drew near, Alessa became increasingly nervous. The prospect of marrying Remo did not heighten her tension. However, the thought of all the people who would be present at her wedding, watching her every step, unnerved her. The rehearsal dinner was in two days, and they were all excited. They would be going to the church first. Afterward, they would have dinner at the Moon and Stars Inn in Pottstown. Remo had gone there once a year throughout his childhood, and he was excited about Alessa and Lucy dining with him at a place that had always been so special for him.
The rehearsal dinner was everything Remo had hoped it would be. They drove back to Philadelphia at the end of the night, bellies full and contentment in the air. They were happy and in love.
The next morning, they packed the car with all their wedding apparel and drove out to Patrick and Hannah’s home. The florist and caterer were already scurrying about, getting things ready when they arrived. As promised by Hannah, the color purple was throughout the house and the backyard. They had rented a large tent, beautifully draped with fabric in purple, white, and silver. Hannah was in all her glory, not because Remo was marrying Alessa, but because she loved to throw parties, and this would be the ultimate party. As the guests arrived, Alessa, Lucy, Ebby, and the bridesmaids climbed the stairs to the guest bedroom to get dressed. Alessa focused on getting Lucy ready first. When she had finished, she looked at Ebby, who was in tears.
“I can’t believe you’re crying already,” Alessa exclaimed. “You’re a nut job.”
Ebby told Lucy how beautiful she looked, and the child felt very special as she primped before the full-length mirror. Ebby then turned to Alessa. She put her hands on her hips, and a loving smile played on her lips. “Well, you’re next. Let’s go, blushing bride.”
Alessa laughed. “Oh, please.” She said, “I’ll probably burn in hell for wearing white on my wedding day. I’m hardly a blushing bride.”
Ebby put an arm around her and led her farther into the room where the wedding dress was hanging. After Alessa had put on her dress and her makeup was done, Ebby turned to her.
“I have something for you,” she said. “Every bride needs something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.” She reached inside her purse and pulled out a strand of pearls. “These belonged to my mother. I wore them on my wedding day, as she had worn them on hers. So this is your ‘something old.’” Then she pulled out a small, wrapped box and handed it to Alessa, who opened it and gazed in wonder at the small pearl earrings that lay inside.
“These are my gift to you—your ‘something new,’” Ebby said.
As rehearsed, Lucy stepped up to Alessa and took the blue sapphire ring Remo had given her off her finger. “And this,” she said, holding out the ring, “is something borrowed and something blue.”
Alessa felt as though she were a normal person now, someone other than herself. She looked from Ebby to Lucy and realized, once again, how lucky she was to have these two people in her life. She hugged them both. “Thank you,” she said earnestly. “I love you both so much. I never want to lose this feeling. I wish I could feel this happy every day of my life.”
Realizing she was close to tears again, Ebby got a hold of herself, straightened her shoulders, and walked toward the bedroom door. “We better get going. They’ll be starting in five minutes,” she said briskly.
As instructed by his mother and her catty girlfriends, Remo was already outside, waiting in the tent. “It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding,” they had warned him.
When Alessa came down the stairs in her bridal dress, even Hannah was taken aback by how beautiful she looked. The dress is perfect, Hannah thought, examining it critically, something she would have picked herself.
Patrick smiled up at the girls, and as Alessa’s eyes met his, she silently mouthed, “Thank you.”
He gave her a slight nod of acknowledgment and appreciation, which spoke volumes about their new relationship. Then Patrick dragged his eyes to Lucy. “You look gorgeous, Lucy.”
For Alessa, it would be a moment frozen in time. Miraculously, she was no longer nervous. She was charged with excitement and hope.
Hannah’s voice cut into her reverie. “Let’s go. They’re ready for you, Alessa.”
Alessa reached the entrance to the tent, then stood aside, realizing there was no one to give her away. How pathetic, she thought. The old feelings of inadequacy threatened to come back and plague her.
Suddenly, Patrick was by her side. “I’d consider it an honor to walk you down the aisle,” he whispered in her ear.
Alessa was grateful to be rescued. Hannah visibly cringed.
When Remo saw his father approaching with Alessa on his arm, he was proud of them both. At that moment, he believed that they could all be one happy family. It moved him deeply to observe how beautiful his bride was and how affectionate his father was to her.
The reception was exceptional, and they all drank and danced. Alessa recognized that while Hannah could be a real bitch when she didn’t get her way, she knew how to throw a great party.
Although Alessa and Remo couldn’t afford a honeymoon, they took off the week following the wedding to hang out with each other. They had received fifteen thousand dollars as wedding gifts from the people who attended the wedding, and they put it aside so that eventually, they could buy another house for themselves to live in . . . someday.
One morning, midweek, when Remo and Alessa were sitting together on the front porch, drinking their coffee, they were surprised by the arrival of an unknown woman. Watching her approach, Alessa assumed, at first, that she was another of the many homeless people who often stopped by for something to eat or to use the bathroom. The woman seemed to be in her twenties and looked dazed.
As she drew closer, however, Alessa realized that it was Sara, the young girl who had taken her to live with the other homeless teens when she found her standing outside the train station three years ago. Alessa knew full well that if it hadn’t been for Sara, she would never have found Lucy. She sprang up from her chair and met the other girl midway. Alessa hadn’t seen Sara since she had left with the others to spend the winter in Florida. The girl looked weathered and worn. By the way she was dressed, Alessa could tell she had been prostituting. The dark circles around Sara’s eyes and her withdrawn look also told her she was using drugs. Alessa remembered that look only too clearly. It was the same one she had seen on Harlin’s face in the last months before she fled from him.
