“First of all,” he tells us over lunch by the hotel pool, “we are married. We got married on the porch. But this also means that we can have a wedding and no one’s going to bug us. They think it already happened.”
“Sneaky,” says Arthur.
“Can we talk about the wedding? I have ideas,” says Bernadette.
We’re poolside but in a cabana that protects us both from the sun and curious passersby. It’s available for us all day with sunscreen, snacks, and a bowl of orchids. Two uniformed men stand right outside to satisfy any thirst or whim that might come up. I’m in a bathing suit and my favorite white cover-up, but a box arrived this morning with several new, better cover-ups that were chosen by Weezie’s stylist. They are beaded and fringed and sort of uncomfortable. I hope they are not a metaphor for this life I am entering.
I wonder if Ben knows about Leo and me. I wonder if he’s at a location on the globe where people read the Post. How is it possible that I’ve ended up with the bigger life when I was always the one selling him the smaller things? I have a man who calls himself my butler waiting twenty inches away to refresh my iced tea, and I have to say that’s pretty nice. But I don’t want to end up at arm’s distance from my life. I want to pick out my own bananas, watch the sunrise from my own porch.
“What do you think, Mom?” I’ve missed their whole wedding discussion.
“I think I want to marry Leo,” I say.
Leo smiles at me. “Well, that’s a relief. We’re debating location.”
Bernadette makes her case. “Let’s rent out a castle in France. Like that big one where the Louis used to live. And everyone can stay there, and the wedding will be in the back garden. We’ll make your hair high on your head like a queen.”
My face shows my trepidation. “Was there another option?”
Leo says, “I say let’s get married on the lawn in front of the tea house, with the door wide open so we can look out into the forest. Just family and our closest friends.” He sees that Bernadette is rolling her eyes. “And Bernie gets full control over decorations. No budget.”
Arthur says, “Can I pick the band?”
“Done.”
My butler is removing my plate and is replacing it with a plate of the most exquisite fresh fruit I have ever seen. I can have this and a backyard wedding, I think. I wonder at the possibility of having it all.
CHAPTER 26
In July, we get married. Leo and Bernadette have hired a crew to create a canopy of white lights over the entire back lawn. Leo and Arthur are in white linen suits. Bernadette and I wear simple white sundresses, chosen by Weezie. It’s hot, and at the last minute we all decide not to wear shoes.
There’s no need to add color—the forest behind the tea house is a curtain of all shades of green. Above it is a clear summer sky. On either side of the tea house’s open door is the annual explosion of blue hydrangea. They welcome me down the aisle, perfectly framing Leo in my line of sight. Leo’s here in July. And he’s staying for all of the Julys after this. Something blue, indeed.
After the ceremony, we move to the front yard, which has been transformed by candlelit tables, a band, and a dance floor. The caterers have taken over my kitchen and my porch, but the whole place still feels like home. The trees that surround the property give a feeling of privacy that I never really felt like I needed before. Laurel Ridge might be the perfect place for a celebrity to get married.
Luke gets up to make a toast about how I turned his brother into a real person. Leo rolls his eyes and gives me a squeeze. “Mom was so proud of you. She tried not to brag about you, but she couldn’t help herself,” he goes on. “And this family you’ve wiggled your way into, this is what she would have bragged about the most.” Leo takes my hand and kisses it.
There’s something extraordinarily celebratory about this wedding. It’s not just because the people there love us and want us to be happy. It might be because they lived through the time that we were apart and miserable. It might be because they all either lived through or saw the movie version of my marriage to Ben. Luke and Jenn, Kate and Mickey. Even Mr. Mapleton seems profoundly relieved that Leo turned out to be a good guy. Penny and Rick make Leo promise that we’ll come to their annual white party in East Hampton. Mr. and Mrs. Sasaki spend the whole night on the dance floor.
Weezie is giddy. “I met Nora right here last year,” she tells my parents. “She was worried we’d wreck her lawn, and she was right. And all the while there’s this thing brewing between her and Leo.”