My father looked at her too.
"The envelope's put away, the umbrella's put away. What's left to go down for?"
Someone shouted up from below again.
"The groom's here! Why isn't the bride coming down?"
The chat for friends and family started filling up too.
*Has the wedding party arrived?*
*Are we still doing the bridal pickup?*
*The hotel's already pushing us.*
Privately, the wedding coordinator sent another line.
*Miss Fox, the groom is downstairs. If we go ahead, we'll have to squeeze the time for the parents' handoff and the tea ceremony.*
My mother saw the words "tea ceremony," reached a hand into her bag, then pulled it back.
Daniel's voice dropped lower.
"Nanette, just come down, okay?"
"If your parents won't get in the car, all those people downstairs will be watching. Don't make it hard on them too."
My mother's tears spilled over.
She didn't make a sound. She just turned her face away.
My father had been up since five this morning, polishing the "happiness" decal on the car door.
My mother had set the wedding envelope in the outermost pocket of her bag, afraid she'd fumble for it later.
What they were waiting for was the doorbell ringing, for him standing at the door calling them Mom and Dad.
Not for me to bring them downstairs and supply a missing shot for a wedding car that had already carried Nora.
Daniel was still calling my name on the phone.
"Nanette, listen to me."
"Nora's right here in the car. I can't just throw her out now. Come down first. Don't keep a whole car waiting."
Down below, the lead car sat at the end of the red carpet.
The door stayed shut. Nora was still inside.
But the videographer's lens was still trained on our building's door.
The coordinator held up a walkie-talkie, the other end still pressing for the bride to come out.
The moment I went down, everyone would treat that car as if it had simply arrived late.
My mother pressed her hand over the envelope in her bag, her knuckles going white one by one.
I didn't answer Daniel again.
In both chats, at the same time, I posted one line.
*Wedding cancelled.*
*This car picked up someone else first. My parents won't see me into it.*
After the message went out, the horn downstairs stopped.
