72

Kalajoki, Finland

The dress couldn't have been more perfect if she had picked it herself. Anna stood on her tiptoes, and stared at her face in the full-length mirror. It wasn't a traditional wedding dress, but it couldn't have fit her personality more perfectly. Bright emerald satin adorned her bodice, hugging her curves elegantly before flaring at her knees. She twirled, revealing emerald-green heels adorned with tiny white pearls.

"How did he manage to get a dress like this with rations?" She looked up at Mrs. Ranta, wondering who had sacrificed to make her day perfect.

"I guess his commander's dad is pretty high up in the military. His sister Kerttu was able to alter one of her ball gowns to make it just your size."

"It's beautiful." Anna spun around in a twirl, her hands swishing the soft fabric.

"Not as beautiful as you, Anna. Now hold still so I can pin up your hair."

Anna stopped her twirling and sat in front of the mirror, puckering her lips into a kiss as her mom ran fingers through her unruly waves. She twisted the sides to the back and fastened the loose waves at the nape of Anna’s neck, pinning it with a beautiful pearl comb that had been Anna's grandmother's.

Every detail of this wedding seemed perfect. And it had all been planned without her even knowing.

Anna smiled. How well Matti understood her.

He’d known that she would've been overwhelmed at the idea of planning a wedding—she would've wanted to just skip the formalities and get to the good part of being his wife.

How perfectly he’d planned everything so she could do just that.

Her mother tucked one last tendril behind her ear and smiled. "You look beautiful, Anna."

"Thank you."

Just then, her father walked in, wearing his best Sunday suit. "You ready to become Mrs. Ranta?"

"I've never been more ready." Her fingers trembled as she looped them through her father's, not from nervousness but with excitement.

The two of them stepped out into the church lobby where Tanya stood next to Verushka, propped up in a pram wearing a long, pink gown that Anna had worn at her christening.

"You look adorable, Rushkie dear." Anna tickled her chin and kissed her on her downy curls.

Verushka reached into a basket full of rose petals and tossed a handful out of the side of the pram before sticking one into her mouth.

Tanya ran up to the baby and plucked the entire basket out of her reach. "No, no, baby girl," she whispered.

"Who put flowers in her pram anyway?" Anna asked

"I did. I was letting her be the flower girl," Mrs. Ranta chimed in.

"Already spoiling her." Anna chastised her future mother-in-law with a smile, and discreetly handed Verushka a cookie from the table to chew on instead of the flowers. "Here, this will taste better so you can save the flowers for throwing."

The organ music piped up. Anna peered into the sanctuary, which was packed with all of her friends and family members who stared back at her with expectant smiles.

But those smiles blurred as soon as she caught sight of Matti.

The man who still loved her in all of her independence, her flaws, her impulsivity.The man who gave her a reason to breathe, to hope, to dream.The man with whom she would spend the rest of her life.

Tanya pushed Verushka's pram down the aisle and took a seat toward the front.

Anna's father entered the room. He took her arm-in-arm and smiled at her. "Are you ready, my love?"

"Never been more ready." Anna blinked back tears.

He stepped slowly into the aisle, and together they walked to Matti—her groom! Her love. When her father placed her hand in Matti's, he reached down and kissed her hand tenderly, his eyes revealing a hunger that would only be fulfilled by loving her.

"I love you," he whispered, emotion choking his voice.

"I love you too, Matti." She took his other hand into hers and faced him at the altar. At last. All of her hopes, dreams, and plans were finally coming to fruition. Not in the way that she had planned.

No, everything had worked out just as God had planned.