Chapter 45
Finally, the day everyone had been waiting for was upon them. The rain and thunder from the previous day were gone which made May Alice happy, thinking how relieved Elizabeth would be, even though, she'd put up a very brave front the day before. She smiled at the little girl, sleeping in the spot where Rennie would otherwise be.
Although she and Rennie had combined household's weeks prior, and she had been pregnant with their child over five months, there was still a definite feeling of change for her that morning, and she knew it was so much more than just ringing in a new year. She suddenly pitied those people who were content to live together and never marry, feeling that a piece of paper would not change how they felt for one another. She knew that, not so long ago, she might have even been one of them. But, she was no longer that person, having been blessed by the many events that brought her, and Rennie together. Before she had a chance to really go back to the beginning and reflect on each one, Brutus and Elizabeth both awoke.
"Good morning, Mama," the sleepy girl whispered, wiping her eyes.
"Good morning, my love," May Alice said, hugging the girl tightly, and placing a kiss on her head. "Guess what? The rain is gone, no more thunder."
Elizabeth smiled, and snuggled into May Alice's neck. After a few moments, Elizabeth asked, "Where's Papa?" May Alice briefly explained why he was not there with them. "Do ya think Pa did okay?"
"Well, why don't we find out?" May Alice replied, releasing her hold on the girl, and maneuvering to get out of the bed, and into her chair. "We'll call and wake him up!" While putting on her robe, May Alice reminded Elizabeth to go potty, then they made their way out to the main part of the house, and greeted Chantelle who was making breakfast, with no sign of the girls. May Alice inquired, and Chantelle said the girls had been up since 6:00 a.m., and were, once again, debating hair styles for the wedding. May Alice offered to help with breakfast, but Elizabeth reminded her they needed to call Rennie. Chantelle raised an eyebrow at them.
"You never said I couldn't talk to him," May Alice responded, before Chantelle said anything.
"Fine. I can't believe I actually got him to agree to the not seeing you part, anyway."
"Yeah, thanks for that," May Alice said with fake annoyance.
"I can do it," Elizabeth said, as she held up the receiver and waited for May Alice to quote her the phone number to the hotel. She poked each number and waited for an answer. May Alice explained someone else would answer, and she'd have to ask for room 210. She did, and was quickly greeted with her father's voice.
"Changed your mind?" he said, fully expecting the caller to be May Alice, and not his youngest daughter. May Alice watched Elizabeth's face twist with confusion.
"Papa?" Immediately, he registered it was not May Alice on the other end, and he worked quickly to assure Elizabeth she had the right number. She asked how he was, and if he was going to get to eat at the hotel. He assured her he was fine, and that the hotel would provide him a nice breakfast, and then he asked how Mama was. "She's good, she's right here," and Elizabeth relinquished the receiver to May Alice, and left to retrieve Brutus, who Chantelle had let out into the back yard.
"Good morning," she said with that same, sexy low voice he'd come to crave. It reminded him they rarely spoke on the phone, maybe she'd sound that way all the time? He'd definitely have to consider getting a mobile phone, he decided.
"Good morning," he smiled into the phone, as his imagination, and the tone of her voice, had him cursing having agreed to spend the night apart. "I missed you . . . a lot."
May Alice chuckled, "I missed you too; did you sleep all right?"
"No." She laughed, and said she was sorry, and they made small talk for the next few minutes, just happy to be together, in some sense of the word. She would have reminded him to be home by 10:30 because the photographer was due then, but she didn't need to; it was clear he was already ready to be there, but he finally agreed he'd stay away until 10:00. He would come early to help prepare Jaxon for the ceremony.
When they hung up, May Alice summoned the girls from upstairs for breakfast. As they all arrived, full of excitement about the day, no one but May Alice noticed Jaxon was missing. "Acadia, have you seen your brother this morning?"
"Oh Lord!" the girl exclaimed, "I completely forgot!" She jumped from the table and ran upstairs to retrieve her sleeping brother.
"Thank you," May Alice called out after her, while all the others were laughing in agreement about how they'd all forgotten about the poor boy.
At 8:00 a.m. the doorbell at the house rang. No one was expecting anyone that early and all the kids, who were finishing up with the breakfast dishes, all turned to May Alice, as though she'd know who was there. In fact, she did. She was smiling, and said, "I have a little surprise of my own for you girls." They all rushed into the living room, and May Alice opened the door, and welcomed in two young ladies who were each toting multiple bags. May Alice greeted them, and welcomed them in. Missy immediately recognized the pair, and rushed to hug them.
