22
“Hold still, princess.”
Harper’s father worked a brush through her hair, ever so gently untangling the knots that seemed to tie themselves overnight in her long, unruly locks. The scent of his aftershave enveloped her as he worked; a peculiarly comforting blend of lemon and rosewood that smelled as she imagined sunshine would. It was her second week of kindergarten, and her mother was in West Virginia visiting her younger sister, Harper’s Aunt Kendra-Joe. She was gone for a week, but not forever.
Not yet.
“Daddy, why did mommy have to go away?”
“She had to help Aunt KJ with the new house, remember?”
“Why couldn’t we go, too?”
“Because I have to work. And you’re a big schoolgirl now. There. All done. Now hand me the pink butterfly barrettes your mommy bought you.” With her hair brushed and braided into submission, Dallas clipped the butterflies in place; sparkly, pretty things. Silver wings speckled with pink and purple rhinestones; they were Harper’s most prized possessions. Mommy had given them to her just before she left, saying if Harper started to miss her, she could reach up and touch the butterflies and know that Mommy was missing her right back.
As he drove across town to the elementary school, her father explained that he had an important meeting that morning. “If I don’t get stuck behind any school buses, I might just make it in time for my meeting.”
“Will your meeting be like our morning meeting in Miss Carpenter’s room?”
“Probably a lot like that, except we go over figures and spread sheets instead of colors and the days of the week. And unlike Miss Carpenter, my boss, Mr. Hammond, is kind of a bear. “He made his growly face.
She giggled. She mostly didn’t understand the things he told her about his work, but even so, she loved being with her daddy, being taken into his confidence.
“Mommy left a meatloaf in the fridge for our dinner, but I’m thinking pizza might be better. What do you think?”
“Can we really have pizza instead?”
“Darn tootin’. OK, here we are.” He pulled up in front of the school, where her classmates were already filing through the big front door.
She regarded him pensively. “Mommy walks in with me.”
“I know, sweetheart. But you’re a big girl, and I’ve got my meeting in ten minutes. How about I sit right here and watch until you’re inside, safe and sound?”
“OK.”
“That’s a good girl.”
“You won’t forget me after school, will you, Daddy?”
He leaned across the seat and kissed her cheek. “I’ll never forget you, princess. Never, ever. Now go on so you’re not late. And don’t lose your butterflies, OK?”
“I won’t, Daddy.”
“Love you, sweet girl.”
“Love you, Daddy.”
She’d tried to be a good girl, but even so, she’d somehow lost the barrettes on the playground that day and she’d mourned the loss of them for days. And years later, she’d somehow lost the love of her daddy and that, she supposed, was a loss from which a child could never recover…
~*~
“Girl, hold still. Just one more bobby pin and we’re done.” Babe fastened the veil to Harper’s hair, which she’d painstakingly worked into a classic braided chignon, leaving a few wispy tendrils as a frame for her face. “Gorgeous,” Babe said. She held up a mirror. “You like?”
Looking in the mirror, Harper did not recognize herself. With the fancy hairstyle and veil and the hint of makeup Babe had applied, she felt like a runway model. From the neck up, anyway.
“I love .”
“You are one hot little mama.”
“I don’t know about all that.”
“Own it, sweetie. This is your day to shine.”
“Thanks so much, Babe. For everything. I could never have done all of this in a million years.”
“You’re right. And you’re welcome. But I’m happy to?"
A sharp rapping on the bedroom door scattered her words.
“That had better not be you, Dalton Kingston,” Babe hollered. “You know the groom is not allowed to see the bride before the wedding. It’s bad enough you already saw her this morning.”
The door opened and Dallas apologetically poked his head in. “It’s just me.”
“Dallas! Why, you just come right on in, honey.”
Harper rolled her eyes. Even though she was happily married, Babe’s flirt-o-meter went from zero to sixty in five-point-nine seconds when a good-looking man appeared on the scene. “I’ll just get right out of the way and let you two have a moment.” Gathering up her hairspray and brushes, Babe swept from the room, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.
