Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Café (The Gingerbread Cafe - Book 3) (A Gingerbread Cafe story)

by Rebecca Raisin

I nod. Smiling like a loon. I can’t believe it’s my wedding day! Inside, Damon will be standing there, his too-long curly hair brushed back into submission. Wearing a tux, his hands clasped in front of him, and that smile of his.

  The reverend pulls his coat tighter. “Well, I’ll get those doors swung open. Take care on the ice now, ladies. Lil, I’ll see you at the other end.” He gives me a warm smile. “Sue, Olivia—” he holds out his hands “—can I escort you inside?”

  “Good luck, Lil.” Olivia gives me a quick hug. “I can’t wait to see you marry your Mr. Right.”

  Mamma says, “I love you, precious girl. And I’m proud of you.”

  They exit before I can thank them. I concentrate on taking deep breaths.

  Dad holds my hands tight, no doubt aware of the sweat I seem to be producing despite the icy weather. Mamma and Olivia each hold the reverend’s elbow as he walks them through the arched doorway.

  “OK,” I say.

  “It’s show time,” Missy says, doing jazz hands.

  Charlie laughs and mimics her.

  Dad gets out first and holds a hand out to me, steadying me, before he helps the girls out. We’re just out of eyesight of the open doors, so the girls fix my dress, and pull my veil forward, before pulling at their own dresses to make them sit right.

  The organ sounds, and I take a deep breath, wishing once more CeeCee were here. I shake the selfish thought away and smile. I’m nervous, and excited and know CeeCee will want me to enjoy my day.

  With a few more Lamaze like breaths I say, “Let’s go get me married.”

  Charlie walks in first, taking slow measured steps as Missy showed her how to do. The crowd let out an awww when they see her. Sarah flashes me a smile, then follows Charlie.

  “Keep smiling, sugar.” Missy moves inside.

  “Ready?” Dad hooks his arm through mine.

  I blink back tears as a heady feeling rushes through me. “Ready.”

  We walk into the warmth of the chapel as attendants close the heavy doors behind us.

  I’m grateful that my hands are occupied so I can’t fidget. All I can think is don’t fall over, don’t trip on the dress, don’t cry — that is until I lock eyes with Damon, and everything except him flies out of my mind. He’s wearing a black tux, and has his hands clasped in front just as I imagined. His smile goes all the way to his deep brown eyes. The girls stand together off to the side of the pulpit looking every inch glamorous under the colorful mottled light that streams in from the stained-glass windows.

  We walk in slow, measured steps towards Damon’s smiling face. People wave, and take photos as we pass, but I make eye contact with Damon and keep him in my sights, overwhelmed at the happiness that races through every fiber of me.

  Dad turns to me. “Well, this is my stop,” he says and kisses me on the cheek. “I love you, Lil.”

  “Love you too, Dad.”

  He sits next to Mamma in the front pew.

  I turn to Damon’s outstretched hand. “You’re heart-stopping beautiful, Lil,” he whispers, brushing his lips over my cheek.

  “You’re not too bad yourself, Mr. Guthrie.” My voice shakes.

  The reverend clears his throat and begins.

  “We are gathered here today—”

  He’s interrupted by the chapel doors being swung open by two attendants. The guests murmur and a ripple of clapping starts from the back as they see whoever it is at the entrance to the church.

  “Who…?” My voice trails away when I see them; my breath catches in my throat.

  They make their way up the aisle; Mamma motions them to her seat and moves down the pew a way.

  CeeCee and Janey.

  CeeCee looks regal, dressed in a silk green jacket and long skirt as she pushes Janey’s wheelchair. Janey has pillows either side to prop her up. She’s so small, so pale, but her eyes are bright. I grab a handful of my dress and lift it as I run to them.

  I hug CeeCee hard; my pulse races as I fight to control my emotions. She’s here!

  “Sorry we’re late,” CeeCee says.

  “You’re right on time.”

  I bend down to Janey and embrace her. Even though she’s bundled in blankets it’s obvious how thin she’s become. Her complexion is sallow, and she wears Walt’s threadbare earmuff, which makes me smile.

  “I’m so glad you’re here, Janey.” I only wish I could make her better.

