The Best and Worst of Times

A bride about to be given away at her wedding

It was the best of times and the worst of times depending upon which point of view you were looking at. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t known that this day was coming. She’d had twelve months to prepare for it yet it didn’t feel like enough. She doubted any length of time would be long enough to prepare for today.

She took a deep breath as the quote from Charles Dickens’s ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ echoed around her mind. For one man today would rank amongst the best of times whilst for another it would be the worst. One event would cause such a polarisation of views and leave her stationed in the middle �" torn between the two of them knowing that her choice would forever change the lives of those close to her.

She looked ahead, her eyes fixed upon the man ahead of her. For James Andrews, today would be one of his best of times days. Today he would see twelve months of planning and preparation coming to fruition as he married his long term sweetheart. A new chapter would begin in his life, one that would both scare and excite, challenge and educate him with each passing day.

Her eyes slid to the man at her side, tenderly holding her delicate hand in his much larger one. For Thomas Masters, today would be one of his worst of times days. Today he would give the care of his beloved daughter to another man. From today, someone else would have the benefit of her loyalty and commitment. Someone else would be her first port of call whenever she was happy or sad or troubled by something that only he could soothe. He would no longer be her focus just as she would no longer be his baby girl.

Together they walked up the aisle, the music a faint background noise against the beating of their hearts, the watching guests hazy shapes in the corners of their eyes. Their attention focused upon the man waiting patiently at the end.

A hand, palm roughened by calluses as it tenderly, protectively held hers, reached out to the waiting man, offering his daughter’s hand and life to him for his safekeeping. Blue eyes tinged with sadness met brown ones full of hope and excitement. A look, expressing more than a thousand words could ever do, passed between the two men before her hand was released to the younger man’s care.

Before taking her place by her husband-to-be’s side, she turned towards her father and reached up to gently brush her lips across his weathered cheek. “Thank you, Daddy,” she breathed against his ear. She wasn’t just thanking him for the act of giving her away today, but for the times when his arms had protectively held her when the monsters had roared beneath her bed, his voice had cheered her on at school sports days even though she had come last in the obstacle race. She thanked him for listening to her teenage hopes that her latest beau would be ‘the one’ and being a shoulder to cry on when those hopes had been cruelly dashed. But most of all, she thanked him for being her father, the man who had sacrificed so much to raise his daughter on his own, who had been there for her when she had needed him and had waited in the shadows when she hadn’t.

Standing before the altar, listening to the vicar as he spoke the words of the wedding service, she knew that her life would never be the same from now on. There would be highs and lows, good times to celebrate and bad times to work through. Whatever the rollercoaster of life threw at her she knew that thanks to her father, the foundations that he had lain throughout her life would stand firm and true and would guide her down the right path just as surely as if he was standing by her side. His guidance had led her to James, a man of similar values and caring who would be there for her just as her father had been.

As the vicar spoke the words asking if she would take James as her husband, there was only one answer to give. With a smile on her lips and her heart in her eyes, she nodded. “I do,” she vowed, knowing that her father would always be there for her just as she would always be his little girl as she stepped into her new role of James’ wife.

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

You wrote this convincingly, as one who must surely know. Loss and gain all around, but the way it has to be. Very good writing, Wendy.

[Amanda J. S.]

This is really sweet! The way you explain the relationship between the main character and her father is so wonderful, and I really love the symbolism in this!

Really good!

[Jordi Shepherd]

Thank you for your review. It was one of those pieces that just came to mind. Glad you enjoyed it.