At Last

The skies above are blue

When we arrived back at the house, flashing our wedding bands, our families finally forgave me for banning them from the civil ceremony. What we couldn't tell them, of course, was the reasoning behind banning them; if they found out that Isaac and I had legally married last month, they'd either kill us or ruin the blessing and the reception later on. Thankfully, they were too busy gawping at my diamond and platinum ring to care and then, of course, everyone's focus shifted to getting ready for tonight. 

Throughout lunch, the girls were going on and on about everything that Daniel had planned for this evening and the more I knew about it, the more excited I became. Up until now, I'd been indifferent about the entire blessing and party but then I remember that we never got to celebrate properly after the wedding and suddenly, I can't wait to party with everyone else. It sucked that I'm pregnant and can't get drunk like the others undoubtedly will. Still, being one of the few sober ones, I'll get to see everyone at their worst, doing embarrassing things, talking crap and I can remind them all about it tomorrow when they're worse for wear. 

Yes, I am going to enjoy this party tonight. 

But first, I need to get ready. 

Just shy of four pm, the men head off to the cottage where Mick's been staying while I'm dragged upstairs by Martha and my sisters. They're all dying to see my gown, however, the only one who knows what it looks like is my mother. She stands in the doorway, laughing at Sophie and Emma trying to eke out the tiniest bit of information from me but I know how to keep a secret and apart from telling them that the dress is white, I reveal nothing. 

To keep my dress a secret until I have to walk down the aisle at the blessing, I usher my sisters and Martha out of the bedroom before pulling on my mother's arm and shutting us off from the outside world. Placing my ear up against the door, I hear the women on the other side muttering about me but then their footsteps disappear, followed by the sound of doors closing. Knowing that we were finally alone, I head to the wardrobe that sits in the corner of the bedroom and feel underneath for the key. Holding it up triumphantly, I unlock the wardrobe and appraise the gown that Delphine Thibodeau, my mother's replacement at Doré, had painstakingly created. 

It wasn't your typical French Haute Couture house's design but something more English in style and appearance, exactly as I wanted it to be. Granted, I hadn't been the one giving Delphine instructions regarding the dress- that had been my mother- but she nailed it, down to the finest details, such as having the initials of our family of four stitched into the bodice of the gown. The lace was delicate and feminine, a slim belt at the waist showed off the figure that I was quickly losing as my second pregnancy progressed. I had been worried that the dress would be too long but the white satin Louboutin's Delphine had commissioned especially for the occasion saw the hem of the gown skim the floor. The veil was simple, to be held in place by a diamond hair comb placed into the planned half up-half down hairstyle I had chosen. 

Sophie thought I was mad not to have a hairdresser at hand today. In fact, she thought I was bonkers for not having a makeup artist here too. I didn't care too much about all that; my skin was glowing from all the hormones so all I'd need is a bit of blusher and a slick of mascara and with my hair, it was easy to curl and pinning it up would take seconds. I have no idea why people were stressing about this wedding on my behalf. 

"You are going to look stunning, ma petite," my mother says, her hands squeezing my shoulders as she gazed into the wardrobe to see the dress. "Now, shall we get you ready?"

Mum got to work on my hair, taking time to ensure the curls would last before I painted my face, adding the blusher and mascara, as well as some shimmery purple eyeshadow. Once we were both happy with the way my hair and makeup looked, we shifted our focus on getting me into my dress, a task which was easier said than done. We almost called in the cavalry until we realised that they were all already outside greeting guests and ushering them to their seats. Carefully, I climbed into the dress while Mum ensured that the dress sat perfectly before buttoning me up. After that, Mum helped with my shoes since the fabric of the gown made it impossible for me to see my feet, let alone fuss with the ribbons, before she handed me the amethyst and diamond earrings that would match the small bouquet of lavender that I would carry with me. 

I was ready to go and get 'married.' 

A small knock came at the bedroom door, followed by Martha's voice saying, "It's just me."

I nod at Mum, silently telling her that it's ok to let Martha in. I had asked that Martha and I have a brief moment together before the blessing, giving us time to talk while Mum went to change into her own dress. Mum slipped out of the room, closing the door as soon as Martha, in her blue bridesmaid dress entered. 

"Darling, look at you!" I coo when I see Martha in the dress. Again, it was another triumph by Delphine, and it suited Martha perfectly. She blushed and played with her long blonde hair, pulling it so that it curtained her face. Walking towards her, I lift her chin and pushed her hair back over her shoulders so I could see her beautiful features. Smiling, I walk us to the bed and we both sit. "I have something for you. As is customary, a bride buys a gift for her bridesmaid but I couldn't find anything in the shops or online that I thought suited you. But then I was looking through my jewellery box and I found this."

Reaching behind me, I pass Martha a black velvet bracelet box and wait for her to open it. Slowly, she did, a small gasp escaping her mouth when she saw the tennis bracelet inside. "Charlotte-"

"My mother gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday and it's something I wanted to pass on," I explain. 

Martha drew her bottom lip into her mouth. "What about Sera? Wouldn't you want to give it to her when she's eighteen?"

"You are just as important in my life as she is and as this baby will be," I say, glancing down at my well-concealed stomach. Looking up at the clock, I see that it's five minutes before showtime. "Don't ever doubt how much I love you and how much my family adore you. Heck, Dad loves you probably more than Sera-"

"That's just because she can't talk yet," Martha jokes. 

I laugh. "Maybe. But he'll love you both equally once she does learn to talk. Now, let's go. Ah, shit, where's my bouquet?"