Victor’s mother, Eileen, was thrilled when Kelli asked her to be the matron of honor. “Are you sure your parents can’t come, dear?” Eileen asked as they shopped for a wedding dress. Eileen was a loving and kind woman, and while she was a little concerned that Victor and Kelli were marrying so young, she was as smitten with Kelli as her son had been. Eileen hadn’t married again after Victor’s father left them—she’d worked hard and raised Victor on her own. “I’m sure,” Kelli said, pulling a dress off the rack and holding it up for Eileen to see. “What about this one?” “It’s lovely, but maybe a touch too much lace here?” Eileen said, fingering the edge of the bodice. She looked at Kelli with the same warm gray eyes she’d passed on to Victor. “I just hope they don’t regret missing all of this.” “They won’t,” Kelli said as she hung the dress back up. “We’re not close.” She hadn’t spoken to her parents since leaving California and couldn’t fathom having them in her life.
