Nick's Day
Nick pulled at his cuffs making sure that just the right amount of white was showing at the end of his dark navy jacket. It had never mattered to him before but today it was important, everything was important. Nick has never been one for vanity, he had never had much of a relationship with a mirror and he had been fine with that, but today he had to admit that his rare attention to detail had paid off. He looked pretty damn handsome. He turned around and began rummaging round in his bag for his aftershave bottle, feeling the cold glass under his hand he pulled it out and jutted his chin up in the air as he sprayed it on to his neck, being very careful of his aim. With that final touch in place he stood in front of the full length mirror once again and straightened his arms as he shuffled from one foot to the other a few times, he actually looked the part now and suddenly everything was becoming very real. He picked up all the loose items in his room and threw them in his bag, the bell hop would be here any minute to take his luggage down to the car.
As soon as the zip reached from one side of his bag to the other, there was a knock at the door right on cue. As he walked out of his room he was met by catcalls and wolf whistles from the three - rather dapper looking - gentleman standing in front of him. Nick strode past them wearing half a smile, slightly embarrassed by their reaction, he handed his bag to the bell hop along with ten dollars thanking him for his service. He wondered if he would need more cash, did grooms need to carry cash on their wedding day? Strange, trivial thoughts had been going through Nick's head all morning, he supposed it was the nerves kicking in but it was an odd kind of nervousness. He usually got nervous when he had to do something he didn't want to do or when it was something that was more than he felt he could handle but today was neither of those things. He had wanted this day to come since the moment he met her, he just wanted everything to be perfect for her.
As Nick closed the door he turned to regard his friends standing in front him, his mind flickered back in time briefly allowing him to see them as he had met them as a kid, a teenager and a young man. Now he looked at them in their suits and pondered where the time had gone, when had they all become grown men when not a thing seemed to have change between them? He was grateful to have them there, he had tried not to get overly mushy with them about it, but today simply wouldn't be the same without them. Not to mention the fact he would be slightly chubbier and much more dishevelled if it wasn't for their help. As Nick paced slowly towards them he couldn't seem to shake the smile from his face, the nerves and excitement tinged with a hint of impatience to see her were creating a wonderful cocktail of emotions in his stomach, one that Coach seemed to think would be best remedied with a strong brandy which he promptly handed to Nick. Nick clutched the glass and waited as Coach poured out another three from a rather expensive looking bottle which he had brought with him. Drinks poured and in hand they all raised their glasses with a nod to Nick and his Jessica. They all took a sip swallowing hard, forcing their rising emotions down with the smooth alcohol. With a few loud coughs, sturdy back pats and jokes about Nick passing out during the ceremony their moment was committed fondly to memory.
As they laughed and passed the time Nick checked his watch incessantly, he had forty five minutes before he needed to leave but his feet were already eager to take him there as he shuffled restlessly on the spot. His impatience was starting to vibrate all round his body making him mess with his collar and tie much to Schmidt disapproval who calmly slapped his hand back down by his side and distracted Nick by carefully pinning on his button hole. It was white and slightly bigger than the boy's smaller pink ones, he was the one being singled out today for all the right reasons, it was his turn and it felt good. Button hole in place, Schmidt offered Nick a reassuring smile, the kind of smile that reminded him that underneath the teasing and the mocking they put each other through daily, they really were the best of friends.
A short while later Nick found himself in the bathroom pacing a little and trying to decide whether or not he had to go to the bathroom for the tenth time. Deciding against it he stood firmly in front of the mirror, resting his hands on either side of the sink. His heart was pounding and his hands sweating but he wasn't afraid, their was no impending sense of doom that he usually associated with these reactions, he was excited. Sure there was a small part of him that was scared she would change her mind, that she wouldn't turn up but he supposed every groom felt like that at some point on his wedding day. He stroked a hand over his chin as he examined his reflection, every now and again he would still catch the look of disbelief on his face, disbelief that he was here, that she had agreed to marry him and give her whole life to him. It was a thought that overwhelmed him if he dwelled on it for too long. He gently slapped his palms against his cheeks to bring himself back to reality as he heard Coach tap on the door to let him know it was time to go. Nick bit his bottom lip trying to curtail the smile that was rapidly spreading across his face and straightened out his jacket. With a quick, sharp deep breath he opened the door and headed out.
