I ignore him and pick them up as Max’s phone starts to ring.
“Hey,” he says. He eyes me closely, like I might pounce on him. “Yeah, he’s here.”
I place the cuff links back down again and listen.
“No, you can’t talk to him. Why’d Kari even let you call?” He listens a second and starts laughing. “You’re not as different from Cane as I thought.”
“Let me talk to her,” I say, reaching for the phone.
He turns his back and ignores me. “Tradition says you weren’t even supposed to see each other at all today—”
I grab the phone out of his hand. “Fuck tradition.”
Max sighs as I walk across the room, his phone to my ear. “Hey, baby.”
“Cane . . .”
“Having a good day?” My voice is wavier than I’d like it to be. But this is the question of the day. No, this is the question of my life.
“I’ve never had a better one,” she whispers.
I can’t help the shit-eating grin that spreads across my face. A weight lifts from my shoulders. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“So you’re okay with me just kinda doing everything?”
“That’s an oversimplification!” she laughs. “But yes. I’m so okay with this. I’m a little sad my daddy won’t be here, but I think he’ll understand.”
“He will. I’m sure of it. You’re marrying me. I’m sure he’ll love it.”
“I’m sure,” she giggles. “Either way . . . I love you, Cane. I love you so much.”
“Not as much as I love you, beautiful girl. Now get ready because in about,” I glance at my watch, “an hour and a half, you’ll finally be Jada Alexander.”
“I love hearing you say that,” she breathes.
“I love saying it. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, Jada. One more thing?”
“Yeah?”
“Tell Kari we’ll discuss her lack of texting me later. She’s fucking killed me today.”
Jada laughs and I lose the touch of annoyance I had. None of it matters, really. All that matters is that she officially becomes my wife sooner rather than later.
JADA
I stand in front of the full-length mirror in the lingerie Kari purchased for me. The attention to detail that went into this astounds me.
We had a wine-fueled conversation about what to wear beneath a wedding dress a few weeks ago and I didn’t realize it was more than a random discussion. She found exactly what I said I thought I’d wear. It’s feminine and delicate, a pure white with the lightest of blue embroidery, just like Cane’s eyes.
“You ready to put on your dress?” Kari asks? walking up behind me. “It’s about time to get downstairs.”
I look at her in the reflection. A lump forms at the base of my throat and I try to swallow it back. I am ready, but I need to ask her something first.
“Do you think Mom would’ve liked Cane?”
Kari smiles softly. “I know she would’ve.”
“How do you know?”
It’s a question that has been weighing on my mind. I knew when I married Decker that my mother wouldn’t have liked him. Kari and Dad both didn’t. I shouldn’t have either.
Although Cane seemed initially to be so much like Decker, he really isn’t. Not in my eyes. I know Dad gave him his blessing and I know Kari likes him, but I wonder what my mom would’ve thought. I know I’ll never really know, but it’s important to me to think I’d have her blessing this time. Because in my heart and soul, I know this is the last time I’ll ever do this. Cane is it for me forever.
“I know Mom would’ve loved him because he loves you.”
I smile back at her and feel the sting of tears again. I laugh, hoping they’ll retreat, but they don’t. “Am I gonna be trying not to cry all day?”
“Yeah,” she laughs, choking back her own. “Probably.”
“I should call Dad. Not that it will help this tear situation, but I hate that he’s not here.”
Kari picks up her phone and hands it to me. “Call him. Cane talked to him about this before we left, so he knows it’s happening.”
“Were his feelings hurt?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. Dad just wants us happy, Jada.”
I dial his number and wait for him to answer, but he doesn’t. It goes to voicemail. I feel like such a baby, such a little girl, but I can’t help it. I just wanted to talk to my dad.
“Daddy? It’s Jada.” My voice cracks and I watch Kari, trying to gain some sort of strength from her. This is so much harder than I thought it would be. I sniffle back tears and realize that I only have a few seconds before the recording ends. “I love you.”
CANE
“It’s a suit, Cane,” Max laughs behind me. “You’ve worn these before.”