<h3 id="id__798_191_" ss="heading_s76r">Three Months Later


    “<span>Okay, hair is almost done. Suit is pressed. Shoes are polished.” Natalie runs through the mental checklist, ticking off each item with her fingers. “Oh—the flowers—”


    “Already by the window,” says Shae, busy fluffing Desiree’s dress for the third time. The other flower girls bounce around the room, pretending they’re princesses being chased by a dragon. Karolina wields a chopstick from our sushi lunch like a sword. Behind her, Cam holds a coloring book up like a shield.


    Ignoring the chaos, Ja stands behind me at the dressing table, her mouth full of pins as she tries to get thest few pieces of my twisted hair to lie just right.


    “It looks fine,” I say again.


    “Ted, when I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you,” she mutters, her eyes narrowed at my hair’s reflection as she meticulously moves another pin.


    I just sigh. There’s no use fighting her at this point.


    “Okay,” Bridget calls with a p of her hands, striding into the middle of the room. She’s the genius wedding nner Henrik hired to help bring my vision to life. “It’s time to get our groom dressed!”


    My sisters and nieces all squeal with excitement. Well, except for Jay, whose mouth is full of pins. “It just won’t lie right,” she grumbles.


    “Did you try twisting it the other way?” asks Shae.


    “You wannae over here and try it?”


    “Don’t fight,” I say, heading off a row. “Jay, it looks great. Better than great,” I quickly correct, leaning away from her pointed re. “It looks amazing.”


    It really does. She’s twisted all my locs up into an elegant knot that sits high on my crown. The twists have movement and flow. Ja is just a perfectionist.


    She’s also the only one of my sisters not dressed yet.


    “Jay, you can’t wear a bathrobe down the aisle,” Natalie teases. “Girl, go get changed.”


    “Who’s gonna finish this hair?”


    “Let me.”


    We all turn as Mama strides back into the room. She left a few minutes ago to put her dress on.


    “Oh, Mama,” Shae sighs. “You look beautiful.”


    “You really do,” says Nat.


    Mama just shrugs. My sisters are all wearing cobalt-blue bridesmaid dresses in different styles to match their body types. But Mama’s dress is a soft te blue with a sequined bodice and a chiffon skirt. It looks great with her darker skin tone.


    “Granny, you look like a fairy princess,” Cam calls.


    “Cam, go get Granny her corsage,” says Jay.


    Cam bounces over to the table as Ja sets down thest of the pins. “I can’t get this part to lie right,” she exins to mom.


    “I got it,” she replies. “You go get dressed.”


    Ja hurries away, leaving us alone in the corner. Mom gets to work, fixing a few of the pins with deft fingers. “Are you ready for this, baby? Anything else you need?”


    I smile at her reflection. “I’m fine, Mama. You’ve all taken such good care of me today.”


    She just hums, moving another pin. “You know, when each of your sisters got married, there was only one question I asked them. I would have asked you too, but—”


    “Ask me now,” I say over her. “This is my real wedding, Mama. The first one didn’t count. We did it the wrong way, even if we did it for the right reason.”


    She nces over her shoulder to see Karolina in her flower girl dress,ughing on the couch with Cam and Evie. Their faces are glowing, like three little angels in fluffy blue dresses. “I see that now,” she admits with a nod. “I see how right you are for them. You were made to make that little girlugh, baby.”


    I smile, tears filling my eyes. “So will you ask me?”


    She purses her lips, fighting a smile. “Even if I already know your answer?”


    “It’s tradition.” I fiddle with the sp of my watch. It was Henrik’s wedding gift to me, my something new and blue. Thece appliques on my suit are old, taken from my sisters’ wedding dresses. The cream ribbon around my bouquet is borrowed, something we found in Petra’s old sewing box.


    “Please ask me,” I say again. “It won’t feel like my wedding day if you don’t ask.”


    “There,” she hums, lowering her hands from my finished hair to my shoulders. “You’re ready.”


    Reaching up, I ce my hand over hers on my shoulder, holding her gaze in the mirror. “Ask me, Mama.”


    After a moment, she squeezes my shoulder. “Teddy baby, does he make you happy?”


    Oh god, it didn’t feel real until this exact moment. I’m getting married today. Somewhere just outside that door, Henrik is waiting for me. The tears spill over as I smile. “Yeah, Mama. He does. He makes me so crazy happy.”


    Sniffing, she blinks her own tears away. “Well, alright then.”


    “Ugh, you two are gonna be the death of me,” Shae cries, sweeping forward to wrap her arms around Mom from behind.


    “Teddy, we gotta get you dressed,” says Nat. “It’s game time, baby.”


    I smile at my own reflection, heart skipping with joy to see all the faces of my family smiling with me. “Okay,” I say with a nod. “Yeah, let’s do this. Let’s get me married.”