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"Oh, that's nice" Tully laughed, bu her shoulder into Kate's "You think I won't be able to stay ainst her friend "I think you'll do whatever you want, Tully You're such a bright light Me, I just want Johnny I love him so much it hurts sometimes"

"How can you say you only want Johnny? You have a great career Sonancy won't throw you off course These days women can have it all"

Kate smiled "That's you, Tully And I'm so proud of you that I can't stand it Soers that I'm your friend But I need you to be proud of me, too No matter what I do Or don't do"

"I'm always there for you You know that"

"I know"

They stared at each other, and in that moment, with both of the in front of athe whole of their lives

Tully finally s to tell your mohed "I'll confess to God, but I' lorious irls sharing secrets

Then the door opened

"It's time," Dad said "The church is full Tully: you're up"

Tully gave Kate a big hug, then hurried out of the dressing room

Kate stared at her dad in his rented tux, with his newly cut hair, and felt a rolling wave of love for hih the doors, they heard the music start up

"You look beautiful," he said after a moment His voice was uneven, not his usual sound at all

She went to hi a hundred moments in the space of a heartbeat The way he read her bedtime stories when she was little and tucked spareoff-key at church

He touched her chin, tilted her face up That hen she saw the tears in his eyes "You'll always be et that"

"I could never forget it"

Inside, the ed to "Here Comes the Bride" They linked ar step after another, they made their way down the aisle

Johnny stood at the altar, waiting for her When he took her hand in his and sain, the sweet knowing that this was the man for her No matter what else would happen to her in this life, she knew that she washer true love, and that made her one of the lucky ones

Froes of a drea friends and relatives and collecting their ishes

The world felt wide open Anything was possible Kate found that she couldn't stop s

When the music started--Madonna's "Crazy for You"--Johnny found her in the crowd and reached for her hand

"Hey, Mrs Ryan"

Touch me once and you'll know it's true

She ainst her

All around the roo, s was and how beautiful the bride looked

It was the Cinderella-at-the-ball moment that Kate had dreamed of all her life "I love you," she said

"You'd better," he whispered, kissing her gently

When the song ended, the audience burst into applause Chaside bottles of beer and cocktail glasses; guests shouted, "To the Ryans!"

It wasn't until the tail end of the hts that Kate's slass of sparkling cider and talking to her Aunt Georgia, when it happened

Later, over the years that followed, especially in troubled times, she'd wonder why she looked up at precisely that instant, or ith all the people in the roo, she'd had to look up at just thata beer

And looking at Tully

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I don't knorites these directions, but I don't think the assholes speak English"

Kate smiled and stepped cautiously down the ladder They were in the downstairs bedroo the nursery She could tell that Tully was about thirty seconds away fro the screwdriver at the freshly painted wall "Let me look at the sheet"

From her place in the middle of the floor, surrounded by piles of white sticks and boards and groupings of screws and washers, Tully held up the long, wrinkled piece of paper "Be uest"