Epilogue April Sixteenth
Epilogue
April Sixteenth
I took a deep breath and stared into the mirror.
“You look great,” Shannon told me. “Stop being such a worrywart.”
“It’s fine,” my mother chided her. “If she feels nervous, that’s natural. But honey, you are gorgeous. I can’t tell you how proud it makes me that one of my children is finally getting married.”
She wiped away a tear, and to distract her from the tension, I said, “Yeah. I wouldn’t keep my fingers crossed for the rest of them.”
“I still have hope for Shannon,” she admitted. “The other three…well, we’ll just have to see.”
Shannon said we should go outside, and I reminded her Dad was supposed to come up first. She nodded and said they’d give me a little time to myself. Then she squeezed my arm and said, “Good luck out there.”
As the seconds passed slowly, I reexamined myself.
My makeup was nothing fancy—I hadn’t wanted it to be.
My hair was tied back in a bun with a few loose strands framing my face.
That was a last-minute change, against my stylist’s wishes, but it was a humid day and my curls wouldn’t play nice.
I ran my fingers down the edge of the dress.
I had thought it was perfect when I bought it, and even though I was anxious now, I had to admit, it looked amazing.
Simple but elegant, strapless, form-fitting, with a flounced skirt…
Even Dad liked it, and he groused about everything.
I was going out barefoot. Everyone was. I wished I could have seen the look on Mom’s face when Shannon told her that was the dress code.
I grinned at the thought and smoothed out a slight wrinkle as I heard a knock on the door.
It was Naya, who peeked in and said, “Can I? We’ve got a slight emergency. ”
“What is it?”
“I think he needs his mommy.”
Naya pushed her way in, holding Jay in her arms. He was screaming like a banshee and pulling Naya’s hair as she tried and failed to keep his little arms at bay.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “I just suck with kids. I tried with Jane, but I could never calm her down the way Will could, not to mention Mike.”
“It’s fine,” I said, smiling and taking hold of my son, who instantly relaxed. “What’s up, Jay?” I asked. “Why are you driving Auntie Naya crazy? Let me guess, mean old Sue did something to make you angry?”
Sue walked in behind Naya and murmured, “You wish. The one who should be complaining is me. I’ve never had to wear such a ridiculous dress in my life.”
Sue, Naya, and Shannon were my maids of honor, and they had on matching light-blue gowns with their hair hanging over their shoulders. Naya loved it—she looked good, and she knew it—but Sue had hardly stopped carping since I first mentioned the idea.
“Let me remind you, Sue, it is my wedding,” I chided her.
“And that’s supposed to be my fault?”
“Besides,” I added, “you actually look good.”
“Mike’s told her so five times,” Naya informed me.
Sue rolled her eyes. “I need a guy my age.”
“Mike is your age,” Naya responded.
“I mean mentally. Mike has the brain of a five-year-old on his best day.”
As I laid Jay down on a blanket, I asked what everyone was doing, and Naya told me they were all gathered on the beach.
Spencer had walked off by himself, she said, and was reading and rereading the text of the ceremony.
I still remembered the day he told me he’d gotten ordained as a priest online.
I’d heard of people doing that but never thought it was real, but Spencer had done it, and now he was excited to officiate our marriage.
The idea gave me nightmares at first, but it was exactly the kind of crazy thing that Jack loved, and he convinced me it would be fun.
Spencer and I had grown close over the past few years, and it meant a lot to me that he wanted to be a part of my wedding.
My brother Spencer—the guy who used to get mad at me and throw food in my hair—would now be standing in front of me as Jack and I read our vows.
I didn’t want to ask myself what could go wrong, because I wouldn’t know where to start.
“You’ve got five more minutes,” Naya reminded me. “Ross is already standing there waiting. I can’t believe I’m about to watch Ross walk up to the altar. That was something I never thought I’d see in my life.”
“Have you talked to him?” I asked.
Sue laughed. “I caught him raiding the appetizer table. His mom saw him and told him not to stain his tux, and he lost his shit and yelled at her to leave him in peace.”
Once Jay was asleep, I wrapped him up tight and handed him off to Naya, telling her my mother would take care of him.
Sue and Naya walked out, and I shut the door behind them, gathering my courage as I waited for my father to arrive.
I tried to remind myself that everything was taken care of—Jack had spared no expense, and the hotel that was handling the catering and everything else was top-notch.
