September 20, 2014
Spencer considered herself an intelligent person, so she knew the likelihood of everything going wrong on her wedding day was more superstition than truth, but she was still paranoid. She hadn’t been to a wedding yet where there hadn’t been some sort of snafu, including the near-accident Amberly had caused the day after Marci’s wedding. The fact that it was now her own wedding day, and she was highly accident prone, only made the probability of some sort of mishap even higher.
Thus far, though, everything had gone smoothly. All of their family had made it to Nashville and then on to Belle Meade Plantation with no major problems. The cupcake cake, made by GiGi’s out of a mixture of vanilla and dark chocolate with peach colored frosting, had been delivered on time and looked delicious. The girls’ dresses all fit as they were supposed to, and Spencer’s hair was even cooperating with Nikki’s curling iron. Everything was going so well that all Spencer could do was sit in the makeshift salon chair and wait impatiently for something to go wrong.
“I’m going to burn you if you keep tapping your foot,” Nikki warned teasingly. “I don’t want to, but I’m going to have to, I’m afraid.”
“I’m sorry,” Spencer said, putting her hands firmly on her knees to try to still them. “It’s just, you know, everything. Trying to get this whole day to go perfectly and there’s no way it will and I’m just—well, rambling now. And panicking.”
“That’s what you get for having such a big ceremony,” Shelly, Spencer’s mom, teased, not even raising her head from her task of steaming the wrinkles out of Spencer’s veil. It was sheer white tulle and free of detail aside from a tiara covered in pearl flowers that would ideally sit on top of the curls Nikki was trying to create. “Your father and I just went down to the courthouse, then ran off to Nashville and spent the night drinking at some bar full of wannabe country stars. That was our honeymoon. Not some fancy trip to the Keys and Epcot.”
Spencer knew her mother was exaggerating a bit, but they had gotten married while her father was in law school and short on cash for a bigger celebration. She also knew that her mother wasn’t really criticizing her for choosing such a large and lavish ceremony; some might have thought it was over the top given that it was Zac’s second wedding, but no one had had the guts to say that to Spencer’s face. Spencer figured that after having waited so long to have her first and only wedding, she had earned the right to as big of a bash as she wanted.
“Alright, I think we’re done,” Nikki announced, giving Spencer’s hair one last, long spritz of hairspray just to make sure the thick, stubborn strands held the curls she’d spent forever trying to give them. With a smile, she pointed her can at Penny and said, “You’re next, girly.”
True to the noncommittal statement she’d made two years prior, Spencer had asked Penny to be her flower girl. Natalie had declined to be a bridesmaid for fear of how it might make Kate feel, even though Kate and Spencer had mended fences as much as they could, but Spencer was still glad to have her near on her big day. It meant a lot that Natalie, best friend of Zac’s ex-wife, supported her marriage to him, even if that support was currently coming in the form of keeping Willa from chewing on the hem of Spencer’s dress.
Spencer turned her chair over to Penny and situated herself in front of the full length mirror propped against a wall. Sitting cross-legged in front of it, she began to apply her makeup. She had just finished her second coat of mascara when a knock came at the door. A slip of paper appeared through the crack between the door and the carpet, and even from a few feet away, Spencer was fairly certain it had her name on it.
“It’s for you,” Abbey said quizzically, handing Spencer the folded piece of paper.
She unfolded the note and read its brief message.
Spencer –
Don’t panic, but the rings are missing. I blame Taylor.
Marry me anyway?
Love, Zac
“The rings are what?” Spencer cried out. When everyone in the room stared at her, she replied, “The rings are missing. The rings are missing! Let’s all go home, folks, because what’s the damn point?”
Abbey stared Spencer down. “The point is you love that jackass and you spent too long fighting it, fighting him, and fighting for him to give up because two replaceable little gold bands have been misplaced. Now, I’m going to go chase him down and probably slap him around a bit for this, so the rest of the girls here will have to finish slapping some sense into you for me.”
Spencer looked sheepishly at everyone else assembled in the room. It was a strange collection of women and girls—her mother, Nikki, Natalie, Penny, Willa, Zoe, Odette, Marci, her cousin Sophie, her high school best friend Olivia and the cloud of dust Abbey left as she stormed out of the room. Right then, they were all—excluding Odette who was more concerned with the toys dangling from her baby seat–staring at her with similar expressions of surprise.
“Oh, what?” Spencer said. “Alright, sorry about the language. But you know I’m not… I mean, of course I wouldn’t just call off the wedding.”
