Una Meredith awoke the following morning to find the sunshine winking at her through the window. A bluebird gleefully sang on her windowsill, sweetly serenading her with songs of sublime serendipity. Her rested eyes focused on a beautiful gray silk dress, hanging from the closet door. Una Meredith had to pinch herself because she could still hardly believe that by the end of the day, she would be Una Meredith no longer, but Una Blythe forevermore!
A gentle knock then came from the bedroom door, and Rosemary soon entered. She found her daughter, yes, in every way that mattered; Una was her daughter, looking so radiant that she wasn't ever certain whether the bright light of the room came from the morning sun, or from the resplendency of Una's soul.
"Isn't it a beautiful morning, Rosemary?" Una asked as she pulled herself from the window.
"It's almost as beautiful as you, Una. Your father and brothers have left to get ready at Ingleside, and all the women are on their way here. Nan and Cecilia are downstairs with the baby, eating breakfast. You should join them."
Una nervously rubbed her fluttering stomach. "I'm far too excited to eat anything, Rosemary."
Rosemary smiled, knowing all the emotions running through Una's slender frame. "I know it's hard to do, but you need to eat while you can. You'll be very busy for the rest of the day, and we wouldn't want you to faint on the church floor ever again, would we?"
Una remembered that old Good Conduct Club punishment of fasting and agreed with Rosemary, then asked, "Where you terribly nervous when you married Father? You weren't just taking on a husband, but also a houseful of little urchins. At least Tenny and Hope are better behaved than we ever were."
"Oh Una, I was terribly nervous, but not because of you children. I was worried about what kind of wife I would be after living alone with Ellen all those years, and I was worried that I wouldn't be a good enough step-mother to you."
Una let out a silken sweet laugh, remembering how she once worried that Rosemary would become an evil-stepmother once she married John Meredith. Of course those worries were all for not, and Una and Rosemary developed a strong and loving relationship. "You were the best thing that ever happened to our entire family, Rosemary. I only hope that I can be half as good of a step-mother to Hope and Tenny as you have been to Jerry, Faith, Carl, and me."
Rosemary grew quieter and Una could tell that she was struggling to keep from breaking down in tears. She fumbled with a handkerchief that was for some reason, already being held in her right hand. "That is the greatest compliment you could have ever given me, Una." She hugged her girl tight to her, and continued, "Don't you ever worry about being good enough; as a wife, a mother, a daughter, sister, or friend. I don't believe that anyone will ever accuse you of not being 'good.' You are the best person that anyone who has ever had the privilege of meeting you has ever met."
Una's extreme modesty kept her from replying to Rosemary's comment. She could only demurely cast her eyes to the floor, and Rosemary knowingly left the room, gently squeezing Una's slender hand as she left. Una decided to try to heed Rosemary's advice about eating.
She found Nan standing over the stove, fixing Cecilia a stack of pancakes. Cecilia was found sitting next to Elizabeth's bassinet, carefully reading to Elizabeth from A. A. Milne's recent book about a "Bear of Very Little Brain."
Una stood in the doorway, watching the domestic scene play out, anticipating her own mornings with Tenny and Hope.
Cecilia finished reading, laughed, and said to herself, "Silly old bear!" Then she looked to where her mother stood, and asked, "Mummy, did Daddy really get to see the real Winnie when he was a soldier?"
Nan poured batter on the griddle, "Yes, he and your Uncle Jem and Aunt Faith saw him once when they all had leave at the same time. They even got to go into his cage. You know that Winnie's a Canadian Bear, don't you?" She turned to face Cecilia and saw Una standing in the background.
Suddenly all talk of the "Silly old bear" ceased. When Nan saw Una she belted out, "Here Comes the Bride…" causing Una to slightly blush.
"Nan…" Una started to say, but was stopped by Nan's bear-sized hug.
"I just can't tell you how happy I am that you're going to marry Walter today, Una. Now, we'll really be like sisters."
Una thought about what Nan said, then observed, "Nan, you're married to my older brother. That has made us sisters for a long while."
Nan sat down at the table, obviously confused as to why such an important thing like that would slip her mind. "I guess that I've just been so excited you're marrying my brother rather than, well, we don't have to say his name, that everything seems new again to me."
"So you approve of all this?"
Nan looked at her oldest daughter whose little ears were perked up, intently listening to the conversation. "Cecilia, go upstairs and ask Grandma Rosemary to help you wash up. I'll be there shortly to help you with your hair."
Cecilia knew that there was going to be grown up talk and wanted to stay, but wouldn't dare defy her dear mother. "Oh, all right."
Nan watched Cecilia scamper up the stairs, then took Una's hand. "Una, I whole-heartedly approve of your marriage to Walter. I don't know why I had never seen it before, but you and Walter were made for each other. You seem to complete each other. You love him with your whole heart, and he adores you. You will be good to his children. You're one of the best friends that I have ever had, Una. I've always wanted you to marry one of my brothers! I'm glad you held out for the right one. If I had had my way all those years ago… Well, those days are long past. You made the right decision for everyone involved. I still can't really tell you how truly happy I am for you."
