Gathered here, thought Abby. Funny, that. There aren’t really enough to make it a gathering. There are five men, three women and five security guys. Abby had been surprised to see them standing shoulder to shoulder inside the entrance to the church.
“Who are you?” she asked in wonderment.
“This is security,” said Kristin and she introduced them individually. Abby shook hands with each of them and said she was pleased to meet them. She held Terence’s hand a little longer and uttered ‘Thank you’ in appreciation for his care of Nick.
After the greetings, she had looked at Leighanne and Kristin. What were they here for? Did they intend to form this phalanx for the entire ceremony?
“In case there are fans,” said Leighanne.
Abby looked around her. “We seem to be okay so far,” she said. She turned back to the men. “If you would like to, please feel free to protect these men from the pew behind them.”
The security guys relaxed and smiled at each other. Jeez, maybe the Boys weren’t wrong. Maybe Nick really had hit the mother lode.
“That would be very nice, Miss Fremont,” said Terence. “Thank you, we would enjoy seeing the ceremony.”
“You’re very welcome,” said Abby, “and please don’t call me Miss Fremont.”
“After the next few minutes, Abby,” said Leighanne laughing, “nobody will call you that.”
“Hey, you guys are here,” said Kevin, coming out of the nave, followed by AJ and Howie. “Nick and Brian are backstage. I mean, they’re in the…”
“…vestry,” said Leighanne.
“All stations are go,” said AJ in a nasal, robotic voice. Then he stopped talking and just stared. “Wow, Abby! You look…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Radiant.” Abby laughed and blushed.
“Did you guys rehearse your readings?” asked Leighanne.
“Yeah, we’re good,” said AJ. Kevin merely raised one bushy eyebrow. Was there a doubt?
“Let’s get this show on the road then,” said AJ and he nodded up the aisle. AJ, Kevin, Kristin and the security guys walked up to take their seats. Leighanne hovered around Abby, pulling at her skirt and fluffing her hair. She stopped when she noticed that Howie was still standing there.
“I was wondering,” he said, “if maybe you didn’t want to walk up the aisle by yourself. I mean, I know I’m not your dad…” He broke off as Abby shook her head twice, to ward off the tears.
She put her hand on his arm as he was about to turn away. “Howie, that’s so sweet.” She shook her head again. “Damn! I was determined not to say that to you, that you were sweet.”
“That’s okay,” he laughed. “I’ve learned to live with it.”
“I’d be honored to have you walk me up the aisle,” said Abby. “I think I might need someone to lean on.”
“Well, lean on me,” laughed Howie, offering his arm.
The organist started playing The Wedding March. Leighanne and Howie looked at Abby.
“Ready?” asked Leighanne.
Abby took a deep breath. “Let’s do it,” she said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today…
Breathe, Nick, breathe, he told himself. Breathe, Nick, breathe. Dearly beloved. Yep, that’s what the guys were all right! Dearly beloved. They had held him together this morning by not giving him one second of time to think. After the breakfast, they had piled into two vans and taken separate routes to the church. Brian chattered non-stop, pointing out places of interest and telling ‘Atlanta stories’.
They met up with the other guys at the church and were hustled out of sight by security. Brian and Nick were whisked off to the vestry. “Leighanne will kill me if I let you see Abby before the ceremony,” he said and then went on talking. He kept up the flow of words until Nick put a hand on his arm.
“You don’t have to do this,” said Nick. “I already told you. I’m not nervous.”
“Well, maybe I am. Did you ever think of that?” retorted Brian.
“What have you got to be nervous about?” asked Nick.
“I don’t know,” said Brian. “maybe I’m nervous because you’re not.”
“What?” Nick laughed at his friend.
“No, I mean it. It’s weird that you’re this calm. Hell’s bells, Nicky, you get nervous at the thought of a date. This is your wedding! I figured you’d be a quivering mass of nerves.” Brian did a jittery little dance that made Nick roar with laughter. Then he pressed his lips together and looked guilty. Was it okay to laugh in church?
“First of all, Bri, did it ever occur to you that telling me over and over that I’m not nervous enough might not have the calming effect you’re going for?”
Brian conceded the point with a grin and a shrug.
“And second, this is not a date. This is the end of dates. This is security and comfort and knowing I’ll always have someone. This is…” He was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“We’re ready,” said the minister.
“This is the rest of your life,” said Brian.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The rest of my life. The rest of my life. The thought rang through Nick’s head, as he walked out and stood by the chancel rail. He nodded and smiled at Kevin and Kristin. AJ gave him a thumbs up.
“Where’s D?” he asked, but the music started before Brian could answer.
The security guards rose to their feet along with the others and turned to the back.
The rest of my life. The rest of my life. Nick’s hands started to sweat. What was he doing here? He looked up the aisle. Leighanne was walking toward him. She smiled at him and winked. He looked past her and his heart stopped. Abby and Howie were making their way up the aisle. Abby looked great, but she sure had a grip on Howie. Maybe she wasn’t sure about this either.
Nick took a step. Brian put a hand on his arm. “She’ll come to you,” he said.
The rest of your life. The rest of your life.
Nick looked at Abby and smiled weakly. She smiled back and tugged on her bottom lip. Then she looked away from him, over at the others. She’s scared, he thought. She’s scared I’ll hurt her. He shrugged off Brian’s hand. “No, I’ll go to her,” he said and walked the few steps to the top of the aisle.
