“Let me arrange this properly.”
I heard fabric moving.
Then she stood.
“There.”
I glanced over my shoulder.
“Everything okay?”
Her smile widened.
“Perfect.”
I didn’t understand what she had done until I was halfway down the aisle.
The music began.
The doors opened.
At first, I saw only Brandon.
He stood at the front, already fighting tears.
Then I noticed the guests.
Some of them weren’t looking at me.
They were looking behind me.
Whispers moved through the rows.
A few people pointed.
I assumed something had become caught in my train.
Then Brandon’s smile slowly disappeared.
Lisa stood near the front in her pale-blue flower-girl dress.
She leaned sideways, trying to see behind me.
Then her forehead wrinkled.
“Mom?”
I stopped.
“What?”
She pointed.
“Why does that suitcase have my name on it?”
My stomach tightened.
“What suitcase?”
