Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Willow POV

Prissy and I are both exhausted. We have worked all day trying to get ready for my secret wedding. I have not seen Lazarus since this morning. I know he was going to slip out to buy a new suit. I asked him to wear a purple tie. I could not believe with all of the ties this man has; he does not own not one purple tie.

“Willow, the priest, will be here in a couple of hours; we should start getting you ready,” Prissy says.

“I know. I want to put out a few more flowers, then I will start getting ready,” I say.

Prissy stops me. “I think we have enough. I ordered a small cake from the bakery. It will be here in an hour. I ordered a meal to be delivered for us,” Prissy says.

“What will Lazarus want to eat?” I ask.

“Probably something B positive,” Prissy says with a laugh.

“I am B positive,” I say.

“Exactly,” Prissy says.

“OH!” I exclaim.

“Come on. We need to do your hair and makeup,” Prissy says.

“Do I have to wear a lot of makeup?” I ask Prissy.

“No, we will only apply a little. I can curl your hair for you or braid it. We could do both. I have my veil if you want to wear it,” Prissy says.

“That would be wonderful,” I say.

I begin to go up the stairs to shower. I hear the door open. It is my soon-to-be husband. I hear Prissy fussing at him. He runs past her straight to me.

“She says I should not see you until we are married, but I needed to see you for a moment. I have not seen you since this morning,” Lazarus says.

He pulls me into his arms. “I love you, Willow. I needed to tell you how much I love you,” Lazarus says.

“I love you too,” I say.

“Lazarus, you two will have a lifetime together. Get out of here. I have to help her get ready,” Prissy fusses at him.

He lets go of me. He kisses his mother on the cheek. “I am going,” Lazarus says.

Lazarus rushes back down the stairs. He looks so excited and happy. Probably the first time I have seen him giddy since I got here. It has been one issue after another every day. Not today. Today will be a good day for us.

Prissy tugs at me to come on. “Come one, we have things to do,” Prissy says.

“I am coming,” I say.

I stand at the top of the stairs for a moment, watching Lazarus look at the decoration Prissy and I put up. It is not much, but we wanted to have something for tonight. My big wedding is now a small private ceremony. I want it to be special for us. The big wedding did not matter to me. I think it was essential to Prissy, but Lazarus and I are both fine with this small private ceremony.

I go into our bedroom. I need a shower and wash my hair. I need to clean my wings so I can display them tonight. I will need Prissy to help me with that. I am not ashamed of my body. It will not bother me for her to help me. If she does not mind cleaning my wings for me, I need her to; there is no way I can do it alone.

“Prissy, I am going to shower,” I say.

She takes my dress out of the closet. She lays it carefully out on the bed. “I will attach the purple ribbons to it while you shower, dear,” Prissy says.

“Okay, I will need some help in a few minutes,” I say, hoping she will take the hint without me having to come right out to ask.

“Your wings?” she asks.

“Yes, I cannot clean my wings by myself. If you do not mind, I want my wings to be beautiful for my wedding day,” I say.

“Of course, you can wrap up while I clean your wings if you are modest,” Prissy says.

“It is fine. I am sure you have seen a body before,” I say.

I hurry into the shower. I cannot believe I will be married in only a few hours. I wish my father were here to see me. This day would be a wonderfully proud moment for him. I said so many terrible things the day he sent me away to be with Lazarus. If I had only known how wonderful Lazarus would be to me, I would have never been so horrible to him the day I left. The past is the past; I cannot dwell on it.

I wash my body and hair. I like it so much better when Lazarus washes my hair. There are many years ahead of us for him to wash my hair and my body. I wonder what kind of father he will be. I already know he will be a wonderful husband.

“Are you ready for me, dear?” Prissy asks from the bathroom door.

“Yes, come in,” I say.

Prissy comes into the bathroom. She opens the shower door. I turn my back to her. I release my wings into the shower.

“They are beautiful,” she says.

“I have Lazarus to thank for that. He had my wings cleaned at the spa the day he picked me up. My wings were filthy. I have cleaned my wings in a creek my entire life,” I say.

“Well, dear, you will never have to do that again,” Prissy says.

Prissy takes the showerhead down from its cradle. She carefully sprays my wings. She takes a soft sponge to clean my wings carefully. She resprays my attachments with warm water.

I turn off the water. I step out onto the rug. She hands me a towel to dry off my body. She takes a soft towel to dry my wings carefully. “I cannot believe the purple tint in your wings. It is unbelievable,” Prissy says.

“My favorite color is purple,” I say.

“I know. It is an unusual color for wings, that is all,” Prissy says.

“What color are your wings?” I ask.

“My wings are green. I will display my wings tonight at your wedding,” Prissy says.

“I cannot wait to see your wings,” I say.

“They are nothing like this. My wings are old like me,” Prissy says.

I finish drying off. I put the towel around me, careful not to wrap my wings up in the towel. They need more time to dry before the wedding. I sit down in front of the mirror.

Prissy begins drying my hair. She combs it out. I sometimes forget how long it is since I keep it up all of the time. “You should wear your hair down more. It is exquisite,” Prissy says.

“It is a hassle,” I say.

She places curlers in the ends of my hair. She sprays each curler with hair spray. “I only brought a little makeup to put on you. It's only mascara, blush, and lipstick, which should be plenty since your skin is so perfect,” Prissy says.

She goes to work applying the makeup. She grabs a small compact. “I am going to put a little purple eye shadow on you,” Prissy says.

I nod. I love purple, so I can live with it. Prissy pulls the curlers out of my hair. She divides my hair. She braids each side and joins the two braids to one in the back. She leaves the bottom part of my hair curly. My hair flows down past my breasts.

“I think you look perfect,” Prissy says.

“I think you made me look amazing,” I say.

We go into the bedroom to slip into my dress. Prissy helps me step into it. She carefully helps my wings through the opening in the back. She fastens all of the buttons.

I stand in front of the mirror. I look like a bride. “This is perfect,” I say.

She places my veil on my head. “Now you are ready,” Prissy says.

“I believe I am,” I say.

“Wait, I have a bouquet for you,” Prissy says.

She goes to her room. When she comes back, she has a long flowing purple and teal bouquet for me. She places it in my hand. “Now you are perfect,” she says.

“Thank you, Prissy,” I say.

There is a knock on my door. “Mother,” Lazarus says from the other side.

“Go away. You cannot see Willow yet,” Prissy says.

“The priest is here. He agreed to marry us. He is ready and waiting for us,” Lazarus says through the door.

“We will be down in ten minutes,” Prissy says.

“Thank goodness he agreed,” I say.

“Give me five minutes to slip into my dress. I will walk you down to marry my son,” Prissy says.

She kisses me on the cheek and hurries to get ready. This is it. Finally, something is going right.