"I don't think I've been this nervous ever in my life, Mama." Brenda whispered to her mother. She sat at the dressing table, looking at herself in the mirror, applying makeup as she readied for her third walk down the aisle. And final trip, she thought to herself.
"Now don't you worry, Brenda, dear. I have a really good feeling about this marriage. I think this is the one that's going to stick." Her mother said as she fussed over Brenda's hair and a thousand other things as she prepared for her daughter to walk down the aisle. Again.
"But it's the third time! And this is Andy Flynn. I love him, so why am I so nervous?" Brenda continued to fret.
"Haven't you ever heard of third times the charm? This is it, Brenda. Let me tell you something. And I don't mean to hurt you in any way, but I have to say, seeing you around Andy, you're the most sure and confident I've ever seen you around a man. Usually you are bending over backwards to be what the man in your life wants you to be. With Andy, you're yourself. You aren't trying to change to suit him. And he loves that. He loves you. Even a stranger could see that." Willie Rae had taken to her new almost son-in-law quite well once she realized that his intentions were good and he did indeed, love her daughter.
"Oh, mama, you're just saying that." Brenda gave a feeble protest.
"No, no, it's true, Brenda Leigh. I mean, you didn't even want us to know that Fritz was living with you many months into your relationship with him. The first time we met Andy, you stood up to your father. Even back then, you were sure of what you had with this man. Besides, your father likes Andy. He lets him win at poker." Willie Rae chuckled.
"When did Andy ever play poker with daddy?" Brenda asked, curious. Andy had never said anything.
"The other night at the bachelor party. Apparently Andy thought he was being smooth about it, but your father knows. Besides, your father really likes him. Thinks he'll take real good care of you." Willie Rae finished with Brenda's hair and turned her attention to something else.
Brenda stared into the mirror, still fretting. It wasn't that she didn't love Andy. She was just scared that once they got married, things would change. They had with Fritz, and she'd been convinced that he was the love of her life. What if she was as wrong about Andy as she had been about Fritz? Brenda sighed and stood up, makeup finished.
"What do you think?" She asked her mother.
"You look beautiful, dear. It's a good style for you." Willie Rae approved of what she saw.
Brenda had a white dress on(which she kind of laughed at, a white dress at a third wedding?), nothing like her previous gown had been. This one was of a flowing material, fitted to her body, but draping out at the bottom. It was strapless and she looked stunning. No veil, her hair was curled and loose, draped on her shoulders, with a couple of flowers wound into it.
"Thank you, Mama." Brenda looked wistful. She thought of Andy and wondered if he was feeling nervous at all. Probably not, he was the one who was so sure of this move. She also wondered where he was. Going with tradition this time, the groom had spent the night at his best man's house, not seeing the bride the day of the wedding. The wedding was being held in their backyard. They'd sold Andy's house and purchased one together, one that had a surprisingly big backyard. That's where the wedding was being held, this time with friends and family actually being invited to the ceremony. Brenda didn't want to hide anymore, she'd spent enough of their relationship doing that. Brenda, Andy and her parents had spent the time setting up and decorating yesterday, along with her man of honour and his girlfriend. She'd asked Will to stand up with her, because she wasn't particularly close to any woman here in L.A. And Andy had wanted Provenza to stand up as his best man. So, she'd asked Will and he'd accepted. Brenda never had done anything the usual way. Of course, helping to decorate had come part and parcel with Sharon Raydor helping, which Brenda hadn't minded. Over the last few months, both women had called a truce to any animosity that they held towards each other and become somewhat friends. Not enough to be asked to be maid of honour, but enough that they actually had done lunch once or twice. That had made Will happy.
The weather had dawned clear and bright. It had turned out to be a gorgeous day. Brenda however, kept waiting for something to go disastrously wrong. Like a case that had to call them all in. But so far, nothing had happened to justify her worry. She just really wished the day was over and she was off on her honeymoon. This time, they were going to Hawaii, a far cry and a world away from her last honeymoon. She looked forward to the sun and sand and sounds of the ocean, far away from here.
"Mama, do you think he'll show up? Or do you think he'll get cold feet?" Brenda suddenly asked.
Willie Rae chuckled at her daughter. The girl was worrying over absolutely nothing. There wasn't anything that would keep Andy from going down that aisle and making her a Flynn. Even if she wouldn't take his name officially.
"Are you looking to get out of this marriage, sweetheart? Are you that unsure of marrying him? Because the thing to do would be to stop this now, before you go through with the legalities." Willie Rae prodded her.
"No, no, I want to marry him. I'm just afraid he'll change his mind. Think I've been too hard to live with. Get out before he makes anything permanent." Brenda had a way of talking too much.
"If you don't know how serious he is about you by now, you never will. This man would die for you, Brenda. He loves you. I don't know how to make you realize that. You need to quit worrying." Willie Rae, although patient, had a limit.
"Oh, I know, Mama. I just don't know why he's so sure I'm the one for him. He's always been more sure of everything than I have." Brenda picked up her bouquet, just as she heard a knock at the door. Willie Rae asked who it was and Will answered. She let him in to the room.
"The guests are seated and the groom has arrived. It's almost time to get this thing started." Will said. He looked at Brenda, glad that she'd wanted him to be a part of her wedding. Everything with Fritz had seemed to leave him out, but this time around, Brenda had made sure he was included. He'd never been a "man of honour" so to speak and was surprised Brenda had asked him. But he figured that he was as close to a best friend as she had, and had been delighted to do this for her.
"Don't you think we're just overdoing this a tad bit? This is my third marriage." Brenda continued to fret.
"Well, not everyone knows that, dear. Besides, I'm sure this is the last time I'll see you get married. I'm getting to old for this." Willie Rae joked.
"Mama!" Brenda said, before realizing her mama was joking. Will couldn't contain his laughter and let it go.
"Will!" Brenda would have stomped her foot if she could have without looking like a child having a tantrum.
"Your father is waiting downstairs for you. Are you ready to do this?" Will asked her, all joking aside.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Brenda sighed, adjusting her dress slightly. She still felt a little silly, wearing white for the third time. "Where's Sharon?"
"She's seated already. For a small wedding, you sure have enough people invited this time." Will remarked.
"Well, Andy knows a lot of people. And there are people from work both of us wanted here. And this time, my brothers were able to make it. Even Charlie came." Brenda had been pleased at that. She loved her niece and hadn't known if she'd be able to make it to the wedding, but she'd been happy to come to her aunt Brenda's wedding. She hadn't questioned Brenda what had happened with Fritz. She'd liked Fritz well enough, but knew the man had a bit of a temper.
"I take it this turned into something a whole lot bigger than you'd hoped. You have a nice backyard for this sort of thing." Will liked the place.
"Well, we weren't doing the whole searching for churches thing again. And we realized our yard is huge and we could do it here. It just made things easier." Brenda had been happy about that. They'd never fill the yard with children, but she loved it anyways. She had discovered a bit of a talent for gardening the last few months and when she wanted to forget about a case or a bad day, she'd go out there and putter around. It had been so much easier to pick a house this time. She marvelled that they'd both fallen for this house almost immediately, and their offer had been accepted quickly. She felt lucky.
"Let's go, Brenda. Let's not keep Andy waiting any longer than he already has." her mother chirped.
"Alright, Mama. I'm ready." Brenda smiled and held her mother's hand.
Will held open the door for both women and he followed them out. Brenda carefully went down the stairs, followed by her mother and Will. Her father waited at the bottom, smiling when he seen her.
"You do make a lovely bride, Brenda Leigh." he said.
"Well, daddy, this is the last time you get to do this. I'm never getting married again." Brenda joked, her earlier mood leaving her.
"You better be right on that, darlin'. I think you finally managed to pick the right man. I like him." Clay had discovered he did like Andy a lot. He wasn't dismissive like Fritz had been, and didn't seem to mind playing cards with an old man. Probably was used to it from hanging around with that Provenza.
"Well, I'm glad, Daddy. I believe this is the only one of the men I've married you've ever talked nice about." Brenda smiled.
"I didn't say I didn't like the other two. They just weren't good enough for my little girl. This one is."
Brenda smiled, she had her daddy's approval overwhelmingly this time. It made her happy. They made their way through the house to the back patio doors. Brenda looked out on the people seated and said "I'm ready."
Will went to find Provenza and Andy, telling them she was ready for this and to get this show on the road. One didn't keep Brenda Leigh Johnson waiting when she was ready to do something. And apparently, she was finally ready to get married.