“You better not,” Natalie said seriously. She pulled Willa to her and sat down in the floor next to Spencer. “When Zac and Kate broke up, I kind of understood it. But if you break his heart for no good reason, I may be forced to break your legs. God help me, after twelve years of being his sister-in-law, I’ve gotten attached to that little devil, and I will protect him like he’s one of my own.”
Spencer laughed in spite of herself. “That’s just what I need—Diana and you both as my mother-in-law.”
“Oh, just hush and finish your makeup,” Natalie replied, cracking the tiniest smile.
Spencer did as Natalie said, taking care to apply her bright coral liner and lipstick. It was brighter than the dresses she had let her bridesmaids pick out—each one had a slightly different peach colored dress that suited her personal style—but Spencer had always liked bright colors and eschewing the supposed rules about what did and didn’t look good on redheads.
Once she had finished her own makeup, she agreed to put a little makeup on Penny, who eagerly sat in front of her as still as a statue. This wasn’t Penny’s first time as a flower girl, and it was a role she obviously loved to play, since it allowed her to dress up and be in the spotlight. Spencer had a feeling that in just a few years, Natalie and Taylor were going to have a real diva on their hands.
Just as Spencer finished giving Penny glossy peach lips to match her dress, Abbey rushed back into the room, another note clutched in her hand. “Alright, so they are sending out the search parties. Those rings will be found, and if they aren’t, I will go out and buy you some Ring Pops if that’s what it takes to make this wedding happen. Also, Zac wrote this.”
The last bit was in reference to the note she held out to Spencer. She accepted it and carefully unfolded it, almost afraid to see what it might say.
Spence –
I know I’m not allowed to see you before the wedding, but I really, really want to. I guess this is as close as I can get. I’m sorry I had to tell you in a note that Tay lost the rings, and I’m so sorry that my best man is that much of an idiot. Who knew, right? I guess I should have, since I’ve known him my whole life. Rest assured, I have sent out the search dogs. Well, dog. Okay, I sent out Shepherd, who seems to think as ringbearer it’s his job to find the damn things. My words, not his. Anyway, this will get fixed and we will get married. I don’t care what we have to do to make this happen, but we will do it, Spencer. We will do this thing because right here, getting married to each other, is where we are supposed to be.
Love, Zac
Spencer sighed. It would have been so much easier to be angry with Zac if he weren’t so adorable. She found that she often had that problem with him, but she supposed there were far worse problems a relationship could have. Making her laugh was actually a good way to calm her down, and Zac knew that well. His note had exactly its intended effect, and soon Spencer was calm enough to face another sort of stress—putting on her dress and finishing up all the final prep to her look.
Her dress was relatively simple, as giant white ball gowns went. The top was covered in embroidered flowers that trailed down onto the semi-full tulle skirt, and it featured a sweetheart neckline with short, off the shoulder sleeves made of the same embroidered flowers. With it she wore peach pumps with satin flowers on the toes and pearl earrings that had belonged to her grandmother Rose. It was all fairly simple but the overall effect made Spencer feel like a princess—a feeling she hadn’t even known she would like.
She was still standing in front of the mirror, just staring at herself, when the door burst open and a tiny figure in a tiny tux burst in. It was Shepherd, his peach bow tie hanging loose from his neck as he scurried around the room like a little tornado.
“Shepherd, what are you doing?” Spencer cried out.
“I gotta find the rings!” He replied, tearing through the stack of shoeboxes that Spencer was certain held nothing but, in fact, shoes. “Daddy said you won’t marry him if I can’t find them!”
“I feel confident in saying that is not an exact quote, and if it is, your Daddy and I are going to have words later,” Spencer said.
Natalie jumped up and placed her hands on Shepherd’s shoulders, attempting to steer him toward the door. “Come on, Shep. We’ll look in here, alright? You’re being very helpful, but I think it’s fine if you’re just a little less helpful than this.”
He spun around to look at her, his brow furrowing and his mouth turned down in a frown. “But I want Spencer and Daddy to get married.”
“We will,” Spencer said, fighting the urge to laugh at how distraught her soon-to-be-stepson was. “I promise, Shep. There will be a wedding today, rings or no rings. But I’m really glad you care so much, okay?”
“Okay,” he replied, his frown quickly turning upside down. As if noticing for the first time that she was in the room, he looked Spencer up and down, his eyes widening. “You look really pretty.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Spencer replied, gathering up her dress carefully and leaning down to give him a hug.
“Mama!” Willa cried out, and everyone turned toward the sound of her distressed voice.
Somehow, Willa had become nothing more than a pair of legs and some pink and green floral satin sticking out the top of her diaper bag. Natalie rushed to pull her out, and Willa was soon giggling, having found an armful of her toys in the bottom of the bag.
