Page 33 of Wisteria Winds
“She mentioned it went well,” Bennett replied.
“Better than well. We talked - really talked - for the first time in years.” She paused. “She told me about your plans for a family,” she said, turning to face him.
Bennett nodded. “Not immediately, but yes. We both want children.”
“I’m glad. Nothing has brought me greater joy than being Danielle’s mother, despite my… let’s just say… imperfections in the role.” She looked out toward the ocean. “Her father and I would have been overjoyed to know that we would have grandchildren someday. He always said Danielle would be a wonderful mother.”
“She will be. And you’ll be a wonderful grandmother.”
Cecilia smiled. “I hope to be. I’ve been given a second chance with Danielle, and I don’t intend to squander it.”
They sat in silence for a while, watching the planting progress. Bennett found himself appreciating this new side of his future mother-in-law, the woman beneath the polished exterior who clearly loved her daughter, even though she hadn’t always shown it in ways that Danielle could recognize.
“You know, I brought something for you too,” Cecilia said, reaching into her handbag. She pulled out a small black box and handed it to Bennett. “This belonged to Danielle’s father.”
He opened it to find a pair of platinum cufflinks, simple but elegant, each inset with a small sapphire.
“They were his favorite. He wore them to every important occasion in our life together, and I’m sure afterward. I thought perhaps you might wear them for the wedding. A connection to Danielle’s father, who would have been proud to welcome you to our family.”
Bennett was momentarily speechless. “Cecilia, I’m honored. Truly.”
“Good.” She stood quickly, as if she was embarrassed by the emotional moment. “Now I should check on Morty. He has texted me seventeen times today during my flight about some orchid emergency that Dorothy apparently resolved. That man needs my constant supervision.”
As she walked away, Bennett remained on the bench, the box of cufflinks warm in his palm. Her gift to him represented more than just a wedding accessory. It was an acceptance of him, a passing of a symbolic torch between Danielle’s father and him, who would now be her partner through life.
CHAPTER 9
Clara sat at her piano and allowed her fingers to dance over the keys as she played through the processional music she had arranged for Danielle and Bennett’s wedding. Of course, she wouldn’t be playing on her own piano because they couldn’t cart that out to the gazebo. She’d be using the community center keyboard, which wouldn’t sound nearly the same, but would do in a pinch.
The piece she had created combined elements of classical tradition with more contemporary harmonies, creating something both timeless and fresh, just like the couple themselves.
She could hear it in her mind. The string quartet from Savannah that Bennett had hired would begin with a gentle introduction, and then Clara would join on the digital piano as Danielle began her walk down the aisle. The key change at precisely the moment she would reach Bennett would bring goosebumps to everyone present.
A knock at the door interrupted her playing. She set aside her music sheets and rose to answer it, finding Danielle on her porch with a large garment bag.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Danielle said. “I heard you playing. It sounded beautiful.”
“Just practicing for your big day,” Clara said, stepping aside and letting her in. “Is everything okay?”
Danielle set the garment bag down carefully across a chair. “More than okay. The gazebo is finished. Bennett says the landscaping will be done tonight, and Morty’s orchid crisis has apparently been averted by Dorothy. But I do need your help with something else important.”
“Of course. What can I do?”
Danielle unzipped the garment bag to reveal a simple but elegant white gown. “I need an honest opinion from someone with good taste who isn’t emotionally invested in the wedding planning. I just want to know - is this the right dress?”
Clara studied the gown. It was beautiful, clean, and timeless - a sleeveless A-line with a sweetheart neckline and minimal embellishment.
“It’s perfect. Elegant, flattering, entirely you. Isn’t it a little late in the game to ask if it’s okay?”
Danielle chuckled. “I suppose so, but I could still make it over to the mainland and get to a wedding shop if I had to. It seems most of the dresses fit someone my size. My mother helped me pick this one out, but I never know if something’s too over the top when Cecilia Wright is involved.”
“Well, it’s perfect.”
Danielle’s relief was palpable. “Thank you. My mother wanted something a little more elaborate - some lace overlays, beading, a dramatic long train that half the island could ride on as I walked down the aisle. This was our compromise.”
“And it was a successful one,” Clara assured her. “You’ll look stunning. The simplicity is going to be so striking in the gazebo setting.”
Danielle smiled and re-zipped the garment bag. “That’s what I hoped. Bennett always says I’m most beautiful when I’m most myself.”
