Author's note: I realized that the timeline here gets a little foggy. So here it is:
Chapters 1-11 are timed in late September of 2034, Chapter 12 is about the 29th of January in 2035, and Chapter 13 is February 4th of the same year. This chapter takes place in June of 2035. Just keep that in mind.
Another five months passed rather quickly. Tess and Carley graduated from college and had their birthdays. Everyone was older and wiser, and missing Leo when it caught up to them.
Wedding preparations were underway for that coming September. Tess was preparing to have her wedding at the church that she was baptized at. So many trips up to New Hampshire and back were happening. She was busy and it was getting crazy, she still wasn't sure how she was going to pull this wedding off in two months though she knew that many of the women she grew up with had not even had that much time to plan their weddings. Her mother had done it in two weeks on the Santos campaign trail. And that was amazing. Zoë had done it in a month and the only reason they stalled that long was because she wanted to make sure Charlie's sister, Deena, would be home for it. She shouldn't complain, they took about a year to plan it. All of them were ready for the wedding.
Tess was in the dress shop in D.C. having yet another fitting on the dress. This time her mom and CJ were going to see it as well.
The older women were sitting around with Carley waiting for Tess to emerge from the dressing room. When she did both CJ and Donna had tears in their eyes and Carley squealed.
"That's my baby," Donna whispered, as Tess appeared in the white silken ball gown. She was wearing her hair in the natural curls that formed and she smiled at her mom. The dress was a full length strapless ball gown with light blue flowers embroidered along the bust and the bottom.
"Tess! This is amazing!" Carley said from the side of her.
"Try on your dress," Tess demanded.
"Okay," Carley said as she walked out to the dressing rooms.
"Therese," Donna said as she came behind her daughter. "Are you going to have a veil?"
"Yea, it's simple tulle with the same blue edging."
As they are talking about it the shop keeper comes in with the veil.
"How are you doing your hair?" she asked.
"Half up."
"Okay, like this then?"
She fusses with Tess' hair for a second, and then it was pulled off her face with only a few curls escaping and the back tucked in with bobby pins. The veil came over her face and CJ and Donna began crying again. Carley enters and stands next to Tess in the blue bridesmaid dress. Spaghetti straps and a floor length ball gown. Donna whips out her camera to take pictures. The two babies of the group, the youngest of their children, younger then some of the grandchildren. They stood next to each other and Donna and CJ shared a look, the look that two mothers can only share, and two women who spent their lives together watching these two young women who grew up together mature to where they are today. They weren't their little girls anymore, and though they would always be their babies and they would always be their daddies' princesses it was sooner or later that both of them would be someone's wife, Tess sooner then later. And that was it. The tears came hard.
It was a few hours later at a café in down the block from the boutique when Donna's cell phone rang.
"Hello?" she answered. "Hey Annie, yea CJ and Carley, and Tess why?" she asked looking worried. Tess signaled for the waitress and handed her a credit card. CJ watched Donna, lightly gripping her hand. "Okay," Donna whispered, "We'll leave now. Bye." "Jed?" CJ asked, already knowing the answer. "Yea," Donna said trying to fight the tears brimming in her eyes. As Tess signed for the check she looked up at her mother, "Grandpa Jed?"
Her mother looked at her and nodded as the tears finally streamed down from her eyes. "Okay then, let's go," Tess responded as she stood up and reached for her mother's hand.