“You look beautiful,” her father said.
“Thank you.”
He approached her, a small box in his hand. “I wanted you to have this.”
“What is it?”
“Open it and see.”
She opened the box. Inside, wrapped in layers of yellowed tissue paper, was a small white Bible. She shot her father a confused glance. “A Bible?”
“Not just any Bible. Your grandmother gave this to your mother on her wedding day. Your mother always planned to give it to you on yours. I guess it’s up to me to keep up the family tradition.”
She flipped to the bookmarked page. First Corinthians, chapter thirteen.
Love is patient,love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,it is not easily angered,it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evilbut rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres…
“I’m afraid I haven’t done a very good job of living up to the words in this book,” her father said. “Not like Mandy did. And not like she wanted me to. I didn’t stand by you and your brother. I shirked my responsibility as a father. I wasn’t loving enough. Harper, I’m so deeply sorry.”
She blinked back the tears that threatened. What did he want her to say? That it was all right? For years she’d been on the outside of his life, unable to find a way in. The entrance to his heart was a small window she could not fit through, and he refused to open the door. It wasn’t all right and it never would be.
“I’ll treasure the Bible,” she said simply.
“There’s a bit of family history listed in the front here, if you’re interested in that sort of thing.” He flipped to the first page and showed it to her. Generations of Tracy brides and their wedding dates were listed, and beside them, the names and birth dates of their children. She searched for and found her own name, beside her mother’s.
To Amanda Tracy Blessings, Harper Blessings on November 3, 1997.
Nicky’s birth information had not been added, and she made a mental note to inscribe it later.
“You can add your baby’s information when he or she is born, keep up the tradition if you choose to.”
“It’s a she.”
He looked momentarily taken aback, then he smiled. “A little girl.”
“We’ve decided to name her Alianna. Ali for short.”
“I like that.” He watched her face for a long moment. “Listen, sweetheart, I know that I’ve been a miserable failure as a father to you and Nicky. If I could go back and do it again, I’d do it so much differently, but I know that’s not possible. To be honest I’m hoping I can do better as a grandfather. I’d like to come out and see Alianna a few times a year, get to know the newest little blossom on the family tree. If you want that.”
Her heart clenched. It was time to lay it all out on the table. Time to see if he really meant it.
“Daddy, about Alianna. I have something I want to tell you, and after I’m done you can decide if you still feel the same way.”
“All right.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes never leaving her face as she related the story of her promise to Ashley and all that happened afterward. “I wasn’t even sure I would keep her,” she confessed.
Long, silent moments slipped past and then her father said, “And here I just assumed it was Dalton’s.” He paused, blew out a breath. “You know, over the years Clara was always sending me things. Newspaper clippings about your volleyball games, your report cards, things like that. I have always been so proud of you. But I’ve never been prouder of you than I am right now.” He held out his arms and she moved into them. “I love you, my princess. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that more often.”
She swallowed the lump that suddenly clogged her throat. With the door thrown wide open at last, she took a cautious step inside. “We have a lot of things to work through, Daddy. A lot of old wounds to heal. But I’d like a chance to get to know you again. I’d like that a lot.”
They embraced for a moment, not speaking. And in those quiet moments, her baby daughter fluttered inside her womb and her broken heart swelled with hope.
~*~
As people began to drift into the back yard, Dalton stood off to the side, enjoying a cold drink and a last quiet moment before the ceremony began. He set down his bottle of water when Nicky approached him.
“Hey D, I’ve got to start seating the guests soon. But I thought you should know some people pulled in the driveway a couple of minutes ago and they’re looking for you.”
“OK. Who are they?”
“I dunno. They say they’re your family.”
“My family?” He’d greeted his mother Constance a short time earlier and hadn’t given Babe any other family members’ contact information. Puzzled, he headed across the yard. When he reached the driveway, he stopped in stunned silence. “Tia?”
Tasha’s mother, her aunt, Tia, and her two sisters all turned, and with squeals of happiness, simultaneously swept him into group hug.