"Miss Maritza, Janice – what are y'all doin' here?" Missy asked. The ladies were smiling, and turned to May Alice, who explained to the other girls they were from a shop in town, and they'd agreed to come do the girls' hair for the wedding. Jaxon had to cover his ears to shield them from the shrieks that immediately followed the announcement. He grabbed a startled Brutus and headed for the back yard.
Maritza, the barber's niece who had helped out Rennie and Missy with the round brush incident long ago, had continued to cut and style Missy's hair ever since. The other girls had not yet cultivated the same desire for a hair style, as their middle sister had, and thus, didn't know either of the women. Janice also worked in barber shop with Maritza, and her uncle. May Alice instructed the girls to go wash their faces and brush their teeth so that when their hair was done, all they'd need to do was dress. She instructed them to return to her room, when they were finished, where the stylists would be set up to do their hair. They were thrilled to get to spend time in the spacious room, an area they rarely hung out in normally. May Alice escorted the women into the room and invited them to set up any way they saw fit. It was an incredible gesture that the pair would agree to work on the holiday, but Maritza got such a kick out of Missy being one of her best clients at the barber shop, she was happy to do the favor. Once she'd met May Alice in person a few weeks prior, she insisted that May Alice allow her to do her hair and make-up for the wedding, as well.
While the mini-salon was in full swing in her bedroom, May Alice had unpacked the gold band that would become Rennie's later that morning. She'd had it cleaned, and had left it in the garment bag that housed her wedding dress. Looking at it that morning, she couldn't help but think of her parents. She had thought of them often in the past months, for many obvious reasons, and she knew that day would likely be no exception. Every time she summoned a memory of them since being with Rennie, she came to some important conclusion about them that she'd overlooked as an inexperienced, immature child. With each new revelation came a deeper understanding of who her mother and father were, and she was profoundly comforted by that. As she ran her finger across the inscription etched in the gold, forty-one years earlier, she smiled, and said a quiet thank you to her parents. She'd come to understand the bond they had between them; the very bond she'd so often felt excluded from when she young. She understood it because it's what she felt with Rennie. Perhaps more importantly for her, she understood the boundless love she had for the children. She finally understood her parents loved her, every bit as much as they'd loved one another; passionately, and endlessly, and one love did not exist without the other. She laughed silently that, even in death, her parents were still leading her, teaching her and comforting her.
By 10:00 a.m., the girls, with the exception of Elizabeth and Denita, were complete, with beautiful long curls and ribbons in their normally, straight hair. Denita, who normally wore double ponytails, had opted for a single stylish bun, accented with a silk gardenia blossom. Elizabeth, unlike her sister's, had much curlier hair. She was still a bit young for styling tools, so, Janice compensated with some curl definer and tiny rhinestone hair combs that held her hair back on the side, showing off her sweet little face, and her big green eyes.
Chantelle spirited everyone upstairs to start getting dressed. As they clamored up the stairs, the front door opened, and Rennie entered. Chantelle stopped her ascent, to face him, and demanded he follow her up, so she'd know he'd not be sneaking a look at his bride-to-be. It was silly, her keeping them apart like that, she knew, but there was so little tradition surrounding them, she thought a little bit might be nice. They'd agreed, so she thought maybe they understood her intent.
May Alice settled into her turn with hair and make-up. She found herself happy she'd agreed to it because, following her bath that morning, she was already tiring out, having been up later than usual the night before, and in spite of her excitement over her wedding day. Having Maritza and Janice there allowed her to rest and even relax a bit. She told Maritza her preference for her hair that day, just a simple loose French braid in the back. Maritza agreed with the style, but instead of a single braid in back, she started it on one side of May Alice's head and braided diagonally and downward, leaving the end of the braid resting at her collar bone. Janice had asked to see the dress, to gauge the appropriate colors for the make-up. She was glad she had, because the beautiful light champagne color of the fabric, coupled with May Alice's auburn hair and ivory skin, could have resulted in her looking washed out. Instead, Janice produced a flawless, sun-kissed foundation, and light colored blush that had a radiant effect. While she could wear make-up like no one's business, her New York years were mired in the glamourous looks of dark liners and deep red lipsticks, but Janice had gone a different direction, utilizing lighter pastels. It was the first time May Alice had seen herself in soft, feminine shades, and it suited her life now perfectly. She felt beautiful, in a way she had not before.
