When You Come to Me (55 page)

She let the feeling roll over her for a moment, recalling the day that she stood in her cap and gown the morning of her high school graduation and as her mother wrapped her brown arms around her slowly, she allowed a tear to run down her cheek and told her softly, “You’ll always be my baby girl, and I’ll always be here for you, no matter what…”

And where was she now? Probably locked in her house in Decatur, being unnaturally stubborn, while her daughter ached, while her daughter longed for her mother’s approval, for her mother’s guidance, telling her that this marriage was right, taking pictures left and right, helping her finalize wedding rehearsal dinner plans, making sure her dress fits just right, walking her down the aisle…

It wasn’t right, was it? It wasn’t right that her mother refused to talk to her, refused to get to know Brandon, refused to come to the wedding…

Wasn’t her daughter there for her years back when Papa wasn’t? Was she not the daughter that wrapped her arms around her mother consolingly, watching the tears from a broken marriage pour from her soul? Was she not the perfect daughter?

She attempted to push the thoughts out of her mind as she climbed into her trusty black vehicle with her bridesmaids, her family, her circle, her girls, the following afternoon, heading for Augusta, where Brandon and his groomsmen were already stationed, awaiting their arrival.

The rehearsal, at Bingham Park, was scheduled for six, and of course, they would be late. And Brandon knew it, didn’t he? He knew that they would be running late, just as well as he knew her.

That explained why he called her cellular phone while she soared down the 20 at five in the evening, passing through Greensboro, still more than an hour outside of Augusta.

“Yes, baby?” she answered, knowing…

“Where are you?” he asked speculatively, as if he already knew that she was nowhere near him.

“On the 20…”

“On the 20, where...?”

“On the way to Augusta, where else?”

“Natalie Savannah Chandler…”

She heard him make some strange noise of disgust, but she remained silent.

“Nat, if you don’t get here by six-thirty, I won’t marry you, I swear, I won’t…”

“Baby, don’t get all huffy…”

“I’m not getting huffy,” he said defensively. “I bet you do this to upset me, don’t you?”

“Perhaps,” she said. “Because it’s so easily accomplished.”

“What am I supposed to tell your family? And what am I supposed to tell mine? People are already starting to show up…”

“Use that magical power of persuasion that I fell in love with, darlin’…”

“Tallie, don’t sweet-talk me right now, I’m mad at you,” he told her, sighing.

“I can’t wait to see you,” she told him. “I feel like it’s been ages…”

“Tallie…”

“Brandy…”

“When did you leave Athens?”

“Did I tell you how much I love you lately?”

“Natalie…when did you leave?”

“Well, we stopped to eat, and then Maya had to pee, and then Sid had to pee…and then I was hot so we stopped for water…”

“Oh…my…God…I think I might kill you…”

“I got to run, Bran, I’ll see you soon…”

She heard him attempt to say something else, but she hung up the phone before he had a chance…

She and her girls belted out Bel Biv Devoe and the Isley Brothers with the windows rolled down. Yes, Natalie would enjoy this moment, enjoyed the fact that in the morning would be her wedding day, would be the day that she would become Brandon’s wife, would be the day that her life would start…

If she could only make it through the night.

She pulled her car into the parking lot of Bingham Park, and was quickly reminded of the moment Brandon did the same a couple of years prior, in his green truck. She wondered then, stepping out onto the asphalt, why he chose this place, what made it so special? It was as if he knew…

It was as if he knew that they’d be here in this same spot together again, exchanging vows, pledging devotion, loving one another…

On the contrary, she couldn’t have imagined it…

Ha, she’d come with him to end it, finally, to set her heart free, to rid her mind and every inch of her that he’d possessed, to say goodbye to him, and the memories between them, and the love that they once had…

But, oh, what a trick the Lord played on her!

Here she was, looking at Brandon’s green truck nearby in the lot, her wedding dress placed neatly in the trunk, and her girls standing by her, ready to make this wedding a possibility.

She walked down the pathway, her girls in tow, laughing amongst themselves, as she and Brandon had walked before, the late sun, sailing overhead, amid a cloudless sky, and a stale breeze. She walked the pathway, covered overhead by fencing green trees, till she found Brandon, standing next to Mark, talking to Pastor Joins, a tall, dark-skinned something with salt and pepper hair and a wide grin, chuckling a little, while the rest of the groomsmen sat in the first row of white chairs.