Elizabeth cooed from her bassinet, causing Una look down at her and exclaim, "Doesn't Elizabeth look so sweet smiling up at us!"
Una's comment made Nan remember something that had been floating around in her head for the past few months. "Maybe you'll have one just as sweet soon."
Una gave Nan a hopeful smile. "Maybe."
Nan heard a car door slam and looked out the window, and saw the multitude of women climbing out of cars in the drive. "Don't look now, but your public has arrived, Una."
"I don't know how I will survive being the center of so many people's attention today."
Nan gave her sister-in-law an understanding squeeze on the arm just as Faith walked through the door. Faith didn't bother to knock. After all, the manse had been her home before she and Jem married. She just let herself in and took a seat next to her sister at the kitchen table.
"Well Una, are you ready to be all made-up and done-up to be everything a blushing bride should be?" she asked.
"I suppose that I am. Only, don't put too much makeup on me. I don't ever wear it, and I don't want to appear to my new husband as something that I'm not."
"Oh, don't worry, Una. We'll only accentuate your porcelain features. "By the way, Mother wanted me to let you know that she, Rebecca, Hope, and Mrs. Wright will meet us at the church. She's afraid that the men will be late if she doesn't keep them on their toes. Also, she doesn't want Tenny to show up at the church all a mess," Di informed them as she walked in, miraculously sans children.
Nan looked at her twin like she was missing an arm or leg. "Di, where are the children?"
Di laughed and informed everyone, "Oh, I almost forgot! Anne Cordelia, Will, and Felicity came with Mother and Father Wright. They also brought Freddy's kids; Ned, Spenser, and Felicity. They've offered to watch all of the young ones for us while we get ready for the wedding."
Una's eyes grew round. "All of the little ones? That's a daunting task, isn't it?"
"Especially with my brood," Rilla agreed as she walked in the door with Mrs. Ford and Persis. "Don't worry too much about the martyrs though. They're going to spend the next week at the hotel on the shore over harbor basking in the sun."
Persis carried her bridesmaid's dress in her arms, and a troubled look on her face. Being the only single lady left in Una's intimate circle of friends, she was the only bridesmaid, and Hope was the flower girl.
"Una don't panic, but I have some bad news."
Una's heart stopped a moment as she feared the worst. "What's wrong, Persis?"
"I was looking over my dress on the ride over, and noticed a huge tear under the right arm. It must have ripped the other day when I tried it on after Mother altered it."
Nan took the dress from Persis, and gave it a good looking over. She glanced toward Diana and said, "I think we can take care of this, if you and Di follow me upstairs to Rosemary's sewing room."
Di nodded in agreement, and then the three ran upstairs to repair the bridesmaid's dress. Leslie and Rilla soon followed, allowing the two sisters a little time alone.
"Una, you don't know what a relief it is that you're marrying Walter instead of that horrible man. I knew from the moment that I met him in Miller's store that he was no good. I just didn't have the courage to tell you so to your face. I wish I had. Maybe you and Walter would have been married already," she admitted.
Una chuckled, "You may never have told me to my face that you didn't like him, but it was evident in your manner every time his name was mentioned."
"Well, I didn't know how to react to the entire situation, Una. I never realized that you had loved Walter, and I never could understand why you would turn down a proposal form Shirley only to accept one from that horrible man years later. I understand now why you turned down Shirley, but I don't think that I'll ever understand why you accepted that man's."
"I don't think that I'll ever really understand it myself, Faith. All I knew was that I wanted to have a home and a family more than anything else. To the best of my knowledge, I could never marry the only man I would ever love. I wouldn't trap Shirley into a one-side marriage, so I settled for what was offered."
Faith took her sister's hand and told her, "No one should ever 'settle' for what they can get in marriage. I know you tend to think lower of yourself than you should, Una. I just want you to know that you are special, you are beautiful, and if Walter ever hurts you, he'll have to answer to me," as her face changed from dead on serious to a mischievous grin.
Both sisters laughed out loud, but then Faith's laughter turned to tears. In between sobs, she told Una, "You deserve every bit of happiness you're about to receive. Don't ever think otherwise."
Fighting her own tears behind her liquid blue eyes, Una answered, "I won't."
"Look at me! I must be a mess! I had better try to repair my face!" Faith exclaimed before she sprinted up the stairs.
Listening to the old coo-coo clock that hung over Rosemary's piano, Una realized that it was time for her to get herself all ready. She returned to her room and found Rilla, quietly staring out the window toward Rainbow Valley.
Rilla heard Una enter, and knew instinctively who it was. "Do you remember that day… that day that seems so long ago now, when I gave you his letter, his last letter?"
Una walked to where she could stand beside Rilla, and they stared out to that beautiful valley together. "That was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me Rilla, but now I try to forget that pain."
"So do I, Una. Did you know that that action was the result of one of the most difficult decisions I had ever made?"
"I knew how much Walter meant to you, and what loosing him did to you."
