OOC: OMGOMGOMGOMGOMWEDDINGYAY! BIC:
Erin's dress:
www.weddings-trends.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/bride-wedding-dress05.jpg Erin's hair:
www.latest-hairstyles.com/gallery/wedding/11.htmlErin's ring:
www.goldenmine.com/p/Diamond-Bands/14K-Yellow-Gold-0.09ctw-Diamond-Bezel-Set-Band/101780.html Yukito's ring:
www.goldenmine.com/p/Mens-Wedding-Bands/5mm-Benchmark-Yellow-Gold-Comfort-Fit-Wedding-Band/133319.html Bridal party's procession song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fHLOUjxdC8Bride's procession song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTIJYe4kUuwThe song played as they walk back down the aisle after the ceremony [whatever it's called]:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LdsTiLSr-o If sleep had come the night before, Erin didn't remember getting it. And she could not care less. Pure elation and rapture would keep her more than awake all day. All her wedding day...! In just a few short hours, Erin thought repeatedly, she would be a married woman. She would be Erin Maki, married to her best friend, to her beautiful, handsome, brilliant, bilingual, talented love. All the waiting, and the hoping, and the dreams.... finally, it was all coming true!
Married.She was pretty much up all night dreaming the wedding over and over: the first kiss as a married couple, the first dance at the reception, twirling in her dress as Yukito held her... As soon as the sun came up, Erin collected her things (that weren't in the bride's room at church like the dress was), and headed out to the church. Later, her bride's maids would be there to meet her and her mom would arrive and they'd get ready together, do her hair, makeup, do their dresses... But she couldn't wait to go. What else was she going to do? And why didn't they make the wedding at, like, ten thirty or something? It felt impossible to wait that long...
Erin walked down the quiet church aisle, practicing the pace she'd take down it. Imagining the click of her shoes on the wood. Her eyes shifted to the spot where the unity candle should be-- but they weren't having one, because of the obvious lack of involvement of Yukito's family. Despite what Erin knew, she couldn't help but feel a pang at the thought. But, she refocused. They were still getting married, no matter what! Despite everything.... it was really happening.
It didn't take long for Erin's mom to appear soon afterward. Mandi wrapped Erin tightly in what felt like the longest hug of her life, and it was totally okay. More than okay! It was wonderful, because everything was wonderful!
“I'm sooo proud of you, my beautiful girl!”Two women in a flurry of wedding giddiness practically danced about the small bridal room as they talked, sang, and prepared as much as they dared. Mandi kissed her, and hugged her, and kissed her, and hugged her again.
“My precious Erin Chloe Spenser-about-to-be-Maki, you are the brightest spot in our lives and we couldn't ask for a more wonderful daughter, and we couldn't ask for a better husband for you!”Erin's eyes grew wide as she gasped in joy, letting a huge smile split her face as she wrapped her mom in a hug again. “I LOVE hearing you say that!! God, you could just repeat that over and over the rest of the day, okay?” she asked before bursting into laughter. “Now help me get dressed!”
The bridesmaids arrived pretty close to one another-- Tori first, overexcited and wonderful to be around, then Cassie, then Liv (dropped off with Chance, who was currently allowed anywhere in the church but the bride's room) and Silhouette right about the same time. Erin soon felt she must be transforming into a princess, because Mandi and the girls were suddenly waiting on her hand and foot. First came the dress, which took about fifteen minutes on its own to get it all on properly. And it was worth every minute... she felt truly like a princess, the most beautiful princess in the world. The gown flowed down and out into silken white billows, hidden behind a veil-like lace. The veil would be last, of course, but it shimmered with rhinestones like a true princess's tiara.
Next, one girl took over her hair, per pre-practiced specifications, while another did the same with her makeup. Her hair wrapped up on her head in an elegant fashion, delicate and poise. Soon, thought, they realized that doing it at the same time was so not flying, so Erin had to wash her face all off and wait until her hair was done to finish the makeup.
Midway through the finishing touches of the makeup, however, Mandi let out a gasp, making Erin suddenly on edge and alert.
That's not good...!! “What?!”
“Your shoes, Erin! We forgot them!”
Now it was Erin's turn to let out a gasp as she leapt out of her chair, a snowstorm of silk and satin swirling about her. “Crap!! They're at home, I forgot them!!” Her eyes widened with panic. “I can't leave the church, I--”
Her mom's hands rested on her shoulders as she found her freshly-frantic eyes. “Erin... Erin, give me your keys and I will go get them. Where are they?”
“In.... in my closet, on top of the luggage that's packed for the honeymoon...” She sniffled, suddenly feeling on the verge of tears. Everything was going to fall apart now, wasn't it?!
“Don't cry, Erin; your makeup will smear,” Cassie tried to offer helpfully. And Erin knew she was right, but still she gave her a glare and crossed her arms and dropped back into the chair. But she didn't cry.
Suddenly Tori popped the bouquet in front of Erin's face, all the bright blues and deep greens spinning about her eyes like a carousel of color. “You look
radiant, Mrs. Maki.” She beamed at her, and Erin's frown softened into a quiet smile. “Wanna take some pictures, just for kicks?”
Silhouette pulled out her camera first. “Here, use mine, I'll send them to you, Erin, then you can decide who else can get them.”
The idea piqued her interest and her spirits. Erin wrapped her fingers about the stems of the bouquet, standing and stepping out into the more spacy part of the room. The next fifteen or twenty minutes were spent making poses and hiding behind the bouquet and snapping pictures with her girls. Then she stepped behind the camera, once again giddy to take pictures of all “my hot bridesmaids in blue!”
The girls soon filtered out into the small foyer by the bride's room, where they were still very well hidden from Yukito's eyes if he were out and about the church. Just as they'd all gotten comfortable in the hallway, Mandi reappeared with a box, but there was a crease between her eyebrows and her smile was missing. “Erin....”
Erin's stomach dropped. “...What?”
“Your closet door was open, and the little blonde kitten was sleeping in it, but the box was next to her and it looks a bit dark in one spot...”
Erin knew what was coming.
Oh, Leigh, you didn't.... “She didn't...” Taking the box into her hands and avoiding the dark spot as much as she could, Erin peered at the shoes, noticing the nice yellow hint added to one. “Ugh!!” The shout was a
lot louder than intended, and immediately footsteps echoed across the foyer. “I am
not wearing these now. No. Way.” She held them out like a piece of rotten meat, just as Clarence rounded the corner. He was already in his suit, though partly--the jacket part was AWOL. No tie, either, Erin noted. “These have Leigh-pee on one of them,” Erin told him, thrusting the shoes in his direction. “I'd rather just go barefoot than wear Leigh-pee-shoes. Ugh!”
