Chapter 7

“Wow, Ellie, you look amazing. You could be on the cover of a magazine,” Kendra says.

I stare at myself in the mirror. The dress is a cream satin trumpet-style dress with a sweetheart neckline. The sleeves drape off the shoulder. There isn’t much detail on the dress, but the dangly diamond earrings make up for the lack of drama in the dress. My hair is curled, and the front is twisted and tucked to keep it out of my face. My makeup is supposed to look natural, but I don’t have these red lips or flawless skin. Overall, I look very elegant.

“Thomas said that there was someone here from a magazine. He reassured me there wouldn’t be an interview.” I tell her.

Kendra then asks, “Are you nervous?” I nod, but don’t say anything. Thinking for a moment, Kendra says, “Only two years. If he is a jerk, you only need to deal with him for two years.

“Thomas said this is what Max wants. It feels weird marrying a man I never met, but I think this is the right decision,” I explain.

A knock at the door draws our attention. James wheels my dad into the room. He will be in his wheelchair until it is time to walk with me. There are only six rows in the chapel, so my father won’t need his oxygen tank, but we know he won’t walk very fast.

My dad looks at me with a smile, “You look so grown up. Just yesterday, you were my little girl.” I can see tears in his eyes, “You look beautiful. Max is going to be speechless.”

I doubt Max will be speechless. From what I read online, he only dates models or other rich elites who are all stunningly beautiful.

Sarah enters the room with my nieces, Kayly and Kelsey. They are wearing blush dresses and will be my flower girls. Kayly is the first to say anything, “Wow, Aunt Ellie, you look beautiful. Why don’t you look like this all the time?” Kelsey then says, “Since you’re getting married, are you now our uncle?”

Sarah is quick to correct Kelsey and explain that my husband will become her uncle, but I will stay her aunt. She then tells Kayly that the reason we are all dressed so nicely is that this is a special occasion. We all talk about little things.

“Ellie, you look amazing,” a voice rings around the room. We all turn to the door and see Thomas walking in with another man carrying a clipboard. “Sorry to interrupt. We will get started soon. This is Timothy, he will be coordinating today.” Thomas gestures to the man carrying the clipboard.

Timothy hands me a paper, “Here is the schedule. From here, we will stop at the park for pictures. Then we will go to the reception hall. I’ve arranged for you to stay in the hotel there tonight.” Timothy glances down at Kayly and Kelsey, then back to me, “Just know, there is an open bar at the reception, so no kids will be allowed.” Timothy whispered the word “bar” as if they would miss it.

Sarah looks at me. I guess she could tell this was news to me, because she says, “That’s okay. It will be late anyway. The girls will be bored halfway through the pictures.”

“Timothy, I am sure the girls can stay until the cake is served,” Thomas explains. “For now, let’s get the pictures of the beautiful bride and her family.”

James helps my father to the chapel, followed by Sarah and the twins. The woman who did my hair and make-up set the veil on me. Thomas hands me a bouquet of white roses. “Are you nervous?” he asks.

I nod, “Yes. Is Maxwell?”

Thomas pauses, then says, “He is definitely anxious.”

Timothy interrupts, “I’m sorry, but we are on a tight schedule. The bride needs to go to the chapel for pictures.”

While we walk down the hall, Thomas hands me a platinum wedding band for Maxwell. I quickly tie it to my bouquet with a ribbon.

Once at the chapel, I notice how the aisle is lined with white ribbon and white roses decorate each pew. There is an arch filled with white roses at the altar. The stained glass in the background gives drama and color to the room.

After a few pictures, Timothy has us leave for the room across the hall. Sarah, James, and Kendra take their seats while my dad and I entertain the twins until the time to begin.

Timothy directs the girls on how to skip while throwing petals. He seems very enthusiastic and not as dry as I found him earlier.

While Timothy is distracting the twins, my dad gets my attention. “Elanor, it isn’t too late for us to cancel. If anything about this seems off to you or you have any doubts, we can call it off now.”