She felt guilty. Because she knew that Brandon and the other guys had been setting chairs up all day, had gone back and forth from the reception site to make sure that it looked okay, and had made calls to make sure that all the plans were finalized, all the while attempting to hide the fact that he was angry that both his parents had decided not to come.

No, that emotion didn’t show up on his face. He seemed at peace for once; despite how he was a week prior when he’d delivered the news to her, his voice cracking, trying to fight back tears. Looking at Brandon made the wedding all the more real, made her appreciate him even more, his strength, something that she would value truly for the rest of her life.

The white chairs, set in twelve neatly placed rows of twelve on each side, was just the moderately small wedding she’d envisioned, complete with the pink and yellow tea roses that she’d picked out, attached to the end of each row in the center and on the outside. And the long, white satin runner, creating the aisle, lead straight toward the perfect little trellis, wrapped in a bevy of roses.

And Natalie Chandler gasped, took in the sight, lost her breath, and reached for Maya’s hand and Asha’s hand in an attempt to brace herself.

“Oh, Natalie,” Maya breathed. “It looks wonderful…”

Natalie nodded.

“Nat, you’re really getting married…”

“Don’t say it,” she told her friend, focusing on Brandon. “It may be a dream…”

“No, it’s not,” Maya said, nudging her sister. “This is really, really happening…”

Yes, it was. And Brandon looked amazing, didn’t he? And did it take much for him to be so? He just was. And he was about to be hers, right? Hers for as long as her heart would allow, right? Forever, yes? Forever…

He spotted her, and motioned for her to come near. And she did, her brown companions in tow, and she hugged him tightly when she came to him, took him in and smiled, missed him, genuinely missed him, wanted to thank him for taking things over, for taking the initiative, for being so strong…

“Natalie Savannah,” Pastor Joins said, taking her hands and pulling her toward him. “You get prettier each time I see you, Dear Child…”

“Thank you, Pastor,” she told him in her sweetest tone, feeling her cheeks warm.

“I’ve just been talking to Brandon here, and he tells me that you’ve both agreed to do the traditional Baptist vows?”

Natalie looked up at Brandon.

“Yes,” she replied.

Her heart stammered, running the vows through her head, thinking of how they would sound coming out of her mouth.

“And will anyone be walking with you down the aisle?”

Natalie swallowed hard, and Brandon grabbed her hand instantly, knowing…

Natalie shook her head slowly, deterred her eyes and whispered, “No…no…it’s just me…”

“Very well then,” Pastor Joins said, clapping his hands together. “Shall we get started?”

Natalie and Brandon both nodded compliantly, and as the pastor gathered everyone together, attempting to get some sort of order, Brandon pulled her aside and whispered, “You’re doing fine, baby…”

“So are you,” she whispered back, kissing the bridge of his nose.

“Thank you…”

Natalie assembled her bridal party the way she wanted, placing Maya first in line, then Sidney, Asha next and Jo last. Then Brandon followed, placing Scotty first, then Mark, then Matthew, then John.

They then practiced the procession, with Chloe sitting in a chair near the altar, pretending to play her guitar, with Aunt Miri mumbling the lyrics, with Brandon standing at the altar, hands clasped behind his back, with Scotty walking Maya, practicing the slow pace as Natalie had instructed, “Left, together, right, together…Maya, stop foolin’ around or I’ll hit you!” their arms clasped together with Mark walking Sidney, Matthew walking Asha, and John walking Jo, together, walking slower than Natalie would have wanted.

“Ash, could you pick up the pace a little?” Natalie suggested.

“What? It’s not me, it’s him,” Asha snorted, shoving Matthew a little.

