She called the coordinator, Carol.
Grace and Lily handled dresses.
Grace said, “Borrow. Consignment. Bridal groups.”
Lily said, “I can alter.”
Nora handled the church.
She called the coordinator, Carol.
Paige handled secrecy.
Carol said, “Special requests are my love language.”
Hannah called the pianist, Ben.
Ben asked, “What’s the cue?”
“The stop,” I said. “Then the switch. When Dad looks up.”
Ben went quiet. Then: “I’m in.”
Emily and I adjusted the wedding around his strength.
Paige handled secrecy.
“No talking around Dad,” she warned. “Not even in the hallway.”
Sophie stayed close to Thomas. Kept him laughing. Kept him light.
Emily and I adjusted the wedding around his strength.
Shorter aisle. More chairs. A side room for breaks.
One morning he sat on the bathroom floor, shaking.
So when Emily kept changing plans, it wasn’t in a panic.
It was us trying to outsmart cancer with timing.
The week of the wedding, Thomas got weaker.
One morning, he sat on the bathroom floor, shaking.
He whispered, “Maybe I can’t do it.”
“I don’t want Emily to remember me like this.”
I grabbed his face.
“You will,” I said.
He blinked hard. “I don’t want Emily to remember me like this.”
“She’ll remember you showing up.”
He nodded once. “One step.”
“One step,” I repeated.
“Help me.”
Wedding morning.
Thomas looked like a shadow of himself in a suit.
I fixed his tie.
He whispered, “Help me.”
“Always,” I said.
“Is everything okay?”
He looked at me. “Promise I’ll walk her?”
I swallowed. “Promise.”
At the church, Emily waited in white.
Jake stood up front, nervous as a kid.
He leaned toward me. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded. “Just smile. Trust me.”
“You okay?”
Carol whispered, “We’re on your timing.”
Thomas sat in the side room, sipping water like it was medicine.
Emily knelt in front of him.
“Dad,” she whispered.
“Em,” he whispered back.
“You okay?”
“Ready,” he lied.
Emily took his arm.
He tried to stand. I steadied him.
He steadied himself.
“Ready?” he asked.
Emily nodded. “Ready.”
The doors opened.
Music started.
The music stopped.
Emily took his arm.
They stepped into the aisle.
Guests turned. Phones rose.
They walked. Step. Step.
Halfway down—
The music stopped.
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