Page 76 of Side Out

Clay, Emerson, and the twins start something in the background while Rocky and his dad stand by with matching amused, yet somehow stern, expressions on their faces. Dad huffs a laugh. “Let me just get this gang of hooligans ready to go, and we will meet you over by the barn.”

I nod again and turn on my heal to move to the front door but hear Clay say, “Emmy for the thousandth time, I’m his best man. Not you.”

Emerson snaps, “And I’ve told you for the thousandth time to stop calling me that! AndI’mhis best man you little?—”

Deciding it’s best to nip this in the bud, I yell over my shoulder, not bothering to look at them, because we’ve had this discussion already twice this morning. “Neither of you are my best man. I don’t even have groomsmen. Now shut up and get outside before Dad grounds all of you!”

Not even bothering to hear their rebuttals, I laugh as I open the front door to find Mom standing on the front porch, wrapped up in a tan shawl with a floor length olive-green floral dress underneath. I kiss her on the cheek and say, “You look beautiful, Momma.”

She holds my face in her hand. “You don’t look so bad yourself, baby.” Her eyes glass over for a moment before she hands me my tie. It’s a deep-maroon tie. One I’ve seen in countless pictures.

“Is this Dad’s?”

She nods. “The one from our wedding. I wanted—Well, we wanted you to have it. That day was the start of a beautiful life together, and we wanted a little piece of it with you today.”

Taking her time, she flips up my collar and puts Dad’s tie around my neck. Once it’s just right, she buttons the center button on my jacket. “There. Perfect,” she says softly.

Here they come again.

Placing my hand on my chest, I let my fingers rub against the texture of the wool tie. “Thank you, Momma, for everything.”

She beams. “Thank you for letting me do all of this. It’s the least you could do for not letting me be there to see Elvis.”

I tip my head back in laughter. “Yeah, well you invited half of Montana today, so let’s call it even.”

“I am a little sorry for that.” I look at her deadpan. “Yeah, okay. I’m not.”

“I didn’t expect you to be,” I answer with a wink, just as the front door opens behind me.

“Ready?” Dad holds his arm out, and Mom instinctively threads hers through it. She looks at me for an answer.

Taking a deep breath, I look over at the barn, where I know the music is about to start any second. “Ready.”

* * *

Clay, Emerson, Rocky, and the twins are already sitting down inside as Dad, Mom, and I wait in the entrance hall of the barn. Theo is just on the other side of that door, and I want so badly to just see him, just for a moment, but I don’t want to take away from what I know will be a beautiful moment, so instead, I fidget nervously between my parents.

“He should have had another shot,” Dad mumbles, and Mom reaches behind me and smacks him on the arm.

“No he should not have. You’re lucky I even let you give him one.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Dad and I answer in unison.

Mom leans in to whisper in my ear, “It’s okay to be nervous. Your dad threw up right before our wedding; he was so nervous.”

I snort a laugh and look over at Dad who just says, “Shut up.”

Suddenly, the music starts playing and I hear the doors to the barn hall open, which means Theo is walking down with his parents. When I hear them close again, the three of us exit the hallway and move to stand right behind them.

I let out a shaky breath as I thread my arm through Mom’s. The doors pull open, and I spot Theo standing at the altar. Dare I say it, he looks beautiful.

My husband.

Absolutely beautiful.

As I walk down the aisle toward him, tears streaming down both of our faces, the only thing I can think of are the vows in my pocket.

Theodore Young,

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