40. Annette #2
One by one, the women begin slipping quietly toward the door. They move quietly to the bridesmaids’ room to await their entrance to the sanctuary.
Finally, Keisha pulls me into the longest hug of all. She doesn't say anything at first. She simply holds me. When she finally steps back, her eyes shine.
"I'm really proud of you."
My throat tightens. "I love you."
"I know."
She grins through suspiciously bright eyes. "I love you too."
She slips quietly into the hallway with the others.
The door closes softly behind them, and the room becomes quiet.
***
Then a gentle knock and the door opens. My mother steps inside carrying a silver tray with three flutes of champagne.
"There you are," my mother says with a smile.
"I thought we might need a proper toast."
Right behind her is Jamie's mom, my wedding gown over one arm.
Jamie's mother laughs. "And I was promoted to official dress delivery."
I can't help smiling.
"Come in."
Watching them together still catches me off guard, not because it’s surprising anymore, but because it feels so wonderfully natural.
My mother immediately sets the tray on the table while Jamie's mother carefully hangs my dress near the window.
Without missing a beat, they begin chatting about whether the florist included the greenery we'd chosen for the reception.
It's the sort of conversation women who've known each other for years might have.
Not that many months ago, they'd never met.
My mother hands us each one of the flutes before wrapping me in a hug that lasts just a little longer than usual.
When she finally steps back, she studies my face carefully. "You slept?"
"A little."
She laughs knowingly. "I didn't either."
"You've done this before."
She smiles. "But I've never married off my little girl before."
"Before everything becomes wonderfully chaotic..."
She lifts her champagne.
"...I'd like a moment."
We raise our glasses together.
"To love," she says softly.
"To family."
"And to new beginnings."
Our glasses touch with three quiet chimes.
***
For just a moment...none of us speaks.
Then Jamie's mother smiles at me. "I've been waiting a very long time for today."
I tilt my head.
"You have?"
"Oh, yes."
She laughs softly. “Every mother wants her son to find such happiness.”
She walks toward the dress. "I think it's time we helped you become a bride."
"And perfect timing," my mother says. "We're trying not to cry before we've even started."
"How's that working?"
My mother smiles ruefully. "Not especially well."
The two women exchange a look that only mothers seem to understand before laughing together.
Watching them, I'm struck by how naturally they've fallen into one another's company over the past few weeks.
They come from different towns and different lives, yet somehow, they've become friends because the people they love found one another.
It feels like another gift Jamie has quietly placed into my life.
Jamie's mother carefully unzips the garment bag and lifts out the dress.
For a moment no one speaks. The gown isn't extravagant. It's elegant. Soft ivory satin flows into delicate lace sleeves, and tiny pearl buttons trail down the back in a perfect line.
"It's beautiful," my mother whispers.
Jamie's mother smiles at me. "So are you."
I laugh. "I think you meant the dress."
"I didn't."
Before I can protest, she gently places it in my hands. "Go on."
"We can help with the buttons."
***
Ten minutes later I stand in front of the full-length mirror while the two mothers work quietly behind me.
My mother smooths the skirt.
Jamie's mother fastens one pearl button after another with practiced patience.
Neither woman seems to be in a hurry. The room feels filled with something much more important than excitement. Peace.
Finally, the last button slips into place and Jamie's mother steps back.
"There."
I lift my eyes to the mirror, and for a moment I don't recognize the woman looking back at me.
Then I do. Not because of the dress. Because of the smile. It's the smile Jamie tells me I wear whenever I look at him.
"I can't believe this is really happening."
My mother's voice is suspiciously quiet. "It's happening."
I turn carefully toward them. Neither woman says anything. They simply look at me.
Then, almost at the same moment, both sets of eyes begin to fill with tears.
"Oh no." I laugh. "We were doing so well."
"We really were," my mother agrees, reaching for a tissue. Jamie's mother dabs carefully beneath one eye before laughing at herself.
"I promised Jamie I wouldn't cry until the ceremony."
"You may have set unrealistic expectations."
"I think I did."
