Unfortunately, so was a sassy little girl named Strawberry. I called her that because she’d drowned when she was nine in Strawberry Shortcake pajamas. She had long blond hair and bright blue eyes and a bluish tint to her pouty mouth, evidence of her cause of death.
She appeared in front of me, hands on hips, glare firmly in place. “Why are you yelling at Rocket? You’re scaring Blue.”
“Rocket is writing names where he shouldn’t. It’s against the rules. No breaking rules—right, Rocket?”
He hung his head in utter shame. “No breaking rules. Right, Miss Charlotte.”
“Okay, no more names except in the attic. Is that a deal?”
“Deal.”
Rocket disappeared, but Strawberry unfortunately did not. I’d gotten to know Strawberry through a mutual acquaintance. She was the departed sister of a cop I knew: Officer Taft. I’d told him that Strawberry moved in with us some time back, so he’d come to the convent a few times to visit her. Not that he could see her, but I was a decent interpreter.
After Strawberry got the glare out of her system, she looked at my face and did a 180. Her huge eyes rounded in awe. “You’re sparkling,” she said, reaching up.
I kneeled down to let her touch my face, her hand icy against my skin as she patted my cheek.
“You’re like a fairy princess.”
Utterly flattered, I said, “Thank you.”
“You’re not as pretty as one or anything. And you’re really fat. But you sparkle like one.”
I forced my smile to remain steady in the heat of battle. Never retreat. Never surrender. “Thank you again,” I said through clenched teeth.
“You’re welcome.”
“Hey, is Jessica back?” Jessica was my former BFF from high school who’d decided to make my life a living hell by moving in with me when Rocket, Blue, and Strawberry did. But I hadn’t seen much of her lately.
“No, she’s been staying with her sister a lot.”
“Oh. I hope everything is okay.”
“It is. I think she’s scared of the dogs outside.”
“Right. Can’t blame her there.”
“Okay, well, Blue and I are going to play with Sheets.”
“Awesome. Are you going to drape them over you and play ghost? It’s really appropriate.”
“No, Sheets,” she said, her indignation over my ignorance exasperating her. “The kitten.”
“Oh, of course. Sounds like a plan.” Then, before she could disappear on me, I asked, “Why ‘Sheets’? He’s black.”
“Because he’s shiny and black, like David’s sheets.”
Ah, her brother, David—aka Officer Taft—had shiny black sheets. That was so much more information than I needed today. “Gotcha. Well, have fun.”
“Okay.” She popped back out, leaving me to my own devices. Probably not a good idea. After all, I had glitter on my face.
* * *
Guests started arriving soon after Amber and I finished getting dressed. Amber looked adorable, her hair piled high on her head and sprinkled with tiny bronze butterflies. She was also over the moon that Uncle Bob had showed up. Not because he showed up to marry her mother, but because he’d brought Quentin—the Quentin—with him.
Quentin Rutherford was a kid we essentially adopted when he’d been possessed by a demon. He’d been possessed because he could see into the supernatural realm, and at the time, the demon was after me. It had used Quentin as a guide, following my light, the light he could see. Once we’d rid him of said demon, we found out he’d been born deaf. Because he had no family to speak of, we, along with the Sisters of the Immaculate Cross, had adopted Quentin. And it didn’t take long for Amber to appreciate that fact. According to the extremely detailed report she gave us, he was dressed to the nines. I was excited to see him myself.
We changed into our dresses while Hildie finished Cookie’s hair. I ran to get our bouquets and check on everything while strategically managing to avoid my stepmother. The guests were in the back, where we’d set up several rows of white chairs. But knowing my sister, the whole affair would be absolutely lovely. At least she got to plan one wedding, since mine didn’t turn out quite as expected. It became an impromptu thing in a hospital room, and all Gemma’s hard work had been for naught. Now she got to start from scratch with a brand-new venue and a fresh set of victims.
When I got back to the room, Amber and I watched as guests got out of their cars. Gemma’s former client and current boyfriend, Wyatt, pulled up, as well as Ubie’s boss, Captain Eckert, a few detectives I’d seen around and Strawberry’s brother, Officer Taft. Garrett Swopes, a colleague, showed next, looking rather delicious in a charcoal coat and tie. Amador, Bianca, and the kids showed up. They’d been coming out on a regular basis to see Reyes, and we’d had several amazing cookouts as a result. In the process, Cookie had grown quite fond of them, inviting them to the wedding. Their seven-year-old daughter, Ashley, would be the flower girl and five-year-old Stephen the ring bearer. I watched as a few other people I didn’t recognize got out and walked around back to the makeshift chapel. Several were young girls between the ages of nineteen and twenty-three. Cookie said she had several second cousins. With the stunning array of men who were to attend the wedding, the cousins were sure to have fun.
I relayed to Cookie all the information I could about the guests showing up to set her at ease. She was nervous enough as it was. I’d assumed her knowing that people were showing up would calm her nerves. Instead it made her even more nervous. Go figure.