Point Place, Wisconsin
April 20th, 1982
4:15 PM
Location: Forman House
"Just breathe," Donna instructed Jackie. No, Jackie wasn't going through a contraction, she was getting married.
"Donna, please. Can I deal with this on my own?" Jackie paced the top floor hallway as Donna leaned against the wall. Jackie reached for one of the curls in her hair, but was stopped by Donna's hand.
"Don't, Jackie. I've already curled your hair three times today; don't make me have to do it again."
"This is an emergency, Donna! I have to walk down the aisle in an hour and my dress isn't even here yet!" Jackie slid down to the floor and tightened her robe.
Donna crouched down next to her. "In case you don't remember, I've been through this thing before. But that's what you get for leaving it at Fez's apartment. For all we know he's trying to grope it."
Jackie groaned and covered her face with her hands. "That's music to a young bride's ears." Jackie stood up and touched Donna's hair. "You know, we could dye your hair again, if you want. It passes time."
Donna batted away Jackie's hand. "After going back to red hair yesterday, I think I'm done with any hair related changes for now. And blonde was just making me look as slutty as Laurie or Pam Macy… or Sam."
Jackie froze. "I thought we promised never to speak her name again."
Donna grabbed Jackie by the shoulders and shook her, yelling as she did so. "Jackie, I know it's your wedding day, but when will you get it into your little midget mind that you are with Hyde now and that whore is never coming back?
"Donna, you up here?" The voice was Hyde's and the girls could hear his footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Crap," Donna said, running to open the door to Eric's old room. "Get inside!"
"But what should I-"
Donna slammed the door in Jackie's face. "Put more makeup on, that should keep you busy," Donna yelled back.
Hyde laughed as he came up the stairs. "I hope you were talking to Jackie because I just spent an hour reapplying my mascara and I still don't look pretty."
Donna faked a pouty face. "Poor you, did Kelso try to take your eye shadow again?"
"Yeah and he totally mixed the greens in with the pinks! It's a disaster." Hyde glanced at the door to Eric's room. "You think we could talk away from Jackie?"
Donna sighed, considering. "Jackie's going to come out and wonder where I am. She's kind of having a nervous breakdown."
"She's in a room with makeup, high heels, dresses, and hair brushes. I think she'll survive long enough for us to talk." Leaving no room for a debate, Hyde descended down the stairs. He turned back to Donna as they were halfway down and stared at her. "So why aren't you dressed yet?"
"Fez hasn't come yet with Jackie's dress and she refuses to have me or Kitty get dressed before she is," Donna flipped her hair behind her and sat on the living room couch.
Hyde looked at Donna with a shocked face. "Mrs. Forman is a bridesmaid?"
Donna rolled her eyes. "How do you not know that?"
"I have a confession to make," Hyde took his glasses of, not answering the question, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. "I am-"
"-scared to death? That's not really much of a confession." Donna pulled her legs up onto the couch. "Incase you haven't realized I've been through this before twice."
"Yeah, well, you weren't marrying Jackie who has way too high expectations for today."
The kitchen door swung open and Charlotte, Donna and Eric's 1 ½ year old daughter Charlotte came running in. "I need my flowergirl dress, Mama!"
Hyde snorted. "Mama? I thought we were from Wisconsin and not Arkansas."
"I think it's cute," Donna smiled and picked up Charlotte. "Sweetheart, go upstairs and tell Aunt Jackie that, okay?"
"Okay, Mama." Charlotte squirmed out of Donna's arms and raced up the stairs.
"As I was saying-"
"Donna, can you please tell Brooke that Betsy isn't old enough to be going to preschool." Kelso burst in to the living room, pointing at Brooke as she stepped in.
"And can you please tell Michael that Betsy's three now and should start interacting with other kids?" Brooke crossed her arms across her chest.
Kelso turned around. "She's three and I don't want her making friends with kids we don't even know."
"If you read the pamphlets I gave you for the library classes, you'd know that parents are supposed to come with their children."