  She lifts a hand to my face. “There’s no way CeeCee was missing out on your wedding day, Lil, not on my account.” The words fall laboriously; her voice is raspy. “Lil.” She crooks a finger asking me to move closer. “Lil, I want you to make me a promise.”

  “Anything.”

  I lean close as she whispers in my ear. “Promise me you’ll look after Cee?”

  My chest tightens. “Always, you have my word. I’m so sorry, Janey…”

  She puts a finger to my lips. “Don’t be sorry, beautiful girl. It’s the way things go sometimes. I’ve had a blessed life. My family, my friends, my church. God’s calling for me, Lil. And I’ve made peace with that.” One lone tear falls down her cheek, and I wipe it away gently. “I’m going to miss this place. And the people. But I know you’ll all look after my Walt, and my very best friend. We’ll meet again some day, that’s what I believe, and I take comfort in that.”

  “I believe that, too, Janey.” The church is silent; everyone is respectful of Janey making such a huge effort to be here.

  With quaking hands she pulls the top blanket higher. “Being here, to see you marry, it’s a gift I’ll treasure. You go on now…I’ve kept you long enough. I want to see you smiling up there.” She gestures towards Damon.

  I half stand, and kiss Janey’s cheek before I whisper, “Thank you for this.” She nods, and gives me a radiant smile, and it strikes me that everyone will get a chance to say goodbye to her. As impossible a notion as it is, it’s poignant and beautiful in its tragic way.

  I glance at CeeCee. “You’re as beautiful as I ever seen you, cherry blossom,” she says. “Now run along, ’fore folk here think you’ve gone and changed your mind.” I clasp her hand and kiss the top of it, holding on longer than necessary. CeeCee knows what’s in my heart without me having to try and find the right words. “Go,” she says softly; her eyes are red from crying.

  With one last glance back at them, I take a deep breath, gather the soft satin of my dress and walk back to Damon, reaching out to clutch his hand, grateful he’s there to prop me up as so many emotions roil through me.

  “The good Lord has made today more special.” The reverend bows his head and then looks at Janey. “We are gathered here today…”

  Damon turns to me, and takes my hands again. He spends an age staring at me, as if he’s committing this moment to memory. I take in his brown flecked eyes, the deep pools of emotion in them. His smile, which is just for me, now and for ever, and the way he holds himself, loose and relaxed, and not nervous at all.

  My hands shake ever so slightly in his.

  He clears his throat. “I happened to walk past the Gingerbread Café and see a blond-haired beauty laughing, crying, and singing, all at the same time.”

  A ripple of laughter comes from the guests.

  “I was in love. That simply, that quickly. Even though we’d never met, I recognized you. I kept making excuses to see you, just to be near, my heart sped up each time, and not only because you threatened to drive me out of town.”

  I laugh.

  “I couldn’t sleep at night as my mind would flash with you, the girl from the Gingerbread Café, with the big blue eyes, that are kind of leaky at the best of times.”

  “Amen!” CeeCee calls out.

  So I’m a blubberer?

  “When we first kissed it was like a balm for my soul, and I knew my life was about to change for ever. Once-in-a-lifetime love. The kind that makes me want to watch you as you sleep. Hold you when you’re crying. Cook alongside you for a fleeting glimpse of the passion you pour into what you
do. The kind that makes me in awe of you when you do something selfless for others as though it’s nothing. And it is nothing for you. You see people differently. You want to make things better. You’re like this great big constellation, a glittery, starry, all-consuming galaxy…and you brighten every day by being with me. I promise to cherish our love, from now until for ever.”

  “Can I kiss him now?” I ask the reverend.

  The crowd titters.

  “Not yet.”

  I squeeze Damon’s fingers. So touched by his vows.

  CeeCee jumps up. “I’ve got mistletoe!” She walks over and holds the green leaves over Damon’s head. “What?” She gives the reverend an innocent smile. “It’s tradition.”

  He shrugs, laughing. “We haven’t got to the ‘I do’ part yet…”

  I lean forward and kiss Damon quickly and in the brief second our lips touch a vision flashes in my mind of us old and grey, and holding hands like young lovers.

