Danielle Steel - The Apartment

“I’m so sorry. My father’s wife went into preterm labor, and I’ve been at the hospital with them till now. I couldn’t get home to change.” Helen smiled broadly, and gave her a warm hug.

“Don’t even think about it. You look adorable. I love your hair. How is she?” She was an amazing woman, and Sasha hugged her again as Alex joined them.

“I think she’ll be fine. I admitted her for tonight.”

“What happened?” Alex asked her, jangled and shocked at what she was wearing.

“It was either this or my cut-off shorts. I went with this. Or come after dinner. Charlotte went into preterm labor.”

“And they called you?” He was stunned, although he knew nothing should surprise him anymore—her mother, her sister, bad divorces, or preterm labor.

“Who else would they call in New York?”

“They could have gone to the ER. It’s our rehearsal dinner.” He seemed a little put out, but his mother was fine about it.

“I know. I’m sorry. I love you. But look at it this way, she’s not here tonight, and she can’t come tomorrow. I put her on bed rest. And now my mother won’t go nuts.” He laughed at the silver lining. And then after asking Helen’s permission, she went up to the podium, from where Alex’s father and some of the guests would be making speeches after dinner. And Sasha picked up the mike and spoke to the room.

“Good evening, everyone. I’m the bride. Until tomorrow, my name is Dr. Hartman. And I wanted you to know that, as my close friends and family know, these are the only clothes I own,” she said, pointing to her scrubs, and everyone laughed. “But please don’t worry. My sister is lending me a dress for tomorrow. And thank you to the Scotts for this wonderful dinner.” She put down the mike then and ran to her table to take her place next to Alex.

“I hope that’s not true,” he said, serious for a minute.

“What?”

“That your sister is lending you a dress for tomorrow.”

She laughed. “Wait and see.”

Valentina was wearing a spectacular, very short gold dress that night, and was there with Bert. He was proud to be at her side.

Helen had done the seating and had put Muriel at their table, and she made a point to spend time talking to her. Muriel looked like she was having a wonderful time. She caught up with Sasha later with a disapproving frown.

“Why didn’t you wear a dress?”

“I got stuck at the hospital on an emergency,” she said blandly, and her mother walked away shaking her head.

The speeches went smoothly, and were very touching, particularly by her roommates, and Alex’s father. Her father was going to speak at the wedding, and Ben, the best man.

She and Alex parted company after the evening, so she wouldn’t see him until the wedding. She was spending the night at the loft with the girls. And she called the hospital on the way home to check on Charlotte. They said she was sleeping soundly, the contractions had stopped, and they had rolled a cot in for Sasha’s father. All was peaceful.

And Sasha went back to the apartment in Hell’s Kitchen for her last night as a single woman, with her best friends.

The big day dawned blue and gold and sunny on the fourteenth of June. It wasn’t too hot or too cool, and Sasha was nervous all day. Her father and Charlotte had gone back to the hotel, and her father said she was resting and propped up in bed.

The hairdresser came at three o’clock to blow-dry Sasha’s hair, and do the others. And she got her makeup done at four. She had bathed before they arrived. Sarah had made sandwiches for everyone, and Sasha couldn’t eat. She was too excited. Her mother had offered to come downtown to help her, but Sasha didn’t need her or want her, and she discouraged her. But Valentina was there, looking fabulous. Bert was going to meet them at the church. Amazingly, she was still seeing him three months after they had gotten back from Arizona, and Valentina insisted it was “the real deal.” At least he kept her out of trouble. She’d been taking him to events and parties with her, and he was having fun. He was still with the NYPD, and the talk of his unit, with his supermodel girlfriend, and they were in the press a lot. Valentina seemed a little more normal now, and didn’t seem as hell-bent on shocking everyone. He toned her down a little, and she had put some jazz and glamour into Bert’s life. They had been mentioned on Page Six several times. They referred to him as supermodel Valentina’s drop-dead gorgeous bodyguard. They were a striking pair.

And then the big moment came, and Sasha’s friends lifted her wedding dress over her head, with Sarah’s help. Abby stood on a chair to assist, and they were careful not to mess up her hair or makeup. The hairdresser attached the long lace veil to her short hair. As soon as Sasha was dressed, Alex called to tell her how much he loved her, and they talked for a few minutes.

The girls had covered the something old, something new department too. She had wrapped a lace handkerchief of her grandmother’s around her bouquet, the dress was new, Valentina had given her a pale blue lace thong, and Sarah had lent her a string of pearls. It seemed sad to her for a moment that she had Claire’s mother there to help dress her, and not her own, but she didn’t want Muriel to spoil it, and she would have. Sasha didn’t want to take the chance.

Her father was meeting her at the church, and she rode uptown alone in the limousine he had rented for her. And the girls rode in a second one, right behind her. She could feel them near her, cheering her on. And Prunella was waiting for them at the church in the rectory where they gathered, while Alex’s groomsmen ushered people to their seats in the church, which the florist had filled with white flowers. Prunella immediately took charge when they arrived. She lined everyone up, in the proper order, with Valentina last in line, and Sasha’s roommates ahead of her in order of height, Abby, Claire, and Morgan. And the moment her mother and the Scotts sat down in their pews, the procession began. There was a brief pause after the girls took their places at the altar with Alex’s groomsmen, all friends from medical school, with his brother at his side as best man. And then Sasha and her father came down the aisle in stately elegance, and she could see Alex catch his breath as she walked toward him. It was the most perfect moment of her life.

They exchanged their vows and their rings, were declared husband and wife, Alex kissed her, and everything was a blur after that until the reception and her first dance with Alex and then her father. And then she nearly fainted when she saw her father ask her mother to dance, and Muriel smiled at him, and they danced and actually looked like they were enjoying each other.

Jim had flown in from San Francisco to escort Sarah to the wedding. And Josh was there with Abby in a real tuxedo, not a camouflage jacket, and they were smiling and holding hands. Abby’s parents, Joan and Harvey, had flown in. And Max stood proudly beside Morgan. And Bert stood right next to Valentina the entire time and seemed more like a bodyguard than a boyfriend, but there was no denying he was gorgeous, and Sasha noticed later he was a great dancer, and her sister gazed at him adoringly and did nothing scandalous at the wedding or reception, and was surprisingly well behaved.

The penthouse location was perfect, and the night was warm and balmy. Everything was candlelit, and they had seated Ben Scott next to Claire, since they were both alone, and didn’t have dates. Sasha wasn’t sure she’d like him, but she saw them talking and laughing through most of the evening, and they danced several times.

“So what made you move to Hell’s Kitchen?” he asked her when they first sat down, and she laughed.