"And if you knew me well enough you'd know that I don't read!"
"Well, judging by the events of a Molly Hatchet concert 3 years ago it seems that you don't know anyone well enough before you jump to the next step!"
Hyde stood up and put himself in between the fighting couple. "Guys, Donna and I were trying to talk."
Kelso and Brooke looked at each other and then at Hyde, shouting together: "Shut up!"
Fez came in through the front door, carrying a heavy, dark, black bag with him. "Donna, where should I put this?"
"Has anyone seen my cookbook? I need to make custard crème pie for tonight and I don't have a recipe for it!" Kitty came in to the living room and rubbed her hands on her white apron.
"Kitty, where did I-" Red broke through the crowd of people hovering in front of the kitchen door. "Crap, more people in my house."
As Kelso and Brooke started fighting again, Donna shot a "do something" look at Hyde. With a sigh, he yelled as loud as he could, "Stop!"
The room became silent as everyone's eyes bugged out at Hyde.
"Donna, you help Jackie get into her dress and Fez you help Mrs. Forman find her cookbook." Hyde turned to Brooke and Kelso. "You two can go fight in the basement."
The room erupted in noise again, but this time with the sounds of "Yes" and feet dragging them to their new destinations.
Now, finally alone, Hyde fell onto the couch, forgetting that Red was still in the room.
"You still scared?" Red asked.
Hyde looked up. He was about to ask how Red knew, but gave it to him already going through the same thing years before. "Nah. This time I'm marrying the girl of my dreams."
~~~ . . . ~~~
"Ready, Jackie?" Donna asked, as she stood behind her in Eric's old bedroom.
"Donna, just let me open up my eyes!" Jackie pleaded. However, before Donna told her to do so, Jackie removed her hands from her mismatched eyes and peered at herself in the mirror that Mrs. Forman had insisted Red take from the attic. The dress was simple, yet elegant like everyone would expect her to be wearing. It was the dress Hyde and saw her in 3 years before when he caught her sneaking off from her duties to only be doing wedding stuff for Eric and Donna. Jackie and bought the dress that day, right after Hyde told her she looked beautiful, and stashed it under her bed waiting for the day that she could wear it to their wedding.
Their wedding. Not a wedding where Jackie was marrying Fez or a wedding where she was marrying Kelso. No, that dress was meant for them, her and Steven Hyde.
Jackie burst into a smile twirled around in front of the mirror attic. "I look beautiful!" Jackie boasted and turned around excitedly to Donna. "We're going to look so great together when we have our first dance!"
Donna half rolled her eyes, but smiled for Jackie's sake. "Okay, we get it, you're gorgeous. Just calm down and enjoy your last few minutes of being single."
"I forgot about that," Jackie said quietly, taking a seat on the bed. "How much more time do I have?"
Donna checked the watch she'd stolen from Eric, the one Jackie told her she wasn't allowed to wear. It was her wedding, of course, and according to Jackie the watch didn't match Donna's short-cut blue maid of honor gown. "You have fifteen minutes until you have to leave."
"Oh, God." Jackie groaned and started to cover her face, but realized that would mean ruining her makeup. "Did you feel this nervous?"
Donna shrugged and sat next to her friend. "I guess I did, I was kind of a little preoccupied with Charlotte."
"That's not helping me, Donna!" Jackie shrieked.
"Okay, okay." Donna stood up. "I'm going to go check on the kids."
"Why them?" Jackie questioned. "What about the boys?"
Donna turned back. "Do you want me to check on them just to see if their ready or to see if their in the circle? I mean, it is 4/20."
"They are not doing that," Jackie's words were short and separated. "We all quit last year, remember? And Steven is the one who picked out the date as a joke."
"I remember." Donna stamped her foot impatiently. "I'm going anyway, just be downstairs in 10."