"The camera must have loved you," Janice said, admiring the look, along with May Alice and Maritza. "You're just beautiful, Miss Culhane. Oh," she laughed, "I bet I'm the last one to address you that way."
May Alice smiled at the thought, "You're too kind, Janice. And, you're an artist, I'd never have picked these colors, and I love them."
Chantelle knocked at the door, and entered, fully dressed, and looking pretty good in her own right. "You look great," she said to May Alice. "Are you ready to dress?" May Alice responded, in kind, and thanked her, and confirmed she was ready.
Maritza and Janice were packing their gear as Chantelle and May Alice made their way into the bathroom. May Alice asked how the preparations in the rest of the house were going, and Chantelle informed her that Mrs. Carter was quite the organizer. She had the girls, Rennie, and Jaxon, all ready and snacking in the kitchen. The flowers had all arrived, and Mrs. Carter had them sorted, and labeled on the table, and she had agreed to get the photographer started with the kids and Rennie, knowing Chantelle needed to help May Alice. "And just wait until you see Jaxon," she teased. May Alice smiled, and wondered what the little man was up to.
Chantelle assisted May Alice in standing, holding the sink to steady her, while Chantelle removed the dress from the padded hanger. She positioned it over May Alice's head, and began to work it down her body. The dress was floor length, and Chantelle was happy that the silky charmeuse fabric was hardy, and didn't seem to wrinkle, as they maneuvered it. May Alice worked her arms, one at a time, into the long sleeves, and once done, Chantelle proceeded to pull the fabric down the rest of her body. The top of dress was made to fall just off the shoulders and incorporated a large, smooth, fold that made up a cowl across the shoulders and bust, and ending just above the waist. The bodice of the dress was narrow, and fit close to the body, but still produced a flowy silhouette. As the dress came down past May Alice's belly, it was a little snug, and Chantelle hoped May Alice would not become apprehensive about it. "Looks like you're wearing it in the nick of time," she said patting the area.
"It's why I chose this one. I liked that it showed the baby a little," she confessed with a smile. When Chantelle had finished lowering the rest of the fabric to the floor, she helped turn May Alice to the full-length mirror on the back of the door, and let her look it over. Both women looked at the image in the mirror and smiled. They called Maritza and Janice, who had been eager to see the final result, and allowed them in for the preview.
"Wow" they declared in unison, causing everyone to laugh. They congratulated her on her wedding, and wished her their best. They, then, retrieved their bags, and May Alice thanked them again for coming out on the holiday, and she gave each an envelope with their payment and a very gracious tip. The stylists left the room, and found everyone all dressed up, and posing with the photographer. Missy walked them out and asked how "Miss Ma" looked. Maritza and Janice looked at each other, then looked to the girl and replied, again in unison, "She's beautiful."
As they exited the house, the judge was making his way up to the porch. Upon seeing him, Mrs. Carter welcomed him in, and began introducing him to the kids, while the photographer set up for the ceremony. Chantelle had left May Alice to retrieve the flowers and check on everyone else.
May Alice put her shoes on, and again, retrieved Rennie's ring from its small velvet pouch. She placed it on her thumb and then wheeled back to the full-length mirror and looked, once again, at herself, that time, placed in the chair. Even sitting, the fabric of her dress fell nicely, but she still looked forward to standing with Rennie during the ceremony. Her eyes were drawn to her belly, which showed even more prominently, of course, now that she was seated. She ran her hand across it, and realized how quiet the child had been that day, and she laughed a little picturing it sleeping after having been kept up late the night before celebrating the New Year.
Chantelle returned with May Alice's bouquet of deep pink stargazer lilies and white roses. "They're even prettier than I imagined," she said, taking them from Chantelle. "Here, this is for you to hold," and she removed the ring from her thumb and handed it to her. As Chantelle reached for it, May Alice held her hand in place. She looked up at Chantelle, and said, "I know I've said this before, but I couldn't have done any of this without you. I wouldn't even want to," she finished humbly.
Chantelle squeezed her hand, in response, and she smiled at May Alice. "You're certainly nothing I'd planned on, but I couldn't be more honored to be standing out there with you today." After a moment, she continued, "So, are you ready to get married, or what?"
"Let's do it."