“Well, look at our boy,” Tia said, “looking all fine an’ handsome on your weddin’ day.”
“But how did you…?”
“Clara invited us.”
He laughed softly. “Of course, she did.”
“Such a lovely soul, and Ha-pa, ahh, she’s so beautiful. Tarone an’ Renzo an Miguel are all workin’ but they send their love and best wishes.”
“Thank you for coming.”
Her gentle brown eyes filled with tears. “We wouldn’t miss da chance to see your new life beginnin’, Dalton. We all want that for you. She would want that for you.”
Swept once again into Tia’s warm embrace, he felt his past and his future clasp hands, finally at peace.
~*~
Fifteen minutes before the wedding, Harper stood with her father and Nicky on the back patio.
“Can you believe it, sis? In less than fifteen minutes you’ll be a married woman!” Nicky hugged her, adding softly, “This is the best day ever.”
She smiled. “It is, isn’t it?”
The kitchen door opened, and Clara and Babe stepped out onto the patio.
“Aunt Clara, you look beautiful," Harper said, and it was true. A nap after the morning's debacle seemed to have been as refreshing to Clara as a summer rain, and Harper had to hand it to Babe, she’d once again worked her magic. The subtle shade of lavender eye shadow she’d applied brought out the blue in Clara's eyes, making them sparkle. Her hair was beautifully styled in a French twist, a butterfly clip fastened to her nape, its lavender rhinestones echoing the color in the dreamy bridesmaid gown Babe had picked out for her.
"Always the bridesmaid and never the bride," Clara chirped.
"Some lucky guy is bound to snap you up soon," Nicky told her, "Look at you, looking all like a princess in that gown."
"Oh, stop it, you foolish boy!" Clara flapped her hands at him, though Harper could tell the comment pleased her.
“Thank you, Babe,” Harper said. “For everything.”
Babe smiled. “No worries. Now I’d better get out there and find my husband. Ta-ta, for now!” Babe disappeared down the path.
Nicky held out his arm. "Are you ready, Aunt Clara?"
"Ready, set, go!" Aunt Clara chirped. She tucked her hand in the crook of Nicky's arm, and then as stately as a ship, glided beside him down the rose-strewn path that led to the gazebo.
Harper's father grasped her hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm. "I can't believe this day has come already," he said. "It seems like yesterday I was reading you story books and tucking you into bed. I'm so happy to be here to share this with you."
"Me, too." Harper smiled and inside her, the baby fluttered. She was certain that at that moment there was more love in the atmosphere than any heart could hold. As they made their journey down the path to the gazebo, she clutched an enormous spray of red and white roses, the small Bible her father had given her safely tucked inside. On her wrist, two silver friendship bracelets glinted in the late afternoon sunlight, the two halves of a heart she and Ashley had bought at the county fair so many years ago, two halves making a whole as they softly clinked together. Harper blinked back tears. Her mother and Ashley were both here with her today. Symbolically, and yet, also tangibly. She could feel their love surrounding her.
Rounding the corner, she saw that every seat was filled, and she caught glimpses of dear faces as she passed the rows of folding chairs. Kat and Austin Delany. Sandy and Rochelle Fairbrother. Various high school teachers and classmates. Friends from church. In the front row sat Dalton's friend and partner, Ben Abrams, and beside him, Dalton's mother, Constance, who'd gathered Harper into a stiff embrace earlier that day. The rest of the family row was filled with Tasha’s family. In the chaos of the day, she’d forgotten to tell him they were coming, but somehow it was all right. She answered their smiles with one of her own.
And then there was Dalton.
He stood before her in his charcoal gray suit, a grin on his face and what looked like pure love shining in his eyes. He stole her breath, this beautiful man. This strong and caring man who stepped in and helped her make sense of a mess he'd had no hand in making.
Dalton. Her man. Her love. Her everything.
She reached his side, and her hand fell away from her father's and found his. And the child inside her fluttered with happiness.