The three of us laugh together and the emotion eases. Jamie's mother walks across the room and takes both of my hands in hers. "I need to tell you something, Annette" Her smile is warm enough to quiet every nervous thought racing through my mind.
"Each time Jamie mentioned you..."
She pauses, remembering. "...he was trying very hard to convince us that you were simply his therapist."
He talked about how kind you were to every patient."
She laughs softly. "And he complained that you wouldn't let him skip a single exercise."
"I definitely didn't."
***
"But do you know what I remember most?"
I shake my head. "He smiled through every story."
Tears sting unexpectedly behind my eyes as she adds: "I don't think he realized he was doing it."
She brushes a loose curl away from my face with the same tenderness she might have shown her own daughter. "We all knew long before he did."
My mother smiles through tears. "So did we."
I look from one woman to the other. "I'm beginning to think we were the last two people to figure it out."
"Oh," my mother says with a laugh. "Not the last - Liam."
The three of us burst into laughter.
"But I think Liam still figured it out sometime before Jamie did," his mother says.
"Then announced it to half the county," I reply.
"That sounds about right."
The laughter fades into a comfortable silence.
***
Mom reaches into her overnight bag for a small cream-colored velvet box.
"I've been waiting a long time for this."
She opens it carefully, revealing a delicate strand of freshwater pearls nestled inside with matching pearl earrings.
"They were my wedding gift from your grandmother to me."
She smiles softly as she lifts the necklace into the light. "I've worn them on every anniversary since."
Emotion catches in my throat. "I remember them, Mom. They're beautiful."
"They've always reminded me that the strongest things don't have to be flashy."
She steps behind me and gently gathers my hair over one shoulder before fastening the necklace around my neck. The pearls rest lightly against my collarbone, cool against my skin.
"There." Her voice is barely above a whisper. "Now they're exactly where they belong. These belong to you now, sweetheart. Maybe someday you will pass them on to a daughter of your own."
She removes the matching pearl earrings, fastening each one with the same gentle care she used when I was little, and she was helping me get ready for church on Sunday mornings.
When she's finished, she turns me toward the mirror. For a long moment, neither of us speaks. Then she smiles through eyes already glistening with tears again. "I don't see my little girl anymore. I see a woman who's found the kind of love every mother hopes her daughter will find."
Now, my eyes fill. "I love him so much, Mom."
"I know."
She kisses my cheek softly. "And after watching the way he looks at you..."
She laughs through her tears. "...I'm quite certain he loves you just as much."
***
Then Jamie's mother opens a small velvet pouch she'd placed on the dresser.
"I have something for you as well."
She places a delicate hand mirror in my hands. It’s silver with the edges engraved with tiny wildflowers worn smooth by time. "It belonged to Jamie's grandmother."
I look at her in surprise. "I can't possibly..."
"You can." She smiles. "She carried it on her wedding day and so did I."
I run my thumb lightly over the engraving. "It's beautiful."
"So was their marriage…and mine."
She closes my fingers gently around it. "I'd like you to have it, Annette. We did not have a daughter of our own to pass this along to, but I want you to know that from this day forward YOU are that daughter."
My eyes immediately fill again. "I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything." She steps forward and kisses my forehead. "Just promise you'll treasure it as much as I have."
I laugh through my tears. "I will do that."
She smiles. "I know."
Then, more quietly, she adds the words that settle forever into my heart.
“Thank you...for loving my son so well.”
***
For several moments, none of us moves.
The room is wrapped in a silence that somehow feels full instead of empty.
Then my mother smiles through her tears.
"Well..."
She reaches for a tissue.
"If we keep this up, none of us will have any mascara left."
Jamie’s mother laughs. "I was thinking exactly the same thing."
The spell breaks just enough for all three of us to smile.
"Turn around," mom says gently.
"It's time."
I do.
Every movement feels almost ceremonial.
The final buttons on my gown are checked once more.
The delicate pearl necklace rests against my collarbone.
My mother's hands smooth the front of my dress one last time before she steps back.
"There."
She smiles, though her eyes glisten.
"My beautiful girl."
Jamie’s mother reaches for the veil lying across the bed.
"May I?"
I nod.