“Please, clearly it’s her,” Matt retorted. “Apparently she didn’t get the memo that you don’t wear heels in grass…”

“Natalie, I refuse to walk with him,” Asha said. “Please, let me walk with Scotty…”

“No way,” Scotty said. “I’m stickin’ with Maya…she doesn’t talk as much as you do…”

“Asha, try remembering whose day it’s suppose to be,” Maya reminded her. “Brandon and Natalie’s…that goes for Matthew too…”

Matt Greene snorted. Brandon Greene said, “Thank you, Maya…Ash, you’ll walk with Matt and you’ll like it…it’s only for a few minutes…I’m sure you can handle a few minutes…”

Asha nodded slowly. “Sorry, Brandon…”

“No problem,” Brandon said with a sigh. “Can we try this again? I’m starving…”

Brandon took his place again at the altar, by the pastor, and the bridal party walked down the aisle together again, John bringing up the rear, and once each person had taken their place at the altar, Natalie was cued, and pretended that she was holding her bouquet of flowers ahead of her, staring at Brandon, only Brandon, her heart pounding, the moment, more surreal than anything she’d ever felt before. And Brandon smiled warmly, took a visible deep breath and winked at her.

And she stopped before him, looking into his eyes, fighting the lump in her throat and the wetness that would soon flood her cheeks if she wasn’t careful. She would save the tears for tomorrow; which she was sure would be bountiful.

“I’ll go through the vows with you,” Pastor Joins explained. “Then I’ll go through the rings section, and shortly following, I’ll announce you man and wife…it’s a very simple process if you follow my instructions…and you’ll be married in less than thirty minutes. How does that sound?”

Brandon and Natalie looked at each other and smiled.

“Sounds great,” Brandon said.

They ate dinner at the Bee’s Knees on 10th street, sometime following a glowing red sunset, shared drinks and tapas over a long white-clothed table and warm candlelight, with a sprinkling of Brandon’s close relatives, sitting side by side with Natalie’s.

And then Scotty, who sat in between Asha and Maya, got a hold of his wine glass, raising it in the air, using his fork to clink against the surface.

He then cleared his throat lowly and said; “If I can get your attention for just one moment while you eat…”

The crowd at the table grew silent shortly following and all looked up at him, dressed comfortably and in a rather preppy manner, which pleased Natalie, who couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken off that silly blue trucker hat.

“Good,” Scotty said, once he realized that he’d become the center of attention. “I’ve known Brandon since we were freshmen in college, and we were roommates in Creswell on the seventh floor, and he’d hate the music that I listened to and I’d hate the way he talked. But somewhere in between our walks to the convenience store or playing foosball with the hot girls in the next wing till five in the morning when we knew that we had a test the next day…we grew close…to something like being brothers. And, with this brotherly title, came the special duty of telling him when he was being an ass and telling him which girl would be perfect for him and which one wouldn’t…and whichever girl he didn’t chose…I got to keep [the dinner guests chuckled softly]. And when Brandon came to me one day our senior year and told me that he’d fallen in love, I thought he’d lost his mind. He told me that he’d met this girl at his twenty-first birthday party, and he’d admitted that she had the softest voice and she had to have been the prettiest girl he’d seen in awhile [Natalie looked at Brandon]. When he said that she was his best friend, I knew he had to have been talking about Natalie. Because no other girl I’ve seen would put up with him the way that she does [the guests chuckled again]. And I told him to go for it…because she was the perfect girl…because I knew no one else would love him the way that she would…no one else could be better suited for him…so [Scotty raised his glass higher]…here’s to my brother and his best friend…thank you for the wonderful example you’ve set for the rest of us…cheers…”

A series of clinking glasses followed, and Brandon and Natalie both stood up and hugged Scotty.

“I never knew you had all that in you,” Natalie whispered to him.

Scotty smiled. “I clean up nicely, don’t I?”

Natalie nodded.

Once dessert had been served, Natalie stood up once more and thanked everyone for coming, making sure that she looked at the sprinkling of white faces occupying the table, showing an appreciative smile, as she held onto Brandon’s hand.

And once the rehearsal dinner was done, and the two families had dispersed, what was left was the bridal party, standing on the curb outside of the restaurant, that breezy starlit evening.

And Joanna Greene, who’d disappeared into the parking lot with Mark moments before, reappeared with her husband, and a pink paper bag with white handles. Natalie felt her stomach flip, recalling that the last time she’d seen that same bag was at her bridal shower, when all hell broke loose between her mother and Brandon’s over a pair of scary open-crotched g-strings.

Jo shoved the bag in her face, and said, “Reach inside for a surprise…”