Miles To Go

Chapter Fifty-Two

The breeze was warm, the sun bright, not a single cloud in the sky. A perfect day. Emma stood in front of the white flowered arch with Ruby standing to her left, both of them smiling as the guests waited for the bride to walk down the aisle.

The spot in the gardens they had chosen was perfect for the ceremony. Most of the flowers were still in bloom, the few trees providing some shade for most of the guests that sat in white chairs, black and red ribbons tied to the back. Just behind the white flowered arch lay a fountain and the piano was set up just off to the left of it. Emma kept her hands folded in front of her and inhaled deeply, the smile on her face never wavering for even just a moment.

"How are you feeling?" Ruby whispered and Emma turned to look at her.

"I am so very excited."

"I can tell," Ruby chuckled. "It won't be much longer now, Em."

"I know."

Emma inhaled deeply again as she stood tall and firm, waiting to see her bride for the first time. Just the thought of seeing her about to walk down the aisle nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she held herself together, promising herself that she wouldn't cry. At least not before she saw Regina in her dress.

Ruby turned to her again and fixed the open collar of her shirt for her before moving to readjust the red handkerchief that was tucked into the breast pocket of her jacket. Ruby turned back to face the guests, every single chair taken except for the one near the front, the chair that Henry was to be seated in before he was to give them the rings.

"Where's Henry?" Emma whispered and Ruby sighed softly.

"Last minute change of plans. That's all that I could get out of Kathryn earlier this morning when I'd gone over to check on her and Regina while they were getting ready."

"Did you see—"

"She looks so beautiful, Emma," Ruby smiled. "I can't wait to see your reaction when you see her for the first time. Her dress is stunning."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"Because I didn't know what she meant, honestly."

Emma sighed and ran her hands over her braided hair, the few loose tendrils still pinned in place at the side. She honestly had no idea how she was going to fix her hair until Ruby sat her in the chair in the kitchen at the cottage and told her she had the perfect style for her. It turned into a somewhat messy yet elegant french braid. When Ruby nudged her shoulder against hers, Emma lowered her hands back down in front of her and started to fidget with her engagement ring.

It felt like she hadn't seen Regina for days when it had only been less than twelve hours. She thought back to the bachelorette party and how the day following the bachelorette party had been a rough one, it being spent in bed nursing hangovers and trying to sleep it off. Neither of them could remember much of the party after they'd left the manager's office. All Emma remembered was the drinks kept on flowing and she kept on drinking every single one that was handed to her. She definitely didn't remember coming home that night either, but after she checked her phone and the timestamp on the text that Ruby had sent her, she realized they hadn't gotten home until well after three in the morning.

Regina, although she was worse for the wear, she wasn't feeling nearly as bad as Emma did, but she never left the bed for most of the day either. They talked about what would happen after tomorrow and they hadn't even talked about where they were going on their honeymoon or just when that would happen exactly.

Granny didn't bring Henry over until late in the afternoon and by that time, Emma and Regina had managed to get themselves out of bed and they were showered and dressed and in the kitchen when Henry came in with Granny right behind him. She was practically thrown out of the house by an insistent and pushy Granny who warned her that if she dared tried to sneak back in throughout the night, she'd have to deal with her.