Clarence frowned for a second, warily taking the shoes. “That sound was you freaking out about the shoes? Really?”
Erin gave him a what-do-you-freaking-think stare, and Clarence's frown fell into acceptance. “Right. Pee on shoes is bad for a wedding. But what do you want me to do with them?”
Erin shrugged. “Sell 'em on eBay? And make sure Yukito doesn't come back here!”
“Sure, I can do that...” Clarence on something a bit quieter, but it certainly sounded a lot like, “If I could find him.”
“....What?” Her voice certainly carried an edge now.
“Huh? Nothing,” Clarence answered quickly, then turned and practically sauntered away with the shoes.
“Clarence!! Did you just say you couldn't find him?!?” Erin shouted after him frantically. But he turned the corner and didn't answer. A low grumble escaped Erin. “I'm going to kill him!!” And at that point, listeners couldn't decide if she meant Clarence or Yukito. And really, Erin didn't know either.
“Are you serious about walking the aisle barefoot, Erin?” Mandi whispered to her quietly, half as distraction and half as genuine concern. “You couldn't just walk down it barefoot....”
Erin looked down at her dress spilling onto the floor, then turned around and walked a few “bride-style” steps in it while her eyes examined the floor for the telltale sign of flesh-tone.
“You can see no feet,” Liv quietly commented, a little smile growing on her face at the idea taking place.
Erin heard, and let that soak in. She turned to her mom and nodded. “Yep. Barefoot just won against pee-shoes or Converse, which are the only other shoes here that would fit me anyway.”
“....Barefoot?”
Erin smiled. “Absolutely.”
~~
If Erin thought she'd had a hard time sleeping, she had no idea. Every time she had rolled over in her dreams, murmuring about rings and dances, he woke up. When she'd left, he managed to get a few minutes of dozing before Leigh jumped up onto the bed, meowing for her attention. The stray kitten had become quickly attached to the both of them, though she still had her spats with Chica. The little golden-haired kitten pounced whenever the air-conditioner breeze made his hair shift, and he laughed at her, tugging playfully on her tail before getting up. He may as well.
“Fine, fine..I'm up...you don't have to remind me what day it is, you know. I
have been up half the night.” Leigh just pounced at his foot as he crawled out from under the sheets, her long, unkempt claws digging into his foot. “He-e-ey...stop that! You little monster...” He untangled her claw from his foot and the sheet, respectively, then went to the bathroom. Leigh, however, continued to search the bed for any perceived playmates. A quick shower, and then he was brushing through his hair while he dug through the newest pile on their bedside table for his keys. The search ended up dragging his plugged-in phone through the pile and popping it from its charger.
His suit had been waiting in his closet for him, and he went mechanically through the motions until he was ready to go, and went to see himself in the mirror. He looked as scared as he felt. And the fancy suit with its dark blue tie made a strange contrast with the flaming red tendrils of his hair. Erin had dyed it ages ago, but it was still as impactful. He wondered if, in years to come, he would regret not leaving it black for his wedding day. Maybe because the wedding colors were blues and golds? Maybe because it would send a glare up on any and all outside photos taken? Maybe because it just looked stupid?
Crap..today there are going to be so many pictures taken... His hands began to tremble. He hadn't been allowed to see Erin's dress, but he could imagine it all he wanted, and no one could say a word. The rehearsal had proven to him that Erin could walk up the aisle in anything and he'd still be breathless and struggling to stand still and calm. She made him smile in just the simple way she'd held the bouquet and tossed her flip flops off under a pew, giggling and finding amusement in any and every aspect of what she thought of as a silly reason for a rehearsal. Yukito figured that the rehearsal was created for the groom. So he would have some practice at keeping his feet and not giving away the nausea and dizziness. So he could have a first and second go at watching her walk down towards him, with so much purpose behind it left unspoken during her short trip across a small and insignificant Episcopal church.
“Knock knock!” a chipper voice called out, muffled through the door as some little fist started banging on the wood. Confused, Yukito went to answer it, and found none other than Clarence, Timmy, and a red-haired girl on his front step, carrying a large white box.
“Uh...hey...what are you all doing here?”
“Good morning, Sunshine!” Clarence crowed, then laughed, “Oh, wait! You're Yukito, not Erin! My bad!”
“We're your wedding breakfast party!” announced the red-haired girl. Timmy bounced a little at her side, looking excited.
“Yukito, this is SJ, she's my wingman for the wedding,” Clarence said, “SJ, this is Yukito, residential twigmaster. And the groom.”
“We made cinnamon rolls, and had to bring them over to make sure you actually ate before the ceremony,” SJ announced, her voice sharp and snappy as a whip, but somehow not unkind as she held out the white box, “We decided no eggs, because that'll suck to puke back up if you're queasy, and bagels are a drag. And muffins are not for minors. Don't ask me why.”
“Oh, well, great, I'm glad the possibility of my puking was considered,” Yukito chuckled, backing away so they could come inside. As they came in, Timmy kept yanking on Clarence's t-shirt furiously, until his older brother bent down and asked him what the problem was.
“
Clarence!” Timmy shouted in reprimand, “SJ is not a
wingman, she is a
woman!”
They all laughed, and Clarence patted his brother's head, “Yeah, you're right, caterpillar. My bad. But I can't exactly call her a wingwoman, can I?”
“Yes. You can.” Timothy insisted, while Yukito brought out plates and napkins and Clarence poured Timmy a cup of milk.
“Okay, then, if you insist. SJ, you're my wingwoman, got it?” SJ gave him a salute, then Clarence decided to take note that Yukito was already dressed. “Man, you're totally going to ruin that before we get to the church. How long have you been prancing around the apartment in that jumpsuit?”
“Not long, I was just going to head over when you came.” Yukito was watching Timothy dig into the cinnamon rolls curiously. The little boy had decided that a cinnamon roll was only properly eaten by carefully tearing the entire thing out and laying it across his plate in a delicate C shape, the icing getting all over him in the process of his design.
“Well, you look nervous. Doesn't he look nervous?” Clarence sent his last query to his wingwoman and caterpillar, who both gave a solemn nod of agreement. “Eat.”
