Second Vows

I looked down at my dress and then at my mother. “What? It’s cute on you,” she said holding a hand in front of her mouth to keep from laughing. I smacked her on the arm and she tried to look apologetic. “Baby c’mon,” my mom said grabbing both of my arms and rubbing them. “Your grandmother might not have much more time and this means the world to her. I know that you think you look ridiculous, but just TRY to make it through today?” I took a deep breath and sighed. I knew that mom was right. Grandma Lynette had been diagnosed with cancer a few months before. There weren’t any treatment options for her either. This was probably going to be her last wedding anniversary so we were making it special. My grandparents were renewing their vows. My mom read my face and knew that I had caved. “That’s my girl,” she whispered kissing my cheek.

The dress really wasn’t that bad. It just wasn’t what I was used to wearing and my mother had laughed at me when I had first walked out. That was hard for a girl to take, especially when she’s only in her teens. But putting it in perspective is what mothers are for even after they laugh at you.

Mom left the room and I stood looking at myself in the mirror. Yellow wasn’t really my color I had to admit. It made my skin look a little funny. Unfortunately, yellow was not only one of my grandmother’s favorite colors, it had been the color of her bride’s maid’s dresses. I was stuck with it whether I wanted it or not. Besides, it wasn’t as if I had a boyfriend to impress. I was there for my grandmother. If I thought of anything else other than that, then what was my real purpose? I wasn’t going to have one.

I poke a finger at my hair and got a little scared when it didn’t budge an inch. Hair was supposed to be able to move and flow. Then again, my grandmother had been raised in a different time altogether. That completely explained the fact that what would have been her idea of cool and mine were on completely opposite sides of the spectrum. “Here’s for you grams,” I muttered under my breath. I opened the door and slipped out of the bedroom. Downstairs, I could hear people chatting and laughing. No one was going to be sad today. That was what we had promised ourselves. We wanted Grams to have as many happy days as she had them left to have. And I think we all just wanted to have happy memories of her. We had been through so much as a family this past year. First we had lost Uncle Sal. Then we had lost Auntie Georgia. Now we were losing Grams. Somewhere along the way, we had learned the value of life and living every moment as cheesy as that sounded.

I walked down the stairs and joined my family, instantly embraced in warmth and light. I couldn’t imagine living without them. “Hey coz!” Brittany, one of my many cousins, grabbed my arm pulling me away from her parents. “I gotta introduce you to someone,” she said pushing me through the crowd.

I groaned. “Not now Brittany,” I snapped feeling a little shrewish. “I’ve-“

She cut me off by pushing me straight into the chest of some unsuspecting male who was forced to catch me before we both crashed to the ground. I looked up and my jaw dropped. I wasn’t quite sure if I hated my cousin or if I loved her. I would have to decided later when I could actually think. He looked down at me and a little grin tipped the side of his mouth. He was a little taller than I was with brown hair curling out from under a black fedora. His eyes were hazel and had this little mischievous glint that told you he probably wasn’t up to any good and was proud of that fact. “This is Luke,” Brittany said from behind us. I knew that he was grinning from ear to ear. I also knew that I didn’t care. I was caught up looking at the cute guy holding me.

“I’m Luke Avery,” he introduced himself completely ignoring my cousin. It made me ridiculously happy to know that she was fuming at that moment in time and that I was getting the attention, even looking as ridiculous as I was.

“I’m Tabitha Riley. Roger and Lynette are my grandparents,” I explained. My cousin cleared her throat and I remembered that he was holding me still. Luke looked a little annoyed, but he let me go and I took a step back.

Brittany flung herself on Luke’s arm and I felt a little sick. That was the last thing that I wanted to see. “Luke’s my date,” she bragged sticking her nose into the air.

Luke disentangled himself from Brittany’s arm and stepped away. “Actually, I came her with her brother Brayden. I don’t have a date,” Luke said staring at me. “Though there is this pretty girl in yellow who I would love to escort…” I had never been happier.

“What happened Mama? What happened?” the little girl on her knee asked anxiously.

“Can’t you guess?” Tabitha asked with a smile brushing back wayward brown curls. “I married him three years later.”

“So…Luke is Daddy?” The girl asked shocked.

“Absolutely,” a man said from the doorway. Tabitha looked up to see her husband standing watching her with those same mischievous hazel eyes, his black fedora cocked to the side. “So am I allowed to get a hug from my two best girls?”