Page 39 of Wisteria Winds
They walked back toward the center of the island, arm in arm, Danielle realizing that the past weeks had brought the most unexpected gift. Not just a beautiful wedding, but a new understanding with her mother.
Their relationship wasn’t perfect. No mother-daughter relationship is perfect. And there would probably still be moments of friction and misunderstanding. But they’d built a bridge where there had once only been distance.
Another gift from Wisteria Island.
CHAPTER 11
Bennett found Danielle on their deck late in the evening, staring at the ocean with a troubled expression on her face. The rehearsal dinner was tomorrow night, and the wedding was just a couple of days away, but he sensed there was worry in her shoulders.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
She leaned against him, welcoming his arm around her waist. “I’m worried about my mom.”
“Wedding jitters? Second thoughts on the orchid arrangements?” he said, attempting to joke, but she didn’t smile.
“Her blood pressure is still up,” she said. “I’ve been monitoring it every day, and the medication just isn’t bringing it down as much as I’d hoped. She’s still having the headaches, and this afternoon, I swear I saw her hands trembling a little bit.”
He frowned. “Well, that does sound concerning. Has she seen anybody besides you?”
“You know my mom. She will insist on waiting until after the wedding for any ‘unnecessary medical drama,’ as she puts it. I tried calling her regular doctor in New York, but she wouldn’t authorize a release of the records to me.”
“What’s your medical opinion? Not as her daughter, but as her nurse.”
She hesitated. “Well, without a full workup, I just can’t be certain. But I’m worried about the exhaustion compounded by the high blood pressure. She’s been pushing herself way too hard with the wedding planning, barely sleeping, probably not taking her medication consistently.”
“Is this dangerous?”
“Well, it could be if it was left untreated. I mean, she needs rest, proper medication, and monitoring. I’m worried she might just collapse if she keeps up this pace.”
“What can we do? I mean, if she’s refusing further treatment until after the wedding.”
“That’s just it. I don’t know.” She turned to face him. “Part of me wants to scale everything back, you know, make the wedding so simple she can’t do anything to oversee another detail. But another part knows that she would never forgive me if I changed all these plans because of her health. She’s just determined to make everything perfect.”
“Well, what if we enlisted help? Dorothy and Morty could take over more of the coordination. We could tell them your mother needs to delegate for medical reasons.”
“Maybe,” Danielle said. “Perhaps I could adjust her medication dosage, perhaps add something mild to help her sleep.”
“I could also speak with her,” Bennett offered. “I mean, not about her health, but about how much we appreciate what she’s done and how any remaining details are well in hand. Just give her permission to step back without feeling like she’s failing us.”
Danielle smiled. “That might work. I mean, she respects you. She’s less likely to dismiss your concerns as overprotectiveness the way she does with me.”
“Well, consider it done,” he promised. “We’ll find a way to get her to slow down without making her feel like she’s being sidelined. And after the wedding, she will get proper medical care.”
“Thank you.” Danielle leaned in and kissed him softly. “I know it’s a lot to handle right before our wedding.”
“Hey, this is what a partnership looks like. Remember, your concerns are my concerns, especially when it comes to our family.”
They stood together watching moonlight on the water, and Bennett made a silent vow to always make Danielle’s concerns his concerns, no matter what they were.
Three empty coffee cups sat on the deck railing of Morty’s cottage. It was early, but the mission was important. Dorothy adjusted her wide-brimmed hat against the morning sun, and Clara reviewed her checklist for the third time.
“Remind me again why we had to meet at six o’clock in the morning,” Dorothy said, stifling a yawn behind her recently manicured hand.
“Well, because the rehearsal dinner is tonight,” Morty said with exaggerated patience. “That means today’s our last chance to make sure everything’s perfectly in place for tomorrow’s ceremony. We have to complete our inspection before Danielle and Bennett notice what we’re doing.”
“Oh yes, heaven forbid the bride and groom should know that we’re ensuring their wedding goes smoothly,” Dorothy drawled. “That’s such a terrible surprise.”
“It’s not about surprising them,” Clara said. “It’s about allowing them to focus on each other rather than all the details of the wedding. Today and tomorrow should be about their relationship, not whether the chair ribbons are evenly distributed.”