Yukito obeyed without argument, to Clarence's surprise and disappointment, albeit slowly so he didn't get any on his suit, and not much. He got a few bites in when it started to turn his stomach into knots, reminding him of the way he used to play on the swing sets, twisting around in circles until the chain links began to curl up on themselves, rough and tightened and painful to get caught in in the middle of. He couldn't taste the cinnamon rolls, anyways, though he appreciated the gesture. And that he wasn't alone.
They got to the church not long after that, and the instant they went inside the doors, Yukito was abandoned again. Clarence chased Timmy off, the two of them going to get dressed, and SJ went off to find herself “a prime seat”, a notebook and pen in her hand. Yukito stopped, frozen in the doorway and unsure. Was he supposed to go stand at the altar, or was it too soon? Was he supposed to go off and wait for the ceremony to start? Was he supposed to triple-check that the reception was all organized and set? Was he-
“Well, hello future family member!” The hello was accompanied by a hearty pat on the back. Somehow, Jacob Spenser's voice was one of the most welcoming noises of the morning. Even if his greeting was extremely corny. Yukito turned and gave him a smile, making his soon-to-be father-in-law laugh. He could only suppose that meant that, like Clarence, spotting his nervousness was easy. “Legs shaking yet?” Yukito just gave a nod, earning another clap on the back as before. But something about the way Jacob grinned, with that trace of sadness in his eyes, made Yukito feel better. Jacob was kind of losing a daughter today. Wasn't that how some people said it? But he was so happy for her, and for them. It was a big vote of confidence in his favor. “It's gonna be okay,” Jacob reassured, heading off into the sanctuary and calling out to his brother, who would be the one performing the actual ceremony for them. On his way, he accidentally bumped into Clarence, who was beyond anxious already.
“Timmy? Timmy, where are you!?” Clarence called out. “Hey, anybody see a little boy, about this high, looks like a mini of the groom? It's kind of important!” Someone said they'd seen him going into the men's room, so he raced off that way. Sure enough, Timothy had found a folding chair and pressed it up against the sink, standing up on it and smearing something into his hair with the utmost diligence, if not sensitivity or style.
“TIMMY! What the hell are you doing!?” His shout made the boy jump, and he looked over in surprise, both hands still buried in his messy black hair, which now had clumps of white in it all over.
“I...I was trying to...”
“HAIR GEL?! Do you know how hard that is to get out?!” Clarence strode over, letting out a sigh as he saw the damage up close. It was bad. The kid had taken two big fistfuls of hair gel
some idiot had left lying around, and thrust it all the way into his hair. There were huge chunks, and the majority of his hair was now limp and lifeless against his scalp, if not jutting up at a ridiculous angle.
“But..I wanted to look
fine for the party...” Timmy protested, his voice quiet. Clarence gave the heavens a look of dismay, then took off his jacket, then his shirt, hanging them up nearby then having Timmy bend low into the bathroom sink as he started to scrub it as best as he could.
“How come everyone else gets to look
fine for the..OW! Clarence!”
“Hold still, you ragamuffin. And I told you, you look
fine for yourself, and that means you'll look
fine for the ladies. But clumping up crap into your hair is
not the way to do that. Not without taking a few classes on the job, first, at least.” After a few minutes of hearty attempt, Clarence had to groan out admittance that it wasn't working. Timmy by this point was complaining that bending over was hurting his neck, and Clarence was losing patience. Chance wandered in, saw Clarence wrestling Timmy over the sink, and started in on a high-pitched sound that resembled a giggle and a squeak.
“Shut up, Sparkles,” Clarence growled, “We're trying to settle a crisis here.”
“No problem, handsome,” Chance chuckled, moving over to inspect, “Is that hair gel?”
“Yeah, and it won't come out...his hair still looks like a freakish cross between a porcupine, a sea otter and Tim Burton.”
“Can I give it a shot? I might have some shampoo with me...”
Backing off before Chance could move in too close, Clarence sent him an 'I give up!' gesture. “Sure, you can give it a shot, but he's getting a cramp there.”
Chance leaned forward to pull Timmy's hair out of his face, sending the boy a smile, “We'll pretend we're in a hair salon, okay?! I'm the stylist and you're the customer!”
Timmy smiled, but looked mildly frightened and pained from his position. Chance set to work, his fingers more experienced at working another person's scalp than Clarence, and his shampoo helping the gel release its python-grip on Timmy's hair. “Close your eyes, please, Mr. Customer!” Timmy giggled. “Wow, you really do have good hair! We are gonna make you look sooooo handsome!”
“Will you make me look
fine?!” Timmy queried excitedly as Chance finished the rinse and began to dry his hair off. Clarence felt his best-man senses tingling, but didn't dare leave the two alone, waiting awkwardly by the door as he put his shirt and jacket back on.
“Shore thing, love!” Chance breathed, “Stand up please, Mr. Customer! We need to get a brush through this, pronto! I'll use my
magic brush.” He held up his portable brush, which would fold in half to stick into a bag. Timmy gasped.
“No way!”
“Yes way!”
“Okay, okay, we get it. Magic freaking brush. Please hurry.” Clarence growled, “Or I'll end up just wrapping the tie around his head and call him a ninja.”
Chance send Timmy a look, rolling his eyes and making the boy giggle as they brushed it thoroughly. Once Timmy was presentable again, Clarence took Timmy to wait with Jacob so the best man could check up on things. Everything seemed to be in order. Except that the groom had somehow vanished. The last anyone had seen him was in the entrance, and Jacob said he had seemed nervous.
But now nobody knew where he'd been for the last half hour.
“Crap-crap-crap-crap...” Clarence growled, wandering off in all the rooms and asking for him. At first, he avoided the bride's side of the building, hoping Yukito wasn't enough of an airhead to wander in stupidly and cause an uproar. But eventually, he had to admit he was running out of cubbyholes for the groom to possibly hide in. As soon as he stepped in, he got warnings about keeping the groom away, and had to reassure them he had no cameras. The moment he stepped into the inner sacred sanctum of bride-preparation, he got loaded with the bride's shoes that reeked of cat urine – '
what the hell? – and was sent on his way, nearly giving Erin a heart attack by letting it slip that he did not exactly know the precise location of a certain groom. He ran up a flight of carpeted stairs, carrying the shoebox and searching for that elusive Yukito, when he ran into SJ at the top of the landing, leaning over the railing and watching people pass.
“Hey, you. You look like you're about one ham sandwich short of a picnic.” Her nose wrinkled, “And you smell like--”
“Yeah, yeah, I know...some cat apparently went on the bride's shoes, and I had to wash out Timmy's hair.”
