The Season of Sin (Peace In The Storm Publishing Presents) (29 page)

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Three Months Later

“Oh Dylan you look beautiful.” Sandra stuck the white rose above Dylan’s right ear. 

“Like a princess.” Donna held a tissue to her nose.

“Oh Aunt Donna stop crying.” Dylan kissed her cheek. “Please be happy for me.”

“I am.”  She blew her nose. “I just can’t believe you’re getting married.”

“Hmm.” Jasmine brushed off Dylan’s veil. “That makes two of us.”

“Aunt Jas please.” Dylan played with her dress in the mirror. “You promised you would behave.”

“How can I?” She fumbled with the veil. “You’re marrying someone who is gonna ruin your life. Bruce McNamara is not the man for you.”

“I think that’s her decision, Jasmine.” Sandra fastened the back of Dylan’s dress.

“Oh come off it.” Jasmine plucked the lace on her hat. “You mean to tell me that you and Donna don’t have a problem with her marrying Bruce? And having a shotgun wedding at that?”

“It’s not a shotgun wedding. Jeez.” Dylan snatched her veil.

“It might as well be for the good this is.”

“Well if you don’t like it then you don’t have to stay.” Donna helped Dylan with her veil. “You promised me you were gonna trust me from now on.”

“I do.” Jasmine marched around the bedroom in her blue satin suit. “But I’ll never agree with this. Bruce is gonna drag you down.”

“How?” Dylan untangled the veil.  “He loves me and I love him.”

“Well love don’t pay the bills.”

Sandra combed Dylan’s short sides.  “It didn’t pay the bills for you and Charlie either.”

Jasmine sat on the bed. “Excuse me?”

“You heard her.”  Donna dabbed concealer on Dylan’s cheeks.  “Charlie was just like Bruce when you first met him.”

“That’s a lie.” Jasmine crossed her legs. “Charlie had a plan for us.”

“Really?” Donna smoothed blush into Dylan’s cheeks.  “So working two jobs that paid below minimum wage and having you guys get clothes and food from church charities for the first five years of marriage was a plan?”

Jasmine huffed.   “This isn’t about me.”

“Yes it is.” Sandra spread lotion on Dylan’s hands.  “You loved Charlie and at first no one thought he was good enough for you but you didn’t listen.”

“Oh this isn’t at all the same thing. Charlie wasn’t a brute like Bruce is. He didn’t have a record.” She scratched underneath her hat. “And that’s another thing, Dylan. He won’t be able to get a decent job because he’s been in prison.  Is this who you really wanna start your life with?”

“Yes!” She twirled around.  “I love him, the entire package.  I want to marry Bruce and whether we have a rough time or not, I’ll be happy. I’ll be happy because I’ll be with him.”

“But you’re getting married in his backyard by a Justice of the Peace.  When you dreamt of getting married I bet this isn’t what you had in mind.”

“Maybe it wasn’t but it’s what I want now. I could marry Bruce anywhere and it wouldn’t be any less special.”

“Oh please, Dylan.  Does it have to be Bruce? Of all the men in the world you could be with.”

“Yes it has to be Bruce.  I love him. How many more times do you have to hear it to understand?”

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you.  You’ve been through so much lately. I just think you’re rushing into something you can’t handle.”

“She can handle more than you know,” Sandra said. “It’s her day, Jasmine.  Who are we to take that away from her?”

“Isn’t it more important that Dylan be happy?” Donna passed Dylan her shoes.  “Isn’t that what we’ve always wanted for her?”

“Okay fine.” Jasmine puffed out the front of Dylan’s dress.

“I don’t like it and I don’t like Bruce.  But I will accept this.”

“Thank you so much, Aunt Jas.” Dylan hugged her. “That’s the best wedding gift anyone could give.”

“Okay.” Sandra pulled Dylan from Jasmine’s hold.  “You’re gonna start crying and messing up your make-up.  Let’s give her the gifts.” She gave Dylan a tiny black box. “For something borrowed.”

“Oh, Aunt Sandra. Your pearl earrings?”

Dylan held one up. “I’m not worthy.”

“You’ve been begging to borrow them forever so now you can.”

“Oh thank you so much.” Dylan put them on. “They fit my dress perfectly.”

“Okay, something blue.” Donna took out a gold bracelet with a cluster of sapphires.  “Here you go, honey.”