  “Sorry, Reverend. But I didn’t want to break tradition…”

  He tuts. “Well…we’re breaking tradition again, it seems. Before your vows, Lil, there’s someone else who wants to show you how they feel.”

  Charlie wanders to the piano that sits a step higher on the pulpit. She gives me a little wave, and then sits on the stool, smoothing her skirt down.

  Damon looks as proud as Punch staring at his little girl, who doesn’t seem nervous in the slightest. In her cherub voice she says, “I wanted to play a song for Lil, because I know it’s her favorite. And I’ve been practicing since Easter. I love you, Lil. And you too, Dad,” she adds quickly.

  She puts her hands to the ivory keys, and begins the most hauntingly beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace. Her sweet little voice lilts and warbles as she pours every bit of love she has into the song. There’s not a dry eye in the house as we watch her tinkle away, as if she were born to sing.

  Ever vocal CeeCee says, “Mother o’ Mary, that girl is pure gold.”

  I rest my head on Damon’s shoulder as we make our way along the slick wet roads to L’art de l’amour.

  “How does it feel, Mrs. Guthrie?”

  “Nothing short of perfect.”

  Charlie’s head lolls on the seat opposite, the excitement of the day too much for her already. I lean over, and try to lay her down without waking her.

  Damon takes off his coat, and drapes it over her small frame. “She’s even prettier when she’s asleep.”

  “She’s angelic.”

  Damon sits back, and pulls me close. “What did CeeCee say when she left?”

  After the ceremony CeeCee took me aside to talk, cry and laugh after one of her launch hugs. By then Janey was exhausted, and needed to get back home. I worried for them being in and out of the cold like that, but CeeCee had Janey so rugged up, she said she was OK.

  “Oh, lots of things,” I reply. “I can’t believe she made it. And Janey. I’ll never forget it.” I think of them both with peace in my heart.

  “It made the day complete,” Damon says.

  “She did say one thing about Missy.”

  “What?”

  “She said Missy’s having a little girl, not a boy, like they’ve been told.”

  He tries to hide a smile as he shakes his head. “How does she always know?”

  I shrug. “No idea. But if she says it’s so, then I know it will be.” After all, CeeCee said she’d seen it with Damon and me. And she couldn’t have been more right.

  We’re standing near the entrance of the kitchen behind folding doors at Guillaume’s restaurant. “Nervous?” I ask Damon, clutching his arm. Pots and pans slam down in the kitchen, chefs talk in raised voices as they prepare the three courses of our wedding menu.

  “Nope, I can’t wait to twirl you around that floor.” He runs a finger up and down my exposed back, making me shiver. “Are you nervous?”

  I grimace. “A little. I don’t want to fall over.”

  He kisses the top of my head. “You won’t.”

  We peek through the double doors as Missy taps a spoon on a champagne glass. “I’d like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie…”

  With one last kiss we walk out as our family and friends hold up glasses to toast us. We head straight to the middle of the dance floor. Damon puts a hand to my back, and pulls me tight.

  Missy continues, “And they’ll be sharing their first dance, and we ask you to join them when you’re ready.”

  I take in the restaurant as we wait for the music to start. Tables circle the small dance floor. They’re covered in white tablecloths and are adorned with poinsettias, which someone, I’m guessing Olivia, was able to find. Mamma’s ribbons are tied artfully around the wooden chairs. The seating area is plunged into darkness as above us hundreds of little fairy lights glitter like diamonds. I can make out the smiley faces of our family and friends who gaze back at us as the song A Thousand Years begins.

  “Ready?” Damon asks, cupping my face, his lips a whisper away from mine.

  I reach for his hand, and rest my other on his shoulder. “Ready.”

  He moves a hand to my back, and raises an eyebrow. “Did I tell you how much I love your dress?” We dance slowly, shuffling, and swaying, our bodies pressed tight as we listen to the song. It’s almost as though it were written for us. I mouth the words to Damon as we gaze into each other’s eyes, love sick in the nicest possible way. “Did you ever think you’d feel like this?” I ask.

  Damon puts his lips to my ear. “As soon as I saw you.”

