40. Annette #3
Very carefully, she settles it into place before arranging the soft layers over my shoulders.
For a long moment she studies me. Then she whispers, "Oh, Jamie..."
I laugh softly through fresh tears.
"I think he's going to like it."
She smiles.
"My dear...I don't think he's going to remember his own name."
All three of us laugh.
***
Just then...
Another quiet knock sounds at the door. We don’t answer immediately.
We all know who it is.
My mother walks across the room and opens the door to my father standing in the hallway.
For just a second...
He doesn't speak. He simply looks at me. His eyes widen. One hand comes up to cover his mouth.
"Oh..."
His voice catches.
"...Annie."
No one has called me that in years, not since I left home.
He takes one slow step into the room, then another.
"I knew you'd be beautiful."
His smile trembles. "I just wasn't prepared."
I don't even realize I've started crying again until he reaches me.
Without a word, he wraps me in the safest hug I've ever known.
"I'm still your little girl," I whisper.
He chuckles softly. "You always will be."
He pulls back just enough to look at me.
"But today..."
His smile grows.
"...someone else gets to spend the rest of his life taking care of you."
I shake my head.
"No, Dad."
I glance toward Jamie's mother. Then toward my own. Then back to him.
"We're going to take care of each other."
His eyes fill all over again.
"That's exactly the answer I was hoping for."
My father offers me his arm. "Are you ready?"
I look once around the room.
The place where I woke this morning as Annette...
The room where I laughed with my friends...
Where I gained another mother...
Where my parents let me go with joyful hearts.
I take one slow breath. Then I slip my hand through my father's arm.
"I've never been more ready."
He smiles. "Then let's go marry your hockey captain."
***
The hallway outside the bridal suite is almost empty.
Someone has dimmed the lights. The conversations drifting up from downstairs are little more than soft murmurs now.
The ceremony has already begun gathering itself.
We step into the hallway together. Behind us, our mothers follow quietly.
It suddenly feels different than it did yesterday.
The polished wood floors...
The windows overlooking the lake...
Everything somehow feels suspended in time, like the entire building is holding its breath with us.
As we reach the staircase, music begins floating upward from below.
Soft piano.
One of my favorite songs.
I smile.
"Jamie picked that."
Dad glances down at me. "He did?"
"He said he wanted me smiling before I ever saw him."
Dad chuckles. "That sounds like him."
We descend slowly. At the bottom of the stairs, Becca is waiting.
She isn't carrying a clipboard.
She simply smiles.
"You look breathtaking."
I hug her carefully.
"So do you."
She laughs and kisses my cheek.
"It has been one of the greatest joys of my life to help you today."
Then her expression softens. "He's nervous."
I blink. "Jamie?"
She nods. "He keeps pretending he isn't."
A laugh escapes before I can stop it. "I don't believe you."
"I watched him straighten his tie six times."
"Six?"
"Toby finally slapped his hands."
I laugh harder.
"Liar."
"I am many things." She grins. "A liar isn't one of them."
Somewhere from below, I hear Liam's unmistakable voice.
"...if anyone cries before the bride gets here, you owe me twenty bucks."
Another voice answers.
"Liam!"
"What?"
"Stop taking bets at a wedding."
"I'm building team morale."
Even Dad laughs.
The sound settles my nerves more than I expected. The Blizzards. Still themselves. Even today.
Becca touches my arm.
"They're waiting."
The words land gently. Not with pressure. With promise.
We continue toward the closed double doors leading to the ceremony.
Just outside them stands Coach.
His suit is perfectly pressed. His eyes are already suspiciously bright. When he sees me, he removes his glasses, looks at me for a long second.
Then smiles. "Well..."
His voice is rough. "Our captain never stood a chance."
I laugh through tears. "No. He really didn't. I love him.”
“I know.” Coach smiles. “That's what I needed to hear.”
He pats my father's shoulder.
"You've raised an incredible daughter."
Dad smiles quietly. "We're pretty fond of her."
Coach chuckles. "As you should be."
He steps toward the doors where the mothers and Jamie’s dad have been escorted to their front row seats.
Then he pauses and looks back at me one final time.
"Ready to make one hockey captain the happiest man in Frostholm?"
I smile so widely my cheeks hurt.
"More than ready."
Coach nods toward the florist waiting nearby who hands me a small bouquet of white roses and baby’s breath. My bridesmaids stand in front of me smiling and ready.
Coach places a hand on the door handle.
The music changes. Every conversation beyond those doors falls silent. Dad gently squeezes my arm. I take one slow breath.
On the other side of those doors Jamie is waiting.
And in just a few moments, he won't be my hockey captain anymore.
He'll be my husband.
The doors begin to open.