"I know. The whole war and especially loosing Walter forced me to grow up early. I look back, and think that I should be jealous that my teenage years weren't so innocent as Nan and Di's, but I can't. I don't particularly like the person I was before the war, and I appreciate everything so much now.
Loosing Walter caused a great change in my life, and I lost something very special, but you lost so much more. You lost the possibility of what might have been. It wouldn't have been right for me to keep his last letter when you had so little.
Now however, you've been given a second chance. Una, I want you to know that my greatest prayer since Walter returned to us was that the two of you would find your way to each other. Even when you lived a world away, I prayed for the two of you."
"Thank you for your prayers, Rilla."
Rilla put her arm around Una's shoulder, "You and Walter and the family you are creating will continue to be in my prayers."
Nothing more could be shared between Una and Rilla, because everyone else decided to intrude upon them at this time. It was time for Cinderella to prepare to meet the prince.
They made Una up splendidly, causing Persis to exclaim, "There's never been a more beautiful bride, Una. I hope that when I get married I'll look half as wonderful as you."
Leslie laughed her silvery girl's laugh. "I'm sure come December, there will be another beautiful bride, dear."
Everyone's head turned to Persis, causing her to blush, and Faith asked, "Have you and Carl finally set a date?"
Persis gave an impish grin. "We didn't want to announce it until after today. This is Una and Walter's day. We don't want to steal their thunder."
Una hugged her bridesmaid and soon-to-be-sister-in-law, "Nothing can spoil this day, Persis, Congratulations!"
And so it was, that the bridal party of Miss Una Meredith arrived at the Glen St. Mary Presbyterian Church an hour before the wedding was to begin. When they entered the church, they were greeted so many friends and family that Una again began to feel very nervous.
Dr. Gilbert Blythe saw Una's big, wide, scared eyes, and decided that it was time to give her a bit of family advice, "Since you are going to marry my son, Una, I shall give you the excellent rules for the management of a husband which my grandmother gave my mother when she married my father."
The doctor had a roguish grin about his face, so Una asked, "What are these rules?"
"The first one is, catch him."
"It took a while, but that is done."
"The second one is, feed him well."
"I believe that Rosemary has trained me to do so."
"The third and fourth are--keep your eye on him."
"I don't think that I'll ever be able to take my eyes off of him," she dreamily admitted.
Gilbert understood and kissed her on the cheek before leaving to find his son. However, his wife was nearby and wished to speak with Una as well.
There was unrepentant happiness in those grey-green eyes as she told Una, "Una, since you agreed to marry Walter, there has been a spark in those lovely eyes of his that has been sorely missing since before he left for the war. Thank you for making him so happy. Thank you for making me so happy!" She hugged Una to her. "I pray that the two of you will be as content and happy together as Gilbert and I have been."
Tenny found Una, and gave her an armful of mayflowers.
"Mayflowers in July!' she cried out. "Wherever did you find such beautiful flowers you dear, dear boy?"
Tenny sheepishly smiled. "I asked Uncle Jem to show his secret spot in Rainbow Valley where they grow all summer."
"I think I'll use them for my bouquet. They look so much more alive than those poor wilted lilies!" she told him, then gave him a kiss on the forehead as his reward.
Soon the music started, and everyone took the seats. Jerry, Walter, Shirley, and Tenny took their places along the altar. Persis and Hope awaited the word from Miss Cornelia to begin their marches, and Una took her speechless father's arm.
From the moment he saw her all in the splendor of her mother's dress, all words seemed to flee from John Meredith's mouth. Finally, before he was to give her away to another man, he told her, "Daughter, you look just like your beautiful mother today."
"Mother had light hair like Faith, Father," Una stated, confused.
"But you and Carl have her eyes and features, dear. You also have her heart. I couldn't give you away to a lesser man, Una. You're too special and good. You've made me proud today, Una. I'm getting to walk the finest looking bride this Island has ever seen down the aisle today."
It was a happy and beautiful bride who walked down the old, hardwood aisle of the church that July noon, slender and shining-eyed, in the mist of her maiden veil, with her arms full of mayflowers. Walter, waiting for her at the end of the aisle, looked up at her with adoring eyes. She was his at last, this evasive, long-sought Una, won after so much confusion and hurt.
It was to him she was coming in the sweet surrender of the bride. Was he worthy of her? Could he make her as happy as he hoped? If he failed her--if he could not measure up to her standard of manhood--then, as she held out her hand, their eyes met and all doubt was swept away in a glad certainty. They belonged to each other; and, no matter what life might hold for them, it could never alter that. Their happiness was in each other's keeping and both were unafraid.
They were married in the old sanctuary, circled by the loving and kindly faces of long-familiar friends. The sun's rays filtered through the stained-glass windows, marking Heaven's divine blessing on the union of bride and bridegroom.
Okay, so I have at least two more chapters, but at least I'm giving you something. I wasn't sure where I wanted to end this, but now I know. I hope to update again soon. Sorry it's been so long. For further updates on this and other great LM montgomery ff's, visit the site listed as my homepage here on my profile page.