Chapter 34

            “Okay, you know I love you girls, but I can’t take these secrets anymore!  Just tell me where we are going!”  Liz and Stacie kept their mouths shut, and Caryss huffed loudly before turning her head to look out the car window.  The sun was shining brightly and as it filtered through the car window, the large diamond on her ring finger caught the light.  She glanced down at her left hand and smiled. 

            Crazy how things happen, she thought to herself as she tilted her hand from side to side so the diamond sparkled in the sunshine.  Stacie looked over from the driver’s seat and noticed Caryss staring at her engagement ring. 

            “You never get tired of looking at thing do you?” she asked in a joking manner, causing Caryss to stir from her thoughts and look up at her. 

            “Would you?” she retorted as she looked down at her ring again.  “I’m starting to wonder when it’s going to be paired with a wedding band though.  It doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to happen.”

            Stacie looked at Liz in the rearview mirror, both women trying to mask their smiles and keep the surprise they have been withholding from Caryss for two months from busting out of them. 

            “Well, love, you’ve been busy with Nicky and getting back to work, and Nick’s been in the studio a lot with the guys,” noted Liz, trying to be as nonchalant as she could. 

            “Yeah, but Nicky’s already one!  I would like for his mommy and daddy to be married before he graduates from High School!” whined Caryss.  Liz and Stacie started laughing, relieved that the secret wouldn’t need to be kept from her for too much longer.  Stacie pulled the car off the main road and drove slowly down a gravel path. 

            Caryss looked out the windows of the car in all directions silently, in hopes of figuring out where they were, but as she looked out the back window and no longer saw the main road, she couldn’t keep quiet anymore. 

            “That’s it!  Tell me where we are and what we are doing here right now!”  Stacie slowed the car to a crawl as they approached an enormous mansion that looked like a castle.  There were no other cars and no signs of human life anywhere. 

            “All will be revealed in due time,” chided Liz as she hopped out of the car and opened Caryss’s door for her.  Caryss hesitantly got out of the car and walked behind Liz and Stacie up to the house. 

            If they are planning to kill me and hide the body, I think they picked an excellent place to do it, she thought jokingly, admiring the beauty of the castle-like structure as they walked up to the front door. 

            “This place is beautiful,” whispered Caryss as Liz stuck a key into the door and opened it.  Liz and Stacie exchanged glances again, both women grinning from ear to ear.  They knew this would be the perfect place for the day’s events the minute they heard about it, and they wanted nothing but perfection for their best friend.

            My questions don’t get answered anyway, so I’m just going to roll with it, Caryss told herself, wanting so badly to ask Liz why she had a key to this place and why her and Stacie kept looking at each other like that, but knowing it wouldn’t do her any good. 

            Caryss gasped as the three ladies walked through the foyer and into the main room.  “What is this?” she breathed as tears welled up in her eyes.  She looked to her right and saw a staircase almost identical to the one in Beauty and the Beast.  There was a flight of stairs leading down from each side of the second floor, and then they joined in the middle as one staircase leading down to the ground floor.  The railings were covered with flowers and ribbons, tulle and silk with white Christmas lights illuminating from underneath the fabric. 

            A white carpet had been rolled down the staircase, positioned directly in the middle of each step.  Caryss followed the carpet with her eyes, starting at the bottom of the stairs, continuing through an aisle that was created between the rows of chairs and ended at the other end of the room. 

            “Oh my God,” Caryss whispered as her sights fixated on what appeared to be a man-made altar, covered with the same decoration as the staircase.  The entire room was magnificently decorated using the color scheme of burgundy, navy, and lilac, everything matching and meshing together perfectly.

            “I can’t believe you guys did this,” Caryss said quietly, tears falling rapidly from her eyes.  “It’s so amazing.”

            “You’re getting married today, stop crying!” ordered Liz as she wrapped Caryss into a hug.  “We have so much to do, we better get started!”

            Liz and Stacie ran through the plans with Caryss, explaining how the day was going to go.  They did a quick rehearsal of Caryss’s walk down the aisle, how the ceremony would be conducted and what was planned for the reception. 

            “Any questions?” Stacie asked with a smile once she and Liz had finished talking. 

            “My vows!  I don’t have my vows!”

            “You mean these vows?” asked Liz coyly as she pulled Caryss’s journal out of her purse. 

            “How did you know?” asked Caryss as she grabbed the journal from Liz’s hands. 

            “Honey, we have covered all the bases with this thing, trust me!” responded Liz with a chuckle.  “Now it’s time to get you ready.  Your groom will be arriving shortly and we cannot have you seeing him before you walk down the aisle.” 

            Stacie grabbed Caryss by the hand and pulled her quickly up the stairs to the left hand side of the second floor.  “The Bride’s chambers,” she announced as they stopped at the second door on the right hand side of the hall.  The three girls walked into the room and Caryss shrieked as she entered.

            “Laney!  Mom!  What are you guys doing here?” 

            “Duh?  You’re getting married?  Why do you think we’re here!” responded Laney as she ran up to her sister and hugged her ferociously. 

            “I have been waiting for this day for 26 years and there was no way I was going to miss it,” said her mom, Julie, as she hugged her eldest daughter.  “We only have an hour to get you ready, so let’s get to it.” 

            There was a knock at the door and Stacie opened it, stepping aside for the hairdressers and make-up artists to enter the room.  Forty minutes later, all five ladies were ready, the only thing left to do was put their dresses on. 

            “Caryss, wait here.  I’ll be right back,” said Liz as she opened the door and walked out.  Caryss could hear the murmur of voices floating up the staircase and she knew the guests were arriving. 

            I don’t know how they did all this without me finding out, and I don’t know how I am going to thank them, she thought sincerely.  I could not have imagined my wedding being more beautiful, it’s absolutely perfect, the exact way I wanted to get married.  I can’t believe this is happening!

            The door opened and Liz re-appeared, her arms covered with dress bags, stirring Caryss from her reverie.  She handed Laney, Julie and Stacie their dresses, and then set hers aside as well.  She took the remaining garment bag left on her arm and hung it over the full length mirror in the corner of the room. 

            “I know that every woman wants to pick out her own wedding dress, but we would not have been able to keep this a surprise if we had asked for your input.  I really hope you like what we picked for you,” she told Caryss as she pulled the plastic covering away from the dress. 

            Caryss stared at the dress, taking it the yards of fabric, the detailing on the material, the style and design of the ensemble.  She did not say anything for close to a minute, trying to find the exact words to express her opinion. 

            “Well?” asked Laney, who had a big part in picking the dress.

            “I love it; it’s absolutely perfect.  It’s exactly what I would have picked myself.”  Caryss walked up to the dress and ran over hands over the fabric.  “It’s wonderful.”

            “Then let’s get it on you!” exclaimed Stacie as she tapped her watch.  There was another knock on the door and Stacie went to answer it. 

            “Ten minutes ladies,” the voice on the other side of the door called out before Stacie opened it. 

            “Thank you Larisa!” Stacie yelled through the door, knowing exactly who it was. 

            “Who’s Larisa?” Caryss asked as she began to disrobe. 

            “The wedding planner.  We could not have done this without her,” answered Liz.  “Will someone zip me up?”  Once Liz, Stacie, Laney, and Julie were zipped up and ready to go, they turned the focus to the bride. 

            Five minutes later they were fastening the veil on Caryss’s head and there was another knock on the door. 

            “Five minutes, we know, we know!” called out Stacie, assuming it was Larisa again. 

            “Actually, it’s me,” said a male voice as the door opened a crack. 

            “Daddy?” asked Caryss, turning around quickly to see if her guess was correct. 

            “Can I have a moment with my daughter?” he asked as he walked all the way into the room.  Liz took one final look at Caryss, making sure everything was in place, and the ladies exited the room, leaving Caryss and her father alone. 

            “Caryss, honey, I know we are about to start, but there’s something I wanted to tell you before I walk you down the aisle,” her father, Robert, began, taking her hands in his.  Caryss nodded her head, waiting for him to continue. 

            “Up until today, every time I would think of you, the day you were born came to mind.  I would picture you, a tiny newborn baby, and I would be holding you and rocking you and taking care of you.  My little girl.”  His voice started to crack a little and Caryss’s eyes filled with tears. 

            “You will always be my little girl, and I will always be here to protect and help you in any way I can, but from this point on, I want you to know, that when I think of you, it’s going to be this day and this moment that I will remember.  You have never looked more beautiful than you do right now, and you today will stick in my mind forever.  I love you kiddo.”  Caryss wrapped her arms around her father’s abdomen and hugged, the same way she’d been hugging him for the past 26 years. 

            “I love you too Daddy,” she whispered as the tears in her eyes fell.  There was a knock on the door and Stacie poked her head into the room.

            “I’m sorry guys, but it’s time to start,” she said quietly, not wanting to break up the tender moment.  Caryss and Robert nodded and Larisa came into the room and escorted Robert back to his side of the staircase. 

            A minute later, “Lasia Ch'io Pianga” by G.F. Handel floated up the staircase, and Julie was the first member of the wedding party to descend the magnificent staircase.  As she went down the left side, her escort, Kevin, was descending on the ride side, and she slid her arm through his as they met in the middle and continued down the main staircase together. 

            Next were the bridesmaids and groomsmen.  Stacie went first, with Brain meeting her in the middle, then went Liz, with Howie meeting her.  Once they were walking down the aisle to the altar, it was Laney and AJ’s turn, the maid of honor and the best man. 

            “Okay Caryss, it’s all you,” coaxed Larisa with a smile.  Caryss perched herself at the top of the staircase and looked straight across at her father standing on the other side.  She could see him smiling broadly at her, encouraging her.  As if being guided by a higher power, her legs started moving.  Step by step she walked down the staircase, never faltering or hesitating. 

            As she slid her arm into her father’s on the landing before the final descent, she looked out into the sea of people, all watching her, and she took a deep breath before her eyes landed on the man she loved more than life itself.  He was smiling at her and she knew by the look on his face how beautiful he thought she was. 

            She descended the last staircase arm in arm with her father, making her way up the aisle towards the man that would shortly be her husband.  She thought back to the day when Nick proposed to her and the words he had said, or rather sang to her: