Chapter 33
Cole, Six Months Later
Today is our wedding day. The last six months have been busy between taking care of Elizabeth, working, and wedding preparations. I haven’t seen Ellie or Elizabeth since they left to go to Bri’s yesterday. I cannot wait to see my girls coming down the aisle.
I am relaxing on the couch. All the guys are here, since we will all be getting ready here.
The photographer that is going to be taking our “getting ready” photos should be here soon, so I get up and take a shower.
I throw on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt.
Once I’m dressed, I go back to the living room.
The other guys are also starting to get their showers done and stuff arranged so they are ready.
Then I hear the elevator, so I walk over. The photographer comes in, and we talk about the shots he needs and what he wants from us.
An hour later we are all piling in our cars to go to the church. Once we get inside, the photographer says he has a few more shots to get before he wants us to go into the rec room so he can get the photos of the girls.
We get the pictures done, and I go downstairs.
I am buzzing knowing that Ellie is here somewhere, but I can’t see her yet.
All I want is to go to her, but I know it will ruin the surprise of her walking down the aisle.
So I impatiently wait and stare at the clock, counting down the minutes until I get to see her.
The guys all go back upstairs to get pictures with Ellie. I am waiting on the OK for me to go back up to get the rest of mine done.
Finally, they ask me to come upstairs. Mom is standing off to the side, and she has tears in her eyes. I walk up to her. “Mom, are you OK?” I ask her.
She hugs me. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m just really happy, son. Ellie looks stunning, and I’m just so proud of you. Plus, that baby of yours is gorgeous in her little dress.” She smiles through the tears.
I hug her a little tighter. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too. Now let’s get these pictures finished so we can get this wedding started.”
After about a thousand more pictures, it is finally time for the ceremony. I am in the hall as the pews fill up. We kept the wedding small, but there are still a lot of people here.
It’s time for me to walk to the front with Mom and Dianne.
I take them to their seats and then stand in my spot at the altar.
Then the bridesmaids and groomsmen come in together: Sarah and Tanner, Renee and Brad, and Bri and Jordan.
After them is Noah, who walks with Elizabeth down the aisle.
She looks so adorable in her flower girl dress, and he helps her drop the petals as they walk down the aisle.
I feel tears starting to form in my eyes.
Then the music changes, and everyone stands.
Ellie
I spent last night at Bri’s house with all the other girls. I didn’t sleep well at all between not having Cole beside me and how excited I am for today.
Once I am showered, I sit and talk with Mom while we wait on the hairdresser, makeup artist, and our photographer.
Elizabeth just finished eating, so she should be settled for a little while.
Slowly everyone starts arriving, and they work on getting me ready for the day.
I’ve decided to keep my hair-and-makeup look simple.
A few hours later, I am ready to walk down the aisle.
The hairdresser is finishing Claire’s and Mom’s hair, and everyone else is ready.
We pack up what we need for the day and go to the church.
The photographer says that the guys are just finishing their photos.
They are going to go to the rec room in the church, and then we can go in and get more of our pictures.
We get all the pictures with the bridesmaids, and they have the groomsmen come back up to take pictures with me, and then I will be going into another room so Cole can get photos with bridesmaids.
We decided not to see each other until I am walking down the aisle, but we want all the other pictures out of the way.
The closer we get to the ceremony, the more excited I get.
I cannot wait to see Cole. Time isn’t going fast enough for me.
Once they are done with photos, the girls all join me in the room I was sent to. I feel Elizabeth one last time and then get ready to walk down the aisle.
I’m standing at the doors that separate me from walking down the aisle. Noah just walked down it with Elizabeth, and I started crying. Dad grabs a tissue off the table beside us and wipes my eyes, taking care not to ruin my makeup.
“Thanks, Dad,” I say and smile at him.
“You’re welcome. I’m so proud of you,” he says, and then the music changes.
I turn to walk through the doors toward Cole, and at first, I don’t see him. Then he steps over, and I smile at him. He looks so good in his suit. As we get closer, I notice he is crying, and that makes me start crying more.
Finally, we make it to him, and he shakes my dad’s hand and then grabs my hands to help me step up to where we need to be standing at the altar.
“You look so beautiful, Ellie Girl,” he whispers to me, and I smile even bigger at him. He takes the tissue in his hand and wipes at my tears, similar to how my dad did.
“You look good too,” I say.
The officiant clears his throat, grabbing our attention so we can begin. I glance at Cole and mouth, “Oops,” and we both smile.