were building fall.
“Then there’s how happy he makes you. That’s all I needed to see to know you’d found your match.”
“He does make me happy,” she said with a smile.
“I had many happy days with your mother, but there was something different—a certain quality—to the happiness I felt on the day I saw her walking down the aisle toward me. I knew it was the end of something good…” He paused, collecting himself before finishing, “And the start of something better.”
His eyes lost their focus for a few seconds, as though he were traveling back in time to his own wedding day. Aurelia couldn’t find the words to respond so she reached out to hug him again, smiling through the tightening in her throat as he patted her back.
Max appeared at the door to the shop and, opening it, asked “Are we ready?”
Aurelia and her father looked at each other with raised eyebrows—as if to confirm ‘are we?’—then laughed at their synchronized expressions.
“I’m ready if you are,” he offered.
“Absolutely.” She nodded as she took his arm.
Max held the door for them as they passed through, and Aurelia paused to let her eyes adjust to the glorious afternoon sunlight stretching over the treetops in the square.
She scanned the grass where her friends and family were gathered, and she watched as Julia caught sight of her and prompted everyone to shush and turn to look.
Aurelia continued scanning the crowd until she found Oliver, whose eyes were burning into her from across the square.
An answering flame rose up in her chest, and she started walking across the street, practically pulling her father along beside her.
She registered a chuckle from him, but she kept walking, smiling as she saw Oliver, too, crack a smile at her eagerness to get to him.
As she moved down their makeshift aisle, she smiled at Antonia, Julia, Kali, David, Jack, and Mark—everyone who’d gotten them to this moment and would be there for them in the moments beyond.
But they were quick glances and smiles before her eyes were drawn back to Oliver’s.
At the end of the aisle, she kissed her father’s cheek before he deposited her next to Oliver.
Aurelia automatically gathered his hands in hers and took a breath to steady herself.
Each of their smiles grew wider as they stared each other down.
With a quirk of his eyebrow, Oliver pulled her hand up as he patted the breast pocket of his pale grey linen suit.
Aurelia quirked her eyebrow right back at him and he reached inside his jacket to show her a frayed and worn bookmark—the one she’d given him on their first date, the one he’d held onto and shown her on the day she’d finally realized she was ready to let him into her heart and her life.
Aurelia smiled through the tears that were forming at the corners of her eyes, and Oliver reached into another pocket to hand her a handkerchief.
She heard Antonia sniffling tears behind her, and she gave a happy laugh before dabbing at her eyes.
Aurelia and Oliver then turned, their arms linked, to face the officiant, the end of something good, and the start of something even better.