Page 55 of Absolute Valor

I knew the moment I walked into the room, exactly where she was. Yesterday, when momma went to the spa, she took Audrey and Grace with her. Lainie talked her into letting the stylist cut four inches off her length, explaining to her it was all dead and needed to come off.

There she stood in the dress I’d laid on her bed, momma had noticed her fondling it between her fingers as they’d shopped in the afternoon. Her hair cut turned her once thinning ends into the now flowing waves against her back.

As the music began and Claire took her final steps as a single woman, I couldn’t help but to imagine the day when Audrey did the same. Where Claire was lace and pearls, fine satin and high heels, Audrey was boots and daisies, summer rain, and a quiet place to read a book.

Audrey wanted to become an author, igniting the imagination of the children of the world. I’d been in contact with a few people, getting an idea of how to make her dream come true.

Watching Dylan as Claire glides down the aisle, you can tell there is no one else in the room, as he adjusts his feet, waiting for her. Daddy walked her down the aisle, since her father is a current guest of the state of Kentucky. We doubted he would be out anytime soon, as he beat the heck out of a federal agent for dismantling his still. Momma held Miss Georgia’s hands, a combination of pride and sadness in her eyes.

Dylan swore to love, honor, and obey, a vow most of the four hundred guests found quite amusing. Ignoring them all, he took the hand of the girl who saw the real him, placed a ring on her finger, and his word in her heart.

The guests cheered as he dipped her back, kissing his new bride as if they were the only ones in the room, and then running back down the aisle with his new bride tossed over his shoulder. Grace stood in the middle of the aisle, imitating the clapping she noticed all around her, her blue eyes shining with excitement. As she turned to grab her momma’s hand, she caught sight of me, escorting one of Claire’s bridesmaids back down the aisle, one of the nurses she worked with. Grace stood proud and straight, her front teeth gleaming in the light of the room, her chubby finger pointed at me. “Da da.” Her voice high pitched as she squealed with laughter and came running toward me.

Bending low, I snatched her off the ground as the guests around us laughed and clapped. Audrey looked pale, scared to death of what I would say about Grace’s decision about me. She held out her hands offering to take the baby from my arms, but neither one of us wanted to give the other up, so she remained safe in my grasp.

“If you’re waiting for me to freak out, you’re gonna be waiting a long time.”

Grace found the flower on my lapel more interesting than the conversation her momma and I were about to have. Removing the sharp pin from the stem, I handed it to her and set her on the floor; Nana Morgan now discovered behind me, and who doesn’t want to cuddle with Nana?

“Sweetness, that little girl is a package deal. Her momma is the most incredible, beautiful woman I know. She’s smart and kind, and those are just a few of the reasons I love you.” Her eyes filled with tears, as they shifted back and forth between mine.

“You love me?”

“I’m telling you, in the middle of my church, with God and my family watching, so you know it has to be the truth. I love you, Sweetness. Have for a long time. I’ve got plans for you, and right now, they involve a number of slow dances and a bottle of something cold.”

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