All I needed to do was make it down the aisle without tripping.
With nothing else to do, I kept wrapping the strands of hair on the side of my face around my fingers and letting them go, watching them bounce slightly like little springs. Finally, I heard a knock and my father’s voice saying, “Jenny, are you ready?”
I opened up with jittery hands and said, “No, but I guess I never will be.”
“Does that mean we should go downstairs?”
“Yeah.”
Dad patted me on the cheek and said, “It’s going to be great, honey. We should get a move on, though. I don’t want your husband-to-be to have a heart attack.”
“Have you talked to him?”
“Yeah. He seems nervous. In the two or three minutes we chatted, he must have adjusted his tie fourteen times.”
“Jack can barely even tie a tie,” I informed Dad.
“I know. I had to help him with it. Again.”
I giggled as we walked downstairs, exited through the back patio, and walked onto the beach.
There was a little trail of rose petals leading to the altar.
Normally, I would have thought that was cheesy, but my mind was racing and I hardly noticed them.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous in my whole life,” I said.
“Listen,” Dad replied. “We’ve still got time to catch a cab and hightail it out of here.”
I giggled, holding a bouquet of flowers tight to my chest. I didn’t even remember where I’d gotten it from. My whole body was trembling.
“I don’t know what’s up with me. The hard part’s over, right? Jack and I live together, we’ve got a kid. All I’ve got to do is go up there, say I do, and get on with my life. But I’m still freaking out. I feel like I need to throw up.”
“You’d better do it now, then,” Dad told me. “Because you definitely don’t want the photographer memorializing that.”
“I’m good,” I replied. “Let’s go ahead and get it over with.”
He offered me his arm, and I took it, standing next to him.
I drew in two deep breaths, and we started walking.
As we topped the slight hill, I saw the chairs with their light blue upholstery arranged in two groups.
There were flowers, a wooden arch, balloons, wreaths…
and the guests—not too many, because we’d wanted an intimate wedding.
Just Shannon; Owen; Sonny and Steve; Mary and Agnes; Sue, Mike, and Will; Jane and Naya; Lana and some guy I assumed was her latest hookup; Chris; Curtis; Vivian; some actors from Jack’s films; Joey; Nelle; a couple more family members; some other faces I didn’t bother looking at as I saw Spencer standing in front of the archway smiling from ear to ear.
Then there was Jack. The sight of him actually relieved me—he was more uptight than I was, if that was possible.
He couldn’t even bring himself to glance at me.
I was in a trance as the music played and we proceeded up to the altar.
I thought Jack would crumble to pieces as my father clapped him on the shoulder before taking his seat.
Spencer started talking, and my eyes got lost in Jack’s tailored black suit, which was so sexy I almost forgot we were in public and I couldn’t throw myself at him—not yet, anyway.
We met eyes, and I realized he must have been thinking exactly the same thing.
He grinned and mumbled, “I’d hoped you’d wear something see-through, but I guess I’ll settle for this. ”
I didn’t respond. All I could do was stand there stiffly and wait for the kiss that I knew was coming. Jack took my hand and recited something, but I didn’t even absorb the words, and finally, Spencer growled at me: “Jenny!”
“What?”
“Try and pay attention,” he muttered under his breath.
A few people in the audience giggled, and I felt the blood rush into my cheeks. Jack was trying to be serious, but he couldn’t help smirking as he squeezed my hand and tipped his head slightly toward Spencer, who repeated, “Do you, Jenny, take Jack to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
When I didn’t respond right away, Jack grunted, “You’re scaring me,” and I responded in a whisper, “Don’t be scared,” before nearly shouting, “I do.”
Jack smiled as he slipped a golden ring on my finger, and I thanked him as I did the same to him, feeling immensely grateful for that moment, even if my hands were shaking so much I could hardly stand it.
At last, Spencer declared, “By the power vested in me by the internet two months ago, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may get it on!”
“Spencer!” Mom shouted from the audience.
“Sorry,” he corrected himself. “Jack, you may kiss the bride.”
Jack cradled my face in his hands; I felt the heat of his flesh and the cold metal of his ring, and it made my heart speed up. I closed my eyes. It was a short, soft, tender kiss, and a few seconds later, he pulled away.
I thought he’d say something—he always did—but before he could speak, Spencer threw his arms around us both. Sonny and Steve came up and did the same, and soon half the guests had joined them.