Authors: Karen Malone
“Could today be any more gorgeous?” Deborah exclaimed happily as she and her
mother stepped out of the park headquarters and stretched luxuriously in the
bright early summer sunlight. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, with
barely any clouds in sight for over a hundred miles. The one or two that
had dared to float over the Park were harmless white puff balls, totally devoid
of any hint of rain.
Who would have believed that it had poured steadily for the last three days?
Deborah wondered to herself as she took in the perfect weather that God was
providing for her wedding day. She had to admit, she had nearly given up hope
that the sun would come out again in time, but the after effects of the storm
were well worth the worry. She almost felt like God had given the park a good
scrubbing in anticipation of this moment.
The barest hint of a breeze brought the fresh scent of pine trees and
wildflowers even into the parking lot where they stood. Jill drifted out to
join Hester and Deborah by the door, a half empty bag of extra silk flowers and
place settings in her arms. “I just finished putting out the place settings on
the back deck, and Terri is putting the finishing touches on the viewing room
right now” Jill informed her. “It really does look great, Deb,” she said with a
wistful smile.
Deborah caught the longing in the blonde girl’s tone, and took Jill’s arm. “Be
patient,” she told her encouragingly. “Chuck really does care about you.
I predict that we’ll be planning your wedding very soon.”
Jill smiled at the thought, but she still looked a little sad. “Yeah, maybe,
but Chuck is without a romantic bone in his body. His idea of a perfect wedding
would probably be in a video arcade at the mall!”
Hester stared at Jill in disbelief, but Deborah only grinned. “The scary part
is, I can actually picture it!” She told her with a laugh. “Don’t worry, though,
when the time comes, Steve and Pete will set him straight….” She paused, a
faraway look in her eyes. “And if not, it will definitely be the prettiest
arcade in North Carolina!”
Jill laughed with her, and shook her head. “I love him, but that boy hasn’t got
a lick of sense!” Her smile faded and a discouraged look crossed her pretty
features. Deborah patted her arm in sympathy.
“Girls, I haven’t seen the back deck, yet,” Hester said, changing the subject. “Let’s
go back and see how it turned out.” Hester turned back to the building,
and Deborah and Jill followed her through the wide lobby and out the back door
to the deck.
Hester sighed in pleasure. “This will be lovely!” She exclaimed, taking
in the garlands of green entwined with thousands of tiny white flowers that
draped the deck rails. Small tables dotted the area, draped in damask and set
with crystal and silk flowers. More tables were set up on the sloping lawn
below the deck as well.
“Just wait until dusk!” Jill told her, her face brightening visibly as she
spoke. “The guys strung white lights through the trees! It will be so
pretty!”
“The caterers are setting up downstairs in the classrooms ,” Deb commented. “I should
go check on them.”
“I’ll do it, dear,” Hester told her firmly. “You need to go home and
shower!”
Deborah checked her watch and paled visibly. “Only three hours to go!” She
exclaimed in a sudden burst of panic.
“Exactly!” Hester agreed. “I’ll finish up here, and then I will come help
you get dressed in an hour or so.”
“Are you sure?” Deb asked, suddenly uncertain as she looked around and saw all
the things that still needed to be finished before tonight. Hester put
her hands on her daughter’s shoulders, and turned her back toward the parking
lot. She gave her a tiny shove. “Just go!” She said firmly. “Jill and I will
handle anything last minute, but the caterers are doing a great job.”
“Right,” Deb said, looking for all the world as if she would be much happier if
she could keep working with the decorations than on her bridal toilette, but at
last she got in her car and drove off to the ranger compound.
Hester watched her leave, and then went in search of her husband. She
found him downstairs in the classrooms still in a t-shirt and shorts. He was
standing on the top rung of a step ladder, stringing more flower garlands along
the wall behind the buffet table.
“Robert!” She called, as he
slipped the rope of green over a newly placed nail. He glanced over his
shoulder, nails sticking out of his mouth, and waved at Hester. He spat the
nails into his hand and grinned happily. “We’re almost done in here,” he
said. “What’s next?”
Hester looked her husband’s scruffy appearance up and down. “What’s next is
that you need to head back to the trailer and get cleaned up!” She informed him
sternly. “You can’t possibly go to your own daughter’s wedding looking
like that!”
Robert Graham looked at his watch and frowned. “There’s still almost
three hours to go before the wedding, Hester!” He told his wife. “Just how much
cleaning up do you think I’m going to need to do?”
Hester sighed. “You sound just like your daughter.”
Robert handed his nails and hammer off to the young man who had been steadying
the ladder for him. “At least she gets her looks from you,” he told her
placatingly
. He took her arm and they
walked toward the stairs. “Fine, we’ll get ready and then we can head up
the trail early and relax in the pre-wedding lounge.”
Hester raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Pre-wedding lounge? What on earth
are you talking about?”
Robert chuckled. “I was just talking with Chuck. He put a couple of off
duty lifeguards in charge of what they’ve dubbed ‘The Over the Top’
Lounge. Seems that they have enlisted the help of several willing hikers
as well, and they’ve carried chairs and a few parson’s tables up to the summit,
where they have arranged a little refreshment area for the wedding party to
wait at in the shade. Sounds like most of the park’s visitors are wanting to be
part of the sendoff as well!”
“How wonderful!” Hester said sincerely. ‘Weddings should bring people
together.”
Robert’s eyes darkened, momentarily saddened. “That’s what I tried to
tell Pete’s mother, but she is still a bitter woman.”
