Raphael was pleased that the Crew all decided to wear the ties Willow had made for them for the wedding. The black suits and crisp white shirts allowed the dark tie to stand out in contrast, but Mr. Exit wore the bow tie Willow made and the cummerbund he’d used on Friday at the Father Daughter Dance. It matched the yellow in the flowers Cabrina had created in the bouquet and around the top of the veil.
Dusty Rose, serving as her mother’s Maid of Honor, wore a soft white dress, and Cabrina happily accepted the role of Matron of Honor. The job of escorting the bride down the aisle and giving her away went to Zeke Neary, who held out his arm the moment she stepped through the door.
Willow’s tears nearly blinded her as she made her way to the altar and accepted Raphael’s hand. The Archangel went through the vows, marrying Willow Palm Rayne to Mr. Exit, and when he asked if anyone saw a reason why the two should not be joined in holy matrimony, Willow was shocked when she heard the objection. She was even more shocked that the objection came from her own mouth.
“Willow? You don’t wish to be my wife?” Raphael asked, wondering what in the hell was going on in her head.
“I don’t know you,” she said, wiping away tears. “Two weeks ago, you plucked us out of the woods and took us to live in your nice house. You gave me gifts and I felt so alive, so cared for, and dare I say loved...but do you love me, or just the girls? I have no idea what I’m doing, but I have nowhere else to go. I feel so stupid. I feel so helpless right now.”
Cabrina placed her arm around Willow’s shoulder, “If you don’t wish to be married to this man, we can make arrangements for you for another life. You and the girls can leave with me today and I take you back with me and we can help you start over.”
Karli wasn’t pleased with her mother in the least. She walked up to her and pinched her hard on the back of the meat of her arm. “Don’t you mess this up for us, Mommy! He’s ours. I prayed hard as I waited in those bushes like forever. He pulled up. He knew something was wrong and he moved that truck.”
“Baby, I know all of that,” Willow tried to explain.
“He listened to me when I told him you were in danger. He never questioned, just followed what I told him, and he did it. He came for you and Dusty and got us out of that awful place. We have a home,” Karli said. “You promised you’d take care of him and he’d take care of us, and now you want to change your mind. It’s not fair to him and it’s not fair to us!”
Everyone in the room stared at the pint-size girl who spoke like a petite old woman in Sunday School. Willow bent down to her daughter’s level, and Karli started to make an angry face at her mother. Dusty hadn’t opened her mouth at this point.
“Karli, there are grown folks matters that you don’t understand,” Willow said.
“You seemed to like sharing his bed and pleasing him,” Dusty Rose shouted. “Both of you were happy the next morning over breakfast. Is he bad in bed or a less than tender lover?”
“Good grief, make this stop,” Raphael said, stepping forward. “Girls, please. For all that is holy, please stop talking. If your mother doesn’t want to marry me, it’s okay. I can work with the Archangel to make arrangements for you to live safely elsewhere.”
“No Daddy, we love you. Mommy loves you too, she’s just scared, that’s all,” Karli said. “Mommy, knuck if you buck. That’s what Jamal always says. I don’t know what it means, but I guess it means toughen up and tell Daddy what’s scaring you. Maybe he can help you fix it.”
Zeke looked down at Karli as well as Mr. Mann. “I like this kid,” they said in unison.
Archangel asked, “Who is Jamal?”
“He’s my man,” Karli said, looking up at the man holding the Bible. “Daddy don’t approve of our love, but it’s gonna work out as soon as Mommy gets it together so I can get home to him. I know that boy is missing me.”
“Jesus be a fence,” the Archangel said, making a sign of the cross over Karli.
“Jesus has the wheel, but Mommy is still driving crazy,” Karli replied, making every one in the room burst into laughter. “Mommy, let’s talk it out. This is a safe circle. The ladies liked your gifts. They went to all of this trouble to give you a special wedding. Dusty even made suits for Daniel and Pierce and that kid is over there holding jewelry boxes which means you get a new ring instead of the one that was on Daddy’s pinky. The room is decorated in your favorite color. The veil is so pretty. You look pretty too. All of this was for you. Come on. Open up, and let’s talk it out with your new friends.”
“Who is this kid?” Archangel asked.
“They grew up on a commune with a bunch of frickin’ hippies,” Raphael said.
Raphael went and got chairs for himself and Willow, helping her to her feet and into the chair. His arms went wide, asking everyone else to come in take a seat and come in close. Sighing loudly, he addressed the room.
“There was no way to describe Karli to any of you other than she is a feisty 60-year-old Black woman caught in this child’s body, but she’s right. Two days ago, Willow, all you wanted was to be my wife. Can we talk about what has changed, or do you just want to get the hell out of here and away from me? If so, here is the time and place,” Raphael said softly.
“I don’t think you really want me,” she said through tears. “You never asked for me or us. We just happened into your life. I think you’re honorable and are doing what is right for the girls and me, but it’s not what you want.”
“Willow, I don’t do anything I don’t wish to do,” he said easily.
“But look at how we got together. This is not normal. No marriage should start out like this,” Willow said, wiping away the tears.
Sharon cleared her throat. Normally, she wasn’t one to disclose private information in front of strangers, but if they were going to be a family, it would start here. The dirty laundry bag was opened and she dumped her soiled undies in the middle of the trust circle.
“Rocky and I were a contract for Mr. Mann,” she said. “He had a change of heart, married me, gave the boy his name, and we added one more to the family.”
“Wait, what?” Willow asked.
“Yes, my husband handles contracts. He changed the way mine ended,” Sharon said.
Judy spoke up next. “My husband can track anything. Took him a year to track the snake who left us with nothing. The saving grace is that my ex-husband sent a message via Mr. Stop, who found me half dead and starving in the middle of December in Missouri,” she said.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Willow said.
“Very much so,” Judy said. “A nosey Sheriff kept sniffing around, considering he hadn’t seen my no-good husband in a while so he didn’t remember what he looked like, and then Stop showed up. Archangel did some fancy paperwork to give us his name and made it official a month or so later.”
Raphael looked around the room. His eyes went to Mr. Yield and the soft looking woman named Millicent, who had a glass of wine in her hand. She used the glass Willow had made to sip on the Chardonnay.
“I snatched my husband up in a Waffle House outside of Wentzville, Missouri. He had a hole in his leg courtesy of Mr. Stop, but there was a Sheriff who was holding me hostage. My time was nearly up before he made a life-changing move on me and I convinced Yield to take us with him,” Millicent said. “His plans were to leave us with the Archangel, but I pretty much begged him to marry me.”