“Really?”
“Okay. Maybe a little.”
“You barely talked about it.”
“I didn’t want everything to become depressing.”
“I know.”
She took a breath.
“And I know nobody can replace him. I wasn’t trying to do that.”
I looked again at the cuff.
Richard’s Wedding Suit.
Then Danny stitched beneath it.
“I just wanted one part of him to walk down the aisle today,” she said.
That was when my mother completely lost it.
She sat down and cried into a tissue.
I couldn’t look at her because I knew I’d start again.
The officiant, who’d been patiently standing beside us through this emotional disaster, finally leaned toward me.
“I’ll give you two a minute.”
I laughed. “We’ll probably need several.”
Claire smiled. “I’m sorry.”
“No.”
“I should’ve warned you.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Really?”
I looked at
“But you looked horrified when I came down the aisle.”
“I was.”
A few people laughed.
I added, “I thought you’d lost your mind.”
Claire laughed too. “I probably have.”
I touched the lapel.
The fabric felt old and soft from decades of use and storage.
I took a long breath.
Then I turned to Claire.
“Okay.”
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“Okay, what?”
“Let’s get married.”
The ceremony continued.
Claire stood beside me wearing my father’s wedding suit while I tried not to cry through the vows.
I failed.
She did too.
When it was her turn, she looked at me and said, “Daniel, I promise to love the person you are.”
“I promise to honor the people and experiences that made you who you are.”
“I promise to never let you pretend you’re not emotional when you
clearly are.”
Everyone laughed.
I shook my head. “You added that.”