Hester’s eyes softened. “Well, you tried. I know that Pete was
thankful for your effort.”
“Still, a reconciliation
would have made the day perfect.”
Hester rested her hand o her husband’s chest. “You know that only God can
soften a heart that hard,” she reminded him serenely. “We’ll continue to
pray. Maybe if there’s grandbabies,..”
Robert squeezed her hand at the hopeful anticipation in Hester’s voice.
“You are right, of course. We’ll leave it in God’s time.”
They reached the main level of the Headquarters building and walked into the
T.V. room, where a couple of technicians were testing the feed from the
cameraman stationed on the top of Hanging Rock. This was where guests not
able to make the climb to the top could still watch the wedding live. As
they looked on, the picture came up on the huge plasma screen in the front of
the room.
“This is what I find incredible,” Robert commented as they watched the
cameraman slowly pan across the valley to Moore’s Knob. “Imagine having a
friend at the local T.V. station willing to loan you a mobile cameraman for
your wedding.”
The focus changed as the camera panned down on the Park Headquarters, where
they watched the caterers carrying in trays of hors d'oeuvres from their van.
“Oh look!”
Hester said, pointing at the screen. “Here comes the cake lady!”
A pastry truck pulled up to
the curb just behind the caterer. Three women carried in the cake tiers, which
they would assemble once they were safely down the stairs.
Robert suddenly frowned. “Hester, look at that car just pulling through the
parking lot.”
“Oh no,” Hester breathed softly, as a black Viper cruised past the pastry van.
“It can’t be...”
But even as they strained to get a better look at the vehicle, the cameraman faded
back and refocused on the scene at the top of Hanging Rock.
The Grahams looked at each other in concern. Could that have been David
Bolton’s car? Their daughter’s former boyfriend was bad news on any day,
but today of all days..!
“Lee Ann and Richard surely wouldn’t have invited him? Hester asked aloud.
Robert sighed deeply. “Anything’s possible, I suppose. They never did admit
that David was abusive toward Deborah, and they wouldn’t even discuss what
happened to Beth Stewart last summer.”
“Well, let’s pray that we were mistaken,” Hester said. “After all, it’s not the
only black Viper in North Carolina.”
No, but I’d lay odds it’s about the only one that comes to Hanging Rock
,
Robert pondered silently.
But there’s nothing I can do about it in any
case,
he decided. He glanced at his watch and then at his wife, who
was still staring at the activity on the screen.
“Now we really must be heading back to the compound or we will be late to our
own daughter’s wedding!” He admonished her gently, bringing Hester’s thoughts
back to the here and now.
Hester startled, and then flashed him a mischievous smile. “Since you are
performing the wedding, I don’t think that they will start without you!”
Robert chuckled. “Fair point. Still, we should go now.” As they strolled
through the parking lot though, both found themselves anxiously scanning every
car, in search of a black Dodge Viper. Somehow, the fact that they didn’t
see the car was of little comfort to either parent.
Steve knelt before his daughter, adjusting her corsage and then straightening
the white silk bow on the back of her little sundress. He smiled,
thinking how easily such things were coming to him now, when only two years ago
he had had no idea that he was even a
father.
“All set,” he
confirmed.
“Don’t
forget Fiona,” Gracie instructed him. Steve looked over Gracie’s head to
his fenced in backyard. Fiona sat on the picnic table, her entire body
quivering with hope as she watched their every move, her head cocked eagerly as
she felt the excitement building around her. Steve could even hear her
faint whine, begging Steve to open the gate and include her in the festivities.
Steve grimaced unhappily. Every instinct told him that including a dog in
his best friend’s wedding ceremony was simply inviting disaster. What if she
got excited by all the people and started barking in the middle of the
ceremony? Or forgot her manners and jumped on someone, and they fell and hurt
themselves? Steve could imagine a myriad of scenes involving Fiona, and nearly
all of them ended badly. But Gracie’s gray eyes watched him as
expectantly as Fiona’s, and he was a sucker for Gracie’s eyes.
Steve sighed reluctantly. “You know you will have to keep a very tight
hold on her leash?” He reminded her. “And if she starts barking, you will
have to take her away, even if it means you won’t get to see the whole wedding
ceremony.”
“Yes, Daddy,” Gracie replied in long suffering voice, having heard this lecture
twice before.
Steve took a deep breath and stood up. “Fine, then.” He looked at
Fiona, who went wild with joy at being noticed. She flew off the table and
landed in a wriggling heap at the gate in the fence.
Steve looked at her sternly. “Fiona! Settle!” He gave her a moment to
gather herself, and then opened the gate. Much to his surprise, Fiona
trotted through it with dignified and dainty steps. Steve smiled
approvingly. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet,” he told her.
Fiona’s plumed tail waved gently, the picture of a well behaved young lady.
Steve snapped on her wedding leash, a chain linked one that had been carefully
threaded with silk flowers and green leaves. He handed the leash to
Gracie. “Whatever you do, keep her calm! This is Aunt Debbie and Uncle
Pete’s special day. Fiona can watch, but nothing more!”
“Yes, Daddy. Seen and not heard. I know,” Gracie repeated, nodding.
A door opened at the next trailer, and Gracie’s grandparents stepped out, both
in formal attire, with the exception of their shoes. Steve grinned at the
odd sight. Mrs. Bolton always dressed impeccably. Wearing hiking
boots with a formal gown was a huge stretch.