Chapter 109: Wedding Day

David had woken before dawn, reaching for Hath before remembering she was at her mother’s. A pounding at the door had him sprinting across the room. He tore it open, heedless of the fact he had on only boxer shorts, and blinked rapidly when a flash went off in his face. “What the hell?” he asked. When his vision cleared, he saw it was Ang, or rather the rapidly retreating back of Ang. She had better hurry to get to Hath’s mother’s house.

David was showered and dressed by seven. His classic black Armani tux was custom-fitted for him. The notched satin lapels were brushed clean of lint, and the double-breasted jacket broadened his already broad shoulders, and made his waist look trimmer than it was. The cummerbund and bow-tie were Taz print, as were all the men’s accessories, and muted the pure white shirt with French cuffs that he wore beneath the suit. David’s mother had given him his father’s cufflinks and as David fastened them through the cuffs, he wished his father was alive to see him this happy.

Shaking off the melancholy, for it really had no place on such a happy day; David brushed his wingtips until they shone. Satisfied he looked like he was supposed to, and tired of waiting a moment longer, he was knocking on Tico’s door by eight.

“I can’t stand waiting anymore,” he said, shouldering his way into the room. “Distract me.” And now he was pacing the floor in Tico’s suite and checking his watch every few minutes.

Tico tried to keep up with David, but finally settled for sitting on the couch and watching one of his best friends wear a groove in the carpet and mutter about time taking way too long to pass. He tried to distract David, the two men talking shop for a while.

Tico’s wife came to join them, dressed for the ceremony. They gushed appropriately at her elegance and when Hector came out of his room, unable to fasten his bow tie, David smiled. He had such a serious little face on. David crouched before his honorary nephew and handed Hector a small white box. “These are the wedding rings,” he said. “Your job is to keep them safe, okay?” Hector nodded solemnly and said, “Si, Tio,” and put the box deep in his pocket.

Finally, it was time to head to the chapel. The blazing sun hit David squarely in the eyes when he ventured out o fthe lobby, and he couldn’t think of a better omen. The drive to the chapel took a little less than half an hour, and he was pressing the imaginary gas pedal on the passenger side of the car the whole time.

Once they got to the campus, David was glad to see their arrival went mostly unnoticed. Saturday morning on a college campus was usually a quiet time. David, Tico, and Hector went into the priest’s offices and waited. Jon and Richie and their assorted women and children arrived shortly after nine, with April and the other kids right behind them. The kids all got to their stations and started their jobs.

At 9:15, guests started to arrive and David started fidgeting with his tie.

By 9:45, the chapel was mostly full of their relatives and friends and Tico threatened to toss David to the floor and sit on him if he wouldn’t stop the damned pacing.

Five minutes after that, the back door opened, and Ang came in.

“Where is she?” David demanded, bolting for the door.

Ang stopped him, a hand on his chest. “Easy there, tiger. She’s out there. She isn’t coming in until she knows you and Teek are at the altar waiting for her.” She straightened David’s bow tie. “You clean up good, David.”

David relaxed. “Thanks Ang, darlin’. Alright, I’ll go.” He looked at his watch. “But if she doesn’t start walking down that aisle at 10 sharp, I’m coming after her.” He kissed Ang’s cheek and left.

Tico kissed Ang’s other cheek. “Querida, he means it. One second after ten, and he’s running after her. I’ve never seen him this fidgety.” He followed his groom to the altar.

When she was sure they were gone, Ang motioned to Hath and her parents to come in. At five before ten, Hath’s mom went to be seated in the congregation, Jon doing the honors. He thanked her again for taking care of his girls when he was away, and she brushed him off.

When the priest came down the aisle, the congregation quieted. From the side of the altar, two large, dark men started playing guitar. When Hath heard the music start, her eyes teared up. They were playing “In Love With A Goddess”, the first song David had written for her. She wasn’t expecting to hear that today, and that David had her brother and Richie learn it made her love him all the more. It sounded beautiful, and even to her trained fan ear, she couldn’t tell which octaves were Richie and which were John. They sounded perfect together.

As the bridal party stepped out of the offices and into the church, the rustle of a hundred people turning as one made her smile. Joanna went first, getting an “awww” from the congregation. She began sprinkling white rose petals on the carpet as she made her way down the aisle. She looked like a fairy princess in a white taffeta dress with pink flowers around the hem. Susan went next, walking slowly and regally down the aisle in her woman’s tux.

When Hath took her father’s arm, she smiled.

“Are you ready, baby girl?” Hath’s father asked her, squeezing her hand.

“More than ready, Daddy,” she said. This was it.



When David saw Pauline come down the aisle on Jon’s arm, his pulse kicked up. It was really happening! He was really FINALLY going to marry Hath. When the priest started down the aisle, David’s palms started sweating. He hoped he could keep Hath as happy as she was making him. He wished the damned priest would walk faster.

