“Me? Oh, yes, okay.”
“Come on, I’ll show you where she is. And by the way, you look great.”
“I do?” He looked at Jimothy with something imploring in his eyes that took Jimothy’s breath away.
“Uh, yeah.” He flashed dimples. “Now that the messy tie’s fixed.”
Clearly, neither of them could think of anything else to say next, so they walked quietly into the entry, and Jimothy pointed at the door to the room. “She’s in there, waiting for you.”
“Okay. Thanks.” He half turned toward Jimothy and walked a couple steps backward, then seemed to reluctantly turn away, step to the door, and disappear inside.
Jimothy inhaled, then looked around him. He’d agreed to come to the church, and though Alice had said she wanted him at the reception, would anyone really notice if he slipped away? He turned toward the entrance—
“Jimothy!” It was Rick.
Jimothy looked at him.
“Alice wants you.”
Like someone was pulling on a string, he walked toward Rick and then stepped into the room. Alice stood at the opposite end of the room in her full regalia. Hell, her veil was even pulled over her face. Rich sat in one of the chairs at the dressing table.
Alice said, “Good, you’re here. Now I can begin.” She pressed her hands together. “Dad, Rick, I want you both to walk me down the aisle.”
For a second, everything stood suspended. Then three things happened at once.
Jimothy thought, Why’d she need me to tell them that?
Rich said, “No need for that. Rick’s the one that should do it.”
And Rick said, “Don’t be silly, Alice. I’ve got my job. Dad’s made a special effort to be here.”
Alice planted her fists on her hips, which looked pretty funny in that outfit. “Jimothy, in case you were wondering why I need you to be here at this moment, this is the reason. This wedding isn’t starting until they agree.”
Jimothy raised his brows. “And that’s an issue because that’s one full church.”
Suddenly the door opened, and an attractive fair-haired woman stuck her head in. “How are we doing, Alice? Most of the guests are seated, and I’ve got the bridesmaids ready to go.”
“I’m working out a few last-minute details.”
Her eyes popped a little at the tableau. “No worries. Let me know.”
When the door closed, Alice said, “Jimothy, will you please explain to these two.”
“Me?” It was a squeak.
“Yes, duh. You explained to me.”
He wanted to say, I did? But she seemed to be counting on him. “Well, first off, it’s not unheard of for brides to be walked down the aisle by two people. If I’d gotten married while my other dad was alive, I would have had both of them walk with me.” Rick seemed to blink hard at that. “As to why she’d want both of you”—he took a few steps toward Rich—“I think Alice and Rick realize that they haven’t given you a chance to step up and be a dad, Rich. And the fact that you want to be here for Alice means a lot.” Jimothy turned. “At the same time, Rick’s been Alice’s north star for years and vice versa. Not having Rick beside her as she marries isn’t thinkable.” He looked at Alice. “Is that right?”
“Yes. That’s exactly right.” She walked a few steps closer, organza whispering like people sharing secrets. “But this is no memorial ceremony, boys. This is a fucking launchpad. Just as that aisle is leading to my future, I want this short walk to propel both of you into the life you’re meant to have. I want you both in my life forever, but I want to see you stop marking time and start living.” She looked directly at Rick. “Living real life.”
Jimothy blinked back tears, and all was quiet for a few beats. Then Jimothy waved his arms. “If you three don’t get out there soon, the congregation’s going to have to break for freaking refreshments.”
Alice marched forward, extended one hand to her father and the other to Rick. She looked at Jimothy and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you dare leave. Come figure out how we make this work.”
With that, the four of them swept into the staging area, Jimothy did a quick reconnaissance of the aisle to be sure it was wide enough, and then sorted out how their arms were going to intertwine.
When Alice finally inhaled and smiled, Jimothy hurried inside the church and waited to cry.
Music played and glassware clinked as Jimothy walked up to the round table, already occupied by six people. He looked at the place card that said, in calligraphy, Jimothy Castlemane, and pulled out the chair. “Hi, everyone. I’m Jimothy.”
An elderly lady sitting to his left said, “Hello. I’m Eva. Did you say Jimothy? How creative. I love your scarf.”
“Thank you, dear. It was actually given to me by the bride.” He flipped an end of the scarf over his shoulder.
“How lovely. She’s such a lovely girl. We’re all so glad that Hank found her.” She patted his arm. “I’m happy she has such lovely friends.”
He could say he was really only her hairdresser—but he didn’t because it wasn’t exactly true.
Eva said, “This is my husband, George. Next to him are Miriam and Carl, and then Stanley and Arabella.” She looked at the empty chair beside Jimothy. “Is your wife coming?”
“Actually, I’m not married, so maybe this is for another single person.”
“Ooh. Matchmaking.” She giggled. “They’ve probably arranged for some lovely young lady to sit there to entice a lovely young man like you.”
He decided to just smile.
“Wasn’t it a lovely wedding?” She buttered a roll.
“Yes, it was.”
“Her dress was just lovely, simply lovely.”
“I agree.” A waiter stepped beside Jimothy and offered two bottles of wine, red and white. Jimothy chose white and looked up to see the parents of the groom and father of the bride—aka Rich—walk onto the dais where the head table was set up and take their seats. They seemed very friendly.
Eva munched her roll as she glanced at the head table. “I’ve never seen a bride escorted by two gentlemen before. Very unusual. Have you ever seen that, Miriam?”
Miriam shook her head. “No, I’ve seen brides walk by themselves, but never with two escorts.”
Jimothy sipped his wine. “One was her father and the other her brother. Her brother helped raise her.”
Eva pressed a hand to her ample chest. “Oh my, isn’t that lovely. So, their mother’s gone?”
He nodded. “I believe she died when Alice was ten.”
“How sad. But lovely that she honored her brother.”
At that moment, the double doors opened, and the small band played a march. All the guests stood and applauded as the bridesmaids and ushers processed into the ballroom and took a turn in the middle of the dance floor. Then, as rehearsed, they stepped back, and the bride and groom came into much fanfare—or at least Jimothy was pretty sure that they came in. His gaze wouldn’t leave Rick. That midnight-blue tux showed off his broad shoulders and narrow waist, and the white shirt gleamed against his dark beard. He really looked like—