"Are you sure you want to do this?" George Houseman asked his daughter. He couldn't help feeling proud of the beautiful girl who had been his world from the time she was born. He still had his doubts that I was a suitable choice for his daughter, but seeing what a marvellous job, I had done raising Penny, in his eyes, had softened the old man's demeanour as far as his thoughts of me went.

"Yes, Daddy, I've never been this sure of anything," Baby whispered, smiling. "Thank you for being here for me." She knew how hard it was for him to come to terms with having me, the rogue dance teacher become part of his extended family.

"Just try to keep me away," he replied, winking as he spoke. "You look wonderful, Baby." His eyes did yet another once over from the flowers in Baby's hair, down the flowing ivory gown to the matching ivory hears. He then stole a glance at his other daughter, Lisa, who was beaming proudly in her scarlet chiffon gown and matching scarlet heals. Then his eyes shifted to his little grand-daughter, whose life he was beginning to regret missing so much of. Her white dress and scarlet sash, made her look like a princess and quite grown up, George admitted to himself, sadly.

Penny stepped forward, proudly as the music began to play, sprinkling red and white rose petals as she glided, in the way she had practised from the very moment she had learned that her mother and father were finally going to marry. For Penny, this moment was a dream-come-true. Etta James' voice rang out from the record player and I couldn't help the feeling that the lyrics suited our life. At last George accepted me, at last Baby wanted to be the wife and mother Penny and I needed her to be and at last Penny would have a mother, her rightful mother, who would be there as the neared the years in her life when only a mother would understand what she would need.

Then Lisa took her first clumsy steps down the isle and eyed her warily, mentally urging her to make it all the way without tumbling. Then it was Baby's turn and with her father, holding her steady, she inched her way closer to me and to the wonderful future she knew we would finally get to enjoy. She looked around at the sea of proud faces that beamed up at her and spotted Penny Johnson, the woman she had named her child after, in the second row, dabbing her blotchy eyes with a tissue. My cousin, Billy stood beside her.

I shifted my eyes away from them and stared back at the procession, led by my daughter, then followed by Lisa and I gazed past Baby's crazy sister to the beautiful woman that was about to become my wife. I choked back the tears that welled up inside me as I finally let go of all the anger and the hurt for how life had panned out in the past eleven years. None of that mattered now that our family would finally be together, at last.