Page 132 of Hello Doctor

He shrugged. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“What’s a condom?” Maya asked.

“Party balloon,” Rhett said quickly.

“Can I have one?” she asked, coming closer.

“When you’re thirty,” he replied, handing me the condom.

Laughing, I took it from him and bent down, lifting the layers of mom’s dress so I could tuck the condom in my boot. For something new, it would certainly do.

“It’s time,” Mom said.

Rhett excused himself, and I glanced around the room at my friends Della and Henrietta in lilac bridesmaids’ dresses and Maya in her poufy flower girl dress, and I said, “Can I have a second alone with Maya?”

Everyone wished me luck before shuffling out of the room, leaving just Maya and me behind. Her dress was white with a lilac band around her waist. She held her cowboy hat with flower petals inside, ready for the ceremony.

I took the hat, putting it aside, and sat down on the bed. “Sit with me?” I asked.

“Okay.” She slid into my lap, a layer of tulle spread around us.

I gave her a hug and said, “I just want you to know that your daddy and I are getting married, but you always come first, okay? We both love you like crazy.”

“I know that,” she said. “Can I put Graham’s leash on?”

I laughed. I’d been worried about her and how she’d feel with her dad remarrying so soon, but she was all on board. “Sure you can,” I said, smiling. She went to the spot where he lay on his dog bed like a little prince, clipping on his leash. Then we went to the door to see Dad waiting for me. His hazel eyes filled with tears, and he covered his mouth with his hand. “You are a beautiful bride, Olivia Griffen.”

“Dad.” My voice cracked.

I hugged him tight, and Maya rushed by saying to Graham, “Come on, good boy! You’re going to be the best flower dog there ever was!”

Dad chuckled and said, “Are you ready?”

I nodded. I’d never been more ready for anything.

Mom led Maya out of the room and then Dad held my hand as we walked downstairs so I wouldn’t fall over. As we crossed the living room of the home I grew up in, I couldn’t help but feel that everything was changing.

I would still be my parents’ daughter, but more than that, I would be someone’s wife. Someone’s stepmom.

I stopped at the patio door, and Dad looked over at me. “I love Fletcher, but if you gotta run, now’s the time.”

Letting out a tearful laugh, I shook my head. “I’m just realizing how much everything will change.”

His smile was tender. “Sweetheart, everything’s already changed. Just gotta make it official.”

I nodded, studying my dad’s face. He looked the same as always, even if he’d gotten signs of age over the years. Same smile. Same hazel eyes. Same hats he got free from the co-op every year.

“Dad!” I hissed, staring at him. “You were gonna wear your hat to walk me down the aisle!”

He felt at his head like he had to check it was there. “Well shit. Where’s my cowboy hat?”

“You’re hopeless,” I said with a laugh as I looked around the living room for his hat. I found it hanging from a hook by the front door and passed it to him. “Now you’re ready to walk me down the aisle.”

He smiled as he swapped his ball cap for the black cowboy hat he only wore for special occasions. “I might be ready to walk you down the aisle, darling, but I’ll never be ready to give you away.”

“Dad...” My voice broke.

But he hugged me tight and said, “You be here on Wednesday nights or I take my blessing back.”

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