Save the Date(95)

“Charlie?” My mother came out onto the landing, adjusting the wrap around her shoulders. Her mother-of-the-bride dress was a pale lilac that I’d hated on the hanger (and had not been afraid to tell her this) but looked absolutely stunning on.

“You look so nice, Mom.”

“Really?” She smiled, pleased, and I could see that her cheeks had gone slightly pink. “Thank you, hon. So do you. Though I’m not sure about the hairstyle . . .”

My hand flew up to my rollers. “I’m going to take them out,” I assured her, figuring that maybe now that the power was back on, I could use a hair dryer on them, maybe speed up the process a little.

“I think that might be wise,” my mother said with a smile. “But have you seen your sister? They need to get set up for pictures.”

“No,” I said, trying to think of the last place I’d seen Linnie. “Um, do the bridesmaids know where she is?” My mom gave me a look that clearly indicated she didn’t trust the bridesmaids to know much of anything. “I’ll check her room,” I said, already heading upstairs.

I saw that the door to J.J.’s room was open, and I crossed over to it, knocking once before pushing the door open all the way. Mike was sitting on the oversize baseball-glove chair. “Hey,” I said, more quietly than I normally would have.

“Hey,” he said, and I was happy to see that he no longer looked like he was going to fall over in a strong wind. “The bridesmaids are in my room,” he said faintly. “They’re . . . loud.”

“How are you doing?” I asked, not entirely sure if I meant with his hangover, or with being back in the house again.

Mike made a so-so gesture with his hand, which I realized might have covered either of these things.

“Seen Linnie?”

“No,” Mike said, looking alarmed. “Have we lost the bride?”

“No,” I said, lowering my voice. “Don’t—”

“We lost the bride?” This was J.J., standing behind me in the doorway. He stepped into the room and grinned when he saw me. “Oh good, your hair still looks crazy,” he said happily. “Now I just need to get a photo. . . .”

“No,” I said, taking a step out of their room.

“It’s not for blackmail!” he called after me unconvincingly.

“Leave me alone,” I said, backing out of the room before J.J. could find his phone and take a blackmail picture of me. I checked the bathroom, but Linnie wasn’t there, either. Though I did use the opportunity of having a mirror I could actually see into to finish getting ready. I went over the rollers quickly with my hair dryer, then took them out one by one and shook out my hair. I piled them carefully on the bathroom counter, giving silent thanks for Brooke. My curls were falling softly around my shoulders, and this, coupled with the makeup she’d put on me, made me feel like maybe I was ready for this wedding after all. I looked at my reflection, thinking how in just a few hours, Jesse would be seeing me, and for once, I’d be prepared to see him too.

I gave myself a last look in the mirror before I headed to Linnie’s room to see if she was there, but the room was dark and quiet. I was about to go, to try and see if maybe Linnie and the bridesmaids were all somewhere together, when I noticed a strip of light extending from the closet onto the floor.

I pulled open the closet door. My sister was sitting on the carpet, underneath the hanging racks of my clothes. She’d put on her wedding dress, and she looked absolutely beautiful.

“Hi,” I said, trying to fight down the lump in my throat as I looked at my sister on her wedding day.

“Don’t,” Linnie said, smiling up at me. “You’re going to get me started and we haven’t even done the rest of the pictures yet.”

I dropped my heels in the doorway and walked into the closet, sitting across from her after carefully smoothing my dress underneath me. “You look so pretty.”

Normally Linnie would have brushed off a compliment like this, or made a joke. But maybe you weren’t supposed to do that when you were a bride, or maybe she understood just how lovely she actually looked. Because she just smiled at me and inclined her head slightly. “Thank you.”

“What are you doing in here?” I leaned back against the wall, hanging clothes just inches from my head. I couldn’t help but flash back to all the times Linnie and I had sat here like this, legs extended, talking about everything and nothing, or laughing until my cheeks hurt. We were in our usual spots, though we’d never been quite this formally dressed before.

“I don’t know,” she said, leaning back against her own wall. “I just wanted a minute of quiet before everything got started.” She gave me a smile. “Your hair looks great.”

“Brooke.”

“Really?”

“Really. She did my makeup, too.”

“Well, thank god for that.”

I smiled at that, even as I wondered how long I should wait before telling her she was wanted downstairs and people were waiting for her. She looked so peaceful that I was hoping it could actually be a few minutes from now. “Oh—Siobhan can’t come,” I said, trying to just toss this off. “She got stuck in Michigan. I’ll pay you back whatever her meal would have cost.”

“It’s okay,” Linnie said. She leaned forward, looking at me closely. “What?”