“Oh, Aunt Donna.” Dylan slipped it on. “It’s gorgeous.” She hugged her. “Thank you so much.”

Jasmine cleared her throat.  “I got you something new.”

“Aunt Jas you actually got me something?”

“I might not want you to marry Bruce but I wasn’t gonna go without getting you something.” She took out an envelope. “Open it.”

Dylan pulled out two plane tickets to Hawaii.

“Oh my god!” She jumped up and down.

“Oh my god!  Oh my god!”

“What?” Sandra laughed. “Tell us!”

“Two tickets to Hawaii!” Dylan danced around the room.

“Ahh! I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii!”

“I know.” Jasmine scrunched her face. “You can go on your…honey…honey…”

“Come on. You can say it.” Sandra touched Jasmine’s shoulder. “Honeymoon, sis.”

“Funny.”

“Oh Aunt Jas you’re the best!” Dylan hugged her. “Oh I love you! I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“You deserve even more than that.”

“Oh I love you, Aunt Jas!” Dylan kissed her.

“Okay, okay.” Jasmine wiped lipstick off her cheek. “You’re gonna mess up your makeup.”

“I can’t believe Bruce and I will be honeymooning in Hawaii! Owww!”

“Oh that was nice, sis.” Donna kissed Jasmine’s cheek.

 Sandra snapped her fingers. “We need something old now.”

“Am I old enough?” Nick walked in.

Sandra nudged Donna.

“Oh uh, hello, Nick.”

“Hello, Donna.” He kept his hands behind his back.  “Is everyone okay?”

“What are you doing here?”

He cleared his throat.  “I didn’t come to cause trouble, Jasmine. I’m not here to fight.”

“Then answer my question.” Her satin heels squeaked when she approached him.  “I’m pretty sure you didn’t receive an invitation.”

“Isn’t it obvious I came to see Dylan?”

“Why?” She pulled the veil over her face.

“Honey please. You know why I had to see you.”

Jasmine slid in front of Dylan. “She told you she needed time and space yet you pop up at the worst times.”

“This is the worst time?” He straightened his bowtie.  “My daughter’s getting married today and I think I have a right to be here.”

“Not if she didn’t invite you.”

“Well the groom invited me.”

“What?” Dylan batted underneath the veil.

“I know it’s strange but Bruce invited me. He said I should be here. He said he spoke to you about it but you didn’t agree.”

“It’s not that I didn’t want you here it’s just…”

“Too hard for her. Can’t you respect her wishes? You expect Dylan to just accept you as her father because of some DNA test results? She still doesn’t know you.”

“She knows me well enough. It’s not about the time we’ve been together, it’s about our bond. I’m her father and that won’t change whether you like it or not.”

“This is supposed to be the happiest day of her life! She doesn’t need added stress.”

“Cool it, Jasmine,” Sandra said. “Why don’t we leave them alone?”

“Nick I want you out of here.”

“Jasmine that shouldn’t be your decision.”

“Aunt Donna’s right. I will be making my own decisions from now on, Aunt Jas. I said it and I meant it. I would like to talk to Nick alone.”

“But…”

“You heard her, sis.” Donna gave Jasmine the evil eye. “She wants to talk to him. We have no right to butt in.”

Sandra got Dylan’s bouquet. “I’ll take this down for you, sweetie.” She kissed Dylan’s cheek.

Jasmine stood in the doorway with her arms up. “You sure about this, Dylan?”

She nodded.

Donna swept up the ends of her dress as she went to the door.  “Nice to see you again, Nick.”

“You too, Donna. You look lovely.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s go, Jasmine.” Sandra flung her out the door.

“Oh and uh, I should warn you guys.” Nick lifted a finger. “Mr. Swaggert’s out there licking the frosting off the vanilla cupcakes and putting them back on the tray.”

“
What
?” Dylan flicked her veil off her face.

“Yeah if I were you I’d get down there before he transports his germs on anything else.”

“Oh gross!” Sandra ran out.

“Goodness I swear that man was raised by wolves.” Donna shut the door behind her.

“Is that for me?”

“Yeah.” Nick passed Dylan the gift-wrapped box.  “Do me a favor. Don’t open it until after the wedding.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything.” She set it on the dresser.

“You really mean I didn’t have to come. Isn’t that what you mean?”

“Don’t do this.”

“How can I not?”

“You said you’d give me space.”

“I know but this is so hard for me.  I think about you all the time. I want us to have a relationship.”

