Dramatically, she fanned herself with her hat. “I think I’m suffering from heatstroke.”
Kristine sighed. June loved to act like the rules didn’t apply to her. Somehow, she always managed to rope Chloe into her schemes.
“I’m sorry,” Kristine said. “But I am putting my foot down. You two cannot—”
Before the words were even out of her mouth, Chloe and June were making a beeline for the bride’s trailer. With Chloe’s long body and June’s short and wiry frame, they looked like two mismatched criminals ready to score.
“Unbelievable,” Kristine muttered. “We’ll be the first family to get kicked out of a wedding.”
Then, because she really wasn’t given a choice in the matter, Kristine raced to catch up.
* * *
As June pushed open the bathroom door, chilly air hit her cheeks and cooled the damp tendrils of her hair. It felt delightful. She’d been just about ready to expire out there in that heat. Peering over her shoulder, June beckoned to Kristine and Chloe. They were hanging back in the doorway, as though there was something to be afraid of. Ridiculous, considering this bathroom was perfectly lovely. It smelled like hairspray and perfume instead of . . . well, all sorts of other unappealing, outdoor-bathroom-type things.
“Come on,” June chirped. “This is much bet—” Suddenly, she stopped. Unless she was mistaken, someone in the bride’s trailer was sobbing. It was a dreadful sound, full of gasps and sniffles. Taking a few steps forward, June squinted as her eyes adjusted to the indoor light.
A bride stood in the midst of a mess of hairpins, makeup brushes and tissues, holding a bouquet and sobbing as though her heart would break. If you didn’t count the tears, the young girl was the picture of bridal perfection. She wore a tasteful A-line gown, with two sheer panels down the front that would most certainly wave in the breeze. A cascade of curly blonde hair was piled on top of her head and accessorized with antique pearl combs clipped into a flouncy veil. Even her eye makeup, which most certainly had to be waterproof, appeared to be flawless.
“Ooph,” Chloe grunted, knocking into June from behind. “Grandma! What are you . . . Oh no.”
“Mother.” June felt a sharp tug at the back of her dress. “We are leaving . . . now.”
Even though Kristine was obviously itching to remove her from the premises, June wasn’t certain that was the right choice. There had to be a reason that she had stepped into this trailer, at this very moment in time. Perhaps it was inappropriate to interfere with a girl on her wedding day, but clearly, this was one bride who needed an intervention.
June bustled forward. There was a box of tissues on the counter next to the mirror. With three quick tugs, she whipped out a handful. “Did the groom get cold feet?” June demanded. She had been to more than one wedding in her life where the mother of the bride clipped down the aisle with a fake smile, making an announcement that “the kids were having second thoughts,” the bride wailing in the nave as though her heart would break.
Clearly surprised to see anyone in her trailer, this bride jumped and then her face crumpled. “No, he didn’t get cold feet. I . . . I think I did.”
June was surprised. It seemed that, for a young lady who had invested so much time and energy into her look, she had failed to give much thought to what it meant to say forever. Without mincing words, June told her just that.
Kristine stepped forward, her freckled face flushed crimson. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “My mother is suffering from heatstroke but don’t worry, we’re leaving. Right now.”
Kristine gave her dress another firm yank. June gripped the plastic counter to hold her footing. “Stop,” June said as Kristine somehow managed to slide her back a full two feet. “I am simply—”
“She’s right,” the bride said. After touching a bouquet of pink roses on the counter, the girl sank down onto a white wicker stool. “She’s absolutely right.”
Slowly, Kristine released her grip. “She is?”
June sniffed, straightening her shoulders. Of course she was right. Whether her daughter wanted to give her credit or not, June often knew what was good for everyone else before they knew it themselves.
“I’ve dreamed about my wedding day ever since I was a little girl,” the bride sniffled. “Now that it’s here, it’s just . . . not what I thought it would be.”