1931, January.
Chelsea was now 23 years old and was currently pacing the room, biting her finger nails.
The door opened and there was a loud gasp, Chelsea turned around and saw Asa standing there in a blue satin dress, her hands covering her mouth and her eyes watering.
"My beautiful girl." Ada whispered, looking Chelsea up and down and staring at her wedding dress.
Chelsea wore a chiffon white long wedding dress, its elegant and sophisticated design popping breath the light. The dress featured a fitted bodice with a V-shaped neckline, accentuated with delicate lace. The sleeves were long and dotted with small diamonds. The waist cliched with a a belt, emphasizing her hourglass silhouette. The skirt fell and flowed gracefully to the floor. A train fell from her head, all the way to the bottom of her dress and traced across the floor of the room.
"Is it too much?" Chelsea whispered, turning around and looking in the mirror, "I feel like it's too much. Isaiah's going to think I look silly-"
"Chelsea." Ada said, rushing over and placing her hands on Chelsea's arms, "You look absolutely beautiful. I think Isaiah's going to fall even more in love with you than he ever was."
"Thank you, Ada." Chelsea smiled, tears glistening her eyes but she refused to let them fall and ruin the makeup she had worked so hard on, ". I wish John was here and Po-Polly."
"I know, Princess." Ada said, a single tear sliding down her shimmering cheek, "But they're watching. Especially Polly, she's definitely found a way to be here, probably shot about five men in the process."
Chelsea laughed, a real and genuine laugh as she imagined Polly's determination to watch over her today.
There was another knock at the door and Ada's smile grew, "I better go, I expect that's your first real love at the door."
Chelsea furrowed her brows in confusion, but her face relaxed into a small sad smile as Ada left and Tommy entered.
He stood at the door in silence, taking in his daughter's beauty before he nodded and wiped his mouth.
"Dad?" Chelsea laughed, seeing his bottom lip shake, "Are you going to cry?"
"You've grown up." Tommy whispered, still clinging onto the door handle, "You're a woman now."
"I'm still your little girl at heart." Chelsea smiled.
Tommy took two long steps and finally wrapped his arms around his daughter, taking her in and holding her for what felt like the last time.
"Are you sure you're ready?" Tommy asked, pulling away and holding his daughter by her shoulders, "We can still cancel the day if you want, we can go home and go to sleep and you don't have to marry until you're at least thirty years old."
"Dad!" Chelsea laughed, "I'm ready."
"I don't think I am." Tommy said, the smile leaving his face, "I'm not ready. I'll never be ready. I always imagined you'd stay my little girl forever."
"Like I said, I'll always be your little girl." Chelsea replied, wiping the tear that fell from his eye, "You're the first man I loved on this earth, and I'll never stop loving you."
They stayed in silence for a few moments, Tommy imagining a ten year old Chelsea in front of him, laughing as she drew pictures of her marrying a Prince when she was older.
"Do you think she's here?" Chelsea asked, her eyes averting to the floor as emotion filled her body to the brim, "Mum? Do you think she's with me?"
"I don't think she ever left." Tommy answered, placing his finger beneath her chin and lifting her face back up to look at him, "I think as long as you need her, Grace is always by your side. I think when we're walking down that aisle, she'll be on the other side, probably crying, and is preparing to shout at me for asking you to cancel the wedding."
Chelsea laughed, "Sounds like Grace."
Tommy took a long deep breath before he took his stand beside Chelsea and offered his arm to her, "Are you sure you're ready?"
Chelsea smiled, placed her hand in the crook of her dad's elbow and nodded, "Ready-NO!"
Tommy jumped as Chelsea ran away from him, grabbed a bouquet of blue flowers from the side before taking his arm again, "Now i'm ready!"
Tommy laughed and shook his head before they began their exit of the room and made their way down the halls of the church.
As soon as they arrived, the ceiling-high doors swung open and the song "In The Bleak Midwinter" swallowed Chelsea.
She saw her family all stood up and staring at her in the pews, some of the children from the Grace Shelby Institute, and some of Isaiah's distant friends and cousins.
But the main person who caught her eye was Isaiah, who stood at the other end of the church, dressed in a traditional suit and tie, his head shaking as he tried to hold in his tears. Finn smacked him on the back but Chelsea smiled when she saw him crying too.
Next to Finn, stood a two year old John Danny Shelby, his brown eyes glistening as he watched his mom come down the aisle, relying on his Uncle Charles Shelby to stand for so long.
Opposite them, stood Ada who held hands with Ruby Shelby, smiling at her sister and in Ada's arms was a one year old Polly Grace Shelby, who didn't understand what was going on, but thought her mother looked beautiful.
Chelsea began to walk down the aisle, smiling at all her family as she went, and winked at Arthur who was crying.
Tommy, however, hadn't even looked at anyone, his eyes were trained on his daughter, and as he passed of her off to Isaiah, he shook Isaiah's hand and leaned into his ear, "If there is ever a day where you stop loving my daughter, never break her heart, just return her back to me."
Tommy took his seat on the front row beside Lizzie and watched Jeremiah do the ceremony, all he could think about was how he was losing Chelsea.
He would never return home again and see her waiting there in her nightgown, never hear her young and small voice.
In that moment, he realised what was happening, Chelsea was now fully grown and leaving him, and something inside began to hurt.
"I do." Isaiah said, smiling at Chelsea.
And then, Tommy realised something else, his daughter was safe in the arms of the man she was marrying.
"Isaiah Shelby, you may now kiss your bride."
