Chapter 7
June 5th, 1967
BJ Houlihan stood with her two aunts, Janie, one of her mom's friends from the clinic in Boston, and her grandmother that she was named after: Jane. They were in the room that her mother was sleeping in until she and Hawkeye were married. All of the bridesmaids had put on their pale yellow dresses, and Margaret had just gotten her dress situated exactly how she wanted it.
The wedding was about to begin, and everyone from the 4077th had come to see the nuptials of the former head nurse and chief surgeon. They were all a little shocked about who Margaret's daughter's father was though. Except for Charles who just smiled, knowingly. The first couple of days that they had all been together again for the first time since Korea, were spent catching up and getting to know everyone. The Hunnicutts however, were pretty familiar with the two Pierce men since they had come to visit for a week or two every summer for the past 13 years.
"Okay Mom, let's see." BJ studied her mother for a second. "You have something old," the bride's daughter was speaking of her grandmother (Pierce)'s wedding dress, "something new," Hawkeye had given her a diamond necklace to wear the night before, "something borrowed," she was then speaking of a rhinestone bracelet that she had let her use for the day, "and something blue." BJ had picked some blue flowers to put in her mother's bouquet before she got into her bridesmaid dress.
Margaret looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. "I can't believe it," she said more to herself that to anyone in the room, "I'm going to finally be Mrs. Margaret Pierce." A shiver of excitement ran through her spine.
"You're beautiful darling." Margaret's mother looked at her daughter and tears of joy and pride formed in her eyes. "I just wish your father would come to the wedding."
Everyone's eyes clouded slightly with the thought of 'Howitzer' Al Houlihan not wanting to be at his daughter's wedding, just because she had a child out of wed lock. Well, now she was marrying the child's father!
"Oh well, Dad never really approved of Ben anyway." Margaret thought back to the time at the 4077th when old 'Howitzer' came to visit and things really didn't go well at all. She was trying to be strong for her mother who was really very upset about her ex husband's stubbornness.
There was a knock on the door. "Yeah?" BJ Houlihan called.
"Are you guys almost ready?" The now about 76 year old Colonel Potter asked from the other side of the doorway. You would never know that he was an old man just by looking at him. He was still just as fit as a fiddle as the day he left Korea. He had barely changed a bit.
"Well, are we?" Asked Emily, Margaret's younger sister.
"I think so." Margaret nodded. "Yeah we are Sherman. Be out in a second." She called in reply to the man's question.
"I'll go tell 'em then." The man walked back down the steps and out the back door. He went to go tell his wife to get her fingers warmed up since she was going to be playing the wedding march on the piano that they had dragged out to the back porch.
"Well, come on then. Let's go." Nancy, Margaret's friend from her old job, started out of the door. Everyone else followed and waited at the bottom of the steps.
BJ and Margaret were still in the room where they had all gotten ready. "You ready for your parents to get married?" Margaret asked her daughter, her voice quivering with excitement.
"You bet I am Mom." The girl smiled.
"Good." Margaret walked over and gave her a hug. "I love you, you know that?"
"Yes I know, I know…now can we get this show on the road?" BJ asked in mock annoyance.
"Yeah, come on…maid of honor." The bride-to-be started out the door and down the big wooden staircase and her daughter fallowed.
At the bottom of the stairs, the bridesmaids met with the ushers. They were Benji and Charlie (BJ and Peg Hunnicutt's very attractive 14-year-old twin sons), Radar O'Reily, and Max Klinger. BJ was with Benji, Janie was with Charlie, Emily was with Klinger, and Susanne (Margaret's other sister) was with Radar. Margaret's mother gave her daughter a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving to take her seat in the crowd of about 20 people. Almost everyone was either from the 4077th or the families of the ones her served in the war.
Soon, the music started playing. The bridesmaids and ushers made their way out into the fresh, warm, sea scented air, and took their designated places after the flower girl (one of Margaret's nieces) made her way down the aisle. Hawkeye was smiling from ear to ear as everyone walked down the aisle. BJ Hunnicutt stood beside him as his best man. He was also smiling, his face clear of any caterpillar-resembling mustaches. Father Mulcahy also stood at the alter, waiting to perform the ceremony that he had many times before. Much of his hearing had been recovered during the past, 14 years.
When everyone stood to watch the bride walk down the aisle, BJ looked over at her father. In the short time she had known him, she had never seen him look so happy. His smile had grown wider and his eyes softer as the woman he loved walked down the aisle, towards him. It was something that she knew her father had wished he could have seen almost 15 years ago, but she decided that she sort of liked it this way, so she could see the 'magic' as well.
BJ moved her gaze over to her mom. She looked so beautiful in the wedding dress that Daniel had handed her, almost in tears, only two nights before. He said that he wouldn't want anything more than for his future daughter in law to wear the same gown that his late wife had worn.
When Margaret reached Hawkeye at the alter, after she handed her bouquet to BJ, he grabbed her hand and kissed it before Father Mulcahy started. "Who gives the bride away?" He asked.
"I do." Colonel Potter replied.
Father Mulcahy smiled as he continued. "We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in Holy matrimony."
"Finally." Hawkeye sarcastically tried to cover it up with a cough, but everyone heard and laughed. Margaret gave him a smile that meant she fully agreed.
