Chapter 2 - Let's Stop For A Moment
The gold band was still warm between my fingers. I hadn't realized I'd been squeezing it until my knuckles ached.
Every pew was staring at us. The warm yellow light from the altar made Claire's veil glow, and the arched stained glass behind her threw blue and red across the white flowers. I could hear my own breathing. Lily's small hand was fisted in the side of my tux jacket and she wasn't letting go.
The officiant leaned in a little, his voice low. "Mark?"
I didn't answer him right away. Claire's hand was still up near her left ear, her fingers barely touching the pearl drop. She wasn't looking at Lily at all. She was looking at me, and her smile didn't reach her eyes.
I slipped the ring into my vest pocket. My hand was shaking and I tried to make it stop.
"Folks," I said, turning just enough that my voice would carry to the first few rows without shouting. "We need a minute. Just a minute, please."
A ripple went through the room. Someone coughing. Claire's mother half stood. The officiant nodded once, quick and professional, and stepped back from the altar.
I put my hand on Lily's shoulder. "Come on, sweetheart."
I didn't take Claire's hand. I gestured with an open palm toward the side door by the choir steps, the one that led to the vestry. Claire hesitated for half a second, then moved. Her lace gown rustled, the veil trailing behind her. Lily stayed glued to my leg, her fingers twisting the black fabric of my jacket.
The walk was only about fifteen feet but it felt longer. The wooden floor creaked under my dress shoes. I could feel every eye following us. The vestry door was heavy oak with a brass handle. I turned it and held it open.
Claire went in first, adjusting her veil as she passed me. Lily ducked under my arm. I followed and pulled the door closed behind us. The latch clicked, and the muffled murmur of the chapel cut off.
The vestry was small and cooler than the sanctuary. A single window, a rack of choir robes, a wooden table with a pushed-aside silver tray and two water glasses from before the ceremony. Warm light still came in but it was thinner here. It smelled like old wood and candle wax.
Claire stopped in the middle of the room. She let out a breath and touched her left ear again, then dropped her hand quickly when she saw me notice.
"She's just confused," she whispered to me, keeping her voice soft like Lily wasn't right there. "Nerves. You know how she gets before anything big. She was up late last night."
Lily didn't answer Claire. She pressed closer to me, both hands now gripping my jacket sleeve. Her white lace dress with the little ruffled sleeves was a little wrinkled from sitting in the pew. Her wavy hair had come loose on one side.
"I'm not confused," she said, but she said it to my chest, not to Claire. Her voice was thin.
I crouched down. The knees of my tux pants pulled tight. I put both hands gently on Lily's arms so I could see her face.
"Hey," I said quietly. "I'm right here. Take a breath for me, okay?"
She breathed, uneven. I could feel her trembling through her sleeves.
Behind us, Claire shifted her weight. She smoothed her veil with both hands, then touched the pearl necklace at her throat. When I glanced up, she wasn't looking at Lily. She was looking at the closed door, then at the window, anywhere but down at my daughter.
"Claire," I said, not unkindly. "Just give her a second."
"I am," she said. Her voice was tighter now. She crossed her arms lightly, then uncrossed them. Her left hand drifted again toward her ear and she caught herself, letting it fall to her side. The crystal tiara caught the light when she moved her head.
Lily finally looked up at me. Her eyes were wide and wet but she wasn't crying. She was trying so hard to get the words right.
"Daddy, wait," she said, and it was the same earnest, anxious tone she'd used at the altar. "Something's wrong."
I nodded. "I heard you out there. I'm listening now. Just you and me and Claire, okay? No rush."
Claire made a small sound, half laugh. "Mark, we have eighty people waiting. We can talk about whatever Lily thinks she saw after—"
"She said yesterday it looked different," I said, looking up at Claire. I kept my voice low and even. "Let's just hear what she means."
Claire's lips pressed together. She took a step toward the table and perched on the edge of it, her gown pooling around her. She adjusted her veil again, her fingers lingering near that left earring. She still didn't meet Lily's eyes.
The room went quiet except for the faint hum of the heater and Lily's breathing. I turned my full attention back to Lily and held her gaze.
May you like
"Tell me about yesterday, Lil," I said. "What did you see?"
She swallowed. Her grip on my jacket loosened just enough that her hands were free. She was ready to show me, to explain, and the way she stared past me at Claire's left ear told me she'd been holding this in since the altar and wasn't going to let it go.
