"Uh…"
"Chloe! Come on in, I was just having a cup of coffee with your father."
Earl stood up and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around his daughter and held her to him. Chloe kept her arms to her sides, not knowing what to do. Finally, when she realized Earl wasn't going to let go, she put her arms around him and hugged him, then quickly let her arms fall away. Earl continued to hold her.
"You're marrying an amazing man, who has an amazing father. I'm proud of you."
"Thank you. I love them both, dearly."
"And I love you, Chloe. Maybe someday I can earn your forgiveness and be your father too. I'll let you guys visit; your mother wants me to help with the wedding arrangements."
Conner didn't look very thrilled. "If I'm walking you down the aisle, does that mean I have to wear a tux, too?" Chloe laughed and nodded her head yes.
Earl stared down at the ground and then quietly left.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Chloe spent her time being very busy and didn't even go home until wee hours on the day of the ceremony. The wedding was at one. Between helping Sylvia decorate, making sure the guys all had their tuxedos, and that the flowers would be ready, she was pulling her hair out. When she said her favorite flowers were orchids, Sylvia had them ordered in all different colors, and there would be tons of them. The wedding cake was chocolate, and the pool area would be made so beautiful, her mother had promised.
On the morning of the wedding, Chloe woke up and missed Matthew terribly. She made him stay at his father's, not wanting to be seen by him until she walked down the aisle. At eight in the morning, she grabbed some of her things and hurried downstairs to drive to her parents. It was hard for her to obey the speed limit on the long drive. She couldn't wait to become Matthew's wife. Never in her entire life did she ever dream she'd find such love and happiness. When she turned on her street, she could see some of the flowers, but the pool was hidden from the road.
"Congratulations, Ms. Burlington. Have a nice wedding."
"Thank you," said Chloe to the guards as they opened the gates. They were given strict instructions to keep the press away and would be bringing in more security before the ceremony. She let herself in through the front door, and tears immediately flowed out of her eyes. Hanging on the wall was a picture of her at her birthday party, and one of her kissing Matthew. Where did they get these? There was another large photograph of her and Becky hugging…They took these at the party. There were other photographs from the same evening, but not one of them contained her parents. The sadness she felt over that made it hard for her to swallow. She looked at all the beautiful decorations, and when she walked to the kitchen, there stood her mother and Lois making the food for the reception. She stopped to listen.
"She'll like it just fine, Mrs. Burlington."
"Please, Lois, you're family. Call me Sylvia. I just want it to be perfect for her. Taste this." She held a spoon up to Lois' mouth.
"I think you're getting yourself all worked up for nothing. Chloe's easy to please, and you want to be able to enjoy her wedding day. You're the mother of the bride after all."
"I wish I could be, but I'm happy to at least be her friend. I hope she likes what I did to decorate by the pool. Earl and I got up at four this morning to finish it up. The flowers are in the cooler, so we'll put the rest of those out around noon. We got the runner down and the chairs set up. The photographer will be here around noon to get ready."
"Sylvia, you invited the press?"
"No, this is actually someone I picked out of the phonebook. I gave a fake name. Chloe wants a small private ceremony and I intend to make sure that's what she gets."
Chloe walked upstairs to her bedroom and lay down on her back on the bed. She looked at all the stars Lois had stuck on her ceiling while she was growing up and afraid of the dark. The room was left exactly the way it was when she moved away from the estate. When she looked over on the dresser, she saw her mother's veil. It didn't match her dress as well as the other one, so she wouldn't be wearing it, but would keep it if it was given to her. She heard the door open and looked to see who it was.
"Oh, Chloe, I saw your Jeep outside and figured you'd be up here. How're you doing?" asked Earl, as he stepped inside her room.
"I'm okay. A little nervous I think."
"You wouldn't be a bride if you weren't nervous. Your mother was a wreck the day we got married. She ran around crazy trying to figure the whole thing out. We ended up in front of a judge. She didn't know the first thing about wedding gowns and such."
"Didn't she have friends to help her?"
"Not really. She knew people but they weren't what you'd call friends."
"She wore a wedding dress. There's her veil."
"Yes, that's it," he said with a warm smile. The gown was on sale so she grabbed it. It wasn't ugly by no means, but she missed out on all the things a new bride gets involved in."
"I want to ask you something. Was Sylvia always this way?"
"When I met your mother, she was lost. Her past damaged her, but I tried my hardest to mend what was broken, but truth be told, I couldn't. She seemed to be missing such a big thing in life, and it wasn't until after your accident that I found out what it was."
"What?"
"She was missing a connection with someone. Someone she could love who wouldn't leave her. She loved me, but I left. When you were born, she fell in love with you, but couldn't admit her feelings and make herself be vulnerable enough to risk heartache, so she left. When her parents didn't want her, she felt it was because she was unlovable…not worthy. Even though you were just a baby, she convinced herself that you'd grow up, get to know her, and then you'd leave too. She spent her life running to avoid being not good enough. Your mother's done running, Chloe, and I'm here to stay as well. Today you're opening your arms to accept Matthew as your husband. Maybe if you have a little extra to give, you can accept Sylvia as your mother. I'm a stranger to you, and that's no one's fault but my own, and I'll never ask to be your dad. I would love it if you'd let me, but I don't deserve that honor. If all I can be is your friend, I'll take it. But this is a happy day, so no sad eyes allowed. I can't wait to sit back in my chair and watch you, such a beautiful woman, walk down the aisle."
Chloe smiled as Earl pulled the door closed.
She fell asleep and didn't wake until Becky came running in the room.
"Get up! You're getting married in an hour and a half and you're not even showered. Get a move on!"