“Okay, honey, you can only play with one at a time,” Natalie said, attempting to pry various dolls and ponies from Willa. She paused for a second and said, “Wait, what’s this one?”
Even from across the room, Spencer could see what Natalie held. It was a small, black velvet box, and its contents were no mystery at all—although how it had ended up in the diaper bag was. Natalie probed the bag for a moment and pulled out another identical box.
“Well,” she said, holding them up. “I’m not sure how this happened, but I think Willa just saved the day.”
“Yes! Go Willa!” Shepherd said, punching the air in victory. He scooped up the boxes and cradled them in his hands carefully, as though he were carrying the most precious jewels in the world.
“Shep! Shepherd!” Zac called out, his voice slightly muffled by the bedroom’s heavy door. “Are you in there?”
“Yes, Daddy!” He cried out, rushing toward the door with Natalie hot on his heels.
She opened the door just enough to allow the two of them to exit, and Spencer could hear Shepherd and Zac’s excited voices in the hallway. She was sure Shep was telling his father all about how he and his baby cousin saved the day by finding the rings that Taylor had somehow managed to pack in Willa’s diaper bag. Spencer had to hand it to Uncle Taylor; he had put them in a safe place, even if he seemingly had no clue he’d done it.
Lost in her thoughts, Spencer hadn’t notice the volume of their voices increasing until she heard Zac yell, “I don’t care! I’ll tie this tie around my eyes if it means I can come in and talk to her.”
Seconds later, Natalie stuck her head back into the room. “Girls, you think we can clear out and give the bride and groom a little privacy? He swore that he wouldn’t peek, and I don’t trust him, but if you do…”
“I trust him,” Spencer said, because it was true. In all things, she had learned to trust Zac.
It took all of the girls some time to clear out of the room, but finally they were gone, leaving Spencer sitting on the edge of the bed with her dress fanned out around her. She took a deep breath as the door opened again, revealing Zac with his vest unbuttoned and his tie, as he had promised, secured around his eyes.
“Spence? You in here?” He asked, his hands out, groping at the walls, to keep him from falling as he walked into the room as carefully as possible.
“I am,” she replied, standing up. “Here, I’ll meet you halfway.”
She took a few steps across the room, her hands held out so that Zac wouldn’t run into her. She grasped his hands in hers before he could step in too close, and a huge grin spread across his face. “There’s my girl.”
“Told you I was here,” she said. “I’d be offended that you didn’t believe that if I weren’t so busy being offended that you thought I would call off the wedding because the rings were playing hide and seek with Willa’s diapers.”
“I wasn’t really worried,” he huffed. “Okay, maybe I was. It’s just, for so long, I didn’t know I could count on you. You told me not to, in fact. You were such a wild card and I still… sometimes something little will happen and I still have this moment of panic before I remember that you’re not going anywhere. I know it’s dumb.”
“It is,” Spencer agreed. “It’s really dumb. I almost let someone kidnap and murder me rather than leave you. Being stabbed sounded like more fun to me than not having you in my life. If you think two little gold bands, however expensive they were, mean more than that, then I have to wonder if you know me at all.”
Zac took a deep breath. “I do know you, Spencer. I do. I know you are strong and brave and selfless. I know you are already a wonderful stepmother to Shepherd and will be an amazing mother when it’s the right time for us to have kids of our own. I know you think I’m a dork and an idiot, and you’ll never hesitate to tell me that when I need to be reminded. And I know you’re smirking right now because I admitted that you’re about to marry a dumbass.”
“But I am going to marry him, and he shouldn’t have doubted it,” Spencer said softly.
“I know,” Zac said. “And I’m sorry. I just want all of this to be perfect, because you deserve it, and I’m still afraid it won’t be.”
“Are you here?” Spencer asked.
Zac’s brow furrowed. “Yes?”
“Then it’s perfect.”
He grinned. “I really want to kiss you right now. Can I do that or is that not allowed until I do the whole veil lifting thing?”
“I think it’s fine,” she said, giggling.
She placed her hands on his face, cupping it gently to help him find his way. Zac carefully placed his hands on Spencer’s waist and leaned down to press his lips to hers. The kiss was slow but deep, and Spencer let out a soft sigh when they finally parted.
“I’ll see you later, alright?” Zac said, hesitantly dropping his hands from her waist. “Actually see you. And the next time I do, I’ll get to call you Mrs. Hanson.”
“Mrs. Kerr-Hanson,” she corrected.
“Right. But still… mine.”
“Still yours,” Spencer echoed.