“Here you go,” said Howie, handing Abby over.
“Thanks, D,” said Nick. He and Abby stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, long enough to make Leighanne very nervous and to make the minister clear his throat. Then Nick ran one finger down her face. “Will you marry me?” he whispered.
Abby nodded. “Yes, please.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of God and these witnesses.
As Abby listened to the minister intone the words, the butterflies gradually disappeared. She was standing here beside Nick, holding his hand. He had shown up. As Abby had stepped into the church on Howie’s arm, she realized that that was her biggest fear…that Nick would come to his senses and call it off, that she would be humiliated…and deservedly so for even thinking about going through with this charade.
She spotted Nick as soon as she started up the aisle but he was looking at Leighanne. He looked good. He was wearing the same suit that he’d worn to the engagement party. When his eyes finally moved to her, something ran across them. Panic? Abby leaned on Howie’s arm. She wasn’t sure if she made a sound, but he patted her arm and said, “It’s all good.”
Nick took a step and Abby wasn’t sure if he was coming to meet her or preparing to bolt. Brian stopped him and said something. Abby looked over at the others to see if they’d noticed anything. They smiled at her. She smiled back, feeling like she was using all the wrong muscles in her face and that the smile was coming out wrong. She turned her face back and there was Nick, standing right in front of her.
“Here you go,” said Howie gently, releasing Abby and placing her hand on Nick’s arm.
“Thanks, D.”
Nick looked into her eyes. Abby wondered if he could read her thoughts. Please don’t hurt me. She couldn’t read his. Then the touch of his hand on her face and the gentle whispered words…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“…the first reading.”
AJ rose from the pew and bounced up to the lectern. “This is a reading from the Book of Psalms, Number 67. ‘May God be merciful to us and bless us, show us the light of His countenance and come to us…’”
Nick looked over at Abby. She seemed okay, calmer. He was feeling calmer too. He guessed he’d just had stagefright or something. He was cool now, though. And he was glad they were doing it this way, with nine people sitting behind him and not four hundred, especially if two of them were Sharon Fremont and Jane Carter. He never wanted turn his back on either of those two.
“…all the ends of the earth stand in awe of Him.’” AJ turned the page to the next reading, as he’d been instructed. He winked at Abby and Nick and returned to his seat.
Kevin stood up as AJ slid into the pew. He walked to the lectern. He smiled at Nick and Abby, “The second reading is from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13. ‘If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal…’”
Abby had heard this reading at every wedding she’d ever attended, but she’d never really listened to it.
“If I have prophetic powers,” Kevin’s mellifluous voice continued, “and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing!”
Oh, God, what am I doing here? thought Abby. This is wrong. I don’t have love. I am nothing. She tore her eyes from Kevin’s and looked at the floor.
“…if I give away all my possessions…but do not have love, I gain nothing…”
I’ve got to stop this. I’ve got to end this now. Abby raised her head to speak. Kevin’s eyes bore into hers.
“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.”
Kevin’s eyes shifted to Nick and so did Abby’s. She looked at the man standing beside her and suddently she realized that it was okay…that she did have love, that she loved Nick. He didn’t love her, she knew that, but he liked her enough to marry her and she loved him. She couldn’t tell him, of course, that was rule number one, but she could know it in her heart. She had love.
“…and now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” Kevin nodded at them both and returned to his seat.
The rest of the ceremony was a blur to Abby. Do you take…? With this ring… For better or for worse… ‘Til death do us part… I now pronounce you husband and wife.
She gazed into Nick’s eyes as they said their vows. I love you. I love you. The words ran like a ticker tape across the back of her brain. She survived him slipping the ring onto her finger, but she nearly lost it when she slid the gold band up his finger. She started shaking and couldn’t make her fingers work. Nick placed his right hand over hers to calm her. She looked up at him and he smiled.
She smiled back and then rolled her eyes. She pushed the ring firmly into place and said the words, “…all my worldly goods to you endow.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“You may now kiss.”
It was over. He’d done it! Nick leaned down and pressed his lips to Abby’s.
“Woohoo!!” AJ leapt to his feet, followed immediately by the others, who began to applaud.
Leighanne glared at him in disapproval, but the minister laughed. “Yes, it is a happy occasion,” he said, “and we just have to sign a couple of things before we’re done.”
Nick led Abby over to a small table and she sat down. She signed her name on the license and the register and handed the pen to Nick. Brian and Leighanne added their signatures and then it was done.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” said the minister, “may I present Mr. and Mrs. Nick and Abby Carter.”
The organist broke into the recessional but Nick and Abby didn’t start up the aisle. Instead they walked over to the front pew. Nick fell into Kevin’s arms and Abby hugged Kristin. Then there was a big jumble of hugs and congratulations.
“Okay, guys,” said Brian, after the minister said something in his ear. “There’s a Teen Club meeting here in half an hour, so if we want to still keep this a secret, we gotta get moving.”
The group headed for the door. “How long are we keeping this a secret?” asked Howie.
“Just until after we tell our parents,” said Nick. “Then the whole world can find out.”
“Yes,” said Abby, “we have some calls to make.” She wasn’t looking forward to that. Nick squeezed her hand. Neither was he.
