Chapter 3 - The Perfect Wedding
Emily had planned the Charleston wedding for fourteen months.
She chose white roses because they photographed cleanly against the church’s dark wood. She selected the bridesmaids by height and asked one cousin to change her hair color so the group would look balanced.
Hannah was not asked to be a bridesmaid.
Emily blamed accessibility.
“The aisle is narrow.”
Hannah accepted that.
Then Emily asked her to wear long sleeves.
“The church gets cold.”
Hannah understood the real reason.
She accepted that too.
Their mother, Linda, helped choose Hannah’s dress. Their father, Mark, arranged transportation and repeatedly reminded her not to arrive late because the photographer had a strict schedule.
Nobody discussed where Hannah would sit until she reached the church.
An usher directed her toward the second row.
Emily saw her from the altar and immediately approached.
“You were supposed to be farther back.”
“Nobody told me that.”
Emily looked toward the photographer.
“Please don’t make this difficult.”
Hannah felt the familiar pressure to protect everyone else from discomfort.
She had done it since the fire.
She kept her scars covered.
Declined family photographs.
Left restaurants when strangers stared.
Pretended she did not notice when her parents introduced Emily as their “miracle daughter” without explaining whose body had made that miracle possible.
But sitting in the church, Hannah finally understood something.
May you like
Emily was not ashamed of the fire.
She was ashamed that Hannah had survived it visibly.
