32. Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty
C ars lined the street near the church. An unfamiliar car was parked directly out front, decorated with tissue-paper flowers and a sign reading Just Married in an uneven script. Tin cans hung from strings tied to the bumper. A dark cloud passed overhead, sending the sun into the shadows and threatening rain. Lenore parked at the end of the block and walked up to the church, the same church where she’d married John not that long ago.
With a mixture of fear and discomfort, she approached the path that led to the front entrance. As quietly as she could, she opened the door and slipped inside. The air was damp and smelled of candle wax. From the vestibule, she could see her father handing off Laura to Edwin Knickerbocker. Instead of an extravagant white gown, Laura wore an emerald-green suit with a large corsage pinned above her left breast. It shocked Lenore to see how mature she appeared. But then she hadn’t seen her sister since John’s death.
She slipped into the last pew, relieved when no one seemed to notice her. It was a small wedding. There weren’t more than thirty people in the church, and most of them were congregated in the front pews. She could see her parents in the very first pew with Johnny. She didn’t want him to notice her, or he’d turn disruptive and draw attention to her. It was Laura’s day, and she wouldn’t want to take anything away from her.
She moved further along the pew, toward the wall and one of the wooden columns, into the shadows, observing the ceremony. As Laura and Edwin faced each other, she studied Laura’s choice for a husband and decided she liked the look of him. He had an honest face, and the way he looked at Laura—it was as if he’d saved up all the love he had in the world and offered it only to her.
Halfway through the ceremony, it dawned on Lenore that Hilda and her parents were right; she would have regretted it if she’d missed it. A lot of the blame for John’s death had been placed on Laura’s slim shoulders and maybe that was because of grief, but it was unfair. She swallowed hard. A terrible thing had broken up their family. Laura had never had Lenore’s strength, but Lenore’s strength had shattered with her husband’s death.
Now it was time to reclaim that strength and put everything back together as best she could .
The ceremony was over, and the guests clapped as the newly married couple turned to face them. Arm in arm, they made their way down the middle aisle, all smiles.
As they approached, Lenore stepped out of the shadows to smile at her sister. Laura’s eyes widened. “Lenore!”
She pulled gently away from Edwin and pulled Lenore into an embrace. “Thank you for coming,” she said into her ear. When they pulled apart, they both had tears in their eyes. Lenore’s throat tightened with emotion.
Laura reached for Edwin. “Edwin, this is my sister, Lenore.”
He put out his hand and offered up a boyish smile. “Nice to meet you, Lenore.” His handshake was firm. Masculine.
“Welcome to the family, Edwin,” Lenore said with a smile.
Laura looked over her shoulder to see the rest of the guests gaining on them. Quickly, she said to Lenore, “Will I see you again?”
Lenore smiled and said, “Yes.”
Laura’s chin quivered and she lowered her head.
Edwin put a protective arm around her and said gently, “Come on, Laura, let’s go.”
When she looked up at him, she smiled, and took one last look at Lenore before departing, arm in arm with her new husband.
Despite everything, Lenore was happy for her.