by Lee Hollis
Mary Beth was just stunned, not completely unconscious, but she was disoriented enough to allow Hayley to race out the back of the museum. She was still holding the flute in her hand; thankfully it didn’t appear damaged after having been used as a blunt weapon, which was a good thing, since the artifact was purported to be over two thousand years old according to the placard she had read on her last visit to the museum. Hayley grabbed an old chair that had been left next to a woodpile out back and wedged it up underneath the knob of the back door to keep Mary Beth and AJ trapped inside, since the front door was already locked from the outside.
Hayley carefully set the flute down on the floor and ran next door to the candy store to call for help. The accident on the Trenton Bridge was still slowing down traffic, but the injured had been transported to the Bar Harbor Hospital, and Sergio was already on his way to the church when he got the call from Hayley that there was a serious situation, but luckily she had it under control. After explaining where to find AJ and Mary Beth, Hayley dashed across the street to the Congregational church to stop a wedding!
Chapter 40
As Hayley stumbled up the stone steps outside the church, her heart beating so fast she thought she might pass out, she was greeted at the door by Bruce, who looked uncomfortable and out of place in his jeans and a T-shirt, as everyone else around him was dressed to the nines for a wedding.
“Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick,” Bruce said as he held the door open for her to come inside.
“I’ll explain later. Did you tell Liddy about Sonny?”
“No, you told me not to.”
“Where is she?”
“In the side room off the foyer.”
Hayley started for the door that led into the side room, but Bruce stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
“Wait, before you go in there, you should know we have a problem . . .”
“Oh God, what now?”
“The groom is a no-show.”
“What?”
“He’s not here yet. We’ve been calling his phone, but it keeps going directly to voice mail.”
Hayley peeked down the aisle of the church. Reverend Staples was making small talk with some of the wedding guests, who were starting to appear restless, and there was some murmuring about what was taking so long for the ceremony to start.
Hayley grabbed her phone and made a call.
“I’m telling you, he won’t pick up,” Bruce said.
“I’m not calling Sonny.”
Sergio answered. “I’m here and reading Mary Beth and AJ their rights.”
“Good, but we have another criminal to apprehend. Are Donnie and Earl still up at the accident on the Trenton Bridge?”
“Yes, they’re just finishing up.”
“Tell them to stay there and stop every car that tries to cross the bridge.”
“Why, Hayley? What’s going on?”
“I think Sonny knows what’s going on. He could have spoken to Nancy Malone, and she may have told him that people have been asking questions about him, and he may have realized that the walls are starting to close in on him. He might be making a run for it before he’s arrested for polygamy!”
“I’ll get back to you.”
Hayley clutched her phone and glanced again at Reverend Staples, who stood near the altar. After making eye contact, the reverend raised his hands in the air, a perplexed look on his face, wanting Hayley to explain to him what was causing the delay.
She held up a finger for him to wait, and then turned back to Bruce. “You go stall the reverend a bit longer. I need to talk to Liddy.”
Bruce nodded and headed down the aisle.
Hayley headed for the door to the side room and nearly tripped on her dress, which was now torn and smudged with dirt. As her hand touched the knob, she took a deep breath and then entered.
It was a circus in the side room.
Celeste, in a heightened state of panic, buzzed around like an annoying fly, cursing Sonny’s tardiness, while Edie Staples, the reverend’s wife, comforted Liddy, who valiantly tried to stay strong, but was on the verge of tears.
At the sight of Hayley, Liddy pushed Edie Staples away and charged forward. “Hayley, where the hell have you been? And where’s Sabrina? She just went back to get my veil, and that was almost an hour ago.”
“Sabrina is stuck back at your house. She has no way of getting here.”
“What? Why? I need my friends for moral support. Sonny’s not here yet, and I’m afraid something bad might have happened to him!”
Hayley’s phone buzzed. It was a text from Sergio. The boys have Sonny in custody. He was in the first car they stopped.
Hayley locked eyes with Liddy. “I’m afraid Sonny is not coming.”
Celeste finally focused in on the conversation. “Where is he?”
“On his way to jail.”
“What?” Liddy cried.
“You better sit down,” Hayley said solemnly.
Even Celeste was struck dumb after hearing the word “jail.”
Hayley turned to Edie Staples. “Edie, would you mind giving us some privacy?”
Edie grimaced, having no intention of leaving the room and missing out on what promised to be a tornado of a scandal, but Celeste tersely signaled her to leave. Reluctantly, Edie sauntered out, angrily closing the door behind her—although Hayley strongly suspected she was just outside, her ear pressed against the door.
Liddy, almost afraid to hear the truth, bravely gathered herself, and quietly asked, “What did he do?”
Hayley then poured out everything. Sonny’s two other wives. His vengeful stepson. How Lisa was never the intended victim. How it was Liddy who was the target all along. Hayley just kept talking, interrupted only twice by horrified gasps from Celeste as she listened and squeezed her daughter’s hand so hard Liddy finally yelped in pain and yanked her hand free from her mother’s tight grip.
When Hayley was finished, there was a long silence as both mother and daughter processed this incredibly wild and unbelievable tale.