“We had one but it was based on lies.”

“Are you gonna hold that against me forever?”

“I don’t know. Might.”

“You’re just like your mother.” He touched her cheek.

“Don’t.”

“You are. Elle was just as stubborn as you. She’d do something just because you told her not to and never do something you tell her she should.  But I loved that about her. It’s like someone took everything she was and poured it into a bottle and out came you.”

“I uh saw they’d interviewed Zoë in the paper the other day.”

“Yes.”

“So she kills people and they treat her like a celebrity?”

“She didn’t wanna do the interview.”

“I hope she spends the rest of her life in prison.”

“I visited her last week and she told me to tell you she misses you.”

“Am I supposed to care?” She put on perfume. “I can’t believe you still do.”

“She did a horrible thing but she is still my daughter. I can’t turn my back on my child no matter what. I’m the only one she has.”

“Seeing you has made me more nervous than getting married.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to upset you.  Are you uh sure you are ready to marry Bruce?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Bruce said I could stay for the wedding but I won’t if it’s gonna bother you. I’ll be out of town for a few weeks. I’ll be in Atlanta visiting my sister. She isn’t doing too well.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She has pneumonia.”

“Oh no.”

“Yeah she’s had respiratory problems all her life. She’s usually able to fight them off with her medications but I guess because of her age it’s getting harder.”

“How old is she?”

“She’ll be sixty-eight this November.  Yep, my older sister.” He smiled. “Should’ve seen us when we were younger. The hell she put me through.”

“I bet you put her through some times too. Little brothers can be hell.”

“You ever wanted siblings?”

“Sometimes. I figure I probably would’ve had more independence or at least not babied so much if I had a brother or sister. But a little of me enjoys being the only child. Uh.” She sat on the bed. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“You don’t know anything about me. That’s the point. But I want you to.”

“I bet she’s nice, your sister.”

“My mom’s still living. My dad died ten years ago.”

“Have you told your family about me?”

“That I found you? Of course.” He moved to the bed. “They wanted to come up here weeks ago. I told them not to because I knew you wouldn’t be ready.”

“Wow. It’s like being in another world. I don’t know where I belong right now.”

“I told you there was more involved than just the people around here.  You’ve got tons of family that want to know you, Dylan. My family and Elle’s. They were there when we went through all that pain and they prayed we’d find you one day.”

“This is just so overwhelming.” She patted her bosom. “I can’t stop shaking.”

“Shh.” He held her hand.  “Don’t get upset. Save that until after the wedding.”

She laughed.  “Well.” She moved her hand from his.

“I guess you better get down there huh?” He looked at his watch.  “It’s ten minutes to two.”

“Yeah.” She looked in the mirror.  “How do I look?” She pulled at the sides of her dress.  “Do I look fat?”

“You fat? Look at that waist it’s the size of a French fry.”

“I guess this dress makes things appear larger.”

“You look amazing. Like I knew you would.” He dropped his head. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve dreamt of this day. Every father does. I just didn’t dream it would be this way.”

“It’s not your fault I was kidnapped.  You gotta stop blaming yourself.”

“I blame myself every single day. For your kidnapping, Elle’s death, what Zoë’ did, everything. I should’ve stopped all of this pain before it reached so many lives.”

“Let it go, Nick.” She touched his shoulder.  “Stop looking at the past. That’s what I’m gonna do.”

“I just want you to know that I’ll always be there for you. I won’t pressure you.  Just please let me know if you need me.”

“I appreciate that.”

“I love you so much.” He kissed her forehead.   “I wish you and Bruce the best and I hope you’re very happy.”

“Thank you.”

He stroked the front of his white tuxedo jacket. “I’ll see you when I get back from Atlanta.”

“Nick, wait.” She held the sides of her dress.  “Would you like to escort me?”

“Walk you down the aisle?”

“Well we’ll be in the backyard so there’s no aisle.” She grinned. “But would you just like to walk me out there?”

“Are you sure?”

 “Yes.”

“Oh.” He hugged her.  “You don’t know how happy this makes me.”

“But understand that I still need time. This doesn’t mean I can just accept everything.”

“Of course.” He dabbed his eyes with his handkerchief.  “I’m so happy though.”

“I thought men didn’t cry at weddings.” She put her arm in his.

“I don’t know about other men but fathers do.” He led her into the hall.  “Fathers do.”