Southern Storm (Southern 3)

I inhale and then slowly exhale. “I think I’m going to vomit.” I look at them, and they both laugh.

“If you throw up on that dress, it will be a bad omen,” Olivia tries to joke, but her face is anything but joking. “This dress is not even for sale yet. It’s next season.”

“What?” I look down at the beautiful dress. “How much is this?”

“You don’t want to know,” Kallie says. “You also don’t want to vomit on it.”

“Now I think I’m going to be sick for other reasons,” I mumble, but then there is a knock on the door. It opens, and Ethan comes in wearing a little linen suit.

“Oh my God,” Kallie says, walking to him. “Aren’t you just the handsomest thing ever?” She hugs him, and my heart is about to explode. She loves him like he is hers, and as a mother, that is all you can hope for when you co-parent.

“I look like Beau,” he says with a huge smile on his face. “He’s also nervous, and he just almost threw up.”

My neck gets suddenly hot, and I have to sit down. “Oh my God, he is so sick about marrying me that he is getting sick about it.” I look at the girls who just look at me.

“No,” Ethan says. “He thinks you’re going to run. Dad had to calm him down. Then he started to sweat, and Uncle Casey had to get him a towel.”

I’m about to ask him so many more questions when there is another knock on the door. This time, it’s Jacob, who sticks his head in. “Hey,” he says, looking at us, and then smiling when he sees Kallie. “Not to rush you or anything, but if you don’t get down there, Beau is going to come into this room, and he says this is where you will get married.”

“Over my dead body,” Kallie says. “We busted our ass for this.” She points at Olivia. “You go out there.” She looks at Jacob. “You go tell him that she’s coming and to calm his tits.” She looks at Ethan. “You go get your mother’s flowers. And you.” She points at me. “You need to get up and go get your man.”

Jacob comes into the room now and goes to her. “I love when you’re bossy,” he says, and Ethan laughs.

“That isn’t what you said in the car when she called you with a list of things to do.” He shakes his head while Kallie rolls her lips, and Ethan laughs.

“After this, we need to have a talk,” he says to his son. “About the things we say in front of girls and the things we hide. Now before Uncle Beau has a heart attack, let’s get down there.”

I get up now, my knees a little bit wobbly, but I stand straight. “Let’s get out there,” I say to them. Olivia walks out first and then Kallie follows, leaving Jacob, Ethan, and me.

“You look beautiful,” Jacob says. “I’m happy for you.”

“Yeah,” I say, but swallow if only this was for real. Ethan walks out of the room now. “I just feel like I’m tricking him.”

He shakes his head. “Beau wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t want to.” Ethan comes back with my bouquet of wildflowers. “See you out there.” He walks out, and Ethan looks at me.

“You look pretty, Mom.” He smiles, and I nod. Walking out of the door, I see rose petals on the floor. I walk to the back door, trying to get my hands to stop shaking.

We get to the back door, and I see the backyard totally transformed. Tea lights are hung everywhere, bowls of water with flowers and candles in them line the path to the altar, I try to take it all in, but my eyes fall on Beau and nothing matters anymore. He stands under the big willow tree, looking around and wiping his forehead, and when he spots me, his eyes light up and a smile fills his face. He is dressed in a beige linen suit exactly like Ethan. Wildflowers are secured to his jacket lapel, and his black hair is perfectly combed over. I lift my dress, stepping out on to the patio, and I can hear the music now. The sound of music drifts from somewhere, but I only have eyes for Beau. As I walk down the steps with Ethan, Beau and I lock eyes on each other, and when I finally make my way to him. He hugs Ethan and then comes over and hugs me.

“You look beautiful,” he says, making my heart speed up and my stomach flutter.

Beau grabs my hand and brings it to his lips, and we step under the canopy of flowers that I just realized is there. “Dearly beloved,” the preacher begins, and I look over at him by the side and see that he is nervous as he breathes in and out. I squeeze his hand, hoping that he can feel how nervous I am also.