And then, after having held back her emotions through the entirety of Hayley’s story, Liddy finally collapsed in a flood of tears, sobbing and sinking to the floor, almost disappearing in the piled-up fabric of her white wedding dress.
Celeste slumped over, a hand to her mouth, shaking her head.
Hayley rushed to Liddy and fought her way through all the white lace to get to her and give her a hug.
They remained on the floor, holding each other for the next five minutes. Celeste found a box of Kleenex in the little bathroom adjacent to the side room so Liddy could blow her nose and dab at the tears that were ruining her makeup.
There was a knock at the door.
Celeste opened it to find Reverend Staples, a somber look on his face. “I’m so sorry, Liddy, this is terrible. I always thought Sonny was such a good boy, and now to suddenly hear he’s a rotten egg . . .”
Celeste looked at him, confused. “How do you know what—?”
Reverend Staples glanced at Edie, who had a guilt-ridden expression on her face. She had been undoubtedly eavesdropping through the door and reporting everything back to her husband.
“What should I tell the guests?” he asked, trying his best to be sincere and gentle.
Liddy crawled to her feet. “Tell them nothing. I’ll do it.”
And then, with a steely resolve, Liddy marched out of the side room past Reverend and Edie Staples and into the foyer, Hayley and Celeste close on her heels. She nodded at Bruce, who was still hopelessly in the dark about the latest developments, and stopped at the threshold to pet Poppyseed, who looked adorable with the blue pillow strapped to his back and the box containing the wedding rings on top. She paused to mentally prepare what she was going to say to the hundred wedding guests packed into the pews, impatiently waiting for the ceremony to finally begin.
Suddenly the door to the church burst open and Sabrina flew in, her hair a windblown, tousled mess
, clutching the wedding veil. “Am I too late? I had to hitch a ride on the back of a Harley in order to get here!” She spotted Hayley. “Hayley, what the hell were you doing in my car with AJ? Why did the two of you ditch me like that?”
Hayley didn’t answer her.
No one said anything.
Sabrina suddenly saw the sober faces all around her.
And for once, she was sensitive enough to know not to press it any further.
Something big was about to happen, so she gracefully stepped back and kept her mouth shut.
Liddy resolutely marched down the aisle. The organist looked relieved to finally see her and began pounding out the “Wedding March,” but Liddy waved her arms in the air, yelling for her to stop. Startled, the organist lifted her fingers off the keys and just stared at the disheveled bride who finally reached the altar and spun around to address the crowd.
“We don’t need to hear the ‘Wedding March’ because I’m not marrying anyone today!”
There were surprised gasps and more murmurs.
“I’m sorry to report that Sonny has been arrested, and though I don’t want to go into the ugly details as to why at this moment, let’s just say this whole ceremony would have been illegal anyway. There will be no wedding. I feel awful that you all took the time to come here. Everyone looks so nice, and thank you for going to the trouble of buying us gifts, which I will return, unless it’s a fry cooker, because my old one broke the other day and I have a feeling I’m going to want to eat a lot of fried foods and everything else that’s bad for me in the next few weeks, months, possibly years . . .”
There were some uncomfortable titters.
“But despite this sad turn of events, I don’t want this day to be a total waste. We have a live band and lots of delicious food and a fully stocked open bar over at the reception hall, so if you’ll grant me one request, I want you all to head over there right now and have a rip-roaring good time!”
No one in the church pews knew quite how to react. They just sat there, still stunned over the news that Sonny Lipton had been arrested.
Finally, Celeste paraded down the aisle to join her daughter, who was fighting hard to keep it together. “Come on, people! How about it? Let’s party!”
The guests burst into applause and started to get up from their seats as Reverend Staples called out, half joking, “Wait, so I’m not going to get to marry anyone today?”
Everyone erupted in laughter and began filing down the aisle when, suddenly, out of the blue, Bruce rushed in from the foyer, stopping them. “Wait! Hold up, everybody! I have something to say!”
Hayley braced herself. What else could possibly happen now after everything they had already been through today?
Bruce stood there, his hands still raised to keep the crowd from leaving, as he seemed to be mustering up some courage, and then, after exhaling, he said, “I would hate for you people to leave this church without witnessing an actual wedding, since you all got dressed up in your fancy finery for the occasion so . . . How about it, Hayley?”
Hayley didn’t react, because she thought she had heard wrong.
It was only after she started to see everyone around her smiling and giving her encouraging nods that she was able to process what Bruce had just said.
“Bruce, no . . .”
“You’re turning down my proposal . . . in front of this big crowd . . . ?”
“No, I mean this isn’t the time or place . . .”
“Why not? We have a bona fide minister who can legally marry us, a bunch of friends here to witness it, a reception hall ready and waiting for us to celebrate it—I don’t see a downside,” he said with a hopeful smile.
“But Liddy . . .” Hayley’s voice trailed off.
“I think it’s a marvelous idea! And I can say I planned your whole wedding for years to come,” Liddy said.
Hayley turned to see ex-bridesmaid Mona sitting next to her husband, Dennis, who actually cleaned up nice when he wanted to, along with their six rowdy kids, who were surprisingly tame at this moment, all in the fourth row. Just behind them was Randy, who sat between his adored niece, Gemma, and nephew, Dustin, in the back of the church, making sure Poppyseed the ring bearer behaved and didn’t try to shake off the pillow strapped to his back. They all smiled expectantly, all of them behind this whole wild and crazy notion one hundred percent.
Hayley turned back and simply stared at Bruce, slack-jawed and light-headed.
Bruce stepped closer to her. “Hayley Powell, will you marry me?”
Was this truly happening?
It seemed like such an impulsive and irresponsible idea.
Of course she needed time to think about this before just rushing in and just saying “I do.”
There were a million reasons for her to stop this right here and right now.
And yet, in her heart, it seemed so perfect.
She loved Bruce.
And Bruce loved her.
She didn’t need time to figure out if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She had made peace with that answer months ago.
Yes. Yes, she did.
And so, standing in the middle of the church aisle, with a hundred sets of eyes glued on her, waiting nervously to hear her answer, Hayley Powell bowed her head and whispered, “Yes.”
There was thunderous applause from the crowd as they rushed back to their seats. Edie Staples was bawling as she got out of the way so her husband could slip past her and take his rightful place behind the church podium.
Bruce stepped forward with Hayley by his side.
“I’m going to kill you for this,” Hayley muttered.
“I love you too,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
As they turned to face each other, Hayley could only think to say, “I never thought I’d get married in such an ugly dress.”
The crowd laughed appreciatively.
But despite the fact that the matron of honor dress made her look like Little Bo Peep, Hayley suddenly now loved everything about it, because from this day forward there would be the cherished memory that would forever be attached to it.
“Wait!” Sabrina screeched, rushing down the aisle, Liddy’s wedding veil flailing behind her. “You’re going to need this.”
She set the veil on top of Hayley’s head and then sat down next to Liddy and Celeste, who were perched in the front row of pews.
Squeezing her hands in his, Bruce leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I know this probably isn’t the best timing, so tell me now if you want to stop . . . We don’t have to rush this, but if you’re ready, I’m ready . . .”
Hayley nodded. “I’m ready.”
Bruce’s face lit up as he turned to Reverend Staples. “Let’s get this party started.”
As Reverend Staples commenced with the ceremony, his voice seemed to disappear as Hayley stared at Bruce, still not quite believing this wasn’t some nutty dream after eating too much pizza before bedtime, that this was reality, her reality, and that she was about to marry the man she loved. She couldn’t stop beaming. And neither could her BFFs, her brother, her two kids, and a church full of warm, kindhearted friends, all of whom she dearly loved.
Except for Celeste.
She still couldn’t stand Liddy’s irritating and snobbish mother.
Only when Reverend Staples reached the part where he asked, “If anyone here has just cause why these two people should not be married . . .” did her mind snap back into the present.
Reverend Staples continued, “Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
He waited for a moment, smiled at the happy couple, and then got right to the good part. “By the power vested in me by the state of Maine—”
“Wait! I do! I have just cause!” a man bellowed from the back of the church.
The crowd gasped and whipped around in their seats to see who was interrupting the ceremony.
Hayley’s jaw dropped open.
She swooned, fearing she was on the cusp
of fainting dead away.
Bruce gripped her hands even tighter to keep her steady as she stared at the intruder standing on the church threshold.
What was he doing here?
Island Food & Cocktails
BY HAYLEY POWELL
Let me preface by saying I am not one of those overly proud, gushing mothers who feel the need to drone on and on about their kids as if they are the most special people ever to grace God’s green earth.
No, wait, I am. I am one of those mothers. I always have been, and so I can’t help but take this opportunity to brag a little bit about my amazing daughter, Gemma.
Each day she inspires me with her poise, smarts, and kindness. I’d like to say she gets it from me, but honestly, after a fair assessment of both her parents, I have absolutely no idea where she gets it from. I’m just glad she is who she is.
I have to admit, when she dropped out of veterinarian school to pursue her dreams of becoming a master chef, I was skeptical. I silently bemoaned the fact that she was choosing a path with fierce competition, with long odds of actually becoming a success, with very little chance of ever being able to make a living. But as she always does, my daughter continues to surprise me. She was recently accepted into a top culinary school in New York and has been developing her talents to the point where she is now an impressive baker. I used to coach her in the kitchen on how to bake a cake, but now she’s leaps and bounds ahead of me in that department, and our teacher-student roles have been officially reversed.
She’s been home visiting this past month because my BFF Liddy is getting married, and due to unforeseen circumstances, the bride-to-be has hired my baby girl to design and bake her wedding cake for the big day, an awesome responsibility for a novice. But I have no doubt in my mind Gemma is up to the task. As matron of honor, I too have my own responsibilities, which is why I am filing this column a few days early so I’m free to focus on Liddy’s wedding. By the time you read this, I’m sure Liddy and Sonny will be married, big smiles on their faces and lots of love in their hearts, ready to live happily ever after.