SJ's eyes laughed at him, and her lips started to curl upwards as she leaned one elbow over onto the railing and pointed downward, “Guess who I just saw a minute ago?”
“Wouldn't happen to be the groom, by any chance?” he queried, leaning over and looking. He was starting to get worried.
“Nooo...I saw Silhouette. I think she was looking for you.”
Clarence stared ahead for a moment, collecting himself before letting out an attempt at a casual air, “Pshh..no, not me. We were over ages ago.”
“It makes me wonder,” SJ continued to tease, “Why you brought
me along when you could've asked
her to this wedding with you. I bet she didn't come with a date. She was probably hoping you'd ask her.”
“Shut up,” Clarence shot off breezily, though his hands were gripping the shoe box tighter, “It's over, I think I thoroughly crashed that ship and sank it. Titanic style.”
“Oh God, don't use Titanic metaphors when you're talking about women, okay? Trust me. I get the comment myself enough.” SJ rolled her eyes, then started tugging on his sleeve. “Hey, go ask her. Everyone knows you just brought me as your friend anyways!”
“SJ, I said no!” When he pulled his sleeve out of her grip, one of them lost their balance, tipping them over into the railing, and the shoes slipped out of his sweaty palms, the box falling open and the soiled shoes descending toward the foyer. “OH CRAP!” they yelled simultaneously, watching helplessly as the box hit a passing Kagayaki's dyed-blond head and making him let out a girly squeal that would have embarrassed Clarence more than having pee-ridden shoes hit him in the head. Kagayaki had been carrying a basket full of rose petals for the flower girls, but when he got pelted on the head by the shoes he ended up tripping and spilling his petals all over a frustrated-looking Cassie.
“This is not turning out to be such a smooth day for me,” Clarence mumbled, shooting off down the stairs two at a time to collect the shoes and, at the same time, see if Yukito's alleged best friend knew of his current whereabouts.
“Sorry, Buttercup, it slipped,” he said, taking the box from Kagayaki, then nearly getting bowled over by Cassie as she rushed past, “Oh, hey, have either of you seen Yukito? I can't find him.”
“He's hiding out feeling sorry for himself!” Cassie bellowed, her anger clear in her voice as she stormed away. Clarence looked over at Kagayaki, and they both gave a shrug.
“This is
so not turning out to be such a smooth day for me,” Clarence reiterated, then started off at as much of a sprint as he felt allowed in a church, “Be right back, I'm chasing after a groom.”
~~
Meanwhile, Silhouette had been sent on one mission-- to find shoes for Erin. This, however, was a quest issued by Mrs. Spenser rather than the future Mrs. Maki. While Erin still insisted she didn't need shoes and kept reciting Liv's observation that she could “see no feet”, Mandi repeatedly insisted in her turn that it was ridiculous to think of getting married without shoes, so she had pulled Silhouette to the side and issued the mission. “Try to find dress shoes, but costume shoes or tennis shoes could work if they are not too thick in the soles. The costume room is upstairs, if you go up this way, and to the right...”
So, apparently, there were shoes around here?
I don't think they keep shoes at my church... Even so, off she went to search for the elusive shoes that the bride didn't want. And of course, they had to fit-- size seven and a half, not bigger or smaller. This whole bridesmaid thing was harder than she'd anticipated, and she wasn't even the maid of honor. No, the maid of honor was recruited to help with something that Silhouette had missed hearing-- flower girl stuff, possibly. They had a strange (but pretty adorable) setup for the flower girl. The little baby Wright, Chloe, was the “real” flower girl, but since she couldn't walk, one of her cousins would be carrying her down the aisle and sprinkling the light blue and indigo petals.
Speaking of which.... From across the sanctuary, bluish-purple petals were flying about Cassie and...that person whose name she couldn't pronounce, but it was one of Yukito's friends from Japan, she could remember that much. Mentally, Silhouette went on a ramble about how one should be proud of his natural color and stop changing it, how you could lose a part of your self and your culture when you did that, but no one she said that to ever agreed with her anymore, so she let it fall to the back of her mind as she went on her search.
From somewhere above her, Clarence's familiar voice rang out about finding the missing groom, and Silhouette's heart jumped—this meant he really was serious about not knowing where Yukito was, like he'd mentioned so quietly when Erin had passed on her shoes to him. And it also meant that the shoes on the ground and the scattered petals were all his doing.
Oh, no... She shook her head, reversing her course and heading back to the bride's room.
“Oh, you found shoes already?” Mandi blurted, forgetting she'd wanted to keep that bit a secret from Erin a bit longer.
“
Mothe-e-er! I told you I don't need any!
Ugh!” Erin set her face in a deep frown, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. This was definitely not the best time to deliver this news...
“I just heard Clarence say again that he can't find Yukito,” Silhouette announced, feeling that dreaded feeling that came with being the bearer of such bad news.
Erin's mouth dropped. She leaned forward, as though she were about to leap up and rush after his invisible form. “
What?! He was serious about that?!”
Silhouette just nodded, Mandi let out a mix of a sigh and a groan, and the other girls erupted into anxious conversation, but Erin's insides just clenched. Like an iron vise wrapped itself up inside her. Awful, overimaginative, and terrible thoughts streamed in her head. He wasn't allowed to see her right now, just like she hadn't been allowed to be with him during Mardi Gras, so what was keeping just one more terrible thing from happening? What was keeping him from getting hurt again?? He couldn't handle another event like that—another
shot! Now Erin did leap from her seat, about to rush out the door in a frenzy, going on about how she had to find him now or he'd loose a lung.
“Erin, wait!” Mandi's hands reached out for her daughter, barely capturing her arm before she slipped out.
“If he's walking around the corner and Clarence just missed him, you would ruin the wedding dress surprise!”“But he's
missing!” Erin cried, her eyes brimming with tears. “He's gone, and if I don't find him--” She sucked in air like she was a fish begging for water. “If—if I don't...”
“Erin, shh...” Gently, but firmly, she pulled Erin back into the room and found a chair for her.
“You need to calm yourself down or you'll faint and not be able to walk down the aisle, shoes or no shoes.” She smiled, hoping the little joke would lighten Erin's mood, but all Erin heard was the fainting bit.
Her teary eyes widened again, mascara running in charcoal lines now. “I'm gonna faint?! Yukito's only God knows where, and now I'm gonna faint?! I won't be able to save him!!” Her face was quickly drenched in tears as she continued frantically sucking in breaths and repeating about how terrible today was and how Yukito was probably off dying somewhere and she couldn't do anything and that she was going to be sick and faint.
