A Walk Along the Beach(62)
She smiled then. “I only hope my dress still fits, seeing how much weight I’ve lost.” That was something Chantelle had already taken into consideration. Briefly, before we ended the call, she told me she’d altered Harper’s dress so that it wouldn’t hang on her.
* * *
—
We started getting ready for the wedding at about noon on Friday. Chantelle arranged for a hairdresser to come to the hospital. She even supplied a wig for Harper that was the same thick lilac/silver her own hair had been before she started chemo. With makeup and her wig, she looked almost as good as she did before the cancer and the weight loss.
John stopped by in the middle of the preparations to check on Harper. The excitement and adrenaline gave her a boost of energy that she was going to need to get through this day.
I noticed how gentle he was with my sister, how tender and kind. I wanted to hug him. Seeing him with Harper made me miss Sean with an intensity I’d never experienced. He’d been away long past the time he’d originally hoped. I hadn’t heard a word from him since his phone call. Not a text, an email, or a call. I understood how important this assignment was to his career, and at the same time I longed for him to be with me, especially today, for my brother’s wedding.
It seemed wrong that he would be on the other side of the world. He had no way of knowing what was happening. I couldn’t blame him for not being with me, but that idea brought home what our lives would be like if we continued with this relationship. That gave me pause. I needed to rethink things. Not now, though. Later, when my head was clear and I wasn’t fighting this battle.
Chantelle’s sister checked in with Harper and me just before the ceremony started.
“Your dad is here. Is it all right if he comes in?”
“Yes, please,” Harper answered before me.
She left and the hospital room door creaked open before my father’s head appeared.
“Come in, Daddy,” Harper whispered.
Dad was dressed in the same suit he wore for Mom’s funeral. When he found Harper sitting upright in the wheelchair, he knelt on one knee on the floor next to her. I noticed his lips trembled with the effort to hold back tears.
“Even now you’re so beautiful…Your mother would be so proud,” he whispered, and turned his head to look up at me. “Of both of you. I don’t know what I did to deserve such amazing children. I am blessed beyond anything I could ever have imagined.” Tears leaked down his face.
Gently, Harper wiped them from his cheeks. “I love you, Daddy.”
“Love you, too, baby girl, with all my heart.”
A knock sounded against the door. It was time. To my surprise, John appeared, dressed in a suit and tie instead of his normal white lab coat. He went behind Harper’s wheelchair, and with one hand holding on to the wheelchair and the other on her IV pole, he rolled her out of the room. Dad and I followed behind.
Once we were assembled in the cafeteria, the florist handed Harper and me floral bouquets tied in burgundy-colored ribbon. Looking onto the courtyard, I saw that the picnic tables had been removed and that two rows of chairs had been set angled before the flower-covered archway.
Chantelle’s mother, along with her godmother and husband, were seated on one side. Dad and the wives of my brother’s two best friends sat in the opposite section. I was escorted down the aisle first by Ted, Lucas’s Army buddy, followed by Harper, pushed in the wheelchair by John. Harper stretched her arm over her shoulder so she could place her hand on his. Bill, another of my brother’s Army friends, walked next to her. Chantelle’s sister followed, and then, after a long pause, Chantelle walked down the aisle with her father.
Her wedding dress was stunning, but no more so than the bride. She beamed with a beauty I found difficult to describe. The dress was a simple creation, and it fit her like a dream, floating out from the waist. She held the same white roses that made up my own bouquet, only hers trailed with lily of the valley. Seeing her and the look that came over my brother as he spied her stole my breath.
His eyes filled with love, Lucas stepped forward to greet his bride. Chantelle kissed her father’s cheek and placed her hand in Lucas’s. Together they moved to stand before Pastor McDonald.
I noticed that while there was only close family in attendance, a small crowd had gathered inside the cafeteria to watch the ceremony. They stood by the windows, looking onto the patio. Doctors. Nurses. Staff. Even patients and visitors.
The day couldn’t have been more perfect, with the sun shining down on the bride and groom, God’s blessings from above. Birds circled overhead, while the subtle music swirled around, enveloping us all.
Lucas and Chantelle had written their own vows. I listened as best I could, caught up in my own thoughts. Love. Honor. Respect. Cherish. Sickness and health. Those words took on an entirely new meaning.
I glanced at Harper, who was looking up at John, their eyes connected. It was as if they were exchanging these words, as if they were the ones promising to love and cherish each other.
My heart ached for Sean, wishing he was at my side to share this moment. I had no idea when I would see him again. I felt his absence more strongly than I had at any other time since his departure. Standing there, my brother with his bride, Harper with her doctor, and me alone. Rarely had I ever felt lonelier.
Each person present was connected to someone else. Everyone but me. Closing my eyes, I refused to feel sorry for myself. If I was going to become involved with Sean, I would need to learn to accept his intermittent travels, and the dangers he put himself in to advance his career. It was part and parcel of the man I was falling for. Asking him to change wasn’t fair and might ruin the closeness we shared.