ATOP Chapter Six

Was that... thunder? Katie rolled over in bed with a groan. The thunder wouldn't stop. Snatching up her pillow, she smashed it on top of her head, trying to drown out the pounding. It didn't work. 

A moment later... the thunder stopped. And then there were loud voices... Katie tossed the pillow aside to hear what the voices were saying.

"...so much to do, you have no idea..." that was Emma's voice.

"So what? Let's get to it, c'mon, daylight's burning..." and that was Josh.

"But... where's my Lintie?" and that was Mac. 

Katie was wide awake now and out of bed even before she realized it. Throwing open her closet door, she began to rummage wildly through dresses... and there was the thunder again... but it wasn't thunder, it was stampeding footsteps, and they were on the stairs. From the sound of them, they stopped halfway up, closely followed by slightly lighter footsteps that also stopped, halfway up.

"She's still sleeping, you can't..." Emma again.

"Lintie? You awake?" Obviously Mac was ignoring Emma.

"Yes!" Katie yelled back, running to the door to poke her head out in the hall. "Be down in a minute!"

"Good, cuz Emma here says we've got a bunch to do," Mac hollered as Emma tugged violently on his arm. "And Mum is dying to get more of a chance to talk with you..."

"And I with her," Katie's voice was muffled now as she retreated back into her room. "Just let me get ready!"

"Made for each other," Emma shook her head as she towed Mac back down the stairs. "Josh, would you perchance happen to be in the cookies?"

"Who? What?" Josh whirled around, slamming down the lid of the cookie jar as he did so. He hurriedly stuffed something in his pockets, simultaneously arranging his face into a properly solemn expression. "Did you say something, my dear?"

Emma wrinkled her nose at him. "Gonna cure you of that habit one way or another, if it's the last thing I do."

"Which habit, my dear?" Josh asked sweetly and Emma wrinkled her nose even further. 

"Would it have any effect on you if I said that too many cookies are gonna put inches on your waist? A LOT of inches. Which will make you look like a potato, eventually."

"Aw, cookies can't phase me." And with that, Josh cartwheeled out of the kitchen.

"He'll never change, will he?" Mac chuckled. 

"Never. Can't make a man out of a little boy," Emma shrugged. "It's a hopeless case."

"Oh, you wouldn't believe the scrapes he pulled in the army, betcha I could tell you some whoppers of stories."

"I wouldn't believe it?" Emma snorted. "Try me. I could tell you some whoppers myself."

But no one told any whoppers just then, for Katie was racing down the steps, ready in record time and looking as if she had spent an hour rather than ten minutes getting ready. It was a skill which few women possessed, and one of which Emma had always been envious. 

"Morning, Mac!" she cried, running straight into his arms. "Two days in a row of seeing you, just like old times."

"No, it ain't. This is better than old times," Mac grinned, dropping a kiss in her hair. "You've never said 'good morning' like that before."

"Well, you'll get it every day for the rest of your life," Katie laughed, poking her head through the crook of Mac's arm to grin at Emma. "So, sis, what's the roster for today? Emma's grand organizer of events, by the way," she added to Mac. 

"Dress fittings first," Emma grinned back. "And for that..." she paused for effect. "You'll have to let go of Mac."

"Aw, can't he come?"

"Yeah, can't he?" Mac applied his most wistful sort of puppy-dog look.

"Nope, he can't. Because he has suit fittings, or whatever you call them. Jafe's in charge of that part of it, with Ronnie in co-charge, since Jafe has never been to Jefferson before. And after that, you have to agree on a flavor of cake... Mom's gonna make that. Not today, of course, but she does want to have it decided as soon as possible. And then it's sewing for the rest of the day, yes, even you, Katie. I'm not going to finish it all by myself, and Ronnie and Rachel's house put us dreadfully behind, y'know. There are sheets and towels to be finished! And of course all the dresses need touch-ups. And then we are meeting with the Reverend to discuss all the ins and outs of the ceremony. After which... the two of you..." and she grinned wider. "You'll have the evening to yourselves. And it's the last one you get to yourselves for the remaining two weeks, because the rest of us have claims until the wedding. Girls nights, Katie, don't forget! After all, if Mac here is gonna steal you away," and she glared at Mac. "I get you for the last few nights before he does it."

"That's a lot for one day," Katie groaned. "C'mon, let's get it over with. Except the girls nights. I won't begrudge you those."

"That's the spirit," Emma laughed, beckoning grandly. "Alright, sister-mine, off for dress fittings! Muffins for breakfast, grab one, we're in a hurry, that's right, put some pep in your step! Hey, Scout, get back in here and get this cat before he follows us and accidentally sees the wedding dress!"

"On it!" Josh yelled from somewhere in the not-too-distant distance. 

♡♡♡

Keeping Mac away from Katie and, likewise, Katie away from Mac, proved to be a full-time job. 'Twould have been easier to give it up as a hopeless cause entirely. But the Cavalry persisted and somehow managed... for the most part. There was too much to do, Emma insisted, to allow time for the bride and groom to waste away... after all, they had a wedding to prepare for! And the plans were not progressing as quickly as they should have.

In the middle of dress fittings, Emma chanced to turn her back for a moment and Katie had vanished. The boys had the same trouble with Mac and it was at least half an hour before they found the two of them in the orchard with a pile of kittens. They were accordingly scolded, bereft of their kittens, and dragged back to their chores. 

The wedding dress was to be secret. Upon that, all the female members of the Stewart and Hayes family absolutely agreed. Except Katie, who really didn't mind. But secrecy being the order of the day, Emma went so far as to tape paper over the windows of the room in which the dress was being kept and to lock the door whenever she went out, the key securely hidden in her pocket.

"I was married in a nursing uniform," she told Katie, when laughed at for her precautions. "You're going to have the perfect dress, and it'll be a surprise and all the better for that. You'll knock him speechless when he sees you coming down the aisle!"

"Perfect," Rachel murmured dreamily, fingering the skirt of the dress. "It is perfect. It reminds me of my own dress..."

"What was it like?" Katie smiled eagerly, twirling in front of the mirror and getting scolded by Emma for it. 

"You're going to make me swallow these," Emma muttered around a mouthful of pins. "Would you hold still?"

"She is right," Rachel laughed, reaching out to take Katie by the hands. "It is impossible to pin a hem when you keep doing that. My dress... it was traditional. Full skirt like this, full sleeves... the base was cream silk and it was covered from the neckline to the hem in lace... I was married in the synagogue in Dusseldorf... just a few months before it... burned to the ground..." her face shadowed. "It was the wedding of my dreams. I wish I had managed to save that dress..."

"What did you wear when you married Ronnie?" Katie asked softly, standing perfectly still now. Emma was pinning away for dear life.

"We went into London the day before the ceremony," Rachel smiled, brightening again, her eyes shining. "I only had three dresses just then and I was planning to wear the best of those... but he said no, he wanted me to have a special dress. I brought it back with me, I should show you... It was not nearly as grand as my first one... but it did not matter. It was beautiful anyway. Pale blue... since it was my second wedding... it was very simple... no lace... but a long sash and a gathered skirt, and I pinned real roses on the shoulder and sash."

"It sounds lovely," Katie smiled dreamily, forgetting and risking another twirl in front of the mirror. Emma threw down her pins in frustration. 

"That does it, you..." she sighed, running to the door. "Hey, Mama... come in here and make Katie hold still! She won't let me pin her hem up!"

"It's taking too long," Katie groaned. "Where's Mac?"

"Likely giving as much trouble to Jafe and Ronnie as you are to us," Emma shook her head, laughing. "I pity them."