Jackie didn't answer, but closed the door behind Donna. She positioned herself back in front of the mirror and stared at herself hard. Was this really the face of the same Jackie Burkhart who had thought she'd been in love with Michael Kelso at age 6? Was this the same Jackie who the decided she was in love with Hyde after he lied to the police for owning her stash? Was it this Jackie who thought her relationship with Hyde was just a meaningless summer fling? The same Jackie who cried her eyes out every night after they broke up each time to the day they got back together again? The same Jackie who decided it was Fez that was Fez was the real guy for her? No, this Jackie was different. She was so much wiser from her experiences with guys. This Jackie knew who knew who she really was in love with.
Jackie sighed as she made one last look through on her bags for the honeymoon in Hawaii (something Hyde was forced into) and fixed her gaze to the window, where she could see the chairs and alter set up for the wedding in the backyard. Most of the seats were full, but some people still filed in. The alter was empty, though, so Hyde hadn't left the house yet with Eric as his best man. They had opted to have the wedding in the backyard because it was perfect for the setting Jackie wanted it as. The wedding wouldn't be anything like the royal wedding in a few months, but it would be just as the couple… well, Jackie, dreamed of.
As if on cue, Kelso yelled from downstairs, "Hey, Hyde, before we leave, I just want to let you know that I totally did it with your almost-wife."
Jackie laughed as she heard the faint sound of Kelso's scream; Hyde must have punched him. It also made her stop in her tracks, making her realize how, in just a few minutes, she really would be Hyde's wife. She slowly moved the two and a half caret engagement ring between her fingers that started this whole ordeal.
"Uh, Jackie? Are you up here?" Red came up the hall and peeked into the room. "Oh, good. Donna says it's time for you to go." He looked to Jackie who stood near the mirror. "Who's walking you down the aisle?"
Jackie sighed and took one last look in the mirror-a long look. "You need to."
Red took a step forward. "What?"
Jackie turned around to face him. "My dad's still in jail… and you've been more of my dad all these years than my real dad." Jackie took a breath. "So, Dad, could you please walk me down the aisle?"
Red smiled and held out his arm. "I'd be happy to," he replied, leading Jackie down the halls and stairs.
"Oooh!" Kitty giggled as she watched the duo come down the stairs, picking up her camera from the side table.
"Kitty, please."
Jackie and Kitty both gave Red stern looks and he sighed and put on a smile.
Kitty returned the camera to the table and giggled again. "Now, when the music starts to play you guys have to-"
"We know!" Red and Jackie said simultaneously.
"Okay, okay." Kitty squealed as she ran through the kitchen door and out to the back.
"I can't do this," Jackie whispered.
"Come on, it'll be fine," Red moved forward, but Jackie didn't budge. "No, Mr. Forman."
Red shook his head and walked through the kitchen door, Jackie trailing behind. He stopped at the sliding glass doors and looked back at Jackie who had stopped halfway through. "Look, I'm tired of going through this again and again. I can't stand to see you with one of those other idiots, so you better get your butt over here.
"Thanks for the pep talk," Jackie grumbled as the music began to play. "Oh God."
Red looped his arm with Jackie's and slid open the door. "You'll be fine. Steven's probably almost as nervous as you are."
Jackie blew a puff of air as she slowly stepped closer and closer to the makeshift aisle in the backyard. "Like that's helping."
Jackie went silent as she lifted her head toward the people in the backyard, but her eyes were fixed on Hyde whose eyes seemed to glitter. In her mind, anyway. This was the moment she'd been waiting for her entire life and memories of his proposal on the night of Eric and Donna's own wedding circled in her mind. This was all so surreal, like they'd both wake up from a dream. They'd both certainly come a long way since Jackie, barely 14, started hanging out in the basement with her new boyfriend, Kelso. No longer did Hyde hate her; no longer did Jackie want to claw his eyes out; no longer would they ever be apart.
The music stopped when Jackie and Red arrived at the alter. Hyde's smile was as big as their history together. Jackie eagerly took his hands and flipped her curls to the front, where they looked best. She glanced at the white doves in their cage that would be released when the two got married.
The audience sat and the minister opened up his book. Staring at the couple, he said, "We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony."