Lib Novel Page 73
“A reading?”
“Yeah, you know. You hold someone’s palm in your hand and tell them what you see.”
Maggie laughed at Morgan’s suggestion. “Knowing my mother, the only thing she might see is whether someone had washed their hands or not.”
“I don’t go in for that kind of stuff,” Grandma Sarah said.
Julia finished putting flowers in Willow’s hair. “There, how does that look?”
“She looks like an angel,” Beth said, handing Willow the pillow that holds the rings. “Your Daddy will tie the rings on the pillow when we go downstairs, okay?”
Willow nodded and then sat patiently in a chair by the window.
The brides’ bouquets were filled with red roses, holly berries, pine cones and balsam fir. The bridesmaid bouquets were slightly smaller, but they had the same flowers, filling the room with the aroma of Christmas.
One by one the women walked down the stairs, with Beth reaching her mother first, and then Becca finding her father waiting to take her arm.
Becca’s bridesmaids and maid of honor walked ahead of her, and then Beth’s sisters Sarah and Lauren followed them.
Beth and Maggie walked side-by-side with Becca and Crawford. As they walked down the aisle, Becca and Beth looked beyond the guests. They were hard to miss. There, off to the side, was Linda St. James along with just about every Captiva business owner, town gossip and Santa Claus.
Beth looked at Becca who tried not to laugh. When their eyes turned back to look at Gabriel and Christopher, their composure returned, and their laughter was replaced by tears of joy.
Each couple said their vows under an arbor filled with balsam fir and Christmas lights. Maggie looked at Crawford and smiled, and when the minister announced the two couples as husband and wife, the crowd cheered.
The ceremony was just as Maggie had hoped. She prayed the reception would be just as magical.
* * *
Two extremely long tables adorned with Christmas lights, balsam fir and candles filled what used to be the garden. The band had set up an hour before the ceremony and began playing soft music in the background while the waitstaff from Tropical Vegan carried trays of hors d’oeuvres to the tables and filled champagne glasses.
Neither Beth nor Becca wanted sweetheart tables so they joined the others and sat in the center of both tables.
“What happened to Millie?” Chelsea asked Maggie. “I haven’t seen her all day.”
“Millie doesn’t work here anymore,” Maggie answered.
“What happened?”
Maggie shook her head. “Not today, Chelsea. We can talk about this tomorrow, but not today.”
Trying to hold back tears, Maggie listened as Crawford got up and gave a speech about Becca and Christopher. When it was her turn, she took the microphone and looked at Beth.
“I know I’m only supposed to give my speech for my daughter Beth, as Crawford spoke about Becca, but as I look over at you and your brother, it feels impossible for me not to talk about both of you.”
Everyone laughed at Maggie’s words.
“If I had to pick two of my children who would get married together in a double wedding, I would have chosen Beth and Christopher. The two of them have been joined at the hip since they were children. Competitive to the core, argumentative for no reason at all, and there for each other in a heartbeat, no matter the reason or need. I’ve watched both of you grow into incredible people and am so honored and blessed to be your mother. Gabriel and Becca, I think my family fell in love with both of you the minute you came into our lives. You are my children now.”
“Yeah, so that means you get nagged just like the rest of us,” Michael said.
Maggie raised her glass, looked over at Crawford, Joshua and Luke and then back at the newlyweds, and said, “Welcome to our family.”
The guests clapped and sipped their wine. Within seconds they were hitting the side of their glasses and insisting the two couples kiss. When they obliged, the crowd erupted in clapping and whistles.
As the music played on and several courses of food were delivered, Maggie sat back in her chair and sighed.
“Well, we did it,” Paolo said.