A Family for Christmas by Noelle Adams

wouldn’t be
disappointed.
    Lydia
had two older brothers who had already gotten married—although Thomas was now separated
from his wife. He approached her now, holding Mia’s hand.
    He
gave her a smile. “You don’t look too bad.”
    Thomas
had always been super-smart and super-ambitious. After years of medical school
and residencies, they’d all expected him to take some hot-shot position as a
surgeon at a major hospital. Instead, he’d moved back to the area last year so
he could be closer to Mia, and he worked at the local hospital.
    He
was six years older than her, and they were closer now than they’d been growing
up.
    “You
don’t look too bad either,” she told him. “And, Mia, you look beautiful.”
    “Thank
you.” Mia pushed her little glasses up her nose and held her long dress out for
all to admire.
    “You
sure about this?” Thomas asked softly.
    Lydia
wasn’t sure if he suspected something was atypical with her marriage or not,
but she told him the truth either way. “Yes. I’m sure.”
    She
was sure, but was also starting to feel a little shaky as Martha fussed with
her dress and she heard the music changing the sanctuary.
    It
was so strange—because she was never shaky like that.
    The
feeling had come out of nowhere, but Lydia was suddenly chilly with something
akin to nerves.
    “Are
you excited, Ellie?” she asked, trying to distract herself when she realized
her hands were actually trembling as she held her bouquet.
    Ellie
looked adorable in her white dress and red satin sash, tied in a decorative
knot at the back. But she wasn’t smiling as she waited silently for her time to
process. “I know how to hold my flowers,” she said.
    That
wasn’t what she’d asked her, but Lydia didn’t object. Her ears were starting to
roar as she heard the wedding anthem begin. “You’ll hold them perfectly, I’m
sure,” she managed to say, before Martha shushed her and hurried Ellie and Mia over
to the aisle.
    Lydia
was shaking for real as she watched the girls begin to walk. And she was still
shaking as she started down the aisle herself, stared at by the smiling faces
of her family and Gabe’s family—with Gabe himself waiting for her at the end of
the aisle, dressed in an expensive black suit, his expression thoughtful and
sober.
    She
didn’t stop trembling through the readings and hymn and homily and vows. Her
voice was a little wobbly as she said, “I do.”
    Her
hand shook as she exchanged rings with Gabe, and she was still shaky as they
were pronounced husband and wife.
    She
was trembling so helplessly as she and Gabe walked up the aisle together
afterwards that she knew he had to see it.
    They
ended up back in the dressing room—with Martha, Ellie, and Mia. Gabe reached
out for her and pulled her close in what looked like a hug, but he asked in a
low murmur, “Are you okay?”
    “Yes,”
she said, trying to smile at him.
    “You
look like you’re about to lose it.”
    “I
know.” His arm was tight around her, and she felt like she needed his strength,
so she pressed herself against him. She said in a voice as soft as his had
been, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I wasn’t even nervous. This isn’t
like me at all.”
    Gabe
pulled away slightly so he could look down at her face. His blue eyes were
suddenly questioning. “You’re not regretting it already, are you?”
    “No!”
The response was a little sharper than she’d intended, so she softened it. “I’m
not regretting anything. I’m really fine.”
    The
question had disappeared from his face, and his arms tightened around her
again. “You’re still shaking.”
    “I
know.” She buried her face against his jacket, clinging to him in an attempt to
pull herself together.
    She
was never like this. She was never weak and shaky. She was never overly
emotional.
    Everyone
always said she was the most practical, competent person they’d ever met, and
marriage certainly wouldn’t have changed her.
    She
knew