Saturday, August 25
Saturday, August 25
CAROL shook so badly that Aria Williams took the mascara wand from her hand and applied it to her lashes for her. She giggled with delight the entire time. Carol stared straight ahead, unable to see the humor, longing for this entire ordeal to end. “Tell me again how many people are out there,” she whispered.
“Shush,” Aria said, and tilted her face to the light. “It’s only eight hundred.”
She started to panic again and whispered a quiet prayer. “Dear God, help me, please.”
“That’s no big deal,” Melody Montgomery said. “I’ve performed in front of sixty thousand before.”
“Harmony’s the one who has to sing in front of every Nashville star here. She’s the one who should be nervous,” Lori Bradford declared, putting a hand on the huge swell of her stomach.
Harmony Harper said, “All I have to do is face them and sing. Singing is my one for sure God given talent. Carol, on the other hand, has to turn her back to every last one of them and marry Bobby Kent.”
Melody chuckled. “I’m so glad I eloped.”
“It’s times like this I remembered why I recommended Vegas,” Jen Thorne said, adjusting her prosthetic arm under the sleeve of her dress.
“That’s enough, girls,” Carol’s mother, Emily, chided from the corner of the room where she stood fastening a black and white polka dotted bow to Lisa’s hair. “Carol, dear, this is a happy occasion, and long overdue I might add. You shouldn’t be so nervous.”
Carol leaned forward and looked in the mirror. “All I wanted was to get married, mom. I would have been happy doing it in my nice little church in Richmond. Not in this towering monstrosity in the heart of Nashville, where anyone with a name on a record label is sitting out there waiting to get a look at me.”
Harriet Kent softly said, “Bobby just wants to show you off, dear.” Carol looked over at Harriett who fastened a bow of the same design but opposite colors onto Amy’s head. “You’re beautiful. Let him enjoy it.”
Lori said, “I say we hurry this thing up and get to the reception. I can’t wait to get a bite of that cake!”
Carol’s wedding cake could have qualified as one of the wonders of the modern world. Celebrity chef, Marcus Williams – who happened to be Nick’s first cousin – had dodged a team of videographers for two weeks while constructing a monument to both music and law in icing and gum paste. The cake stood over 8 feet tall including the blown sugar music notes.
They heard a knock on the door a few seconds before Nick stuck his head through. “The photographer wants to come in here and take a few pictures. As soon as he’s done, we’re about ready for everyone to get in their places,” he said. He sought Aria out of the crowd of women and gave her a wink, then shut the door.
Carol stood. The women oohed and ahhed over the dress she’d chosen. It was made from ivory satin with pearls sewn into an intricate design on the bodice. The sleeves came just off her shoulders and were long and tight, the skirt full, held out by the hoops she wore underneath it, with a long train that had pearls of the same design as the bodice sewn along it. She brushed at the skirt, knowing the pictures that would appear everywhere with her in it, and knew that even if she were dashing the hopes of millions of American women, as the gossip publications proclaimed, at least the dress helped her look good while doing it.
The photographer came in and made clucking noises while he snapped pictures of Emily putting the veil on her daughter’s head, then of her wiping the tears from her eyes.
When the time came, Carol left the room, holding onto Lisa’s hand, and found her father standing in the foyer of the church, nervously straightening his tie in the mirror there. She brushed his hands away and straightened it for him, then kissed his cheek, mindful of her lipstick. He wore a tuxedo like the other men in the groom’s party instead of his uniform. He had insisted that he no longer wanted to put the uniform on since he had retired. At Carol’s request, he wore tiny little ribbons on the lapel of his tuxedo in honor of the service he had rendered to his country. She thought he had never looked more heroic than in that moment.
“You ready, daddy?” she asked.
He squeezed her hand, then tucked it under his arm. “More than ready, love. You look so beautiful. You look like your mother on our wedding day.”
Harmony elegantly glided down the side aisle to take her place at the front where she would sing. Melody walked down the center aisle first, beautiful in the russet colored dress, clutching a bouquet of lilies. Lori followed, then Jen, and finally Aria. Carol gave a small smile while she watched Lisa and Amy walk down the aisle hand-in-hand, then felt her stomach fall when she heard the music pause and the wedding march begin.
So many guests crowded inside that the huge church overflowed and people stood in the back. She felt a skitter of panic as she commenced down the aisle and stared into the sea of faces, few of whom she knew, most of whom she recognized. Then she got close enough to see Bobby, and saw the love in his eyes. By the time she made it to him, and her father placed her hand in his, she felt calm.
Harmony mesmerized the church with an original song she had written especially for this occasion. Carol barely heard the lyrics. She had lost herself in Bobby’s eyes.
Her voice remained steady while she repeated her vows to him, and when his lips touched hers in a kiss that sealed the covenant, she knew the real meaning of true love.
The number of fans waiting outside the church surprised and touched her. They waved and smiled as the couple ran to the limo and, as soon as the door shut, they were in each other’s arms. They had hardly seen each other in a month, and even with the lifetime ahead of them, they kissed until they made up for the lost time. The ride to Bobby’s manager’s house took about twenty minutes, and during the ride, they talked over each other, trying to catch up on lost time.
As they pulled through the gates of the property, he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her gently. “You are amazing,” he said, then he set her away from him as the car came to a stop.
Carol stood in the corner of one of the rooms and watched hundreds of people milling about, enjoying delectable food among amazing and beautiful decorations. From another room came the sound of a fiddle, and one out of every three heads had a cowboy hat on it. She laughed at herself for the world that she’d gotten herself into. Then she watched as Melody approached and grabbed a canapé from a passing waiter and stood next to her.
“You’re the talk of the town, Carol,” she said, nibbling on the spinach and pastry.
“Much to my dismay,” she said.
“Don’t worry. James was too, two years ago. It dies down.”
Harmony Harper brushed her long blonde hair off her shoulders and slipped an arm around Melody’s waist, giving her a sideways hug. Smaller in stature even than Aria, the woman was so petite she looked like a little girl. “I remember when you married James. I always think of you two at Christmas.”
Melody said, “You know what helps it die down is when some other big star gets married. Like you and Bobby. If nothing else, your wedding made James and my getting hitched yesterday’s news.”
Turning to stare directly at Harmony, Melody continued, “If only I could think of a big ticket singer who’s still single. Who might be able to help with that? Harmony? Any ideas?”
While Harmony laughed, Aria came over and hugged Carol gently, careful of the intricate dress. “That was a beautiful wedding, Carol. It makes me want to do it all over again,” she said.
Nick had carefully remained just two feet away while she spoke, but chose that moment to slip up behind her and wrap his arms around her to rest his hand on her middle. “With me, I hope,” he said.
“When are you due, Aria?” Melody asked, studying Aria’s perfectly flat stomach.
Aria leaned her head against her husband’s chest. “Not until February.”
Spotting James Montgomery strolling in her direction with one of his twin infants in each arm, Melody grinned and said, “Get ready, hon. It is going to change every part of your life.”
James arrived with his precious cargo and a beautific look on his face. The babies in his arms had each started to root against his torso. “I hate to hand them over, but your son and daughter need their momma right now. I can’t help them.”
Melody took them with a smile and couldn’t help but add, “Moooo!”
The band picked that moment to strike up a slow love song, and suddenly Bobby appeared at Carol’s side, taking her hand in his, leading her to the dance floor.
Bobby pulled Carol close until they barely moved and placed a kiss on her waiting lips. “To a lifetime,” he whispered in her ear.
“To forever,” she whispered back.
THE END
