Page 47 of The Vineyard Bride

Chapter Nineteen

Lola sat in the backof the rented limousine in her bohemian wedding dress, with its ivory lace across the hands and the flowing skirt.Flowers adorned her dark curls, and she wore light blue pointed shoes, slightly heeled, which played in such a contrast to her “normal” bohemian boots.Beside her, Audrey sat in an emerald gown, her eyes upon Lola as they shared the pre-wedding silence.

“You know, you give me the word?I’ll leap in the front seat of this limousine and drive us out of here,” Audrey joked.

Lola, whose head was heavy with confusion, gave Audrey a wry smile.After a deep breath, she shoved thoughts of Valerie and Harry deep into the back alleys of her mind and gave herself a pep talk:Two hundred and forty-seven guests have gathered here today to celebrate your wedding to the love of your life.You’re not going to taint this because some idiot said a few harsh words to you in his disgusting garage.

“You good?”Audrey’s smile faltered as she laced her fingers through Lola’s.

Lola tilted her head as her heart swelled with memories.“You know after your father left...”

“Uh oh.Mom’s getting nostalgic,” Audrey teased.

“Just let me talk.It’s my wedding day, isn’t it?”

“All right.Go for it.”Audrey tossed her hair across her shoulder like a dark curtain.

“After your father left, I was so sure that nobody would be good enough for us,” Lola continued.“We sat in the kitchen, sang songs, made up little dances, and made jokes about boys being ‘icky.’”

Audrey laughed.“They still are, right?”

“Absolutely,” Lola affirmed.“Yesterday, I caught Tommy eating a four-day-old chicken wing from the paper bag in the back of the fridge.But I digress.The fact is, for all those years, it was just you and I.And now, we have the entire Sheridan clan, plus some men who aren’t half-bad.”

“Not half-bad at all,” Audrey offered back.

Suddenly, there came a rap at the window above Audrey’s head.There, Susan Sheridan called that it was “time” for them to collect themselves at the back of Grange Hall in preparation for the ceremony.Lola drew her shoulders back as she whispered, “It’s showtime.”

June 18th, Lola Sheridan’s wedding day, had morphed into a gloriously blissful, near-summer day of seventy-four degrees Fahrenheit, a glossy blue sky above, and blossoming trees that swelled and flashed their leaves with the slight breeze.For a moment before entering Grange Hall, Lola lifted her chin and closed her eyes, acknowledging the weight of so many, many decades of loneliness.It was in the past, now.

Her father stood, nervous and pale, at the doorway between the foyer and the grand hall in which the ceremony would take place.He scuffed his expensive shoes and muttered to himself, his dark hair catching the light from the on-high chandelier.

“Dad.The bride’s here!”Christine announced brightly, placing a hand on their father’s shoulder adoringly.

Wes lifted his chin to find Lola as she stepped through the double-wide doors, her skirts lifted gently to allow her blue shoes to shine forth.Their eyes connected for a long moment as Wes’s chin wiggled, threatening tears.

“You look beautiful, Lola,” Wes whispered finally, drawing his hand forward.

Lola’s smaller hand found his, and together, they stepped toward the rest of the bridesmaids, their smiles lengthening.The pianist in the grand hall had begun to play the entrance music, which would bring the bridesmaids down the aisle to make way for the bride.This was “Pachelbel’s Canon,” a classic favorite and one that seemed appropriately sophisticated to Lola.When Lola had asked Tommy’s opinion about the song, he’d shrugged and said, “If it isn’t a song from the oldies station, then I’m not sure what it is.Sounds fine to me.”Lola had laughed outrageously at that, grateful for Tommy’s sense of humor and his overwhelming ability to make her weak at the knees.

“It’s showtime,” Wes muttered to the rest of the Sheridan women, stepping back as the first of them began to walk down the aisle.First came Amanda, followed by Susan, followed by Christine, with Audrey in the very back.

Just before she began her trek down, Audrey reached back and gripped Lola’s hand.Her eyes said everything Lola already felt,I can’t believe we’ve made it this far together.Our story isn’t done, not by a long shot.

As “Pachelbel’s Canon” finished out, drawing the bridesmaids along one end of the hall and the grooms along the other, the song shifted toward the song Lola had decided upon to walk down: “This Year,” by The Zombies, a piano version.

Right before they took a step forward together, Wes leaned toward Lola and whispered, “Your mother would be so proud of you.I hope you know that.”

Lola’s throat tightened as tears threatened to fall.

“And not just for falling in love, either,” Wes added.“For going after your dreams.For not letting any pitfall get in your way.And for that enormous heart of yours, which seems to contain enough emotion for a thousand stories.I’m lucky to have you as my daughter, Lola.I really am.”

Charlotte, the wedding planner, hustled across the back of Grange Hall to mutter, “Lola!It’s time.”

Lola and Wes then locked eyes, nodded, counted silently in time, and then stepped out into the aisle, headed for the pastor at the far end, there between the groomsmen and the bridesmaids.As she walked, Tommy stepped out from behind the groomsmen to take his rightful place there in the center, his chest puffed out and his hands crossed in front of him.His Italian leather shoes caught the sunlight that glittered in through the windows, and his thick black hair was styled to perfection into small waves that cascaded toward his ears.His black eyes told a story of intelligence, intrigue, and a sense of adventure.As Lola walked toward him, with all eyes upon her, her stomach stirred with the depth of her truth: this was the only man for her.

At the far end of the aisle, Tommy and Wes shook hands before Wes turned back to sit in the first pew next to Aunt Willa, who’d appeared in their lives the previous December and left a real mark, illuminating information about Anna Sheridan that the Sheridan women had never known.Aunt Willa gave a little, excited wave and then gripped Wes’s hand knowingly.On the other end of Grange Hall, located on Tommy’s side, was Aunt Beatrice, who, when Lola glanced over at her, seemed to stare directly at Wes rather than the bride and groom.

Lola’s stomach twisted with laughter.When she turned back to find Tommy before her, all dressed in his tuxedo and wearing a stern expression, her smile faltered all over again.This was really happening.This was her wedding day, one of the biggest moments of her life.She wanted to memorize every single detail.

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