Survivor's Guilt
Page 21
“It’s really just a sleep mask. It’ll be comfortable,” Kim assured her.
“All right,” said Greta, suppressing a smile. “Though I’m not sure whether I’m going to a party or being kidnapped.”
“It’s a little of both,” said Kim, slipping the sleep mask over Greta’s eyes.
Listening to the two of them fuss as they tried to get Greta changed without her knowing what she was being changed into was highly amusing. They put her into some kind of petticoat and then what felt like a ball gown, although they pushed her hands away whenever she tried to feel the dress.
“It’s a good thing she’s so cooperative,” Kim mused as she slipped some shoes onto Greta’s feet. They felt like silk, just like the dress. Greta decided not to be sad that they were flat. She had a whole closet full of lovely flats now, and she was going to enjoy them. “We would never be able to pull this off with Abi.”
“Not in a million years,” Sylvia chuckled. “Oh I do wish you could see yourself, darling. You look just like a princess.”
“I wish I could see myself too,” Greta agreed. “Am I going to a royal ball?”
“It’ll feel like it!” Kim promised. “Okay, should we take her to the car?”
“Whose car are we taking?” Greta asked in alarm. She didn’t think she would fit in Kim’s tiny Honda coupe in this big dress, and Sylvia didn’t have a car with her.
“We hired a limo,” Sylvia told her. “Come along, dear. It’s waiting.”
“Limo rides are usually more fun when you can see where you’re going,” Greta commented as the two women tucked her skirts into the back seat.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be blindfolded when you get back into the limo at the end,” Kim assured her.
“That’s a relief,” Greta conceded. “When do I get to take the blindfold off?”
“Soon,” Sylvia promised. “Everything is all set up. I just need to get you ready to see it. They are waiting for our word.”
The limo stopped, and Greta allowed herself to be helped out, into a building, and onto an elevator, where they seemed to go up quite some way before stepping off and going down a hallway and into a room.
“Okay, I’m going to take the blindfold off now, but you must not look down at yourself. I’m going to fix your eye makeup; it’s probably been smudged now,” Sylvia told her.
“Okay,” said Greta.
“I mean it. Close your eyes.”
Greta closed her eyes, and Sylvia eased the sleep mask off, then began touching up her makeup.
“Did you want anything in particular for her hair?” Kim asked, going through Greta’s locks with a comb. “I think it looks pretty down.”
“I was thinking of a pullback.”
“Okay, I can do that. And I’ll add just a little curl, like I used to do for the show.”
Greta sat still and kept her eyes closed while they fussed over her some more, and then she felt her mother fastening something to her head.
“Mother,” she said, “I don’t think I need to be a genius like Abi to figure out when someone is putting a veil on my head.”
“All right, you can look at yourself now,” said Sylvia. “Stand up, get a good look.”
Greta opened her eyes and blinked several times. They were in a small, unfamiliar room, sitting at a vanity. There was a full-length mirror across from her. She stood up and took in her beautiful silk bridal gown with crystal embellishments, and her veil that was attached to a sparkling tiara.
“I look like…a real bride,” she said softly.
“It’s the dress you should have had for your wedding,” Sylvia agreed. “Abi said you’d described your ideal dress to her, and the wardrobe department at Mercy ER still has your measurements. It’s best to make adjustments on the actual person, of course, but I think it fits perfectly.” Sylvia scrutinized her.
“Now we need to go,” said Kim. “Abi is waiting.”
“Where are we?” Greta asked as they led her down the hallway.
“We’re in 30 Rockefeller Plaza,” Kim explained. “The sixty-fifth floor! The view is great.”
Just then, they turned into a large event room, and Greta saw the view she meant: floor-to-ceiling windows showed an expansive view of the glittering Manhattan skyline. Rows of chairs were set up, facing the windows, filled with all Greta and Abi’s family and friends. There was an aisle between them, leading to a white arbor set up in front of the windows. Standing in front of it was Abi, wearing a strapless sheath wedding dress with her braids swept up and a bouquet of white roses in her hands. When she saw Greta, her eyes widened, and she broke into a smile.
“We’re having another wedding?” Greta asked her mother.
“You’re having your proper wedding. The one you had a year ago was a legal ceremony. This is a real ceremony. Abi’s relatives have even come from London.”
“Really?” Greta gasped. “I haven’t even met them yet!”
“You’ll get to know them at the reception,” Kim promised. “Right now, you need these.” She handed her a bouquet to match Abi’s, and then live musicians began playing and Greta slowly walked down the aisle – walked – holding her mother’s arm.