  With a smile, I wave the bridesmaids and their partners to the floor. I search for my dad’s face, and find him off to the side and motion him and Mamma over.

  They sidle up and begin dancing next to us. It’s not long before the bridesmaids and their partners join us, Missy standing two steps away from Tommy on account of her belly.

  Sarah and so-called man mountain Ridge wander over, and join in.

  I think of CeeCee. Missing her boisterous laugh, and her warmth. Would she have stolen Guillaume out of the kitchen for a quick dance? I rest my head on Damon’s chest, smiling at the thought.

  “We’re proud to call Damon a part of our family, and with that his parents become part of us too. Please raise your glasses and toast to the bride and groom, Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie.” My dad lifts his glass and takes a sip. I raise mine to him and take a sip and grimace. “Does your champagne taste weird?” I ask Damon.

  He rubs the fabric of my dress under the table. “No, it tastes as fine as it looks. Do you want something else?”

  I cup his hand. “No, it’s OK.”

  With the speeches finished I signal to the waiter to play the music.

  “I never knew you collected stamps!” Damon says. “Stamp camp? What is that?”

  I groan. Dad’s speech was not so much sentimental as embarrassing. “There wasn’t much to do in Ashford when I was a kid, so I went to stamp camp to be with my people.” I pretend to be outraged. “Some lifelong friendships were made at stamp camp, I’ll have you know.”

  He chokes back laughter. “And your people were avid stamp collectors?”

  “Well,” I scoff back, “what about your creepy skeletons? You were a goth in high school?” I wrinkle my nose, picturing Damon with jet-black hair and nose piercings.

  “For about two minutes before I realized chicks do not dig guys wearing eyeliner.”

  Laughter barrels out of me. “This chick digs you. Even if you do sound like a throwback from the eighties.”

  He nuzzles my neck; my skin breaks out in goose bumps.

  “Enough, you two, your honeymoon hasn’t started yet!” Missy struts over looking glamorous in her gown.

  “He started it,” I joke.

  Missy sits heavily next to me, trying to catch her breath. “I’m beat,” she says.

  I lean my head on her shoulder, debating whether to tell her about CeeCee’s premonition.

  “Golly, would you look at those two?” She points to Ridge and Sarah, who s
low-dance under the fairy lights, almost as though they’re under a spotlight. Ridge looks every inch the Harlequin hero Sarah pegged him for: tall, dark, handsome. And Sarah, with the sheath of satin trailing down her body highlighting her lithe frame, looks perfect in his arms. They kiss as if they’re the only ones in the room.

  “They’ll be next,” Missy says. “By then I hope my canckles are long gone.”

  I pat Missy’s arm. “You’ll have a little baby soon. It’s like it’s all coming together for us.”

  “It surely is, Mrs. Guthrie. What a year it’s been…”

  We watch Ridge and Sarah dance slowly around the floor, and my heart swells. Sarah thought she’d never find love, but she has, and, like me, it was worth the wait. I think of CeeCee’s special friendship with Guillaume, and how important that will be to her in the coming weeks. Missy’ll have a gorgeous baby to cuddle any day now.

  And we all have each other and men in our lives who love without fear, whole-heartedly and passionately.

  My mamma and father sit off to the side with Rosaleen. I have a new respect for her now, and realize even though you think of a person a certain way, there’s always so much more to them than that. Like Olivia. Once her secret was out, she became the person I envisaged as my mother-in-law. She and George are staying for a few weeks now, and she said she’s decided to tell Damon about her first marriage, so she can move on and not worry about someone mentioning it to him. That’s why she didn’t want to be here at first — too many people knew her other life — and after a long chat, I asked her what was so bad about it. It’s not the kind of secret that hurts people.

  And Missy’s right, it’s been an amazing year. Buoyed by friendships that will span a lifetime. Love that will make us rise each day with a smile.

  That’s all we need. Love and friendship.

  The door to the restaurant opens, sending a shock wave of icy air through.

  “Is that Dr. Skerlew?” Missy asks, narrowing her eyes at the shadowy corner of the restaurant.

  “Yes,” I say, turning sharply to Missy. “Did you call him? Are you OK?”

  Missy laughs. “I’m fine, sugar. I didn’t call him.”