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The Wedding
“Are you ready?” Frank asked.
Ivy drew a deep breath. “I think so.” She looked down at her bouquet and smoothed her dress. “Do you think he’ll like it?”
“You look phenomenal, Ivy. I think he’ll love the dress, but mostly because you’re in it.”
Her eyes welled up. “Oh, Frank. Don’t ruin my mascara.”
“That’s your tune.” Frank offered her his arm.
“Oh, my word. This is real.”
“Sure is. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just freaking out.”
“Need a moment?”
“No.” She sniffed and blinked the tears from her eyes. “Let’s go.”
Toby, Steve and Jeff had done their best to help settle Ian’s nerves, but he could see his friend was still wound up. There was nothing left to do but stand by him and wait.
The procession began with the organist playing Pachelbel’s Canon as Lynn and Chelsea walked Bradley down the aisle. They were tossing handfuls of flower petals as Bradley held the satin pillow with the rings out at arm’s length like it was a hot potato.
Angela followed shortly behind, bouquet in hand. Her curly blonde hair was brushed over one shoulder, showing off her dangling snowflake earrings. Her dress had a short-sleeved cranberry velvet bodice, silvery-white skirts overlaid with ivory lace and a deep green ribbon at her waist that was tied into an ornate bow in the back. Toby caught the grin on Jeff’s face as she took her place at the altar.
Meredith emerged from the narthex. Toby felt as if his heart would stop. He already knew she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, but this was something else. Walking down the aisle slowly, bouquet held before her, he imagined her in her bridal gown. ‘Wow.’ Her dress was the same as Angela’s, but it looked so much better on Meredith. ‘I can’t believe she said yes.’ Their eyes met as she took her place beside Angela. Her shy smile told him she had missed him as much as he’d missed her.
Holly followed in the procession. As Matron of Honor, her dress was the inverse of Angela and Meredith’s. The deep green jewel tone of her dress’ bodice accentuated her dazzling red tresses. The shimmering cranberry sash topped her lace-covered, glistening skirts. By her side, Kendra wore a matching dress and carried Frank Jr. in his baby tuxedo.
When the organist switched to Wagner’s Bridal March, everyone stood and turned to the door at the top of the aisle. An appreciative sigh greeted Frank and Ivy. She looked like an angel who’d escaped from the top of someone’s tree.
Toby couldn’t see her. In his eyes, he saw Meredith in a bridal gown being escorted by her father. Her father? He hadn’t even met her parents and he’d already proposed. ‘Wow. No ring? No getting down on my knee? No parental approval? What are you, a savage?’ Toby tracked them to the altar, where he found Meredith’s deep brown eyes searching for his. ‘We can fix the details later. The important thing is that she said yes.’
She could see the conflict in Toby’s eyes. ‘Oh no, reality has just punched him in the head. I knew it was too good to be true.’ She plastered a fake smile on to keep from ruining Ivy’s wedding pictures. ‘This is going to be a long afternoon.’
He saw the odd smile she had affected. ‘I guess that’s how the girls in the bridal magazines smile, but I like her actual smile better.’
Father Dave went through the ritual, just as they’d rehearsed it last night. Toby was barely listening until it came time to share the vows. He had liked the sound of them during practice. Would they get married here or in the city? Could they get any of the Sentinels to come to their wedding?
‘In the name of God, I, Toby, take you, Meredith, to be my wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.’ He looked at his beautiful fiancée.
She looked into his warm hazel eyes. ‘In the name of God, I, Meredith, take you, Toby, to be my husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.’ She loved these vows, and it pained her to think she wouldn’t be able to share them with him. ‘I said yes, and I meant yes, you big blockhead. Good gravy, you look incredible in a tuxedo. I’m not going to be clingy or needy, but I’m not letting you get away, you goofy lummox.’ She fought to keep her fake smile from turning into a grimace of despair.
Father Dave performed a blessing over the rings and presented them to the bride and groom.
‘Meredith, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.’ Toby imagined himself sliding a ring onto her delicate finger. ‘You asked her to marry you without even having a ring to offer. What kind of chowderhead are you?’
Again, that conflicted wince jammed a needle of ice straight into her heart. She knew it was okay to cry at weddings, but not the kind of ugly crying she felt she’d lapse into. ‘Toby, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.’ She sniffled in spite of herself. ‘Oh, Holly was right. You didn’t hold him to account and now he’s looking for an escape hatch. Well, at least he has to dance with me at the reception. We can still salvage this. Toby, please, I’ll never recover from this.’