Now a deep furrow of worry on her face, Mandi pulled Erin close to her in a hug, holding her and patting her shuddering back comfortingly. The other girls busied themselves doing as much as possible to leave Erin her alone time, and a couple slipped out to go searching for Yukito (or to knock him aside the head for scaring Erin like that on her wedding day).
“It's a big church, mija, Clarence just hasn't bumped into him, that's all. Shhh, it's going to be all right. You're a beautiful bride who will have her groom waiting with joy at the altar for you.”“How do you know it's not something bad?!” Erin cried into her shoulder. “How do you know he hasn't gotten hurt?! Or sick? Or—or—decided he doesn't... doesn't want to get married?!?!”
At that, Mandi laughed. Openly and freely, because that's what would tell Erin it was true-- you didn't laugh about a lie like that.
“You know as well as I do that that could never happen. Oh, I wish I could have captured the sweet little speech he gave me and your dad when he asked if he could marry you.” Erin's shuddering slowed just a bit, and so Mandi pushed on.
“He was so nervous, but it was really so mature and dedicated, the way he went on about you and marrying you, even if he is still secretly scared of your father.”This time she earned a genuine laugh from Erin, who finally sat up and sent her mother a weak smile. “It's not a secret,” she said, chastising herself for the shaking that remained in her voice.
Mandi grinned back softly, placing Erin's manicured hand in her own.
“Can you imagine the things that lie ahead of you? Your first wedding anniversary, where you attempt to eat a year-old cake...”Erin giggled quietly at that, tears still sneaking their way out of her eyes.
“And when you have your first baby... have you thought about what they might look like? Your eyes or his, or your smile or his.... it's fun to think about. I know I did it a lot before I even knew I'd ever have you.”Erin's shuddering had subsided, and she sniffed back some tears as she gave a little nod with her smile. “Yeah, I have... I think it makes Yukito a little nervous, to think we could have, like, mini-versions of us... I think it'll be great, though.”
“Well, they probably won't be very much like you, but some parts they'll definitely inherit. The good parts.”“Like Yukito's voice, or his math skills?” Erin offered, perking up at the discussion.
“Or your voice,” Mandi added with a laugh.
“A little girl with his voice might be a little scary. Or your ability to make people feel better, and to love on people no matter what others think about them or how they feel about themselves. You know, I think that might be one of the things Yukito really saw in your from early on... It's not a very common trait, so it's very special.” “Do you think we'll have a little girl?” Erin asked, her mind stuck more on their future than what made Yukito see her in the past. She sniffled again, wiping away at some of the water left on her face.
“Well, there's a fifty-percent chance. Which do you think you'd like?”“I want boys and girls, but I think Yukito would be a really awesome dad for a little girl especially... He probably won't think so, but I know so...” A final shuddering sniffle, and the realization of what crying in so much makeup met hit Erin. “Oh, crap, I'm gonna have to redo my makeup....”
“Do you want me to call back in one of your girls? Who did it, Tori, yes?”“Yeah, but I can just copy what she did. I can do it faster, anyway,” Erin said decisively.
“Well, we found Yukito,” came Casssie's voice suddenly, the dark tone more than evident of a recent bad run-in.
You act like you're related sometimes, I swear, Erin thought ever so briefly. The majority of her thoughts, though, bursted out in an exclamation. “Finally!!” She sent Cassie an elated smile. “He's totally fine, right?”
“Yeah. Fine. Right as rain and all that jazz. Except he forgot that family actually exists and that he was the one talking about how important today--”
“Come on, Cassie,” Erin interrupted, a slight pout on her face. “Don't gotta be that way.... Come help me fix my eyeshadow, huh?” She held out the shadow helpfully, a Christmastime smile gracing her face now.
Cassie gave her a smile, though Erin wondered if it was forced. Sometimes it might be not so bad that she couldn't tell.... “All right.”
~~
Yukito was waiting in one of the last places Clarence would have thought to look for him – the nursery. He hadn't purposefully gone here, but now that he thought back on it, it was kind of ironic. There were large white cribs, cheap but still quite durable. And those little padding-things around the inside walls so the real little ones didn't bang their skulls on the wood. Lots of teddy bears and bunnies were depicted on pillows, blankets and so on. All throwing rubber balls or wearing raincoats or some crap like that. Yukito had wandered in here when his phone rang, and then ended up practically falling into one of the rocking chairs strewn about the room. After Jacob had come up and given him a few words of reassurance, he'd been feeling better about the whole thing. He could do this. They'd come so far, and now this was the ceremony, the public display of their relationship for the long haul. It was as scary as it was wonderful.
But then he'd gotten a phone call. From his mother. He'd been trying to gather up the nerve to call her, to even tell her about the wedding. He felt terrible and guilty for not inviting her, but he knew she would try to bring his father, as well (he and Erin had had many a conversation concerning his parents). And he couldn't imagine a worse combination than having his father in the room with the people he cared most about, on a day that he couldn't re-do. But once his mother's voice was on the phone, chipper and oblivious, he felt a truckload of regret descend upon him. Why was telling Erin's parents about the marriage had been so simple? So easy, in comparison? Sure, it had been nerve-wracking as hell, but he'd done it. He'd gone and asked for permission to marry Erin. They'd listened, taken him seriously, and been happy for him.
Why couldn't he have that from his own family?
It didn't take long for the conversation with his mother to take a dark turn. He was sure his voice told her most everything she needed to know already. “What's wrong, Yukito?”
“Mom...” he began slowly, “I don't have a lot of time to talk..”
“Oh, are you two busy today?” A long pause, and the cheerful tone in her voice dropped off like an anchor off a ship. “Yukito?”
“Mom, we're getting married today. Erin and I. I am at the church right now.”
The silence on her end seemed to last forever. At long last, he heard a soft, “Oh..”
He let out a sigh, dropping forward to massage his temples. He felt like a vice had at some point crept up on him and was now slowly tightening down on his skull.
“Why didn't you tell me before?” was her first question, the most hurtful one. Yukito could hear his father's voice suddenly booming next to her, sounding amused at something.
Quietly, he murmured, “
He is why.”
“Yukito, hold on a moment,” he could tell from her tone that she had sent that comment toward his father, and he heard sounds like she was moving away from him to a different room. Once a door shut, she pressed, “You didn't want us to come to your wedding? Yukito, I know you and your father have your differences, but this is your
wedding...”
“It is not about being
different,” Yukito's voice dropped to a growl, “Your memory doesn't work so well these days, mother. And no, I
don't want you to come.” That was a lie, but he was irritated enough to make it sound as though he meant it.