Finally, he heard Hath’s brother John and his own brother Richie start playing, and his heart raced. It was time. He was never so glad of anything in his life.

He watched as Hath’s niece came down, a frown of concentration on her little face. She was evenly distributing the petals on the floor, making the crowd chuckle. When the basket was empty, she went to sit with her grandmother. David saw Sue coming, and thought she looked cute in her Taz tux. He wished she’d walk faster though, so he could see. . .

His breath caught in his lungs when he saw her. Hath was gliding down the aisle in a cloud of chiffon, her hair flowing around her shoulders, a serene smile on her face. As she approached, he could see his own love reflected back in her eyes. He smiled at her and her smile widened and she mouthed “I love you” to him.



Hath was nervous walking down the aisle. She thought for sure she was going to stumble in her high-heeled shoes. She worried about stepping on the front of her dress, worried about how it looked, an obviously pregnant woman walking down the aisle, then she stopped. She saw David waiting for her at the altar. Tico was by his side, and Hector next to his father, and he gave a little wave. Hath smiled and gave a little wave back. She locked eyes with her David and basked in the glow of his love for her, and happily continued the long, slow walk to her future, smiling into his open, loving face.

When Hath and her father reached the altar, John and Richie ended the song. They stood and took their seats in the congregation. The priest came to Hath’s dad and asked, “Who gives this woman unto this man?”

John-the-father looked at the priest and said, “She gives herself, but her mother and I approve and support her choice.”

With that, John kissed his daughter’s cheek, shook David’s hand, and handed over his most precious daughter to her new life. As he took his seat next to his own wife of close to 40 years, he wiped furtively at his cheeks.

“Friends,” the priest started, and the wedding was underway. Various aunts read the readings, and Sue sang the psalm, bringing tears to Hath’s eyes. After the gospel reading and the brief sermon, they were ready to take their vows. “The bride and groom have written their own personal messages of love and promise to each other,” he said, and stepped back.

David took Hath’s hand and looked into her eyes. “Jenilee Hathor Gengras, I love you. I take you to be my wife, my partner in life and my own true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, love you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.” His eyes shone with unshed tears of joy.

Hath covered David’s hand with her own. “David Bryan Rashbaum, I love you. I take you to be my friend, my lover, the father of my children and my husband. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I promise to cherish and respect you, to care for you, to comfort and encourage you, and stay with you, for all eternity.” Hath’s eyes were damp as well, and she blinked rapidly to keep the tears from falling.

The priest cleared his throat. “Do we have the rings?”

David blindly put out a hand, not wanting to tear his gaze away from Hath, and Hector put the box in it. David opened the box and gave the rings to the priest, then handed the box back to Hector. The little boy beamed at his father, who had tears in his own eyes, and puffed out his chest proudly when his father ruffled his hair.

The priest had Hath and David each repeat: “I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity,” then clasped their joined hands and addressed the congregation. “Jenilee and David have proclaimed their love for each other, and have vowed to be true to one another, loving no other, until death parts them. If there is any member here today who does not believe these vows are true, or has any other reason why these two should not be joined, let him speak now, or forever hold his piece.”

There was a loudly whispered “Ow!” from the front row. Hath turned toward the sound to see Richie rub at his arm. Lucy smiled at Hath, and winked. The priest continued. “Then by the powers vested in me by God and the state of Massachusetts, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

David swooped Hath into his arms, and crushed her to him, kissing her thoroughly, to wild applause and catcalls from the congregation. When they parted, she sought out her parent’s faces, and saw tears tracking down their cheeks. She blew them a kiss and stood next to David as the priest announced, “And now, for the first time, let me introduce to you, The Rashbaum Family; David, Jenilee, Laura and John. Congratulations.”

The couple made their way down the aisle, smiling and looking into each other’s eyes. They stopped at the back of the room to collect their congratulations. Hath handed Sue her bouquet a moment before Hector came tearing over, arms spread wide for a hug. “I did it, Tia Hath,” he said proudly. Hath knelt to gather the boy to her. “You were wonderful,” she answered, and kissed him.

“I’m supposed to get the second kiss,” Tico complained loudly.

“Oh no you aren’t,” Richie said, and hip-checked him out of the way to take Hath in his arms for a hug.

“Behave yourself,” she said quietly. She turned her face up for a kiss, and he obliged with a chaste brush of lips on hers, then he hugged her close. She did the same with Tico, Jon, Matt, Nathan, her girlfriends, her brother, and a hundred other people. By the time they were done, she felt as if she’d hugged every single person she’d ever known, but nothing could detract from her happiness.

She looked down at her left hand. There, under her engagement ring, was a slender gold band. That’s all she had wanted: plain gold bands for the two of them – simple, unmistakable tokens of their devotion to one another.