I blinked at myself in the mirror that hung over Nan’s antique vanity.
“Well, Angie. Do you like it?” Grandma Lyn asked with bated breath.
Nan held a hand mirror up so I could see my formal updo from all sides. She’d really outdone herself with this one. Soft curls had been worked into a stylish bouffant with sprigs of baby’s breath forming a crown around the edges.
“You two could go into business together,” I said with a huge grin as I blinked slowly to admire the deftly applied eye shadow. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so glamorous in my entire life.”
Both women clasped their hands together and cooed happily—showing they were more alike than different, just as I’d always known. Maybe they were finally starting to realize that too.
“Now if you’ll just let me fit your veil into place…” Nan jogged over to her bed and lifted the delicate lace accessory from the mattress.
“Your groom is going to lose his mind when he sees you walking toward him down that aisle,” Grandma Lyn assured me before both women got to work securing the veil beneath my bouffant.
My heart thrummed with anticipatory bliss. I couldn’t wait for the main event, but in the meantime, this moment was its own kind of perfect too. Ever since Grandma Lyn had entered our lives, I’d desperately hoped my two grandmothers could put their divisive past behind them so we could move toward a unified future.
I was just about to say something extremely profound to mark the moment—I’m sure of it—but then my phone rang on the vanity, splintering that picture-perfect moment.
“Oh, could one of you get that?” I begged, realizing I was stuck in place until the veil had been fully secured. “I have half a dozen missed calls from earlier. That’s probably them.”
Grandma Lyn fumbled for the phone as Nan continued to work with the veil. She put it on speaker, and I said, “Hello?”
“Hey, Angie. It’s Dana. We’re in route to your place now, but I realized that my assistant forgot that vegan meal you requested in the warmer. If we turn around, I’m not sure we’ll have time to complete our full set-up prior to the ceremony, which means everyone would have to wait before we could start the reception luncheon. I’m so sorry about this, but I wanted to call and check in with you before deciding what to do.”
Oof, I wasn’t sure what to do, but luckily Nan rescued me from having to decide.
“It’s fine. I’ll go pick something up,” she offered with a grunt, a line of bobby pins stuck between her lips.
“Nan? Are you sure?” I pleaded with her through the mirror, not sure what answer I wanted. I did know one thing for sure though. “I don’t want you to miss the ceremony.”
“We still have plenty of time. Got a friend in the restaurant biz who owes me a favor. Besides, it’ll give me a chance to check in on Grant. I haven’t heard from him all day, even though he should’ve arrived at least an hour ago.”
“I’ll go with you,” Grandma Lyn insisted as she plucked the various containers of makeup from the vanity and tucked them away in a nylon carrying bag. “Chores are more fun with company along for the ride.”
“Okay,” I said with a resigned sigh. “Thanks for the heads up, Dana. We’ve got it covered.”
I only knew one vegan, but he was adamant and one hundred percent committed to his lifestyle choice. I didn’t want to leave him out while everyone else got to enjoy their meals. Frank from the pet store was a newer friend and not one I wanted to make feel unwelcome, seeing how socially awkward he was most of the time. I considered it a huge compliment that the die-hard introvert was willing to face his social anxiety to celebrate my nuptials.
We hung up and Nan finished with the veil, then raised both arms over her head and let out a little victory shout. “Success!”
I stood carefully and hugged each of my helpers before shoving them toward the door. “Thank you. I love you both. Now get out of here. We have less than an hour until go time, and I need to make sure you’re both back and ready for the ceremony.”
“Okay, if you need anything—”
“If I need anything, I’ll ask someone else. Now shoo!”
The two elderly women rushed out, and one tiny dog rushed in. “Mommy, I’m here!” Paisley shouted by way of greeting. “Oh my gosh, you look so beautiful! Like a Cocker Spaniel or—” Her eyes grew wide with wonderment. “Or a Poodle even!”
I laughed. “Thank you, Paisley. I feel beautiful,” I admitted. “Think Charles will like it?”
“He will love it! Although I think you look just as beautiful when you first wake up in your pajamas and your breath smells funny.” Her tail wagged so hard, her whole body shook, meaning this was an earnest compliment and not a jab at my unpleasant morning breath.
I carefully knelt down to place a pat on her head.
Paisley shivered and shook happily, continuing to wag that tiny, mostly black body of hers.
I picked the happy dog up and stood again, moving toward the window. “What’s going on out there? Anything I should know about?”
“There are men with cameras and big sticks, and a lot of people have started arriving. I’ve made sure to bark at them all for you.”
I chuckled. “Thank you for keeping watch.”
She stopped wagging her tail for a moment to say, “It is my sworn duty as your guard dog.”
“Of course. What else is going on? Is Charles here?”
Her tail started up again. “I smell him here, but I haven’t seen him yet.”
We both fell quiet as we surveyed the yard from our secret spot in the window. I couldn’t see much with the balloon canopy taking up so much of the area, but I could occasionally make out the silhouettes of people passing beneath.
Paisley’s fur bristled and her body stiffened, then she let out a sharp, high-pitched bark. The kind she made whenever she saw another dog anywhere near our yard.
I took it to mean Nan’s friend Gertie had arrived with her husky mix, Cujo. Yes, I had a lot of cats in my life, but relatively few dogs by comparison. The energetic Cujo was Nan’s running buddy. He’d also helped me with a past case involving the former mayor and his kidnapped golden retriever. Ahhh, memories.
“Shh, shhh,” I told the Chihuahua in my arms, stroking her back as I spoke. “They were invited, remember? I promise that no one is coming who shouldn’t.”
Paisley’s ears drooped. “If you’re sure.”
“I am,” I said, even though I wasn’t. But who would want to crash a small-town Maine wedding in the middle of the afternoon?
Paisley fixed her eyes somewhere in the distance and spoke with a soft, even voice. “Will you still be my Mommy even after I have to move away?”
Ouch, right in the feels.
“Of course, Paisley. I will always love you, and I will always be in your life. But you know Nan is your human, right? She’s the one who adopted you from the shelter, and she’d be very upset if she had to live apart from you.”
“But aren’t you upset that I’m moving away? I am. I don’t want to leave.” These words were whimpered. If I wasn’t careful, I’d start crying too and ruin the makeup Grandma Lyn had worked so hard to set into place.
“I will miss you lots, but I’ll be by almost every day. It won’t change that much.”
“Do you promise?” She stared up at me with large black eyes shimmering with tears, just as they always did, no matter how she seemed to be feeling.
“I—” Before I could say anything, a loud crash sounded from the hall, drawing our attention toward the door.