“Hello, beautiful,” said Abi softly when Greta reached her. “Do you like your anniversary surprise?”
“I do,” Greta replied. “You outdid yourself.”
“I’ve been planning this for a very long time.” Abi turned around and produced a pair of Greta’s shoes, the white satin heels she had worn one of at their original wedding. “The doctor said it wouldn’t hurt for you to stand in these just for a little bit,” Abi promised her. “You want to?”
“My wedding shoes.” Greta touched the shoes gently. “Yes, I’ll wear them.” Abi put the shoes down and helped Greta step into them. Greta felt a familiar feeling, the feeling of power and confidence she used to get every time she wore a nice pair of heels. It would be her last time to wear them, she knew, so she planned to savor it.
“I wanted to give you the wedding you really deserve,” Abi said in her ear.
“It’s the wedding we deserve,” Greta agreed.
Greta restated her vows with a clear head, standing with both her hands in Abi’s, a professional photographer snapping shots throughout. When their vows were finished, she wrapped her arms tightly around Abi and kissed her soundly while all their loved ones awwed over how sweet they were.
Greta kept the heels on while she and Abi posed for a series of photographs in front of the windows, the New York skyline twinkling behind them, and then she switched back to her flats before they filed down the hall to a different event room, which was set up for the reception. There was an elaborate dinner, a big cake, and dancing. It was how Greta had always wanted her reception to be.
“I have never seen you look more beautiful than you do right now,” Abi whispered in Greta’s ear while they were in each other’s arms on the dance floor, swaying to the music.
“Likewise,” said Greta, touching a loose braid of Abi’s. “And I’m grateful that we get to spend this wedding night actually having sex.”
“All night long,” Abi said in a low voice that sparked a thrill of arousal in Greta, a wicked smile on her face.
“Suddenly the reception doesn’t seem that important anymore.” Greta kissed her wife, the woman she had made her wife twice over now.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year since I almost lost you, and a whole year since you became mine.”
Greta smiled. “It’s unsettling to think of all I would have missed if I had died. I think that’s really what brought me through. Your text messages gave me hope that you really would become mine once I got home to you, so I fought with everything I had to live, to have the chance to be with you, as I had wanted for so long. I had been feeling so depressed before that, so worried that I had ruined our friendship by trying to kiss you. Imagine if you hadn’t texted me. I might have just let myself die, which I’m sure would have been easier than fi
ghting so hard to live, given my injuries.”
“It was a tough fight,” Abi agreed. “Everyone said you had to be fighting hard. The fact that you had to be intubated…obviously you were struggling to breathe, and if they’d found you even a little later, it probably would have been too late. But clearly you fought to keep breathing until someone found you, and then you got to rest and let the ventilator do it for you. And even then, it didn’t take long for you to start trying to breathe on your own again. It was like you were desperate to claw your way back.”
“Of course I was, because I wanted to be with you.” Greta kissed Abi again. “I really think you saved my life, just by letting me know you wanted to see me again. Of course had my injuries been worse, no amount of fighting could have brought me back, but as it worked out, I was right on the edge. I could have lived or died. And you motivated me to live.”
“I still think we got a little help from a friend.”
Greta knew that Abi believed Jordan had intervened to keep Greta from being killed outright in the crash. Greta didn’t really believe in that sort of thing, but it meant something to Abi to believe Jordan was still looking out for them, and who was Greta to say she was wrong? She had to admit, the very idea of an afterlife – where they would see Jordan and other loved ones again someday – was sounding more appealing than ever. Greta knew a lifetime with Abi was never going to be enough. If it was possible to have more, she certainly wasn’t going to complain. She would gladly dance into eternity with this woman.
“Well, however it happened, I’m just glad to be here, to spend the rest of my life with you,” said Greta.
Abi held her closer, planting another kiss on her lips. “Are you really glad now? Unequivocally?”
Greta met Abi’s eyes and broke into a grin. “Unequivocally,” she promised. “I wouldn’t miss all this for the world.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Arnold is the author of the Detective Amy Sadler series, as well as the romances The World the Way It Should Be, After Raya, and Stay. When she’s not writing, she works in special education and spends her free time reading voraciously, geeking out over stuff, and unabashedly singing along with the Indigo Girls. She lives in Illinois with her cat, Lily Belle.
You can keep up with her on the following pages:
MichelleArnoldbooks.com
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