As the car passed through the now familiar streets of Portland, Nick played idly with his phone on the off chance she might have texted him. He knew she wouldn't, they had agreed not to see or speak to each other for the week leading up to the wedding, and save for a five minute phone call during a weak moment, it had been the hardest seven days of his life. It reaffirmed something he already knew, that he could never be without her, he beamed at the thought that pretty soon he wouldn't ever have to. He wondered what she was doing, what she was thinking right in that moment, whether she was feeling the same way he was. He desperately wanted to talk to her, he was going through a thousand and one emotions and he wanted nothing more than to share it with his best friend. He checked his watch counting down the minutes until he would get to see her, praying she wouldn't go for too much of a fashionably late entrance, he wasn't sure his heart could take it.
The car pulled up slowly to the gates of the park and Nick immediately spotted an array of familiar faces who had started to peer eagerly into the windows, aiming excited, expectant expressions his way, it was a strange feeling which Nick wasn't entirely sure how to deal with. As he braced himself and got out the car he was instantly met by a swarm of his and Jess' family and a few of her childhood friends he had met during trips to Portland over the last couple of years. He felt people grabbing and enthusiastically shaking his hand and patting him on the back, he lost track of whose hands belonged to who. He had been smiling so long he could feel his cheeks starting to ache, he raised his hand massaging his face to ease the strain a little as he slowly started to walk, breaking subtly through the crowd of maniacally smiling people. After meeting and greeting what felt like hundreds of familiar and unfamiliar faces Nick finally made his way to the ornate, wooden gazebo nestled amongst a small wooded area of the park. Jess had brought him there the first time he had gone to Portland with her. It was her favourite place to go when she was growing up, she would go there and read books, listen to her walkman or just sit and watch the world go by, he remembered how she told him she would always go there alone, that she never shared her place with anyone. Until him. They had sat there for hours making out like teenagers whilst they ate a picnic of peanut butter sandwiches and some of Jess' homemade cupcakes. It looked a little different now dressed up with small flowers and a big carpet trailing out in front of it, a little more grand but still their place.
As he stood and smiled at the memory he felt two hands squeeze his cheeks and saw a big pair of lips coming towards him as his mother smothered him with kisses, pinching his cheeks to the point of being painful. It's fair to say Bonnie had been a little emotional ever since he had announced he and Jess were engaged and she never missed an opportunity to show him. He knew she was proud of him, he knew that as far as Bonnie was concerned Jess was already a Miller and that comforted him more than Bonnie would ever know. His mother meant the world to him and so did Jess. As Bonnie's overzealous display of affection started to crumple his suit he gently and fondly ushered her away and back to her seat, Bonnie would have stood next to him for the whole ceremony if he gave her the chance.
Nick noticed that the groups of guests who had been standing haphazardly here and there were now sitting in organised rows facing him and alternating between smiling at him and excitedly exchanging small talk, he knew it was almost time. The officiator now hovered behind him and even Schmidt, Winston and Coach had managed to tear themselves away from all of Jess' female friends and were now walking towards him to take up position at his side. As the din of the crowd lowered to a hushed whisper Nick could feel the nerves in his belly growing, the deep breaths he was taking having little affect on his general state. He shuffled back and forth on his feet, glancing back at the guys who were smiling at him in a way he had never seen before.
Suddenly aware that everyone had stopped talking, he raised his head noticing a car pull up in the near distance, heads in the crowd turning frantically to catch a glimpse of what was happening behind them. The silence was broken by the odd giggle as an ecstatic looking Joan bounced buoyantly down the aisle to take her seat, blowing a kiss to Nick as she did. With all the guests now in their seats, the cellist took her cue and a beautiful melody filled the air, all the guests rising to stand in perfect synchronicity. This was it.
