SERENA and Bonnie adjusted Megan’s wedding veil as she waited in the vestibule of Stanton’s Holy Family Church with Angie and her father as they waited for the signal to begin.
‘You’re such a beautiful bride,’ Bonnie sniffled. ‘Wouldn’t you know it? There isn’t a single place on this dress to hide a tissue.’
Megan had chosen form-fitting forest-green dresses with halter necklines for Serena and Bonnie to wear as her attendants. Serena was blonde, like Bonnie, and the dark color looked good on both of them. Angie, as flower girl, wore the same color, but in a princess-style gown identical to Megan’s.
‘Bride, heck. Did you get a look at her groom?’ Serena teased. ‘Aw sweetie, you two are going to be a great couple.’
‘Thanks. I think so, too.’
‘I can’t believe Jonas chose Dwight as his best man,’ Serena said.
‘It seemed appropriate. He was responsible for bringing us together,’ Megan reminded her.
‘Yeah, well, I wonder if he wishes otherwise.’
Megan smiled. On occasion, when Dwight had run into their small family, she’d seen the look of regret and longing on his face, but she knew his decision has been the best for all of them. Someday, Dwight would find the right woman.
‘Anyway,’ Serena said, ‘his loss is Jonas’s gain.’
A familiar high-pitched voice shouted, ‘Dada’, and Megan knew that her future husband and the minister had entered the sanctuary.
Bonnie giggled. ‘Trevor certainly has a powerful set of lungs.’
Megan’s father gave up his position near the door where he’d waited for the minister’s signal. The music changed to the entrance song Megan had chosen.
‘It’s time,’ he said, his eyes bright.
Angie ambled down the long aisle first, followed by Bonnie, then Serena. Megan threaded her arm through her father’s and drew a deep breath.
‘Are you ready?’ he asked, smiling benevolently on her.
In the distance, she could see Jonas standing tall and looking exceptionally handsome in his black tuxedo. ‘Yes, Daddy. I am.’
She started down the aisle, pleased that her father was able to take this walk with her. The DBS that Jonas had suggested six months ago had drastically improved her father’s condition. Although he still took medication, the dosages had been drastically reduced, and with therapy he’d regained a lot of the ground he’d lost.
Violet Spears sat in the crowd, looking clean and neat. Jonas had taken her under his wing and she considered herself to be Angie’s and Trevor’s second grandma. Megan didn’t mind. What child could have too many grandparents?
Her gaze homed in on Jonas. She still didn’t know how he’d managed it, but after a stint in Wyoming, which had been bearable because she’d arranged her off-duty time to coincide with his for those four months, he was in Stanton to stay. Somehow he’d convinced the hospital to hire him directly rather than through an agency, but she wasn’t surprised. If he could talk Violet into moving into a retirement village, he could talk anyone into anything.
Right now, all she wanted to hear him say were the words that would make them husband and wife, and a family of four.