A Husband for Margaret(15)

“Sure, as long as they’re pink and red.”

Margaret giggled but resisted the urge to get up and check the length of her dress. As much as she checked the job she’d done on altering her mother’s wedding gown, she still wondered if she did a good job. She took a deep breath. Relax. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.

Jessica stuck another pin into her hair. “I saw Peter James’ mother the other day, and she was wearing red and pink roses in her hat.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope.” She took two daisies from the table and wove them into Margaret’s hair. “I couldn’t believe it either, but she said the colors looked much better on her than on wedding decorations.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course. Everything looks better on Connie James. It really is a good thing you married Tom instead. I met Tom’s mother, and she’s actually pretty nice.”

“Yes, she is. She lets Tom make his own decisions.”

A smile tugged at Margaret’s lips as she glanced at her friend. “Don’t you mean that she lets you make decisions for Tom?”

Jessica gasped. “I have no idea what you mean!”

“Oh come on. I saw that pretty buggy you had him buy. No man would pick that.”

She playfully nudged Margaret in the shoulder before she turned her face forward so she could put another pin into her hair. “That buggy is the one that got us here today, so you better watch your tongue.”

“Well, I don’t think four little boys will be caught dead in something that feminine. You better hope you have some girls.”

“Don’t think we aren’t working on that.” Jessica finished with her hair and handed her a handheld mirror. “There. What do you think?”

Margaret hardly recognized the person staring back at her. “The daisies are perfect. I don’t know how you do it, but you always make everything look better than they are.”

Jessica clucked her tongue. “Enough of that. You are a pretty woman, and it’s about time you admitted it.”

Margaret shrugged and put the mirror down. She peered out the window and saw that Joseph and his sons were getting assembled. Her heart beat faster at the sight of him. Looking at him made her weak in the knees. She wondered if she would ever get over that initial feeling of awe whenever she saw him.

Charlotte approached the oldest two boys—Doug and Bob—and gave them each a basket full of flower petals. They gagged but didn’t toss the offensive ‘girly’ baskets to the ground. Margaret chuckled. She didn’t think the boys would be delighted to scatter the petals on the ground, but Jessica had insisted it would be pretty to decorate the grass for the occasion.

“I really do hope you have girls,” she told Jessica who was putting daisies into her own hair. “I don’t think you’d know what to do with a boy.”

If Jessica heard her, she chose to ignore the comment, so Margaret stood up and inspected her off-white gown. She always thought her mother’s dress was beautiful and was glad she chose to wear it.

Someone knocked on the door.

Since Jessica was busy, Margaret picked up her bouquet and opened the door. “Hi, Pa.”

He smiled at her. “Joseph’s going to be very happy when he sees you. You’ve turned into a lovely young woman.”

“See?” Jessica added, giving her a pointed look as she slipped another daisy into her hair.

It was hard to appreciate a compliment when her stomach was all twisted in knots. Margaret simply nodded her thanks and took a deep breath. She hoped she didn’t end up falling flat on her face out there. So far, everything was turning out much better than she planned. Right now, the only thing that could screw it up was her.

They waited until Jessica was done before they went to the entrance of the church. She put her arm through her father’s and waited. Charlotte, Doug and Bob ran over to them, and Jessica handed the extra bouquet to Charlotte. The poor boys still looked as if holding the baskets was akin to being asked to put a bow in their hair. Margaret thought about telling them that they could put them down, but then the groomsmen headed their way.

This was it. In a brief period of time, she would be Mrs. Joseph Connealy. Margaret Connealy. She thought that sounded rather pleasant.

Glancing at the lawn, she saw that the group of fifty people found their seats as the preacher and Joseph stood in their positions. Ben and Charles sat with her mother, and for the moment, they remained good.

Tom Larson whistled at Jessica. “You’re even better than the day we got married.”

She giggled as she took his arm. “You’re so sweet.” Then she kissed his cheek.