Everything in me says to cancel. I want to walk away from this whole ordeal. I don’t want to get married in a hospital or wear a gown I didn’t choose. Nothing about this wedding is for me. The only request I made was for my dad to walk me down the aisle. It gave him a goal these last two weeks to work hard in physical therapy so he can give me away. I didn’t choose the flowers, the food, or the music at the reception, I didn’t even choose the groom. But I wanted my dad to walk me down the aisle. That was my only request.

But how I feel doesn’t matter. I already signed the contract. At this point, it doesn’t matter how much regret I feel or the hesitation I have about moving forward. All that matters is my family getting what they need.

“I’m sure, Dad,” I tell him.

Timothy announces it is time. We let Kaylee and Kelsey walk down the aisle. Then my dad stands up and laces my arm in his. “If he doesn’t treat you right, Elanor, you'd better leave. I never want to find out you let yourself stay in a bad situation because you were scared to leave. We will figure out a way to get you out of there. Just come to me if there is a problem.”

“I will, Dad. You don’t need to worry about me,” I reply.

My dad takes a deep breath, and I see his eyes filling with tears. “You had me walk you down the aisle once when you were five during an imaginary wedding. It feels like that was just yesterday.”

Tears formed in my eyes listening to my dad. The music changes, and we are queued to walk. I held onto my dad tightly. Two photographers are constantly snapping pictures. I look at the end of the aisle to see a man in a navy-blue suit. I recognize Maxwell from his pictures, but they don’t do him justice. His dark brown, almost black hair is short on the sides but curly at the top. His hazel eyes are striking against his high cheek bones. The officiant stands next to him wearing a sage green dress.

My dad is out of breath when we reach the steps of the altar. Maxwell steps towards us and reaches out his hand towards me, “I will take care of her, I promise.” He tells my father. My dad lets go of me, and I take Maxwell’s hand.

Once we are in place, the officiant begins. I try to pay attention as best I can, but I cannot pull my eyes away from Maxwell.

 We exchange rings and vows. Once it is time for us to kiss, Max puts one hand on the base of my head and the top of my neck, his arm wraps around me as he pulls me to him. His lips gently brush mine before he presses them against me. Our lips mold to each other’s. I try to copy his movements and am relieved when he doesn’t try to stick his tongue in my mouth. As we pull away, I look up at him. My heart begins to race as I notice there is no emotion on his face. I have only kissed a couple of people and don’t have much experience. I now worry if I didn’t kiss him well.

The officiant says we are now bound in marriage. We step down from the altar and greet everyone. Thomas and Ben walk up to us. James wheels my father over. They congratulated us. Maxwell smiles and puts an arm around my waist. A man waves at Maxwell from the back of the room. Maxwell nods, then looks at everyone, “I need to go check on the car. We need to leave soon if we want the sunset in the pictures.”

He leaves with the other man following behind him. Thomas looks at his watch, “Max is right, the ceremony went longer than expected. Why don’t you and Max head to the park, I will help with everything here. I want to get good pictures.”

I nod, “Sure.” I turn to my dad and hug him, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Don’t come tomorrow. You just got married, spend some time with your husband. Quality time is important to a marriage, especially early in the marriage.” My dad tells me.

I nod and turn to James. “You, Sarah, and the girls will meet us there?”

“Yeah, as soon as we get dad settled,” he says.

I look at Kendra, “Are you coming?”

She nods, “Of course, I’ll help with your dress.”

Kendra and I walk out of the hospital. Max and the other man are laughing. We approach them and they immediately stop laughing. “We will need to take two separate cars for now. The limo is delayed. Timothy is riding with the photographer. Why don’t you ladies take the first car, Taylor and I will take the next?” Max offers.

“Are you sure? We don’t mind waiting,” I tell him.

His friend says, “No you both should go, it will look weird for you to stand around in a wedding dress waiting for a car.”

A car pulls up and Max opens the door gesturing for Kendra and I to get inside. We do and he almost slams the door on my hand as I pull the flared part of the dress into the car. Kendra and I look at each other in shock.

As the driver pulls away, Kendra says, “He didn’t even help you into the car, and he almost slammed your hand in the door. Do you think he was trying to get rid of us?”

I shrug, “I don’t know. Maybe he is nervous. Max seems concerned about the pictures.”