Daddy's Girl-Final Chapter
Epilogue
"Dad? Daddy?"
At the sound of her voice, Lee snapped out of his daydream of remembering when Jenny came into the world and looked at the beautiful woman who stood before him in her wedding dress, her arm linked in his. They stood at the back of the church. The soft red carpet beneath their feet, and the big honey brown door and matching woodwork surrounded them as they stood in the entryway awaiting their turn to walk down the aisle.
"How did the years fly by so fast?" Lee thought to himself.
"Are you ok?" Jenny asked with a big smile on her face. "You zoned out there. Where did you go?"
Lee gently squeezed her hand and smiled.
"Sorry, baby. I was just remembering the day you were born-how tiny you were. How much your brothers loved you….And your grandmother!" Lee let out a soft, slightly melancholy chuckle. "You would have thought she never saw a baby before. She kissed you, and fussed over you…..she loved you so much."
Jenny sighed.
"I loved her, too…..so much. I wish she could have been here today."
"Me, too, Sweetheart. Me too."
Lee and Jenny stood quietly for a moment remembering Dotty and how much love she gave to them all. Her passing left a big hole in all their lives, especially in Amanda's and Jenny's. The three of them were so close. Thankfully, they were all able to be with her when she peacefully passed 4-years ago.
"Love you, Grandma", Jenny whispered as she touched the pearls she wore in remembrance of Dotty.
Lee found himself looking at the strikingly beautiful woman that now stood before him- 5' 9" with Amanda's beautiful, long dark brown hair, bone structure, and flawless skin. She had Lee's blue-green eyes, and his beautiful smile, complete with dimples.
"I don't know if I said it enough today, but you have to be the most beautiful bride there has ever been" Lee said with misty eyes.
"Oh, Daddy", Jenny said as a lump formed in her throat.
Lee felt a tugging on the bottom of his silver morning suit that perfectly accentuated this silver gray of his hair. He looked down to see Jamie's daughter, 6-year-old Samantha looking up at him, smiling her jack-o-lantern smile with her two missing front teeth.
"Grampy, do I look beautiful too?" Sammie said as she swished her puffy white flower girl dress back and forth and side to side.
Lee smiled ear to ear and scooped up his little granddaughter with the long brunette curls.
"Do you look beautiful?" he said to her as he nuzzled her cheek. Sammie squirmed with delight. "You know that the bride is supposed to be the prettiest girl here on her wedding day. I think that you look just as pretty!"
Sammie smiled that missing-tooth grin again.
"Auntie JD, is it ok that I look as pretty as you do today?"
"Of course it's ok! You are my flower girl, and you are supposed to look beautiful" Jenny said as she lightly touched her niece on the nose.
"Grampy, she said it was ok that I look pretty today", Sammie loudly whispered to Lee.
"Well, you know, peanut, you can't help but look so pretty" Lee informed Sammie.
Sammie looked at him with a rather inquisitive look on her face.
"Why not?"
"Look who your Grammy is!"
Lee pointed to Amanda who was sitting in the front pew, dressed in a dark blue dress, turned around looking at Lee, Sammie, and Jenny. Sammie saw Amanda looking at them and waved. A big smile spread across Amanda's face as she waved back and then quickly dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief.
"Your Grammy is the most beautiful person in the whole world. You can't help it that you and Auntie JD are so pretty, too."
"Hey, what about me? Am I pretty? She's my mom, too ya know!" a voice sounded from behind them.
Sammie looked over Lee's shoulder and giggled.
"Uncle Matty, only girls are pretty! Boys are handsome."
Matt straightened to his full 6'3" height and puffed out his chest.
"Well, am I handsome then?" Matt asked.
Sammie studied her uncle for a long moment. There was no doubt he was a Stetson. He had his father's striking good looks, with his mother's dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Sammie was perhaps the only female that ever looked at him and had to take a moment to determine if Matthew Stetson was a handsome man.
"Well…maybe a little bit", Sammie finally determined, "But not as handsome as my dad!"
Everyone began to laugh. Philip patted Jamie on the back.
"That's my girl!" Jamie chimed in, smiling ear to ear as he grabbed his daughter from her Grampy.
"Ouch!" Matt said.
"Out of the mouth of babes" Lee said with a hearty laugh.
"The truth hurts, Matty. I've been telling you all these years how ugly you are. Maybe now you will believe it." Jenny said with a laugh.
The organist began to play Pachelbel's Cannon letting everyone know that it was time to process down the aisle. The bridesmaids dressed in their midnight blue dresses paired up with their groomsmen.
Jamie looked over at Sammie who was transfixed at something in the church. He tried several times to get her attention.
"Ok, monkey….time to go. Are you ready?"
No reply. Sammie continued to stare at something or someone in the church. Matt stepped over to his niece to see what she was looking at and made a funny face at her, breaking her line of sight. Sammie jumped slightly.
"Uncle Matty!" she giggled, "You scared me!'
"It's time to walk down the aisle like we practiced last night. Are you ready?" Jamie asked his daughter as he put her down.
Sammie smiled and proudly lifted her white basket filled with dark pink rose petals.
"Yup! I'm gonna drop my flowers all the way to Grammy!"
Jamie and Sammie both looked at Amanda in the front row ready to receive her granddaughter. Sammie began her journey down the aisle, dropping handfuls of flower petals as she went. Two by two, the bridal party followed Sammie.
"What was she looking at so intently out there?" Jenny whispered to Matt.
"Oh, some lady that keeps walking a coin back and forth over the back of her hand. I seated her earlier. A little cranky, but blue eyes to die for!"
Lee's ears perked up at Matt's description of the woman.
"Matt, what do you mean walking a coin on the back of her hand?" Lee asked very pointedly.
"You know….she took the coin and moved her fingers up and down and made the coin roll over each finger and travel over the back of her hand….then back the other way." Matt described.
"Matty! GO!" Jenny yelled at him.
Matt quickly turned around and took the arm of his bridal party partner and began down the aisle.
Lee's mind began to spin as he thought about the only woman that he knew who could walk a coin across the back of her hand like Matt described. And she happened to have amazing blue eyes as well.
The organist struck the first chord of "Here Comes the Bride" loud and strong. The people in the church all stood up and turned to watch Jenny and Lee walk down the aisle.
"Ready, Daddy?"
Lee looked at his little girl, looking so beautiful standing before him. He cleared his throat and swallowed hard to hold the tears back.
"Let's go", he said as he took her arm in his as squeezed his little girl tightly.
All eyes were on Lee and Jenny as they walked down the aisle, each wearing matching big, brilliant smiles. Amanda looked at her husband and daughter, and then at her three boys standing at the front of the church looking so handsome. Philip and Jamie both caught Amanda's eye and smiled. Matt smiled at his sister as he subtilty checked his agency issued gun hiding under his silver morning coat. He scanned the back of the church where he spotted the woman that had Sammie's attention.
"Thought you could sneak in unnoticed? I've got my eye on you, Sonja Chenko. Whatever you have planned, just know I'm going to stop you. Just please behave yourself. I would rather it not be at my sister's wedding that my family find out I have been recruited into the family business."
Matt smiled and turned his attention to the wedding just as the preacher said…
"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today….."