Page 97 of Implode

There’s a knock at the door and a soft voice calls out from the other side. “Can I come in? It’s Penny.”

“Yes, of course,” Angie says, turning in her seat to watch as Penny enters.

“Sorry I’m late. I was just doing the last-minute touches to the practice aisle outside in the courtyard. We are all set.”

While Penny hasn’t had much to do in regard to the wedding plans, what she has helped with has been done with a smile. She has worked behind the scenes to make sure everything is running smoothly today, as well as coordinated a few of the deliveries set to arrive tomorrow for the actual day. The thing about Angie is that she would be happy with anything. It is everyone around her that is nervous about making her day amazing. She has told us numerous times that the only thing that matters tomorrow is her and Graham sharing their vows in front of their family and friends. Everything else is just sauce.

“You guys look amazing,” she says, moving closer to Angie to rave about her layered bright pink dress.

Penny and I have on simple pastel pink sundresses, in the same color family as Angie’s—except less vibrant.

“I got us daisy bouquets to practice with for the rehearsal. But I think your mom put them in the fridge downstairs,” I say, digging for my phone to text her.

“Oh, fun,” Angie says. I can tell she is getting nervous as her fingers start to pick at her freshly done nail polish.

I extend my hand for her to grab. “Let’s go.”Before you undo some of your pampering.

“I wish the wedding was now and we could skip this whole practice thing,” Angie says with a pout.

“Don’t tell your soon-to-be husband that,” I tease. “He’ll pay off the officiant and all of the hard work preparing for your epic ceremony will be wasted.”

“Okay, fine. Let’s do the damn thing.”

“Now, that’s the spirit,” Penny whoops.

We link arms with Angie and walk with her out of the room, through the hall, and down the stairs. Donna is waiting for us down below with the small flower bouquets in hand.

“Wow, you ladies look exquisite,” she gasps, holding one hand over her mouth as she watches us descend the staircase.

“Thank you,” we say in unison.

When we make it outside, groups of family and friends are standing around chatting with Graham. When we join the festivities, Angie finds her father and gives him a hug. He arrived earlier in the day from Baker City, and for someone who is still dealing with his addiction, he is doing remarkably well. The two of them together are inspirations to anyone dealing with feeling out of control and how the power of therapy can change a person’s life.

Zander, a good friend from college, waves to me as he sits down to play the piano, while a local female singer stands beside him. According to Angie, she is a rising star and is trying to get her name out there. Well, this will be career-altering, for sure.

The event planner leads us to the chairs set up in the beautiful garden, surrounded by the canopy of trees draped in lights. The fountains are turned on and the sound of fresh water flowing causes a relaxing feeling to ease my nerves. Despite many of the decorations being reserved for tomorrow’s actual ceremony, the setup right now is still breathtaking. The whole scene looks like a page ripped out of a fairy tale.

Everyone lines up and takes their place. The parents of the groom take a seat in the front row. Graham waits next to the officiant under a trellis of what appears to be hundreds of roses. Zander is situated behind a huge piano that must have taken a dozen men to carry. Collins links arms with Penny and when directed by the planner, they walk in a rhythm down the aisle. Zander plays Pachelbel’s Canon in D and a cello player that I did not notice until now follows along seamlessly.

I am so enthralled watching the musicians play that I don’t even feel the hand on me until it gently squeezes my arm. My eyes look down and then up into Nic’s crystal-blue pair. I wonder if I will ever tire of looking at him. His eyes are so expressive, and his warm smile makes me want to melt into him.

“Ready to go?” he asks, removing his hand to link arms with me.

“I think so,” I whisper.

“Claire, you look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I mutter.

“One day, this is going to be you living out your own fairy tale.”

Before I have a chance to think of a response, the event planner motions for us to go, and I start off with a big step. It is way too big for my shorter legs and I stumble. Nic pulls me gently back, helping me to balance. “We can’t run,” he teases.

I slow down and focus on not dropping my bouquet. Once we get to the end of the aisle runner, we part ways and I stand with Penny, turning to look for Angie’s arrival.

Walking beside her dad, Angie moves with purpose down the aisle. We all laugh as she ignores the officiant and stands up on her tiptoes to kiss Graham on the lips. I glance around the audience, half expecting the wedding planner to blow a whistle or throw a flag in objection. I take Angie’s bouquet from her, pretend to fix her imaginary wedding dress, and then take my place next to Penny. The photographer snaps pictures during the practice run, while setting up a tripod for the video feed.

The event planner gives us all a few suggestions and pointers on how to look our best tomorrow. Once we do one more walk-through, we all depart the mansion to head on back to the Hoffman’s house for a dinner party.

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