“Stop that,” she snapped, “He wants us to be a family. He's loving and caring and wants to be with me...with both of us. I wish you would talk to him, and you would see. I just can't believe you would exclude us from this, Yukito...have I been so horrible to you?”
He was silent, unable to give her any answer she wouldn't have a quick response to. A response that would instill even more guilt-trips, all going through the same cycled conversation. There was no rationalizing with her, no use of logic that would fix the one thing he wished he could fix the most. No epiphany would make her understand, would help her heal and close the wound she felt when she left him...she'd made her choice. A hundred times over. “No, you have not, mother...” he said, sounding weary.
“Then why didn't you tell me?! I wanted to be there for you this day, I wanted to be there to see Erin walk down the aisle to you...”
“I know, mother. I am sorry...”
“Will you send pictures, at least?” In his mind, he imagined the clipped tone in her voice was wordlessly adding on 'or is that also forbidden?' to the end of her question.
“Yeah...”
“Yeah?” He could hear her disapproval through the phone.
“
Yes, mother.” Another long silence drove on, and small sounds seemed to be coming from the other end of the phone. Unsure what it was, he remained silent, until it clicked that she was crying, and he was hearing her sniffling.
“I just...can't believe...you would do this to me..” Her voice was thick with her tears. “Oh my God, you're getting
married..”
He frowned. “Mom, I have to go.” His clipped response silenced her momentarily, and he continued, “I am glad you are so happy for us, thank you so much for your good wishes. Have a good life with dad. At least until he runs off and makes a few more siblings for me.”
Sounding wounded, she began, “Yukito...I think-”
“You know what? I really don't care.” He hung up the phone, but his anger dissipated quickly. The phone beeped – the battery was dying. Hadn't he charged it last night? Distantly he wondered if Leigh had popped out the plug-in. Automatically he turned it off and pocketed it, staring blankly ahead into the dark nursery.
“Yukito?” He looked up to see Cassie poking her head into the door. He offered her a smile. She looked great today. Erin had good taste in bridesmaid dresses and stuff like that. His smile vanished with Cassie's next words, “Was that your mother? I would have thought she was already here..”
“No, she's in Chiba,” he replied, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.
Cassie was quiet for a long moment, stepping deeper into the room and watching him with searching eyes. “She's not coming? Are you..okay with that?”
“Yes and no,” he sighed.
“Yukito...?”
“It's not the same as you,” he snapped. “I know it seems like it's been forever in the works for you, but it's been bad since the beginning for me.” He started to stand up, then stopped himself, a tone of exasperation in his every movement.
“Just because it's not the same doesn't mean it's
easy or
better, Yukito,” Cassie snarled defensively. “You were there. You saw her that day.” He knew she was referring to the time her mother had needed an ambulance trip from too much drinking. It had been him that had happened to be there, to help her out. And to be honest, her drawing the memory out only made him angrier.
“So? Do you think that makes it okay for you to treat everybody like crap?” She, in her turn, knew he was talking about Erin. He had tried to stay quiet when it came to the disagreements between Cassie and Erin, knowing a friendship like that was impossible to truly understand, and a confusing puddle to get mixed up in. But he had let Cassie know his thoughts on the matter.
“Does it mean it's okay for you, either? To take your pity party and anger out on other people, and not include your
parents on your wedding day? Especially Erin, who would
let you, even if you
did hurt her?!” she snapped back. For a long moment, he was afraid Erin had told Cassie about the time he had hurt her, his anger going beyond words and into holding her shoulders too tightly. The moment had preyed on his mind more than one long night, and fear gripped him in an icy cold grip. “It's your
wedding day, it's supposed to be special and
magical and-”
“Shut up! You don't know anything about it! You're too busy moaning and feeling like crap because all your ex-boyfriends are happier than you are after you broke up with them!”
Cassie's face twisted, and he knew he'd gone too far. Wordlessly, she raced out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Yukito, defeated, fell back into the rocking chair, slumping in the pit he had just dug for himself. Why was it always like this? Erin.. She would have handled that better. She was expressive and outgoing, but she didn't get angry the way he did. Why was she able to have all the positive emotions when he had all the negative ones? He let out a sigh, dropping his head to his hands, elbows on his knees. This was turning into such a crappy day.
The door opened again, light spilling into the shadow room. He wasn't sure how long it had been since Cassie had left, and looked up curiously, only to find Clarence standing there. Clarence let out a jubilant curse of victory, racing in and punching Yukito on the arm. “
You! I've been searching for you
everywhere! Come on, you need to get out here. It's your freaking wedding, don't you know?”
Yukito just looked at Clarence for a long moment. “Yes...I know. My mother just found out.”
Clarence stood there blankly for a moment, then, “...Well,
crap.” Yukito nodded.
“Why is it so
easy with Erin's parents?” he sighed, exasperated as his face fell into his hands.
“I dunno..maybe because they actually give a --”
“I told her parents
first,” Yukito pressed, “They were
happy for us.”
Clarence shifted his feet, his shoes scuffing against the carpet. “Yeah, I know.”
“Why can't my parents do the same?”
They had a moment of silence, not knowing what to say. Yukito rubbed his temples again, the back of his mind beginning to fret and worry about the time, when suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him roughly.
“Hey,” Clarence began, “
Hey! For all intents and purposes, you
have your family here, and they
do care about you. Today,
they're your folks. So don't sit here mopin' about what you can't change, like some idiot. Go out there and marry that girl, because she's
awesome, and she'll be pretty ticked to hear you're hiding out...” He glanced around the room, wrinkling his nose. “In a freaking
nursery, geez.”
Yukito stood up, and Clarence gave him a comradely clap on the back, jolting Yukito back to how Jacob had done the same thing just that morning. Something about it had a strand of comfort to it, like they were bonded by something in just a simple gesture. Maybe that's what Jacob had been trying to convey with it, and he had just missed the message.
Hey, we're in this together, after all. And you know what? I'm glad.They made their way back out to the main hall, and many shouts of relief were given out that the groom had been found, and laughter ensued. “Go tell Erin that we nabbed him!” Clarence bellowed, nearly breaking Yukito's eardrum as the man led him away.
“Hey, Clarence!” SJ yelled out, shouting something to him that he couldn't hear over on the other end of the sanctuary. Clarence put a hand to his ear, unable to catch it.
“Whassat Lassie?” he called, “Timmy fell down a well? Well, gosh darn it, that kid!” To Yukito, he pushed him toward his spot next to the altar, making motions for him not to move. “Staaaay boy.
