She nodded, hugging him.
I reached over and pinched her cheek. “Mommy!”
“You aren’t smiling. I have to make sure your face still works.” She sighed, then gave me a smile.
Nodding, I turned back toward the camera for him to take our photos. He took a few before looking over his shoulder.
“Do you want to the bride's family or the groom's family first.”
“Let’s get everyone, together first, I have no idea how much longer she’s going to be still for,” I looked over his shoulder to my mother, my sisters, and my step-father. “Mom, Dad, Avena, Bellarosa, come stand beside me.”
None of them spoke, but they listened as they walked over. I did notice my mother had gotten rid of those horrid bangs of hers.
“I thought she wasn’t our friend, Mommy,” Gigi whispered, almost completely stretching across Ethan’s chest.
“She’s family. Say hi,” I whispered back. And I looked back at my own mother. “Your granddaughter is saying hello.”
Our eyes met, and I knew I wouldn’t see anything in them but fear. Just like I knew she didn’t come here to support me but to make sure I didn’t hurt her or her beloved daughters again. She leaned over and waved slightly to Gigi. But Gigi turned her head.
“Kids.” I shrugged.
“She’s just like you sometimes,” my grandfather replied.
When he stopped, everyone else in the family moved down, allowing him to stand at my side instead.
“Thank you. I take that as a compliment,” I replied before looking over to see Ethan’s family grumbling and fighting over where to stand, laughing and playfully pushing.
Ethan sighed, shaking his head as he watched. “Do you think you’ll be able to tame this lot someday?”
“Never,” I answered, and he shifted his attention to me with his eyebrow raised. But I didn’t answer…the difference was clear.
My family wasn’t a family. It was a group of scared strangers chained together with no way of ever breaking free. The only reason I demanded they be here was because of how it would look if they weren’t here.
“Okay, on three…one…two…”
“One big happy family,” my grandfather whispered.
“Three!”
I smiled wide for the camera. And I kept that smile on my face for so long that it should have hurt, but it didn’t. With each snap and flash of that camera, I felt myself growing colder and colder. The voices around me slowly became nothing more than background noise. In the foreground were the sounds of my own heart pounding and the air leaving my nose with each breath. I knew what this feeling was, and if it was happening now, it meant it was time.
“Calliope?”
I glanced up to find Ethan, and I stared into his green eyes. The world felt like it had frozen. Or was it just me?
Don’t say my name again. Let me stay like this. I wanted to, but as I watched his mouth open to speak, I exhaled and let go of his arm.
“Calli—”
“If you thought this dress made me beautiful, wait until I get back in my second one.” I smiled, stepping away, and pinched Gigi’s cheek. “Watch over Papa while I change, okay?”
“Yes, Mommy!” She grinned and hugged him as if she were going to hold him still. Nodding, I lifted my dress and walked back toward the doors.
“Maid of honor, are you coming?” I looked at Helen.
Wyatt made a face, but thankfully, Helen followed me without argument, lifting the back of my dress to help me through the doors; there Dino, held the door open for me. My eyes shifted to his, and he nodded.
“Truthfully, I was a little skeptical about this to begin with, but it’s really been a beautiful night,” she said as we walked up the stairs.