Epilogue
They were married in September, beneath the red and orange leaves of maples that grew in profusion along the south side of Sophie’s back yard. It was a clear, crisp autumn day and the scene had been set with baskets of sunflowers and a bower woven from red willow branches threaded with white roses.
Although Andrew, Gabby’s husband, was changing in the room next door, Gabrielle and Annette dressed together in the tiny room with the slanted ceiling she’d slept in over the last few months as she and Jeff grew to love one another even more. It was cramped with the two of them together, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Annette hadn’t seen her sister in the months following their holiday and it had been a tearful reunion when she had picked up Gabrielle and Andrew at the airport the day before. She thought back to that blissful moment.
“We ‘ave so much to talk about,” Annette had said, squeezing her sister tight before kissing her brother-in-law on the cheeks in les bisous, the French way. “And I can’t wait for you to see my dress.”
“Designer?” Gabrielle teased.
Annette laughed. “Uh, no. Those days are done and good riddance to them. I still love pretty clothes, but they aren’t as important to me now. I want to tell you that I start work at a prestigious art gallery in Calgary after Jeff and I return from our honeymoon.”
“Oh! That’s wonderful,” Gabrielle’s eyes widened with pleasure.
“Congratulations!” Andrew exclaimed. “You’re going to have the best of both worlds. I’m so happy for you.”
“Merci beaucoup. Tell me what ‘as been ‘appening in Paris?”
“We have some news for you too,” said Andrew with a loving look at his wife. He still wore his cowboy hat on the streets of Paris, and tipped it back on his head now, but had adopted the language and customs as his own. The wine shop was doing well, and their marriage was a union that brought them both much joy. Annette was happy to see it.
She looked at them now, and at her sister who was positively radiant with happiness. “No?” she said, angling her head and looking from one to the other. They stopped beside her vehicle in the airport parking lot, and she looked at them in shock. “Really?”
“Yes!” Gabrielle chortled, patting her flat stomach. “We’re almost four months along although you’d never know it. The baby is due at the end of February—Aunt Annette.” She beamed.
Annette hugged and kissed them both again.
“This is brilliant news,” she exclaimed. “It’s almost hard to contain so much happiness.”
She came back to the present with a sigh and looked past her sister to the new red barn out Sophie’s window. Cars and trucks were parked in an orderly fashion. Guests were making their way in laughing groups to the chairs that had been arranged earlier in the day by Jeff and Jayke. All of their neighbours had been invited to the festivities and more than two hundred people were expected to attend. Good thing the sky was cloudless and bright, otherwise they’d have been trudging through the sand of a training arena to be wed.
Still, she thought with a little flip of her head, that would have been okay too. As long as her beloved Jeff was the groom, she would have married him in a swamp. Walking to the closet, she slid her dress off the hanger and stepped into the rustling folds. Gabrielle helped pull it into place and used the satin ribbons to lace it together at the back.
She surveyed herself in the full-length mirror with satisfaction. It didn’t matter to her if the whole world thought her plain and her sister beautiful, as long as one man believed her to be the most gorgeous woman on the face of the earth. Jeff knew her soul.
She adjusted the thick, lacy off-the-shoulder straps and admired the tight bodice and full A-line skirt covered in floral lace. It was exactly what she had always envisioned for herself—just not on a cattle ranch in the Rocky Mountains’ foothills. That part was better than she could have dreamed.
Her long auburn hair shone in the sunlight like liquid fire. She had decided to leave it loose and only added some elegant diamonds, that Jeff had bought her, to her throat and ears. Gabrielle appeared in the mirror beside her, and she stepped aside. Her sister was gorgeous, as usual, in a form-fitted ruby-red dress with a full skirt. It was, perhaps, a little tighter than intended around the middle, but no one would ever guess her precious secret.
“Come here,” Gabrielle said, and Annette moved back into the mirror’s reflection. The two women stared at themselves. “Talk about something good coming out of something bad,” she continued. “You are a living testament to the saying.”
“It’s true. Now, I want to get married.”
Holding up their skirts, they swished downstairs. Annette’s parents were waiting in the living room to walk her down an aisle strewn with fall leaves and flowers. Strains of violin music echoed through the house. When the music changed, Gabrielle winked at Annette. She was ready to lead them down the aisle as her matron of honour.
“Are you ready, my love?” asked her father, holding out his arm. He was resplendent in a dark suit and red tie. He kissed his daughters’ cheeks four times and blinked hard.
“I am.” She gave her other arm to her mother, looking lovely in a gold brocade dress suit. Her golden hair was pulled into a chic chignon and her lovely face, so like Gabrielle’s, was wreathed in smiles.
With a final kiss for the bride, Gabrielle took her bouquet of white roses and led the way out the back door.
They followed, walking between rows and rows of familiar faces who stood to smile and wish the happy couple well. But Annette only had eyes for Jeff.
He waited for her in a black suit with his black hat. His teeth flashed white in his usual dark stubble and his eyes promised her the love she’d always dreamed of having. Even as she slowly exited the house he was stretching out his hands. ‘Come to me, my love and let us begin a lifetime of happiness,’ he mouthed.
And she did.
Years later,Jeff led the way through a grove of poplars on a frosty morning in December. He rode his horse, Champ, while Annette brought up the rear on Pearl. Their seven-year-old twins, Anna and Jessica, rode between them on ponies. The snow was powdery and sparkled in the noonday sun. The horses’ breath puffed in white clouds as they trudged along, watching for the tracks of wild animals.
“I’m cold Daddy,” Jessica’s pinched little voice came from behind the heavy red scarf muffled around her neck. Her cheeks peeked out too, rosy with cold.
“What do you say we stop for a while and build a fire?” Jeff asked. “I think Mum and I might just have some cocoa and sandwiches in our saddlebags.”
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Ready for more romance in the Chateau de Belliveau heartwarming series? Don’t miss Sophie’s story.