At the reception, people kept asking about the suit.
Most hadn’t heard everything Claire said at the altar, so my mother retold the story several times.
Eventually, Aaron mentioned it during his speech.
He raised his glass and said, “Most brides try to make the groom cry by looking beautiful. Claire decided to take a more aggressive approach and dress as his deceased father.”
The room exploded.
Claire nearly choked on her drink.
Aaron continued, “But seriously, I knew Richard. And if he were here, he’d be the loudest person in this room. He would also be incredibly happy about the woman Daniel married today.”
I looked at Claire.
She reached under the table and squeezed
Later that night, after dinner, cake, speeches, and several terrible attempts at dancing, we finally had five quiet minutes outside.
Small lights were strung through the trees.
Claire leaned against me.
“Can I admit something?”
“Sure.”
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“I almost didn’t do it.”
“Wear the suit?”
She nodded.
“This morning, everyone thought I’d completely lost it.”
“I can confirm that impression.”
She elbowed me.
“Jenna kept asking if I was sure. My mom kept saying, ‘Claire, you have a perfectly good wedding dress hanging 10 feet away.’”
“Reasonable people.”
“I started wondering if I’d turned something meaningful into something ridiculous.”
“You didn’t.”
“I should’ve told you.”
“Maybe.”
She pulled back. “Maybe?”
“I was embarrassed for about 20 seconds.”
Her face fell slightly.
I squeezed her hand.
“Then I read the label.”
She nodded.
“And I understood.”
I looked through the glass doors toward the reception.
My mother was