Stay!” he warned, before running off. Yukito couldn't help but smile. It didn't take long for him to return, Timmy in tow, giggling. “I'm keeping you both here in the front row until the ceremony starts. No more funny business!”
“Hey, Timmy,” Yukito said with a smile.
“You don't look like yer gonna puke anymore, Yukito!” Timmy pointed out, seemingly proud. Yukito sent him a bewildered look, as the boy asked Clarence, “Where did-ja find him?”
“In the
nursery,” Clarence said with emphasis, “Like all the babies.” Yukito rolled his eyes while Timmy laughed like crazy. Then Clarence added to Yukito, “Erin looks amazing, by the way.”
The comment seemed to come out of nowhere, bringing Yukito fully back to earth where he belonged. Or perhaps mention of Erin had the opposite effect, he wasn't sure. “I know she does,” he murmured quietly, hearing giggles and looking up to find Clarence and Timothy laughing and nudging each other knowingly. “Oh, shut up, both of you.”
“We can't help it! Your eyes glaze over and you get this giddy look, just like a schoolgirl!” Clarence teased. “Right Timmy?”
Timmy clapped his hands to both his cheeks, opening his eyes wide and grinning. “Like a schoooolgirl!” he echoed.
Yukito continued to protest, but he didn't mean a word of it. He looked over and saw Jacob talking to Mandi, he heard Clarence and Timothy cracking old-married-couple jokes at his side. And he knew that today, getting adopted into Erin's family... creating his own... was the best decision of his life.
“So is she almost ready, or what?” Yukito muttered impatiently.
“Naw, they still have to do those
womanly things,” Clarence said breezily. “And people have to, I dunno. Find their seats. I guess because some people are airheads and need help with crap like that.”
“
Womanly things!” Timmy echoed again, his hands pulling on his cheeks and eyes wide like he was imitating
The Scream. Yukito laughed, reaching over to ruffle the boy's hair. But Timmy instantly threw his arms up over his head, pouting. “Don't touch! Chance used a
magic hairbrush on it to fix what Clarence did!”
“What
I did?!” Clarence shrieked, “I oughta slug you!”
“Slug!” Timothy crowed, racing around Yukito to avoid Clarence's reach, singing out jubilantly. “Sluuuug! Clarence is a slug! Yukitooo's a bug! And
I'm-” he squealed as Clarence picked him up, tickling his belly through the fancy – but ruffled – suit. Through his high-pitched giggles, he managed a breathless, “A ruuuug!”
“I see you three are waiting patiently,” Jacob teased, walking up with a smile. He saw Timothy and frowned, seeing his damp hair, his tie mussed and wet spots on the boy's white shirt, and wrinkles and spots over all. “What have you boys been doing?”
“I'm a ruuuuuug!” Timothy declared, spreading his arms out wide as he hung upside down from Clarence's arms, and leaving his belly vulnerable to a tickle from Jacob.
“Okay, time to clean yourself up, Timmy. Just look at you..” At Jacob's words, Clarence flipped the boy over and set him on the ground. Jacob took Timmy by the hand, leading him off, “We'll find Mandi and see what magic she can work...”
“More magic?!” Timmy gasped, the tempting word keeping him from protesting. Clarence let out a sigh at Yukito's side.
“It was hard enough keeping him in
one piece, much less
clean,” he grumbled, as Kagayaki bashfully walked up the aisle to stand with them.
Yukito smirked, “If I had been watching him, he would have ended up with his head in a toilet or something.”
“To be honest, if Chance hadn't brought soap with him today,
I would have been the one putting his head in a toilet.”
Yukito snorted at that, then a thought struck him. “Isn't Mandi in with Erin?”
“Yeah, why?”
“If Jacob's taking Timmy to Mandi, he'll see Erin, too.”
Clarence laughed, “Jealous, twigmaster?”
“No...” Yukito began, then considered a moment. He let out a laugh, “Okay, yeah, actually I am. I think everyone here has probably gotten a chance to see Erin in her wedding dress before me. And to be honest, it doesn't seem quite fair.”
“Not everyone. Squeaky here hasn't, I'll bet,” Clarence reassured, jabbing a thumb toward Kagayaki, who just blushed. “And I could always send SJ in to sneak a photo,” he teased with a wink. But Yukito just smiled, letting out a shaky breath. Clarence gave him another clap on the back. “Dude, you look nervous.”
“Obviously.”
“Well, don't be. You're getting hitched to a really cool chick.”
“I know,” Yukito smirked, “That's what has me nervous.”
Since redoing her makeup and gathering back up all her bridesmaids, Erin couldn't sit still. Or stand still. Or stay silent. Too much energy was coursing through her, and being stuck in one section of the church was clearly about to drive her insane. Luckily, the time was drawing very close and guests were arriving and taking their places, though she didn't know this.
To keep her daughter form climbing the walls and talking the ears off all her bridesmaids, Mandi gathered the girls and had them all pose together for some bridal party photos. Because the rule of thumb said that there were never enough wedding photos. And it distracted Erin just enough until there came a knock at the door.
Erin leapt away from the 7th or 8th all-girls pose to press her ear against the door. “Who's there?!”
“The ringbearer and his boss,” came her dad's voice. “It's just us, no groom. We need the lady boss for a minor, uh, malfunction.”
Erin cracked open the door at that, anxiety shooting up again. “What? What happened?” Then she saw Timmy and grinned. “Awwww... is that all?” Giggling, she pulled Timmy into a hug. “I think you look
smashing, personally, but let's just try to see if we can get you to the next level.” She turned her head around to catch Mandi, who, of course, wasn't very far off. “Mama? You're needed!”
“All right, but we need to go quickly,” she said quietly, gesturing for Timmy to go to her. “It's near time for everyone to get in place...” Mandi looked up from her work to send a bright smile at Erin, whose own face lit up like a spotlight had suddenly dropped on it.
“REALLY?!” She clasped her hands together, letting out a high, long squeal before giving huge hugs to each one of her bridesmaids. And suddenly, she found herself shaking. From excitement, from nervousness, from giddiness, from the roller-coaster scary feel that came with such a new and real and magnificent change in life....all of them mixed together in Erin's veins, in the neurons shooting across her brain as she turned to give her father a crushing hug. The girls began filing out, whispering quietly in various states of excitement or nervousness.
“I love you so much, Daddy,” Erin whispered, afraid if she talked any louder her voice might be shaking, too, and then he'd ask her if she was scared. “Thank you.”