Nick held his breath for what felt like forever as he watched Cece and Abby float down the aisle in their dusky pinky dresses, as beautiful as they looked he craned his head to see past them, to catch a glimpse of his girl. As the bridesmaids took their positions on Jess' side of the aisle, Nick felt a sigh of relief leave his body knowing that he was about to see Jess, that she was there, she had come. He clenched and unclenched his hands willing them to stop shaking, trying hard to level his breathing so he wouldn't pass out - then all of a sudden there she was.
Nick felt the rest of the world blur around him and all he saw was her, this beautiful, perfect thing walking towards him with the biggest smile he had ever seen. He felt something bubbling up inside of him, an unfamiliar stinging behind his eyes, he felt his lower lip start to shake and his vision became blurred. As he blinked instinctively he realised he had started to cry a little, he couldn't remember the last time he had cried, he wasn't sure he had ever cried out of happiness. Then again he had never been this happy so it wasn't something he was used to. Jess was beautiful to him every second of every day but in that moment she was almost angelic, with her hair swept to one side and a dress that was almost as stunning as her, he suddenly found it hard to breathe as his heart ached in the best possible way. After an agonisingly slow walk she finally reached him, he tried to wait patiently as Bob kissed his daughter and gave her hand to him but it was all he could do not to gather her up in his arms and kiss her for the rest of his life. Finally he grasped her hand in his pulling her gently next to him, unable to tear his eyes away from her. He couldn't wait until their vows to tell her how he felt, he leaned close to her ear to whisper how much he loved her, she squeezed his hand hard as her eyes glistened with emotion. He could feel his heart swelling at the thought that this woman was about to become his wife, he finally understood what it meant to feel like you might burst with joy.
They turned to face the officiator still holding tight on to one another's hand, for comfort and physical stability as the nerves started to diffuse leaving them a little light headed. He could hear the officiator talking, he knew he was supposed to be listening, he knew he had to pay attention for his cues but he couldn't seem to focus on anything but her. His palms were sweating causing his hand to slide against hers a little but she didn't seem to mind, wrapping her fingers round his hand even tighter. Every time she turned to smile at him he felt like he needed to do something extreme to release how he was feeling, like scream or laugh out loud, or kiss her hard right in front of everybody but he knew he had to wait for that part. He felt her small elbow nudge him in the ribs and he became aware of a faint giggling in the crowd as he finally pulled his eyes away from her to see the officiator looking right at him waiting for him to speak. He knew this part, he didn't even need to hear the question, he had been practicing this from the moment she said yes. They were the most important words he would say to her since telling her he loved her, he straightened up and puffed his chest with pride saying them with the most conviction he could muster, staring into her eyes so she knew how much he meant it. He felt like he should be reeling off a Shakespearian play to get anywhere close to the promise he was making to her. It was crazy to think that how he felt about her and the commitment he was making could be so neatly wrapped up in two of the smallest words in the dictionary.
I do.
As she said it back moments later Nick released a breath he didn't even know he was holding, a breath that it's possible he had been holding for the last six months. As they exchanged their vows, Nick tried to draw it out, he tried to make the moment last so he could commit every single second of to his memory but the excitement made the words flow out of his mouth with little control, he was one step ahead of the officiator at one point which made Jess giggle and gently wiggle the top of his tie in a calming gesture. He took a deep breath and promised her his whole heart, she did the same.
In a moment that drifted into their history moments after it began - they were married.
Nick knew there was protocol, there was a way of doing things - an order, but he didn't care. He grabbed her face and kissed her hard as the congregation burst into rapturous applause. As their lips parted he kept returning to peck her on the lips again and again, eventually turning to the officiator and apologising for jumping the gun even though he wasn't really sorry. He told her he loved her, he told her she looked beautiful, he called her his wife for the first time and sent them both into a fit of giggles.