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June fifth. Finally. My wedding day was here.
Well, our wedding day. At least I was sharing the stress with three other people. That helped a little.
Not that Orville or Archimedes seemed all that stressed. But then, all that was really required of them was to put on their tuxedos and stand up front by the new preacher and wait for us to come down the aisle.
Grooms had it so easy. Brides? Not so much. I totally got the whole Bridezilla thing now. Sapphire wasn’t quite that bad, but she was getting closer with every passing moment.
Especially as it was five in the afternoon, and the weather radar showed rain headed our way. The men folk weren’t around because of the old tradition of not seeing the brides on their wedding day. Personally, I kind of thought that was a tradition started by men who didn’t want to be roped into wedding day chores. Hard to do chores having to do with the wedding and not see the bride too.
That didn’t mean we couldn’t call them. As far as I knew there wasn’t a tradition about not talking to the bride.
He answered on the first ring. “Don’t worry. I’m on it.”
“You got a way to turn those clouds around or something?” I mean, I’m an Air witch, and even I couldn’t do that.
“Nope. But you do remember I was a Boy Scout, right? And in the military for a while, to boot? I believe in contingency plans.” He was quiet for a minute. “Especially for something this important. I’ve waited a lifetime for this day, Opal.”
“I’d love to hear about this contingency plan of yours.”
He chuckled. “Sorry, it’ll just have to be a surprise. Just you and Sapphire cover your dresses in plastic garbage bags if you have too, but be up on that hilltop by eleven-thirty. You have my word that this will all work out. Rain or no rain.” Then he paused. “Just stay away until then, okay? We’ve got this.”
That was asking a whole heck of a lot, and he had to know that. But what could I say? Or do, for that matter.
I looked over at Sapphire. “Orville says he has a contingency plan to deal with the weather. All we have to do is be up on the hilltop by eleven-thirty, and all will be well. According to him.”
I’d expected sputtering or gnashing of teeth. What I hadn’t expected was her total—well, for the most part, anyway—relaxation. It would appear that my sister had even more faith in my man than I did.
Huh.
The girls started carrying the food up around ten. When Ruby came back down smiling, I knew that whatever it was Orville had pulled out of his hat; it had worked.
Even I relaxed a bit after that. As much as was possible, anyway, what with my curiosity level so high. I really wanted to know what was going on up on top of that hill. But that wasn’t going to happen until a whole lot closer to midnight.
If that time ever came. The clock was moving mighty slow right now.
By eleven o’clock, Sapphire and I were dressed and ready to go. By now, it was just the two of us down at the farmhouse. All the others were up on that hilltop waiting for us. Well, Amie was waiting at the foot of the hill with her video camera. So we weren’t totally alone.
That had been our decision. The path up that hill was a very long wedding aisle. The two of us had walked that path many, many times. Every twist, every turn, every tree root was engrained in our memory.
That helped when you were walking up a heavily tree-lined path in the moonlight. Even with a full moon, that path could be dark.
Not that we had to rely on our memories tonight. We had Amie, our resident Light Witch. And tonight, she earned her title. I’d have to remember to get the spell from her later because it was nothing short of beautiful.
As the two of us walked the grassy path, the way before us glowed in a healthy white light. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear there were fireflies and dragonflies involved, too, as tiny specks of the light seemed to glow and twinkle as we passed. As if each speck of brilliant light was giving us its blessing as we passed.
Just maybe, this wasn’t all Amie. Just maybe, the Goddess was involved as well.
It had rained, but only briefly. It would appear the Goddess had our backs on that one too. At least until we hit the top of the hill.
The first clap of thunder came just as we crested up to the hilltop, and the accompanying lightning flash illuminated the scene brightly before us.
Orville had outdone himself.
Sapphire reached out and took my hand. “Would it be fitting if I said I loved Orville right now?”
I got that. My chest was fairly bursting right now with love for the man myself. We stood there silent for a second. Right up until the second clap of thunder came.
“Um, I think we need to head in unless you want to get wet. I’m not sure I could stop that in time.”
We took Amie’s warning in the spirit it was intended. We headed in.
The 'in' was to a large party tent kind of structure. Only, this wasn’t your average party tent. No ugly green or white walls here. No. None of that at all.
In fact, in the glow of the full moon, it was almost as if we were walking into the illusion of a party tent. The walls and ceilings were completely clear fabric, which allowed the blessed moon rays in.
Well, I was pretty sure they started out as completely clear fabric. Until Gray and Kimberly got ahold of them. They’d been spending a lot of time lately out at Gray’s trailer, just the two of them. I’d thought maybe they had just needed some kid-free time alone together. Now, I was thinking that hadn’t been the case.
They had turned the tent into a magical clearing all in itself. The walls were painted with trees and flowers. Once inside, it was hard to tell where the tent stopped and the woods actually started.
It was breathtaking.
I smiled at Kimberly and Gray and mouthed, “Thank you.”
They grinned back at me and nodded. I was kind of hoping this tent would survive the night. It would only be fitting to be used again for their wedding. Not that one was planned. Yet.
Then the music started, and my mind focused on the here and now. Especially when Orville and Archimedes stepped out from behind a partition and walked over to stand before the podium.
They took their places on the pentagram, which was only possible because of the person we had found to officiate our ceremony. None other than Shaman Crowe. And yes, as it turned out, he was licensed for this kind of thing.
Orville waited until he was firmly in place before turning to look at me.
My breath caught at the sheer sight of the man. He was a handsome man, even in jeans and an old t-shirt. In a tuxedo? Goddess help me. If I felt any more love and attraction for the man, my heart really would burst. Shatter into a million pieces. I’d never thought you could love someone to the point of pain. I’d been wrong.
I took Sapphire’s cue and walked slowly beside her up that aisle, between all of our standing friends and family, and felt like I was leaving the world I’d known all my life behind.
I was walking through a long doorway to a life I’d never imagined I’d ever get to live. A life of love, humor, laughter, and family. A life shared totally with the man I loved more than life itself.
My new life was waiting at the end of the aisle.
And I was more than ready.
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THE END, FOR NOW. BUT if you're in the mood for more, please check out A Very Happy Halloween. It's a short story all about a very special day. And yes, baby Pearl is back in high-flying style!
