Year 28 - J.L. Mac Page 0,21

all the ribbons from the gifts Ellie opened at her bridal shower, the same one I didn’t attend. “Ready?” I chirp confidently as soon as my heels click against the landing at the bottom of the stairs. Ellie whips around in her white cocktail dress and gasps at the sight of me. She launches herself into my arms. “Whoa,” I laugh but it quickly dies when I feel her shaking against me. I draw back to survey her face. She’s crying.

Great.

I arch a brow in question and she laughs through her tears. “Sorry. Sorry,” she sniffles laughing and waving her hands at her face simultaneously. “I’m just overwhelmed. You look so pretty and you’re actually here at home and everything is just so perfect and I miss Teddy and I’m gettin’ married and… gah!” She fans her hands in front of her face and I join her fanning her face before her tears ruin her carefully applied makeup. “I was kinda doubting you’d come, you know?”

Ouch.

I force the lump in my throat back down to its dungeon, pat it on its head and promise to visit later. “Well, I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world. I’m here now and you’re stuck with me which is great because lucky for you I manage people and events and total chaos for a living so,” I snap my fingers in front of her face three crisp times. “Let’s pull it together and rule this entire weekend! This is your show and you are going to own it. Got it?” Ellie sniffles and nods while she pulls her shoulders back and looks at me with that same determined look she wore as a kid when she was faced with a challenge. “You’re a goddess and this is your weekend. Do not ruin it with wasted tears. Tons of pictures are going to be snapped this weekend and if you’re crying all the time, your makeup will be ruined and your grandkids will be left with lackluster photos of granny on her wedding day. Got it?”

“You’re right,” she giggles and sniffles a little more. “Sneak a shot with me?” She arches her brows and though my guts shrink back in revulsion, my brain reminds me that hair of the dog might just be what the doctor ordered. My college days aren’t that far in the past. I’ll have to make mimosas in the morning for us to enjoy while we get ready for the ceremony. Meeting Sylas with booze simmering through my veins is far better than meeting him sober. Or at least it sounds like a solid plan. I grin and like a couple of teenaged girls we sneak over to our parent’s liquor cabinet and each take a generous gulp straight from the bottle.

“Let’s do this,” she whispers then blurts out a nervous giggle. I tuck the booze away and tap the button on my keys, unlocking the clown car for the belle of the ball.

The Palmetto Grove Country Club is hardly The Plaza, but it’s certainly beautiful and it’s a big deal around here, if nowhere else. The grounds are sprawling and well kept with a perimeter dotted with showy, massive magnolias and oak trees dripping with moss. The clubhouse is classic with its polished wood floors and wood-paneled walls. The ballroom is fairly large and boasts several original crystal chandeliers that capture rays of light slicing into the space through multiple slender floor to ceiling windows lined along two of the walls. The heavy crystals hanging in tiers scatter glittering light across the floor making the room fill with shimmering, nearly magical light. It’s the nicest wedding venue for fifty miles around. In short, while it’s not Manhattan ritzy it’s Palmetto ritzy, and I was happy to book it on Ellie’s behalf. Actually Bethany booked it but that’s neither here nor there. Point is, my sister is getting married here today, and I am pleased with it despite the fact that this soiree is not taking place on a lovely beach in the Bahamas far away from Louisiana and Sylas Broussard

The small room outfitted specifically for brides to do last minute primping is crowded with me, mom, Ellie, our cousin Raven, our other cousin Tanya and best friend growing up, Liza. The nervous energy in this space is nearly enough to make my mask slip. I peek out the door to see if we are almost set to practice the walking bit. “Reverend James is still talking to dad