Chapter 8 - The Vestry Door Opens Again
The knock came again, harder this time. Three sharp raps on the vestry door that made Lily flinch against my leg.
I hadn't answered the first one. I'd heard Pastor Daniels' voice through the wood saying, "Mark? Claire? Folks are getting concerned," and I'd just stood there with my hand on Lily's shoulder, Claire by the small sink with her veil twisted, the pearl earring catching the warm light every time she moved.
The second knock was my sister.
"Mark, it's Jess. Mom wants to know what's happening."
I looked at Claire. Her eyes were red but she wasn't crying. She was fixing her veil with both hands in the little mirror over the sink, trying to straighten the crystal tiara that had shifted when she'd covered her ear at the altar. Lily was still holding onto my jacket sleeve, her white lace dress wrinkled now from sitting on the vestry couch.
I opened the door.
Jess stood there in her bridesmaid dress, holding her phone, and right behind her was Diane, Claire's mom, in her navy dress with the corsage already wilting a little. Pastor Daniels was a step back in the hallway, giving us space, his hands clasped in front of him.
Diane looked past me immediately to Claire.
"Honey?" she said, and stepped right into the vestry without waiting. "What happened? Pastor said Lily interrupted the vows?"
Jess slipped in after her and closed the door halfway. I could hear the low murmur of the sanctuary beyond the hallway, a hundred people whispering, chairs creaking. The organ wasn't playing anymore.
Claire turned from the mirror. Her veil was still crooked, the left side pulled a little too tight where she'd been holding it.
"She got confused, Mom," Claire said quickly. Her voice was thin. "Lily thought my earrings were different yesterday. That's all."
Diane's face tightened as she took in Claire's veil, the smudged makeup near her ear, the way Claire's hand kept hovering near her neck.
"Oh, sweetheart, your veil," Diane said, reaching out to adjust it. Her fingers fussed with the lace. "You look flushed. Did you get overheated up there?" She glanced at me, then at Lily, and her tone shifted. She tried to make it light. "You know how kids are at this age. Lily, honey, you had a big rehearsal night, didn't you? Yesterday was a long day."
Lily pressed closer to my leg. She didn't answer.
I felt that pull in my chest again, the one I'd felt at the altar when Lily had said, "Daddy, wait, something's wrong," and everyone had stared.
Diane looked at me directly now. "Mark, this is just nerves. All of us were up late. Claire's earrings are the same ones she's worn for months. Her grandmother's pearls. You remember, you were there when she showed you."
That wasn't true. The earrings Claire had shown me last week were pearl drops, yes, but I hadn't looked that closely. And Lily had been very specific on that couch five minutes ago about the blue case at the gas station, about Claire handing something small to her cousin by the parking lot.
Jess touched my elbow. "Mark, people are just waiting," she said quietly. "Do you want to get back out there? We can redo the entrance. No one will even think about it. Pastor said we can pick right up where we left off."
I looked down at Lily. Her eyes were wide, fixed on me. She wasn't trying to be difficult. She was waiting to see if I'd hear her again now that other adults were in the room telling her she was wrong.
That was the choice. If I walked back out and said let's continue, the music would start, the guests would relax, Diane would be relieved, and Lily would learn that when it mattered, I went with the easier story.
I turned to Pastor Daniels in the hallway.
"Pastor, could you tell everyone we're going to take an intermission?" I said. My voice was low but steady. "Twenty minutes. Have folks stretch, get some water from the lobby. Tell them we had a little detail to sort out and we appreciate their patience."
Pastor Daniels nodded slowly. "Twenty minutes. I can do that."
Diane's mouth opened. "Mark, twenty minutes? In this heat with everyone in suits? People have dinner reservations—"
"I know," I said. "I need twenty minutes. That's all I'm asking. If anyone needs to step outside, the parking lot is open. But we're not going to rush this part."
I kept my hand on Lily's shoulder. I didn't move her behind me.
Jess looked between me and Claire, then nodded once. "Okay. I'll help Pastor. I'll tell Dad and your family to just hang tight."
Diane was still holding Claire's veil. She let go, and her hands fluttered down to her sides. She looked at Claire, then at me, and I could see she wanted to argue more, to say Lily was just confused, to get the day back on schedule.
Claire didn't say anything. She just stood by the sink with her hands clasped, her veil finally straight but her earring still catching the light wrong.
"Twenty minutes," Diane repeated, like she was memorizing it.
"Thank you," I said.
Pastor Daniels stepped back to head toward the sanctuary, and Jess followed him, already pulling out her phone to text someone. The hallway murmured again as the door behind them stayed open a crack.
May you like
I turned and closed the vestry door completely, then leaned against it for a second. The warm yellow light from the little lamp on the desk made the wood paneling glow. Lily was still holding my sleeve. Claire was watching me in the mirror's reflection.
We had twenty minutes before that door would have to open again.
