Chapter 9 The Wedding

• Grace knew it would be a way for Liam to remember his family in the long run and she wanted that for him. They would curl on in bed every night and talk a little before Liam fell asleep. Grace had a feeling that she knew these people through Liam. Even though she didn’t know their real names or what they looked like, she knew MeMaw was an amazing look who loved baking. PawPaw smelled of soil and flowers because he liked gardening when he was not a doctor. PawPaw was so nice that he made all his booboos feel better.
• Grace couldn’t figure out if his grandfather was really a doctor or if Liam was using his imagination. She didn’t bring this up because it would upset Liam.
• Liam mentioned an uncle ‘Ry’ who was funny and played with him. The person he spoke most about, though, was his father. Liam told Grace that his Daddy was his ‘best friend’. Of course, she was also his best friend. His Daddy read him stories every night and taught him to play the ‘lin.’
• Grace wracked her mind to figure out what a ‘lin’ was, but based on his description, she couldn’t figure it out.
• Grace noticed that he never spoke about his mother. Any time she brought the woman up, Liam refused to speak. He had opened up during his therapy session a little and Grace got the image of a mother who wasn’t around much.
• And when the woman was around, she was mean and upset with Liam all the time. Just the little they knew about the woman was proof enough of why Liam didn’t enjoy speaking about her. Also, it made Grace mad.
• She was often thankful for the therapists sending Liam to the adjoining playroom so that Grace could speak about her own feelings to the other. Grace had to control herself so that Liam had all the support he needed.
• Grace had made a ritual of her own. After their chats at night, Grace would tell Liam a story, which she made along the way. After he fell asleep, she would tuck him in, kiss his cheek and summarize what she had made up that night. Her plan was to make a game which she could play when it was time for Liam to return to his family.
• The thought saddened her, so Graced tried to focus on the present. She succeeded for the most part, but sometimes, it was hard to ignore those thoughts.
• - - - - -
• Late December, 2017
• Unlike Thanksgiving, Christmas was celebrated in a low-profile way. Olivia, Liam, and Grace spent the morning opening gifts and then making breakfast. Edwin and Edward came later in the day to exchange gifts and have dinner. Emma decided to go on a trip with her friends which upset Edward a little.
• Hence, the kids took it upon themselves to make everyone happy while they worked on cooking dinner. Edwin seemed to be lost in his thoughts when Grace placed her hand on his shoulder. The other looked up at his future step-daughter, surprised. Grace only offered a sad smile.
• “I know Emma’s absence upset you and I am sorry. I don’t know how I can make her like me.” It was obvious that Emma had skipped Christmas celebration because Grace would be there. Edward started to protest, but Grace stopped her. “Hear me out,” she said.
• Edward nodded and Grace sucked in a deep breath.
• “I can’t thank you enough for loving us like you do. I know you think I am not close to you, but I am really honored to have you as my dad.”
• Edward reached out and pulled Grace into a fierce hug.
• “Oh, kiddo. I love you too,” he whispered. “Don’t worry about Emma. She will come around in no time.”
• Grace pulled back with a skeptical look that made Edward laugh.
• “Emma believes I am betraying her mother by marrying Olivia. She is young and has no experience of the outside world. She will have to learn and grow out of it. I have faith that she will get there.”
• “I’ll take the meat out before Edwin starts revolting. I can hear his stomach grumble from here,” Edward laughed. He winked at Grace and the blanket of peace hung in the air after that.
• - - - - -
• January 1, 2018
• New Year’s Day was bright and sunny. Olivia and Edward’s wedding would be held at sunset and it went off without a hitch. There was no bridezilla or friction before or after the ceremony, thankfully.
• Liam was the ring bearer and wore a little black suit and red tie that matched the accessories on Olivia and Edward. The maids of honors and best men were all long time friends of Olivia and Edward. Jarred’s mother had been the maid of honor for Olivia when she married Ben. Therefore, Jarred’s mother opted out of being the maid of honor. Instead, Grace took the spot.
• It was an honor for Grace and she happily took her spot beside her mother.
• Edwin was the best man and Edward’s five year old neice was the flower girl who took her job extremely seriously. After walking down the aisle, Liam crossed over and stood next to Grace, reaching out to hold her hand during the ceremony. It earned a lot of chuckles from people in attendance. Grace paid it no mind and clutched Liam’s hand tightly and watched as she gained new family members.
• I do’s were said and the ceremony was complete. The reception kicked into full swing and Liam stood on top of Grace’s feet as they danced on the dance floor. No one had seen Liam so happy before. He danced with every female in the wedding party while Graced danced with Edward and then Edwin. Jarred was in attendance as Grace’s date, but he was nowhere to be found. By the time Grace saw him, Liam had already taken his place beside Grace again.
• When the time for the bouquet toss came, Grace artfully dodged the bouquet headed her way. She clapped enthusiastically when Gina jumped up and caught it with ease. Grace walked over to Samuel and elbowed him. Samuel laughed and wrapped his arm around Grace’s shoulder. He gave her a wink, and Grace knew instantly that Samuel was getting ready to propose. He revealed that he was waiting for Valentines day.
• While she still felt some jealousy over their relationship, Grace was happy for her cousin and friend.
• Edward didn’t bother throwing the garter and handed it right to Samuel, earning him a lot of chuckles from the people in attendance. Samuel didn’t mind it one bit. He knew what he wanted and he was not one to shy away from it.
• The party laughed until Liam nodded off around eleven. His hands were around Grace and he had tried his best to wait until the fireworks were lit up. But the day was long and Liam was too young to stay awake for so long.
• It was a few minutes until midnight and Grace scanned the room to look for Jarred. When her eyes landed on him, he was dancing intimately with Emma. Grace sighed when she noticed how his lips brushed against her ear as he whispered something to Emma. Emma blushed and looked at him with adoration.
• As far as Grace knew, those two couldn’t stand each other. But the tides had turned and something was clearly going on between them. Grace was angry.
• Emma’s bad behavior suddenly made sense. Emma was a crush on Grace’s boyfriend, it seemed and Grace really hoped that wasn’t the case. If it was, Grace would lose any respect she had for Emma.
• What bothered Grace the most was how little she cared. She didn’t care about Jarred and Emma’s relationship other than being unhappy that she was played with. She didn’t feel much for Jarred. She had put off breaking up with him for too long. She feared being alone all her life but as she stroked Liam’s hair, she realized she hadn’t loved Jarred anything close to what adoration she felt for the little child.
• He had become her whole world and it was a shame if she carried on a relationship with Jarred when it only wasted her time and made her dissatisfied.
• She held Liam tight and smiled, knowing what she had to do.