A Husband for Margaret by Ruth Ann Nordin Read Free Book Online

had been a long and tiring day. Who knew planning a
wedding could be so hectic?
    She set the bouquet on the table and
studied all the flowers in the three bouquets that were neatly set
out in a row. The light from the candle gave her the impression of
softness. Perhaps she should have opted for an evening wedding
ceremony. She did like the effect candlelight had on things. But
she didn’t want to have the boys stay up past their bedtime, so she
chose eleven in the morning. By then, everyone should be fed and
ready to enjoy the day.
    Peering out the window, she
wondered if it was going to rain. The night sky was clear. Not a
cloud in sight. With any luck, tomorrow would be a nice sunny day.
She asked for an outside wedding. If it rained, they’d have to go
inside the church. She admonished herself for assuming that just
because it was her wedding day that it would rain. Everything will be fine. Nothing’s going to go
wrong. Her mother was right. She had to
stop finding reasons to worry.
    She thought over the other tasks she
had to do but couldn’t think of anything she could do that night.
Everything else, like her hair and putting on her dress, would have
to wait until morning.
    With nothing else to do but wait, she
went to bed. She closed her eyes but didn’t sleep. Instead, she
played through the wedding ceremony over and over. This would be
the day she’d remember for the rest of her life. And it was going
to be perfect.
    ***
    By the time ten o’clock came the next
morning, Margaret was a bundle of nerves.
    Jessica laughed and forced her to sit
in the small room in the back of the church. “I can’t do your hair
if you keep bouncing around.”
    She fidgeted and leaned forward so she
could look out the small window. “It’s a lovely day, don’t you
think?”
    Jessica pulled her back so she sat up
straight. “Yes. It’s not even windy. You picked the perfect spring
day to have a wedding, and I bet it didn’t even have anything to do
with me.”
    She chuckled and glanced over her
shoulder while Jessica pulled her hair back with some pins lying on
the round table beside them. “But having you here doesn’t
hurt.”
    Though Jessica rolled her eyes, she
didn’t hide her amusement. “Yes. I made sure the clouds went away.
It took a lot of work to do so I better get the slice of cake with
the biggest rose on it. You know how much I love roses.”
    “ Sure, as long as they’re
pink and red.”
    Margaret giggled but
resisted the urge to get up and check the length of her dress. As
much as she checked the job she’d done on altering her mother’s
wedding gown, she still wondered if she did a good job. She took a
deep breath. Relax. It’s fine.
Everything’s fine.
    Jessica stuck another pin into her
hair. “I saw Peter James’ mother the other day, and she was wearing
red and pink roses in her hat.”
    “ You’re kidding?”
    “ Nope.” She took two daisies
from the table and wove them into Margaret’s hair. “I couldn’t
believe it either, but she said the colors looked much better on
her than on wedding decorations.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Of course.
Everything looks better on Connie James. It really is a good thing
you married Tom instead. I met Tom’s mother, and she’s actually
pretty nice.”
    “ Yes, she is. She lets Tom
make his own decisions.”
    A smile tugged at Margaret’s lips as
she glanced at her friend. “Don’t you mean that she lets you make
decisions for Tom?”
    Jessica gasped. “I have no idea what
you mean!”
    “ Oh come on. I saw that
pretty buggy you had him buy. No man would pick that.”
    She playfully nudged Margaret in the
shoulder before she turned her face forward so she could put
another pin into her hair. “That buggy is the one that got us here
today, so you better watch your tongue.”
    “ Well, I don’t think four
little boys will be caught dead in something that feminine. You
better hope you have some girls.”
    “ Don’t think we aren’t
working