“She’s a great lady, Pop,” he said, “and I was tired of seeing her hurt. And over the next few days, she recovered—a bit, anyway. But she was still dreading the thought of going back home. She’d get this real sad expression whenever it came up, so finally I asked her to stay in New York with me. For a while there, I thought she was going to take me up on it, but in the end, she said she couldn’t. She said that you needed her.”
My throat constricted.
“When you told me what you wanted to do for your anniversary, my first thought was that I didn’t want anything to do with it. I wasn’t even looking forward to coming down this weekend. But last night . . .” He shook his head and sighed. “You should have heard her when you left to take Noah home. She couldn’t stop talking about you. She went on and on about how great you’ve been and how well you’ve both been getting along lately. And then, seeing the way you two kissed on the deck . . .”
He faced me with an expression bordering on disbelief and seemed to be seeing me for the first time. “You did it, Pop. I don’t know how, but you did it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her happier.”
Peterson and MacDonald were right on time, and as promised, they didn’t stay long. I stored the item that had been in Leslie’s trunk upstairs, and on our way home, Joseph and I stopped by the rental shop to pick up two tuxedos—one for him, the second for Noah. I dropped Joseph off at the house before heading to Creekside, since he had an errand to run before the ceremony.
Noah was sitting in the chair as the late afternoon sun streamed through the window, and when he turned to greet me, I knew immediately that the swan hadn’t returned. I paused in the doorway.
“Hello, Noah,” I said.
“Hello, Wilson,” he whispered. He looked drawn, as if the lines in his face had grown deeper overnight.
“You doing okay?”
“Could be better,” he said. “Could be worse, though, too.”
He forced a smile as if to reassure me.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah,” He nodded. “I’m ready.”
On the drive, he didn’t mention the swan. Instead, he stared out the window as Joseph had, and I left him alone with his thoughts. Nonetheless, my anticipation grew as we neared the house. I couldn’t wait for him to see what we’d done, and I suppose I expected Noah to be as dazzled as everyone else had been.
Strangely, however, he showed no reaction when he got out of the car. Looking around, he finally offered the faintest of shrugs. “I thought you said you had the place fixed up,” he said.
I blinked, wondering if I’d heard him right.
“I did.”
“Where?”
“Everywhere,” I said. “Come on—let me show you the garden.”
He shook his head. “I can see it fine from here. It looks like it always did.”
“Now, maybe, but you should have seen it last week,” I said almost defensively. “It was completely overgrown. And the house . . .”
He cut me off with a mischievous grin.
“Gotcha,” he said with a wink. “Now come on—let’s see what you’ve done.”
We toured the property and house before retiring to the porch swing. We had an hour to ourselves before we had to put on our tuxedos. Joseph was dressed by the time he arrived, and he was followed a few minutes later by Anna, Leslie, and Jane, who’d come straight from the salon. The girls were giddy as they got out of the car. Walking ahead of Jane, they quickly vanished upstairs, their dresses folded over their arms.
Jane paused before me, her eyes twinkling as she watched them go.
“Now remember,” she said, “Keith’s not supposed to see Anna beforehand, so don’t let him go up.”
“I won’t,” I promised.
“In fact, don’t let anyone up. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
I held up two fingers. “I’ll guard the stairs with my life,” I said.
“That goes for you, too.”
“I figured.”
She glanced toward the empty stairs. “Are you getting nervous yet?”
“A little.”
“Me too. It’s hard to believe that our little girl is all grown up now, and that she’s actually getting married.”
Though excited, she sounded a bit wistful, and I leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. She smiled.
“Listen—I’ve got to go help Anna. She needs help getting into her dress—it’s supposed to be real snug. And I’ve got to finish getting ready, too.”
“I know,” I said. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
Over the next hour, the photographer arrived first, followed by John Peterson, and then the caterers, all of them going about their business efficiently. The cake was delivered and set up on the stand, the florist showed up with a bouquet, boutonnieres, and corsages, and just before the guests were to arrive, the minister walked me through the order for the procession.
Shortly, the yard began filling with cars. Noah and I stood on the porch to greet most of the guests before directing them to the tent, where Joseph and Keith escorted the ladies to their chairs. John Peterson was already at the piano, filling the warm evening air with the soft music of Bach. Soon, everyone was seated and the minister was in place.
As the sun began to set, the tent took on a mystical glow. Candles flickered on the tables, and caterers moved out back, ready to arrange the food.
For the first time, the event began to feel real to me. Trying to remain calm, I began to pace. The wedding would commence in less than fifteen minutes, and I assumed that my wife and daughters knew what they were doing. I tried to convince myself that they were simply waiting until the last moment to make their appearance, but I couldn’t help peering through the open front door at the stairs every couple of minutes. Noah sat in the porch swing, watching me with an amused expression.
“You look like a target in one of those shooting games at the carnival,” he said. “You know—where the penguin goes back and forth?”
I unwrinkled my brow. “That bad?”
“I think you’ve worn a groove in the porch.”
Deciding it might be better to sit, I started toward him when I heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
Noah held up his hands to signal that he was staying, and with a deep breath I entered the foyer. Jane was moving slowly down the stairway, one hand gliding across the banister, and all I could do was stare.