This is last chapter. It's a long story so if you made it all the way through thank you and I hope you enjoyed it. The entire thing couldn't have been done without the help of my friend and editor. His contributions go beyond correcting my errors. He was a great sounding board to allow me to refine some of my ideas. Terry, thank you so much.
Bridget looked at herself in the mirror. She turned her head one way and then the other and then sighed a little bit. Her cousin looked over at her and smiled to herself. Joni could sympathize with Bridget. She was just as nervous six months ago.
"You look lovely, Bridget!" Joni told her. "You are a lovely bride."
"I shouldn't have let her take off quite as much length. It doesn't look like I thought it would," Bridget said in an exasperated tone.
"It doesn't matter, hun! You are lovely! And Sian is going to be just as nervous as you are. I hate to say it but she isn't going to notice your hair, let alone remember it. Believe me. Try asking Trevor what I looked like on our wedding day." She laughed. "Try asking me what he looked like. I would have to pull out the wedding pictures and it was only half a year ago. But I couldn't have told you the day after. You remember what I was like."
Thinking back, Bridget had to laugh. She remembered helping to talk Joni down an hour before the ceremony as a case of wedding jitters hit hard. "Okay, okay. But I'm not as bad as you. I don't see you having to lean against the door as I try to get to my car!" she told her cousin.
"You didn't do that," Joni said, putting her hands on her hips.
"No, your maid of honor did. And you are my maid of honor," Bridget said. She had a smug look on her face.
Joni smiled at her. "By the way, I want to say thank you for asking me to be your maid of honor. I am really glad that you did."
Bridget returned the smile. Joni had always been one of her favorite cousins growing up. That might have been enough for her to ask Joni to be her maid of honor. But what really did it was how Joni had not just asked Bridget to be part of her wedding but made sure that Sian was included in the celebrations too. When Joni told her that she was getting married, Bridget was excited for her. But after a second, she realized that it was the first family event since she had come out where bringing your significant other was expected.
She had tried to introduce Sian to both her parents but her mother had refused. It bothered Bridget that her mother had started a big fight with her father. She hated bringing trouble into his life. In the end, it didn't matter. Once again, he stood up to his wife. He joined Riley to have dinner with Sian and Bridget. It started off a little awkward but by the end of it, he was a fan of Sian.
"She loves you a lot, Bridget. I can't imagine anyone working harder to make you happy. Nothing against Don, but he isn't close to her class. You are lucky, Sweetie," her father told her.
Joni's wedding made Bridget a little nervous. It wasn't that she was ashamed of who she is or of Sian. Bridget couldn't go without Sian, but she also didn't want to cause any problems on Joni's special day. When Bridget tried to tell Joni that, it was one of those moments that when she was truly surprised.
"I am not going to accept you and Sian not coming to my wedding, Bridget. I want you there. And I don't care that you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Sian is who is important to you, so that makes her important to me too. If your mom doesn't want to come, well I don't care about that as long as you and Sian are there." Joni had told Bridget.
It ended up being a wonderful experience for Bridget. Sian hadn't just been included; she had been welcomed by most of Bridget's family. In the end, it was really only Bridget's mother who had a problem with it. A few great aunts and uncles weren't quite sure about it but even they were polite. Bridget's mother had made a big deal about refusing to talk to Bridget, let alone acknowledge Sian. In the end, Bridget's father took her mother aside and told her in no uncertain terms to be quiet and think about Joni. It worked and there were no further incidents the rest of the wedding.
Bridget and Sian spent most of the wedding with Riley and his girlfriend. Bridget knew her from when she lived with Riley. She was the only one that Bridget had put two checks next to her name on her ratings list for her brother. Riley had tried to keep that secret but he let it slip and found his sister becoming one of his girlfriend's favorite people. They frequently got together for dinner with Sian and Bridget.
The best moment for Bridget was when she was dancing with her father. It was a slower song and they talked as they danced. Her dad looked at her with a big smile and told her how proud he was that she was his daughter. She gave him a hug but when she went back to dance, he shook his head. He nodded and she noticed they were standing in front of Sian.
"Why don't you dance with the woman you love, Bridget?" he told her. She gave him another hug and a kiss before going into Sian's arms. For most of the dance, Bridget just kept her attention on Sian. She didn't want to look around and see any disapproving looks. At the very end of the song, she finally looked up. For the most part, no one was paying attention to them. But the few people who were all seemed to have smiles on her face. After that she had danced every time that Sian asked her. All in all, it had been a special time.