Jacob wrapped his arms around her gently, the opposite of his daughter, as though he feared crumpling her paperdoll form. Taking advantage of the fact that she couldn't see his face, Jacob let his own fall for just one moment. “I love you, too, Princess.”
“Why are you so sad, Jacob?” Timmy called, slipping away as soon as he sensed Mandi was finished with her work on him.
“Timmy!” Mandi reprimanded quietly, gesturing for him to let it go.
Of course, the gesture didn't communicate. Timmy gave her a confused look and repeated, “But doesn't he look really sad to you? You said we were gonna have a party for Yukito and Erin today, and you can't be sad at parties, so why's he sad?”
Erin pulled away and looked up at her dad, now wearing a sad smile herself. “Aww, come on, you can't make me put on all this makeup for a
third time, right?”
“Then let's go before you have a fashion crisis then, hm?” He squeezed her hand, taking it in his as the slipped out the door to find their place at the back of the procession. Timmy followed soon, moving up in the line across from the flower girl(s). Mandi slipped out the back way so she could find her seat at the front pew without walking across the entire sanctuary.
Then came the question, oh-so-quietly. “Are you scared, Erin?”
She looked over at her dad, heart pounding like crazy and knees shaking underneath the flowing dress. “Just roller-coaster scared,” she told him decidedly. “Not nightmare scared.”
Jacob smiled again, the sadness now too subtle for Erin to pick up. “It's a good thing you like roller-coasters.” He kissed her hand just as the music started, an instrumental, all-strings version of “Yellow” by Coldplay. That was the song for the wedding party—her girls, escorted down the aisle in their gorgeous blue gowns by Yukito's groomsmen. Then the ring bearer, a very proud and excited Timmy walking just a little too fast down the aisle, followed closely by the flower girls—Chloe and Grace.
“All right.... ready?” came her father's quiet whisper.
Erin's heart was going to break through her chest with how hard it beat now. She smiled, feeling ready to laugh and cry in joy, but knowing no matter what she had to hold it together. She nodded. “Ready.”
Another affectionate squeeze of her hand and Jacob sighed. “All right... here's your cue, Princess...” The last few chords were fading out as they stepped up hand in hand to the aisle.
The music flowed into an all-strings version of Verve's “Bittersweet Symphony”, something Erin had quickly decided was a thousand times better than that blaring Wedding March everyone else used. This was it. They stepped forward together, walking hand in hand rhythmically down the aisle. The rustle of everyone rising to their feet vaguely reached Erin's ears. Normally, she'd feel like that made her a real princess, a queen, and savor the moment, but this wasn't happening normally—this was her wedding, and the only one she saw standing was Yukito at the altar. Sure, everyone else was there too, in their blues and golds and flowers and all. But that didn't matter just then, as she felt her father's hand slip away and she turned to stand beside Yukito, seeing the world through the thin veil before her eyes.
And when that veil lifted, they'd be married. Forever.
”Yukito, you ready?” He'd heard the question a hundred times. With each smile sent his way, each handshake and polite joke about him being a married man, Yukito's excitement and nervous energy escalated, until he found himself wriggling around almost as much as Timmy would have and making Clarence laugh at him. Then Clarence and Kagayaki had to head off and Yukito stood alone at the alter, hands clasped impatiently, eyes locked on his shoes. He was thinking about the day they'd met, the day they'd come to move her out of her parents' house, their first time playing on stage together, and certain morning memories. Moving up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his head against her shoulder as she giggled at something she had just thought up. The way she liked to curl up against him when she was sleeping.
Yukito heard the first delicate notes of “Yellow” by Coldplay begin, and he looked up to see the wedding procession begin. He saw the smiles on the important group of people in his and Erin's lives as they walked down the aisle to stand around him. Clarence and Cassie, Kagayaki and Liv, Jeremy and Tori, with Karyu and Silhouette carrying up the rear. Yukito was glad that Karyu had been able to fly up for the wedding. He'd said it wasn't a problem, since he had family in the area anyways, and he walked down the aisle with Silhouette on his arm, sending Yukito a smirk.
“Can't believe you're getting
married,” Karyu had laughed when Yukito invited him. But then he'd considered it a moment, and added, “Well, I guess that makes the most sense. You were always a weird one like that.” Yukito was sure that this was Karyu's off-handed way of saying he was happy for them both.
Timmy came half-trotting down the aisle, bearing the rings and bearing an unbearable grin. “Hi, Yukito!” he whispered, then turning to see just how many people were in the sanctuary, he became suddenly quite shy, hiding behind the men and peering out silently. They all watched the tiny Chloe helped down the aisle, carried and staring out at the gathered wedding-attendees.
The music then changed as the rest of the party gathered, and Yukito felt something in his chest constrict tighter than ever before. He held on for a long moment before he looked up, following everyone else's gaze to the entrance to the sanctuary. Erin was there, her father at her hand, and Yukito could already see the immense and powerful mix of happiness and sadness written on the man's face. Erin looked resplendent in a bountiful and cloud-like puff of white, her shoulders bare and her eyes sparkled, a broad smile on her face when their eyes met. There was something so natural about the way she stepped forward down the aisle towards him, his heart and lungs having a fierce battle in his chest and making him gasp. He smiled at her.
“We are gathered here today...” Joseph began, “To celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite Yukito Maki and Erin Spenser in marriage. Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage, they must speak now or forever hold their peace.” There was a pause. Clarence leaned forward to flash the congregation a death-glare, causing a few giggles as Timmy tried to do the same.
“Who is it that brings this woman to this man?” Joseph queried.
Jacob stepped forward and calmly said, “I do.”
And her father gave her away, a quick and teary goodbye before Erin came up to stand in front of him. They'd stood so close before and hadn't found it strange. But in the previously forbidden wedding dress, standing so near him... beautiful and glorious... he found himself more nervous than ever before in front of the girl he loved, felt so unworthy to claim her as his own, and only his own. But he saw her smile up at him, and he reached out and took hold of her hand, the swelling in his chest enough to fill the whole room. It felt as if taking her hand had somehow captured her radiance and let it spill forth from between them to outside everything else.
“Yukito? Erin?” They looked up at Joseph, “Life is given to each of us as individuals, and yet we must learn to live together. Love is given to us by our family or by our friends. We learn to love by
being loved. Learning to love and living together is one of the greatest challenges of life - and is the shared goal of a married life. Please face each other and hold hands.”
[CONT!!]
-Mascii(:
