"Thank you," said Chloe to the guards as they opened the gates. They were given strict instructions to keep the press away and would be bringing in more security before the ceremony. She let herself in through the front door, and tears immediately flowed out of her eyes. Hanging on the wall was a picture of her at her birthday party, and one of her kissing Matthew. Where did they get these? There was another large photograph of her and Becky hugging … They took these at the party. There were other photographs from the same evening, but not one of them contained her parents. The sadness she felt over that made it hard for her to swallow. She looked at all the beautiful decorations, and when she walked to the kitchen, there stood her mother and Lois making the food for the reception. She stopped to listen.
"She'll like it just fine, Mrs. Burlington."
"Please, Lois, you're family. Call me Sylvia. I just want it to be perfect for her. Taste this." She held a spoon up to Lois' mouth.
"I think you're getting yourself all worked up for nothing. Chloe's easy to please, and you want to be able to enjoy her wedding day. You're the mother of the bride after all."
"I wish I could be, but I'm happy to at least be her friend. I hope she likes what I did to decorate by the pool. Earl and I got up at four this morning to finish it up. The flowers are in the cooler, so we'll put the rest of those out around noon. We got the runner down and the chairs set up. The photographer will be here around noon to get ready."
"Sylvia, you invited the press?"
"No, this is actually someone I picked out of the phonebook. I gave a fake name. Chloe wants a small private ceremony and I intend to make sure that's what she gets."
Chloe walked upstairs to her bedroom and lay down on her back on the bed. She looked at all the stars Lois had stuck on her ceiling while she was growing up and afraid of the dark. The room was left exactly the way it was when she moved away from the estate. When she looked over on the dresser, she saw her mother's veil. It didn't match her dress as well as the other one, so she wouldn't be wearing it, but would keep it if it was given to her. She heard the door open and looked to see who it was.
"Oh, Chloe, I saw your Jeep outside and figured you'd be up here. How're you doing?" asked Earl, as he stepped inside her room.
"I'm okay. A little nervous I think."
"You wouldn't be a bride if you weren't nervous. Your mother was a wreck the day we got married. She ran around crazy trying to figure the whole thing out. We ended up in front of a judge. She didn't know the first thing about wedding gowns and such."
"Didn't she have friends to help her?"
"Not really. She knew people but they weren't what you'd call friends."
"She wore a wedding dress. There's her veil."
"Yes, that's it," he said with a warm smile. The gown was on sale so she grabbed it. It wasn't ugly by no means, but she missed out on all the things a new bride gets involved in."
"I want to ask you something. Was Sylvia always this way?"
"When I met your mother, she was lost. Her past damaged her, but I tried my hardest to mend what was broken, but truth be told, I couldn't. She seemed to be missing such a big thing in life, and it wasn't until after your accident that I found out what it was."
"What?"
"She was missing a connection with someone. Someone she could love who wouldn't leave her. She loved me, but I left. When you were born, she fell in love with you, but couldn't admit her feelings and make herself be vulnerable enough to risk heartache, so she left. When her parents didn't want her, she felt it was because she was unlovable … not worthy. Even though you were just a baby, she convinced herself that you'd grow up, get to know her, and then you'd leave too. She spent her life running to avoid being not good enough. Your mother's done running, Chloe, and I'm here to stay as well. Today you're opening your arms to accept Matthew as your husband. Maybe if you have a little extra to give, you can accept Sylvia as your mother. I'm a stranger to you, and that's no one's fault but my own, and I'll never ask to be your dad. I would love it if you'd let me, but I don't deserve that honor. If all I can be is your friend, I'll take it. But this is a happy day, so no sad eyes allowed. I can't wait to sit back in my chair and watch you, such a beautiful woman, walk down the aisle."
Chloe smiled as Earl pulled the door closed.
She fell asleep and didn't wake until Becky came running in the room.
"Get up! You're getting married in an hour and a half and you're not even showered. Get a move on!"
"Becky, you look gorgeous … "
Becky was wearing a pale peach dress that was similar to Chloe's in style, but didn't go all the way to the ground. Her hair was so cute, and of course she was wearing mega bucks in jewelry.
"I have something for you." Becky reached inside her bag and pulled out a box containing a tiny blue diamond necklace with matching earrings.
"Oh my God, these are so beautiful!"
"There's your something blue."
"Aww thank you, Beck." Chloe held her tight and kissed her cheek.
"Okay enough of this sappy stuff. Get your butt in the shower so I can get your hair and face done!"
Chloe knew better than to be insubordinate around her friend, so she took a quick shower and then sat in a chair while Becky got to work.
"Do you want your hair up or down?"
"Matthew loves my hair down, so I think I'll stick to that. Oh and put very little makeup on my face."
"Anything else?"
"No."
"You'll shush then and let me work my magic?"
"Yes, ma'am."
After Becky finished helping her best friend get ready, she went downstairs. Chloe opened up her door a crack and could hear violins playing and the sounds of Conner and Matthew laughing.
"Go out there, son, and don't make me tell you twice!"
Matthew laughed nervously. She finally heard his footsteps going out of the house. It was almost one, and Conner stood waiting patiently for the bride to come downstairs.
"Conner?"
"Hey, you about ready up there?"
"Conner, listen, I'm going to toss you a note so you don't have to walk up here." Chloe tossed the note down and then went back in her room.
Conner smiled and nodded while placing the note in his pocket.
When Chloe was ready, she lifted her dress and slowly walked down the large staircase. When she reached the bottom, she took a deep breath and walked out to the doors, which were standing wide open. Matthew looked at her and smiled as he tried to blink back tears. Chloe looked like an angel, the same angel he saw standing under the pool lights the night he fell in love with her, the most perfect woman in the world. Becky was already crying, while John nudged Matthew and smiled with approval.
She stepped on the runner and saw her mother holding a tissue and dabbing at her eyes. They sat quietly in the back row of chairs.
"My veil. You're wearing my veil … "
Chloe said not a word but held out her hand as her mother reached over and held hers back. Then with her other hand she reached out to her father and lifted his hand from his knee. She gently pulled, and they both rose. They stood before their daughter looking confused, but Chloe still said not a word. She slowly backed up, tugging at them to come with her. When all three were standing on the runner, Chloe looped her arms in both of theirs and, with the violins gently playing, she walked down the aisle. When she reached the altar the priest asked "Who giveth this woman to be joined to this man in holy matrimony?" Trying to hold back a sob, her father spoke proudly.
"Her mother and I."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
The reception was indeed a grand party. Earl and Sylvia didn't want to add meaning to what Chloe did by allowing them to walk her down the aisle, so they didn't bring it up, but were happier than they'd ever been. They spent their first night as husband and wife in their little apartment they called home. Neither one wanted to be too far away from Conner in case something happened and he needed them. They spent the day lounging around, making love, cooking dinner together, and remembering all the great times, and the ones they learned from. It was nice to share the entire day feeling so happy together and no one else around to interrupt them.
The following morning, Earl came over to the apartment to visit. Chloe was happy to see him feeling at ease enough to just stop by for a visit.
"Matthew, my dad's here!"
He stepped out of the bathroom and shook his hand. "Have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?"
"Actually I came to discuss something with the two of you. I'm retiring, and Chloe is the only heir to Burlington Enterprises. She could sell her shares if she wanted, or I could take you, Matthew, and train you to fill my shoes. There's a great staff in place so you wouldn't have to worry about much. I know you must be thinking you'd have to travel, but the project in Africa, even though it was a great thing, tore my family a part. You wouldn't have to go anyplace, really. There're plenty of people who could do the traveling for you. I'm done with it. I want to spend the rest of my days growing old with my wife and enjoying my daughter and grandchildren, if you two ever decide to grow your family. It'll be a lot of work, but I promise to train you well. You won't have to live at work the way I did."