Well, that was all Margaret needed to know that the boys told the truth. Whoever this Debra Potter was, Joseph had no desire to marry her.
Debra’s demeanor changed in an instant. “Joseph, how nice it is to see you. I came just in time.”
He stood there for a moment as if he couldn’t believe what was happening and finally said, “Yes, you did.” He stood beside Margaret and put his arm around her shoulders. “You came in time to see me get married. Will you be having a seat on my side?”
Debra pressed a hand to her heart before she let out a chuckle. “Oh, you must think I’m still entertaining the affections of Bernard Winslow. I assure you that I am not.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Margaret saw Bob roll his eyes at Doug who snickered. She wondered about the exchange but gave it little thought as Joseph replied to Debra’s announcement.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work between you, but I don’t see what that has to do with this wedding.” He gave Margaret’s shoulders a slight squeeze and glanced at her, “Shall we get this started?”
“Yes,” Margaret agreed. She saw no reason to draw this whole thing out. After all, this was her day by golly, and she was going to enjoy it, even if it killed her! “Get on back up to the preacher and I’ll be there.”
Looking relieved, Joseph quickly obeyed.
Though she knew it was a bad example in front of the boys, she stuck her tongue out at an angry Debra. As she figured, Bob and Doug giggled at what she knew to be a childish display. Oh well. Maybe it would be good for them to know that even adults had their moments. She tapped them on the shoulders and said, “Go on ahead and my pa and I’ll follow you.”
They went to stand in front of her.
“Wait.” Margaret grabbed the baskets and handed them to Debra. “You may do the honors if you don’t want to take a seat.”
Doug and Bob looked very happy to get rid of those baskets and marched down the aisle as the fiddler began playing the tune.
“This isn’t over,” Debra hissed.
“It is for you,” Margaret said.
And that was all she would say to this horrible person who made it a point to come all the way to Omaha just so she could try to ruin her wedding day. The woman had a lot of nerve, but in no way was Margaret going to run off in defeat just because Debra Potter was no longer entertaining the affections of Bernard Winslow. Nope. For now on, she’d ignore the unwanted guest. She had much more important things to attend to. Like walking down the aisle. She followed her father’s lead, aware that Debra watched her, probably glaring and seething. But she’d give Debra no more thought.
Instead, she turned her gaze to Joseph. Her heart sped up at the sight of him. So what if Debra was there, looming in the background? If nothing else, this was proof that Joseph meant it when he told her that it did matter to him who he married. And that made her feel pretty good. Other men might have felt that marrying her meant settling for second best but Joseph didn’t. As long as he didn’t, then who cared what anyone else thought?
By the time she made it to Joseph, she could hardly hear what the preacher was saying. This was it. She, Margaret Williams, was actually getting married. The day she’d dreamed about since she was a little girl was finally coming to pass. True, the day had not included someone trying to stop it, but it was happening nonetheless—and that’s what mattered.
She glanced at Joseph and saw him smile at her. The happy look on his face put her at ease, but only slightly. It was impossible to fully relax when people sat and watched everything that was going on.
When the preacher began to speak, she made an effort to pay attention but couldn’t—not really. However, when he asked if anyone had any objections, she looked over her shoulder to see if Debra would intervene. Even Joseph took a moment to glance back. But she wasn’t there. A quick scan of the area assured Margaret that the woman was, indeed, gone. She wondered about it. Surely, Debra wasn’t going to leave them alone. In Margaret’s experience, people like Miss Potter didn’t give up that easily.
The preacher spoke again, continuing the ceremony, so she dutifully turned her attention back to him. It puzzled her. Maybe it shouldn’t. Maybe it was in her nature to second guess everything and believe the worst, but she couldn’t get rid of the nagging feeling that she hadn’t seen the last of Debra Potter.
What could Debra do at this point anyway? Joseph was getting married. Margaret snuck a peek at Jessica who smiled at her. So her friend didn’t think there might be a backlash from the incident that just happened?
The ceremony continued as uneventfully as it had in her dreams. She and Joseph said their vows and kissed. In one instant she went from being Margaret Williams to being Mrs. Joseph Connealy. Doug and Bob ran over to her and gave her a hug.