After about 20 minutes of the usual wedding ceremony speech, it was time for the two to give their vows. "Do you Margaret Houlihan, take this man, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?"
Margaret looked deep into the eyes of the man she loved and simply replied, "I do," her voice cracking from emotion. BJ found it harder and harder to see her parents clearly anymore as tears of joy were welling up in her eyes and blurring her vision.
"And do you, Benjamin Franklin Pierce, take this woman, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?" The padre smiled more, excited to see two very good friends of his finally 'tie the knot'.
Hawkeye squeezed Margaret's hands affectionately as his smile grew even wider and his eyes sparkled with fun. "I most certainly do."
Chuckles were heard all through the congregation. Father Mulcahy looked at BJ. "May we have the rings please?"
"Here you go Father." BJ Hunnicutt handed the Padre the rings and, after he blessed them, Francis gave Margaret's to Hawkeye and Hawkeye's to Margaret.
"Repeat after me:" he looked at Hawkeye, "with this ring, I thee wed."
Hawkeye did as instructed and repeated the phrase, "With this ring, I thee wed." He then slipped it on Margaret's finger, the diamond shining like her eyes.
"And Margaret, repeat after me as well: with this ring, I thee wed."
Margaret also did as instructed. "With this ring, I thee wed." She then slipped Hawkeye's wedding band onto his finger. They both looked eagerly up at Father Mulcahy.
"I now pronounce you man and wife." Seeing the looks on the two peoples' faces he quickly added, "Okay, okay, now you can kiss the bride Hawkeye."
"Thank you Father, you don't have to tell me twice." Hawkeye lifted Margaret's veil and they leaned into kiss one another, wrapping their arms around each other.
As her parents were kissing, BJ reached up to carefully wipe away her tears of joy trying to do it without messing up her makeup. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned around. Janie had a big smile on her face as well as she leaned in and whispered, "Nice to meet you BJ Pierce." The two girls chuckled as Hawkeye and Margaret kissed…and kissed…and kissed.
Later That Night: The Reception
At about 6:00 o'clock, the caterer (also one of Hawkeye's former classmates), had dinner on the table. That morning, when the guys helped set up the back yard, they had moved the big tent that the teenaged boys were sleeping in to the far side of the back yard, and had brought out a long table that had enough room for everyone to sit at. Now, the newly married couple, their daughter Beatrice Jane Pierce, and all of the guests sat around the large table, eating the delicious dinner of, of course, lobster and other crustaceans. After awhile, the groom's best man stood up to make a toast to the bride and groom.
"You know, when we were back in Korea, I saw these two looking at each other a lot with lust in their eyes. When I first went to Korea, the now happy couple, were always at each other's throats, but near the end of the war, they were at each other's throats in a different way." Everyone laughed and Hawkeye squeezed his wife's knee with affection. "I'm just glad that they finally got together and their little family can live happily ever after." BJ looked at the couple's daughter. "So, I'd just like to give my congratulations to the best friend I've ever had and the love of his life, also one of my greatest friends."
"Thanks Beej." Hawkeye smiled up at his best friend. He stood up as well. "I want to make a toast too. To two very special girls." His eyes sparkled with pride as he looked at his beautiful wife and daughter. "I hadn't even seen the love of my life for more than 14 years, until about two months ago. Then it was just by chance and," he shook his head, chuckling a little, "I only thought that kind of thing happened in the movies." Everyone laughed, thinking about the story that the former chief surgeon and his daughter had told them the day earlier when they were asked how they were brought together. "I can't tell you what I felt when I found out I had a daughter. I wasn't angry about Margaret not telling her, but I felt like I had let my daughter down a little. I mean I never got to hold her when she was a baby, help her with her first steps, or teach her how to ride a bike, but I just hope that I'll be able to make it up to her." When he was through, Beatrice Jane had tears in her eyes.
"Oh Dad." She stood up and went over to give her father a hug. "You've never let me down. Never." Hawkeye hugged his daughter back and had tears of his own in his eyes.
There wasn't a dry eye at the table until Hawkeye looked down at his daughter and jokingly asked, "Do you know how to throw a curve ball?" Everyone laughed as BJ shook her head with a smile on her face. "Well, remind me to teach you sometime."
A while later, after Hawkeye and Margaret cut the cake, they put on some music and everyone danced the night away and had a lot of fun. BJ Pierce and Benji Hunnicutt danced all night together and had a lot of fun. They were becoming very good friends as the night went on. Janie was becoming pretty good friends with Charlie Hunnicutt too. The two Hunnicutt boys were both about 5'8" and had surfer-like blond hair. Their older sister, Erin, who was now about 16 had the younger kids in stitches when they were all sitting together after dancing for awhile.
At about 9:00, Margaret and Hawkeye went into the house and changed into their everyday clothes. Everyone threw rice at the newly married couple and, after saying goodbye to everyone, the two got into their new car that had been decorated with Just Married chalked onto the back window and tin cans tied to the bumper and drove off. They went down the hill, through Crabapple Cove and made their way to where they would be spending their honeymoon in Vermont.
Don't worry, it's still not over! There'll be more!
Stay Tuned!
Thanks for the reviews. J
