Barbara changed into her wedding dress in the bride’s room at the church, marveling at the fact that Emily had found an ivory calf-length dress that was perfect for the occasion. Emily had also brought her shoes, makeup, curling iron, and hair spray. Barbara hurried to get ready, and Emily fussed around her, helping her to look bridal. When she finally felt ready and put the shoulder-length veil on, she went to the atrium and found Kent waiting.
The misty emotion in his eyes moved her as he kissed her and took her hand. Lance handed her the bouquet he was holding — white roses. “So here’s how it’s gonna be, Mom. Emily will go first, then me, and then when the Wedding March starts, Kent is gonna escort you in himself. We thought you’d like that.”
“That’s just fine.”
“Okay.” Lance cracked the door open, and nodded to someone. The organist wrapped up the song she was playing, and changed to Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
As the doors opened, Barbara caught a glimpse of the people who had come for them. Cousins from out of town, the ladies from her support group in Jeff City, church friends, and co-workers. Emily led the march, her crutches decorated with roses and ribbons. Lance followed.
She hoped the makeup she’d put on would stand up to her tears. “You did all this for me!” she whispered to Kent as she took his arm.
“It’s not too much too fast, is it?” he asked.
“It’s perfect in every way. No stress, no details, no plans. Just happily ever after.”
Smiling through tears, Barbara started down the aisle with Kent. Friends old and new beamed at them, celebrating their vows as the preacher led them over the threshold of marriage.
When the vows had been exchanged, Barbara and Kent knelt at the altar and prayed for blessings on their covenant.
When they rose to their feet again, they each kissed Emily, then Lance. Then the preacher said the words they’d been waiting for. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
The crowd burst into applause as Kent kissed his bride.
Barbara, Kent, Emily, and Lance dined at the top of the Peachtree Westin that night to celebrate the nuptials. They talked jubilantly, enjoying the moment of peace and the new beginning they were embarking on.
Then, when they were finished, Emily and Lance hugged them good-bye, and Barbara and Kent spent a night in the honeymoon suite at the Four Seasons.
“This is a dream come true for me, Mrs. Harlan,” Kent said as he held his bride. “When I met you two years ago, I never dreamed I could even be in your league.”
She laughed. “My league? I feel like the plain Jane who got a date with the quarterback. Let’s face it,” she said. “We both did well. And to think we met at a murder scene, during one of the worst days of my life.”
“Just goes to show you. Even when it seems like the end, God can plant a beginning.”
“I like beginnings,” she whispered.
They celebrated their first night as true husband and wife, then lay in bed watching a laugh-a-thon on one of the cable stations, with one romantic comedy after another.
Barbara realized she could get used to this. Already, she felt their lives shifting, things changing. The years of darkness were behind them, and a bright new day had dawned. Beauty had indeed come from the garbage of their lives. Darkness had brought light. Despair gave way to joy.
God’s grace overrode it all. No matter what lay ahead, joy was a done deal.